Restaurant Lanterna Rovinj is located in the old castle on a St. Andrew Island (Red Island). The island is located a short boat ride from Rovinj’s old town. The castle was originally Franciscan monastery dating back to 15th century.
It was turned into family mansion by Hutterott family who bought the entire island in 1891. Today, St. Andrew Island is a home to Island Hotel Istria. And today, the old castle houses a restaurant Lanterna Rovinj.
Restaurant Lanterna Rovinj can be reached by boat. The boat leaves from the town every hour, from 5.30 until 00.30. It takes 15 minutes by boat. The ticket costs 40 Kn (approx. 5,5 €). You can also take a taxi boat to reach the island.
Restaurant Lanterna Rovinj: our review
Located in the old castle, the interior of the restaurant is somehow somber, but the restaurant has a superb terrace, right at the seafront. The terrace is set on two levels. The upper terrace is partly covered. Lower terrace offers some “pieds dans l’eau” tables. This restaurant is set away from Rovinj main tourist routes, it is barley mentioned on Tripadvisor with mere five reviews. It is injustice as the restaurant serves a 5 star food, has an exciting menu, good wine list and a great presentation. The service is attentive. Price is a bit at the high end.
I went to the restaurant Lanterna with a group of five. We were offered a daily meat and fish menu to choose from. I took a fish menu. First, we were served a glass of sparkling wine along with strawberries. This was an excellent start of the meal. The cold starter included plate of seafood delicacies: salmon, raw scampi, tuna carpaccio, marinated octopus, marinated anchovy and cod spread. Everything was delicious.
The lunch continued with a scampi and wild asparagus risotto served in a Parmesan cheese basket. Risotto was creamy and cheese basket crispy. Everything tasted simply sublime. I didn’t expect this level of sophistication and gastronomy. I was really blown away. I did drink a fair amount of white local wine Malvasia Coronica, but my verdict on the food wasn’t influenced by that. This place serves some really serious food.
For the main course, I had a sea-bass fillet with sauteed veggies and pine nuts. Absolutely yummy! Check the photo below. Admit it looks appetizing. And it tasted even better than it looked.
For dessert I had a lava chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream aside. It was washed down with local dessert wine Muscat Kozlovic. The whole meal was just pure indulgence. And if I had more cash to spend, I’ll come to the restaurant Lanterna Rovinj often. The bill was a bit at the high end. And that is the only painful part of this, otherwise, amazing experience. Highly recommended!
thank you so much!
i´ll definitely be there in a few days!
Hi Maria,
you can expect to pay around 250 kn per person for a 3-course meal without drinks.
i would like to know how much is the average cost of this place, thank you in advance and congrats for your nice website!!
Hi Frank,
Thanks for the recommendation. Looks like a lovely place and I will definitely visit it when next time in Rovinj.
I fell in love with Roving and will spend some time there again this April to check out the possibility of relocation. Would love to meet with you for a drink and a chat about food, wine and life in Istria.
Hi Charlotte, the restaurant Lanterna is run by the same company as hotel Istra. You can try to call the reception at 385 52 802 500, or e-mail them at istra@maistra.hr; as for Male Madlene, we’ve passed recently, and the place seemed closed down.
Really helpful information here and wonderful pictures. This site has really helped me to plan my holiday. I am heading to rovinj in a week and I wanted to book tables at lanterna and male madlene, do you know where i can find the contact details for these restaurants? I have looked everywhere but found nothing.
Hi Thushy, thanks for stopping by. Rovinj is gorgeous and you’ll love your time ther. If you plan to visit Venice on a day, or just to cross over without the car, the bet way is by ferry. Check the company Kompas and their Prince of Venice boat schedule.
Thank you for a great post! I going to Rovinj for 5 days in July, driving in from Austria. Currently I am living in Canada so it’s nice to see honest posts from fellow Canadians. Can you suggest how I can go fr Rovinj to Venice??