The good: The food. My eggplant parm was pretty good- I would have rather that it had been served with pasta, but that's not a big deal. My family also liked the veal osso buco, the orecchiette, and the pollo pizza (made in a wood-burning oven that you can see from your table, which is a nice touch). The bad: The service. We were here on Christmas Eve, and I will give the waitress the benefit of the doubt and assume that she wasn't too happy to be working on a holiday and an extremely busy night. But several days later, we're still talking about how unfriendly and abrupt she was. We didn't see her smile the entire night. Any request we made clearly irritated her. She would say something- the specials, for instance- and then was gone before anyone could respond. Also- and this wasn't her fault, although she should have given us some assistance on this one, but was instead nowhere to be found- four of us got our dinners at the same time, and then the fifth dish was brought out when we were all nearly finished, about fifteen minutes later. My dad had to literally go searching through the restaurant for someone to speak to about it. At the end of the meal, she never asked if we wanted any dessert, but rather dropped the check in front of my dad and disingenuously said "Merry Christmas" while she was already walking away, without smiling or even making eye contact. It was so strange and, honestly, rude. Good to know: Valet parking.
(3)
Anne C.
OMG this place was disgusting! I ordered fish (the special) and I got a plate full of melted butter, capers and a bunch of fish skin. It looked like there was a lot of fish but when I started to try to eat it I got a bunch of skin and butter; very little fish and clearly not fresh fish which was odd since it was the special. I think they cover up bad quality fish with butter sauce for a reason. In addition, I got boiled potatoes which I normally like but they were over cooked and mushy and the amount they gave could have served a family of four....too much waste. The service was horrible! The waiter talked about himself way too much and when we were done dinner he brought the bill without asking if we wanted coffee or dessert.....not good for the owners. In addition, he never once came to the table to serve the wine which was odd because the restaurant was very quiet. Finally, the valet was a joke. They stored the keys in a drawer in the front lobby; completely unsecured. Anyone could have taken the keys and stolen a car. I was in the drawer looking at the keys and no one stopped me. In addition and really really bad for business and why I will tell my company to never again recommend this establishment....The owner and his wife were in the building and sitting at a table very close to us and never got up to see if we liked their place; maybe they didn't want to hear the truth or maybe they have a bunch of loyal patrons who go there on the weekends who don't mind eating slop for dinner. The client experience was the worst I have ever experienced and I will go out of my way to make sure no one I know ever goes to this cess pool of a low class diner. The only reason I gave it a 1 star is because there was no negative star options. This is the worst restaurant I have been in in over 20 years. I would eat at Mcdonalds before I eat here again.
(1)
Nick A.
The food was good for the price. Service was absolutely horrible. No waiter for 15 minutes after being seated, no wine menu provided, app served at same time of salad, no refills on wine, etc... We were neglected the whole night and the restaurant wasn't even full. We could have punished the waiter with a bad tip, but instead we will simply never return, nor will we recommend to friends/family.
(2)
Jim R.
We arrived here a little before our reservation on a bustling Saturday night and were seated promptly at a nice round table by the window. It was several minutes before our waiter was able to get to us so we gave him our order right away as we were on a bit of a tight schedule. The Cesar salad came our right away - fine, very traditional, nothing too special and we had to ask a second time to get a wine list so we could get something to drink besides the water. To be fair there was a very large group seated in our section, perhaps 30 people across 5 large tables with a birthday celebration and that seemed to be the priority for the serving staff. As a result it was really noisy and very difficult to have a conversation even across the small table. The entrees came out quick and hot (nice of them to accommodate our need for speed) but the taste of the pastas were rather ho-hum. I had the special lobster ravioli (typically a rich and enjoyable dish) but this one was more chef-boy-ardy without much of the lobster taste you'd expect. The assistant server was in a hurry and the waiters all seemed to be struggling to keep up. One last disappointment was the wine by the glass. The Merlot from Fruili was watery and overly fruity - something I couldn't even finish. Pluses we got in and out in under an hour. Average food, noisy and uneven service. I cannot recommend.
(2)
Stephen P.
Food was okay, but seemed expensive ($16-25) for what you get. Service wasn't very good, was abandoned by waitress when she went back for dessert information, would not leave water pitcher on table Valet parking attendant does not drive stick! Although he will try. It is a bad start to any meal after you have rescued your car amid the smell of burnt clutch. Highly recommend self-park; the lot is around back.
