Amber Lantern Restaurant

Amber lantern is one of my favorite places in Chesapeake! I’ve had both really good and okay service but overall the food is made perfect. I love the Tiramisu martini. They also have an extensive beer menu that is reasonably priced. It is worth the trip. The view is amazing and I wish they were open later!!!

The food was great the server was very friendly but the service was slow. You will definitely have time to enjoy the view.

Love the atmosphere of this restaurant. The lamb chops are delicious. I did visit the restaurant one day last week to havr drinks and dessert and they were closed an hour before the stated closing time. When I called the hostess she said that they close early if the don’t have anyone in the restaurant. So if you are ever going there after 730 please call first. Other than that, Amber Lantern is highly recommended

Went Mother’s Day and sat outside. Gnats were horrible BUT, the food was delicious as always. Love the baked brie. Highly recommend it as an app. :)

No. No. No. Restaurant was empty and now I know why. My husband and I went there on our anniversary on the recommendation of our neighbors. Bad idea. All the food had weird flavors and aftertaste to it. The remoulade sauce tasted like sesame oil. It was just terrible. The waitress knew it was our anniversary and barely mustered up a happy anniversary.

All I can say is the service was probably the best I have ever had. Friendly and went beyond what they had to do. I enjoyed the crab cakes. They where outstanding.

Four of us dined at 6:00 on a Saturday evening. There were only a handful of patrons when we entered and we had our choice of window seats. We have been here before so ordering was not a problem. We shared the baked brie with a fig sauce and the Caprese salad. I also had the pickled artichoke and cucumber salad. For entrees, two of us had the rack of lamb, one had the pork chops and the other the chicken Mediterranean. Everything was just delicious. Lamb was seasoned and cooked perfectly. Both racks had 7 – 8 racks and large tender portion of meat. We were so full after all that food, we passed on the dessert this visit.

Food was tasteful, prepared fresh, with a clean presentation… however for the price I think the portion could have been a little larger. Their crab dip is delicious.

Don’t pass up! Very pleasantly surprised again. My wife and I stopped coming because the food quality seemed to fall off… returned over a year later after a coin toss. The food quality has returned, fresh and delicious, and the service was good for a young staff. If you are looking for a place to get away from a crowd and be able to have a discussion and give the people you are dining with attention this is your place. Only a 4 because after years of telling the staff I want a cappuccino they still don’t have espresso machine.

Very good, little pricey but good. This place is hard to find if you’re not from the area, our GPS was getting very confused because there is so much road construction in that area. The filet is delicious and also the lump crab spinach and artichoke dip.

I am giving this restaurant 5 stars because the crab bisque and crab cakes were the best we have had so far! We were told to try the place and since it was a birthday dinner we figured, why not?! The vegetables served were crisp and tasty, the salad had gorgeous greens and delicious dressing. We’ll definitely return to try another dish.

Looks like a classic example of a chef who opens a restaurant with a great theme and puts out a great product. until that chef leaves and amatuers take over. The foyer is plastered with evidence of culinary achievement. However, it seemed like overkill and food should speak for itself if you are good. Here goes:
— mediterranean chicken was from frozen, presentation was good and flavor was good not earth shattering. Prices are up there.
–two guests had seafood jewel of the sea and crab stuffed shrimp. They both ended up with stomach ailments. One of them had symptoms indicative of food poisoning. Details left out.
— other guest had oysters, I tried and were a bit gamey
— service was really good and the waitress was very nice and attentive. Hopefully she bails and finds another establishment.
Bottom line is this place is in a bad location and was very empty on a Saturday. Either no one can find this place or they know it is terrible. Frozen food and non-​fresh seafood is a great way to mitigate losses. I think this place is in trouble and it is reflected in their food.

Trying a new spot… we enjoyed it. Great atmosphere, really really good food, a tad pricey… but perfect for a special occasion. I highly recommend.

