Red Lantern: Weak Substitute for Tamarine

We dined at Red Lantern with high expectations. I've eaten many times at Tamarine in Palo Alto, and Slanted Door and Bong Su in San Francisco. These three places offer fine pan-Asian menus in upscale settings. The food is tasty, creative, yet fairly simple, and anchored in "modern Vietnamese" style.

The idea of having a restaurant of this style and caliber, right here in sleepy Redwood City, was an exciting one.

Alas, Red Lantern was good, but not exquisite.

The setting and decor are nice. High ceilings with silk lanterns hanging from the top. Service was ok, but left a bit to be desired. We had to pour our own wine, for example.

The food looked promising on the menu but ended up being pretty monotone in flavor, and a little bit heavy. The tuna poke appetizer was ok. All the beef dishes seemed to have the same flavors. The fried rice and noodle dish were a tad bit oily.

Give it a try for yourself, and let me know what you think! We'll certainly be back to give it another shot.

Address: 808 Winslow Street, Redwood City, CA

Phone: 650.369.5483

Website: www.redlanternrwc.com

Other reviews: Yahoo, Yelp, Google