When cravings for Italian food come up at our household, they better be dealt with asap. After calling around for some last-minute dinner reservations, this place was the only restaurant we found availability for... and now I know why. First of all, let's talk about the parking -- valet parking only when you pull into the front of the restaurant. Luckily, we were tipped off at the start and parked elsewhere. Service was initially good at first -- we were greeted by a friendly waiter who introduced himself "and his team". Huh? Okay. Then, once our drinks were served and our food orders were taken, we didn't really see him for the rest of the night. No questions about whether our food was okay, whether we needed anything else for the table, or even refills for our water glasses. Not that we want someone to fawn over us all night, but what if something had been wrong with our meal? Another server did come to ask us (rather abruptly) if we wanted dessert or coffee, but it took at least ten minutes for a dessert menu to arrive to our table... and then she plopped down two menus for a table of seven. Really? In terms of food, it was a huge disappointment. Prices are overly expensive when it comes to the quality and quantity of food that comes to the table -- it was basically a ripoff even for the Main Line. My caesar salad ($9) was plenty garlicky and salty, but fairly small. Taglioni alle vongole ($16) was a serious miss, with what looked to be a pound of overcooked pasta and about eight clams. I'd asked for a white wine sauce, but instead got what was basically an extremely bland butter and oil combo. My dinner companion's linguini pescatora ($17) was similarly bland, with equally overcooked pasta and blah seafood. It was bad enough that we refused to take leftovers home. If you're looking for a good place to get Italian food on the Main Line, Ristorante Primavera won't make it on my top fifty list. Next time we have a craving for some darned good pasta, we'll look elsewhere and skip the trouble.
(1)
Steve T.
Ristorante Primavera in Wayne offers the best Italian food on the Main Line. Pop was a stickler for Italian food, and this was his go-to spot. The white tablecloth dining room and well dressed staff tune you up for fine dining, and RP delivers. The pasta is homemade and is delicious. The sauces (don't you dare call it gravy) are good but can be inconsistent from time to time. However, their finest offering is their Osso Bucco. If you enjoy this dish, RP is the Mt. Olympus of Osso Bucco...the best I've ever had. The dining room offers ambiance but is a bit dated. Service has always been prompt, informed, and courteous. Complimentary valet parking right out front and a location in the heart of Wayne. I've continued the family tradition and when I'm looking for good Italian nearby, RP gets the call.
(4)
Max J.
I'm not allowed to give negative stars, so I will settle for one. Starting with the parking - the parking situation is awful. I'm not local, so I was not 100% sure of where things were. I only found this place due to the GPS in the car. I ended up parking behind an auto repair shop and walking to the front door to see the "valet" parking attendants smoking. As I walked in, the hostess seemed alright, but she was certainly not as pleasant as I would expect. I was worried that it was because we had our 4 year old son. The restaurant did look a little fancier than we expected (again, not locals) and we weren't dressed for the occasion. The service was flat out awful. Our waitress seemed irritated with our table. (How DARE we ask for milk for our son ... and how DARE we even THINK to ask for a cup with a lid ... he IS 4) She gave us plenty of time to look over the graphically awful looking menu. It felt like 20 minutes, but I'll cut her a break and say it was 10 (it was really 20 though). In those 20 minutes, no bread was brought to the table, no water was brought, and our drink order took nearly that long (sorry about the chocolate milk, I suppose someone had to run to the store to get it). After the waitress took our order, that was about the last time we saw her. I was surprised that we did not get a salad with our entree, but my sister explained that several restaurants in this area do not offer salads complete with entree, so I'll shake that one off. My wife's food order was wrong. She sat at the table for 10 minutes before she could find anyone to tell about it. She ended up telling a busboy and he abruptly (and without apology) took the food back. All the while no re-fills were delivered or offered. It was truly an awful dining experience. At first I thought we were treated like this because we had children at the table - but the children there were VERY well behaved. The other reviews here make me feel better about that as well - now I see that we were not the only ones to experience Ristorante Primavera in that way. I will NOT be going back. The only positive of this experience was the fact that I can now openly complain to my friends that I had the worst dining experience of our group.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Valet Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Dressy Ambience : Classy Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
Robin Y.
The good: The food. My eggplant parm was pretty good- I would have rather that it had been served with pasta, but that's not a big deal. My family also liked the veal osso buco, the orecchiette, and the pollo pizza (made in a wood-burning oven that you can see from your table, which is a nice touch). The bad: The service. We were here on Christmas Eve, and I will give the waitress the benefit of the doubt and assume that she wasn't too happy to be working on a holiday and an extremely busy night. But several days later, we're still talking about how unfriendly and abrupt she was. We didn't see her smile the entire night. Any request we made clearly irritated her. She would say something- the specials, for instance- and then was gone before anyone could respond. Also- and this wasn't her fault, although she should have given us some assistance on this one, but was instead nowhere to be found- four of us got our dinners at the same time, and then the fifth dish was brought out when we were all nearly finished, about fifteen minutes later. My dad had to literally go searching through the restaurant for someone to speak to about it. At the end of the meal, she never asked if we wanted any dessert, but rather dropped the check in front of my dad and disingenuously said "Merry Christmas" while she was already walking away, without smiling or even making eye contact. It was so strange and, honestly, rude. Good to know: Valet parking.