This was my second visit, I went once when they first opened and it was ok then. It has taken me years to come back so I guess it didn’t wow me. So we had a party of 12 for a birthday on a Friday night with a reservation at 7:30. The wait staff was great but very disappointed that our cake was not allowed. The dessert menu was not impressive. We spent quite a bit of money with drinks and food, yet they did nothing special to acknowledge the birthday. The drinks were ok, a little light on the alcohol for 10.00 a martini and they ran out of bottle beer. The place is quite hidden now with the new bridge. It wasn’t crowded at all but our drinks took some time to get. Food was good, nothing wowed me. I felt like we were being kicked out, they wanted to close. I don’t think it was 10:00 yet? Crazy

We tried the Amber Lantern Restaurant for the first time on Friday, November 27^th for dinner. They are only open for dinner, so we had to leave a voicemail that morning to reserve for our group of 12. They promised a confirmation call which we received around 3pm.
We were a bit disappointed upon arrival because the exterior is not very impressive. A large parking lot and fairly nondescript building housing a marina on the lower level and the restaurant above. There are both stairs and an elevator to the restaurant. When we stepped off the elevator, however, we were pleasantly surprised by the elegant and homey décor which felt very welcoming. We dined early at 5pm due to an infant and two toddlers in our party, so weren’t surprised that the place was quite empty. By the time we left there were several other parties.
The wait staff were very friendly and proficient, and took very good care of us without being intrusive. Service was prompt, and the appetizers and meals came out in good time and well spaced. All of the food was delicious, but there were a few standouts. The spinach and avocado dip was exceptional! Smooth and creamy.. .the best I’ve ever eaten hands down. The rack of lamb was juicy, delicious, and cooked perfectly. The lobster tortellini was delicious but rich.
We enjoyed our dinner with a lovely view of the water and sunset, and had a very enjoyable evening. We will return soon. I highly recommend you give the Amber Lantern a try, and don’t judge until you are inside and eating.

My absolute favorite place for a romantic dinner in Hampton Roads. Try the rack of lamb. It will change your life. The décor, views and service are impeccable. I have been to high class restaurants all over the world and Amber a Lantern holds its own against any of them!

My prior reviews were 5 stars except for this one. We had a party of 12 for Mother’s Day. Our reservation was for 5:30pm. We were not seated until 5:45. It was very warm where we were seated. Our server was very friendly and prompt. We ordered the cheese platter, calamari, mussels, & tomato cheese salad. Thayer were all very delicious as usual. We ordered the filet mignon, stuffed shrimp, & lamb for dinner. We were disappointed to have not 1 but 3 of our entrees cooked wrong. We sent them back, 2 of the entrees came back right, however, my father’s was not cooked to his approval. We are major regulars and even though this will not sway our opinions of the food, we were not very pleased with this visit. I’m still a little sore that we are not allowed to bring our own cakes.

This Place Was AMAZING!!! So we were looking for a seafood place around Virginia Beach but not on the beach itself (because it was too far) and we found this place! At first it took us a while to actually locate it because there was construction and the road to get there was closed, but after calling the extremely nice hostess and getting directions from her we were able to find it!
Upon walking up the stairs of a marina like building, we were welcome by such a nice interior and a really amazing wait staff. We were seated outside, there were only two other families around us and it was such a pretty view over the Elizabeth River. Then the food came!!! Which was so great. The quality of the seafood was so fresh and everything tasted perfect. Truthfully this was the best place we ate in during our whole stay in Virginia. So if your looking for a high quality and yummy seafood place, this is it!

After hearing rave reviews about Amber Lantern, my husband and I checked it out one evening. We made a reservation earlier that day thinking it would be a busy place. When we got there, the restaurant was empty which we thought was odd for a weekend night.
We ordered an appetizer of the seared tuna, which was great. I had the salmon and my husband had duck. While both of our meals were good, neither stood out as being amazing.
I doubt that we will be back for dinner but I would like to try them for lunch during the summer when their patio is open.

Dinner here was a delightful surprise. We started with the baked brie, which was nicely presented and delicious. We shared two entrees, the duck and the lamb, and they were both really good. Then I had to have the crème brûlée, even though I had to take home half my dinner to leave room for it. This one one of the best I’ve had, and I’m a crème brûlée addict.
Maggie was our server, and she was very pleasant and attentive.
The prices were a little high, but we felt they were justified by the quality. For us, this was especially true because we got a free night’s stay at Top Rack Marina as part of the deal. We will absolutely be back here twice a year every year, as long as we cruise.