(3)Anne C.
OMG this place was disgusting! I ordered fish (the special) and I got a plate full of melted butter, capers and a bunch of fish skin. It looked like there was a lot of fish but when I started to try to eat it I got a bunch of skin and butter; very little fish and clearly not fresh fish which was odd since it was the special. I think they cover up bad quality fish with butter sauce for a reason. In addition, I got boiled potatoes which I normally like but they were over cooked and mushy and the amount they gave could have served a family of four....too much waste. The service was horrible! The waiter talked about himself way too much and when we were done dinner he brought the bill without asking if we wanted coffee or dessert.....not good for the owners. In addition, he never once came to the table to serve the wine which was odd because the restaurant was very quiet. Finally, the valet was a joke. They stored the keys in a drawer in the front lobby; completely unsecured. Anyone could have taken the keys and stolen a car. I was in the drawer looking at the keys and no one stopped me. In addition and really really bad for business and why I will tell my company to never again recommend this establishment....The owner and his wife were in the building and sitting at a table very close to us and never got up to see if we liked their place; maybe they didn't want to hear the truth or maybe they have a bunch of loyal patrons who go there on the weekends who don't mind eating slop for dinner. The client experience was the worst I have ever experienced and I will go out of my way to make sure no one I know ever goes to this cess pool of a low class diner. The only reason I gave it a 1 star is because there was no negative star options. This is the worst restaurant I have been in in over 20 years. I would eat at Mcdonalds before I eat here again.
(1)Nick A.
The food was good for the price. Service was absolutely horrible. No waiter for 15 minutes after being seated, no wine menu provided, app served at same time of salad, no refills on wine, etc... We were neglected the whole night and the restaurant wasn't even full. We could have punished the waiter with a bad tip, but instead we will simply never return, nor will we recommend to friends/family.
(2)Jim R.
We arrived here a little before our reservation on a bustling Saturday night and were seated promptly at a nice round table by the window. It was several minutes before our waiter was able to get to us so we gave him our order right away as we were on a bit of a tight schedule. The Cesar salad came our right away - fine, very traditional, nothing too special and we had to ask a second time to get a wine list so we could get something to drink besides the water. To be fair there was a very large group seated in our section, perhaps 30 people across 5 large tables with a birthday celebration and that seemed to be the priority for the serving staff. As a result it was really noisy and very difficult to have a conversation even across the small table. The entrees came out quick and hot (nice of them to accommodate our need for speed) but the taste of the pastas were rather ho-hum. I had the special lobster ravioli (typically a rich and enjoyable dish) but this one was more chef-boy-ardy without much of the lobster taste you'd expect. The assistant server was in a hurry and the waiters all seemed to be struggling to keep up. One last disappointment was the wine by the glass. The Merlot from Fruili was watery and overly fruity - something I couldn't even finish. Pluses we got in and out in under an hour. Average food, noisy and uneven service. I cannot recommend.
(2)Stephen P.
Food was okay, but seemed expensive ($16-25) for what you get. Service wasn't very good, was abandoned by waitress when she went back for dessert information, would not leave water pitcher on table Valet parking attendant does not drive stick! Although he will try. It is a bad start to any meal after you have rescued your car amid the smell of burnt clutch. Highly recommend self-park; the lot is around back.
(2)E A.
I really wish my friends would let me pick the restaurants we go out to, based on the reviews of Ristorante Primavera I'm surprised they are still in business. Don't they read their reviews?? First..................they have valet party. You have to pull into THEIR driveway and not the little driveway to the right of their storefront. You could park across the street at the farmer's market lot if you don't mind crossing the busy street. We arrived on a freezing snowy Thursday evening and the restaurant, which is quite large had two tables occupied. So when asked where we wanted to sit, I hesitated . I have not been here in like 15 years..................I didn't want to sit next to the windows as they would be cold. So I picked a spot near the brick wall, only to realize that we literally are sitting on the brick and rubbing our elbows on it. My husband and I switched tables before our friends arrived only to hear the maître d' joking with the bar woman about us. Ummmm....rude. I have to say the service was attentive. The bread looked appetizing until you realize it was probably day old bread reheated. It was stale and hard/crumbly. That evening they had a dinner special because they were celebrating an anniversary, appetizer, entrée and dessert for $20. Our friends were having that so we went along. The soup and salad were fine, the chicken parmigiano , tilapia were okay, but the spaghetti bolognaise had an unusual taste. The ice cream for dessert tasted like it came out of the grocery store container, no flavor. And the cheese cake....well I took one bite. No flavor. Perhaps it would have been better order al la carte.............but I'll never know cause there are other restaurants to try.
(1)Nicole L.
When cravings for Italian food come up at our household, they better be dealt with asap. After calling around for some last-minute dinner reservations, this place was the only restaurant we found availability for... and now I know why. First of all, let's talk about the parking -- valet parking only when you pull into the front of the restaurant. Luckily, we were tipped off at the start and parked elsewhere. Service was initially good at first -- we were greeted by a friendly waiter who introduced himself "and his team". Huh? Okay. Then, once our drinks were served and our food orders were taken, we didn't really see him for the rest of the night. No questions about whether our food was okay, whether we needed anything else for the table, or even refills for our water glasses. Not that we want someone to fawn over us all night, but what if something had been wrong with our meal? Another server did come to ask us (rather abruptly) if we wanted dessert or coffee, but it took at least ten minutes for a dessert menu to arrive to our table... and then she plopped down two menus for a table of seven. Really? In terms of food, it was a huge disappointment. Prices are overly expensive when it comes to the quality and quantity of food that comes to the table -- it was basically a ripoff even for the Main Line. My caesar salad ($9) was plenty garlicky and salty, but fairly small. Taglioni alle vongole ($16) was a serious miss, with what looked to be a pound of overcooked pasta and about eight clams. I'd asked for a white wine sauce, but instead got what was basically an extremely bland butter and oil combo. My dinner companion's linguini pescatora ($17) was similarly bland, with equally overcooked pasta and blah seafood. It was bad enough that we refused to take leftovers home. If you're looking for a good place to get Italian food on the Main Line, Ristorante Primavera won't make it on my top fifty list. Next time we have a craving for some darned good pasta, we'll look elsewhere and skip the trouble.
(1)Steve T.
Ristorante Primavera in Wayne offers the best Italian food on the Main Line. Pop was a stickler for Italian food, and this was his go-to spot. The white tablecloth dining room and well dressed staff tune you up for fine dining, and RP delivers. The pasta is homemade and is delicious. The sauces (don't you dare call it gravy) are good but can be inconsistent from time to time. However, their finest offering is their Osso Bucco. If you enjoy this dish, RP is the Mt. Olympus of Osso Bucco...the best I've ever had. The dining room offers ambiance but is a bit dated. Service has always been prompt, informed, and courteous. Complimentary valet parking right out front and a location in the heart of Wayne. I've continued the family tradition and when I'm looking for good Italian nearby, RP gets the call.
(4)Max J.
I'm not allowed to give negative stars, so I will settle for one. Starting with the parking - the parking situation is awful. I'm not local, so I was not 100% sure of where things were. I only found this place due to the GPS in the car. I ended up parking behind an auto repair shop and walking to the front door to see the "valet" parking attendants smoking. As I walked in, the hostess seemed alright, but she was certainly not as pleasant as I would expect. I was worried that it was because we had our 4 year old son. The restaurant did look a little fancier than we expected (again, not locals) and we weren't dressed for the occasion. The service was flat out awful. Our waitress seemed irritated with our table. (How DARE we ask for milk for our son ... and how DARE we even THINK to ask for a cup with a lid ... he IS 4) She gave us plenty of time to look over the graphically awful looking menu. It felt like 20 minutes, but I'll cut her a break and say it was 10 (it was really 20 though). In those 20 minutes, no bread was brought to the table, no water was brought, and our drink order took nearly that long (sorry about the chocolate milk, I suppose someone had to run to the store to get it). After the waitress took our order, that was about the last time we saw her. I was surprised that we did not get a salad with our entree, but my sister explained that several restaurants in this area do not offer salads complete with entree, so I'll shake that one off. My wife's food order was wrong. She sat at the table for 10 minutes before she could find anyone to tell about it. She ended up telling a busboy and he abruptly (and without apology) took the food back. All the while no re-fills were delivered or offered. It was truly an awful dining experience. At first I thought we were treated like this because we had children at the table - but the children there were VERY well behaved. The other reviews here make me feel better about that as well - now I see that we were not the only ones to experience Ristorante Primavera in that way. I will NOT be going back. The only positive of this experience was the fact that I can now openly complain to my friends that I had the worst dining experience of our group.
(1)