I was hoping many of the reviews were wrong. My waitress suggested the baked lasagne. I decided to order it. It was served so hot I had to wait about 10 minutes before eating. I could have made better lasagne (and I'm not a cook). I guess this was the reason I only saw my waitress once more (when she brought my bill). I travel to Sarasota quite a bit, this place will not be one of my stops. Sorry Primo Ristorante.
(1)
Franklin B.
A nice local neighborhood Italian restaurant. Popular with the locals in a homey comfortable atmosphere. It is what it is and for what it is it deserves 4 stars. The obligatory bread and herbed olive oil is tasty, along with the salad and house dressing. Had the spaghetti and clams which was delicious. Finished with a chilled grappa. The service was friendly and attentive. From my Atlanta perspective seems that all restaurants in Sarasota are a bit pricey including this one. All in all, I'll be back.
(4)
Mimi K.
The only reason I cannot give this place a perfect 5 is because the olive oil and bread was terrible. For a place with such great food I would expect better olive oil/bread combination. The mozarella rolls were amazing along wtih the salad and the Salmone. I wish I could have eaten here every day on my trip.
(4)
Benjamin M.
This is a bad restaurant. The food is borderline edible. The tables are uncomfortable. The decor garish. Go somewhere else.
(1)
Ingrid G.
Not trendy but classy and tasty Italian restaurant appropriate for taking your mom. Our waiter was wonderful. I'd say it's $31-60 per person with wine.
(4)
Kelly K.
I saw this place in the little coupon book we got at the car rental place, saw that they had a wood-fired pizza oven, and we decided to give it a try. We have desperately been looking for good thin crust pizza since we left DC, so it's always at the top of our list. We decided to get a couple of pizzas and an appetizer to share, and we would get it all to go. So we got a margherita pizza, a pizza with artichokes and black olives, and a caprese salad to share. When hubby ordered over the phone, he asked the girl if they had black olives (our toddler loves them- kind of weird), and she said yes, so I got those on my pizza. So he goes to pick everything up, and comes back with our food PLUS 2 house salads. The girl neglected to tell us that pizzas come with a house salad. If we had known this, we wouldn't have ordered the caprese. So- the mozzarella in the caprese had no taste whatsoever. I had to eat several capers (in a caprese?) with each bite for the dish to have some taste. The pizza was NOT thin crust, as we thought it would be. I guess we are wrong in assuming that wood-fired= thin crust. The pizza was good at first, then got progressively worse with each bite. It was very greasy. Also, those were NOT black olives on my pizza but were Kalamata olives. We were lucky that our kid likes kalamata olives (who knew?), but I had to really cut them up for him because half of them still had pits. I never even ate my house salad, so that was a waste. I also got a Tiramisu. It was ok. Not a fan of this place.
(2)
Linda C.
Although it is not a chain restaurant, Promo feels like one. The menu is overly ambitious which, to me, is a sign of the potential quality. Service was good. The shared table salad was beyond boring. The bread was fresh but the dipping olive oil was filled with an extreme excess of dried basil flakes. Our party of 4 ordered different dishes. I had the lamb shank which was juicy and dry at the same time. The dish was smothered in a sauce of unidentifiable vegetables which also covered a side of angel hair pasta which was cooked perfectly. If you love overpriced food filled with MSG, this is a place you can consider.
(2)
Ken B.
First visit in a couple of years, big mistake. Waited 15 minutes for a waiter in the bar to take our drink order. When seated at our table informed our waiter that we had a groupon certificate and was informed that most food and the wine selection would be at a higher price because of the coupon ( stay away fro coupons in this place ). Waiter lost our order so we were an hour before being served. The food is mediocre at best and our service was terrible. Run, Run Fast away from this place, you'll thank me later.
(1)
Gina D.
Good food nice staff. Well under rated. This was our first time there and was questionable because of the reviews. Everything we order was delicious. And the portions was way more than we could eat. I highly recommend the mozzarella rolls. They are to die for. We will be back.
(5)
Patsy T.
Good food. Sort of an old school Italian restaurant with lots of little private areas to dine plus the main room. They have half price meal Wednesday dinners during the summer. Great bargain.
(4)
Emily G.
I love going to primo's. The food is fantastic and the staff is always very kind and helpful!
(5)
Stacey S.
This place has excellent Italian food. Great service too!
(5)
Cynthia H.
I told myself after 2 or 3 tries years ago, that I would not go back....alas, today we went back.Party of 5, 7:30 Saturday night, nearly dead in the place, though the lot was mobbed. We went in and told the hostess we had 5 people, then she got on the phone and we stood and stood, waiting. Finally another waitress came over and asked what we were waiting for, she sat us. Our waitress, Mia, seemed nervous and new, I ordered water, with lemon, it came sans the lemon, I knew already that it would go badly. She brought out some bread and a bowl of oil, with little herbs, it was just greasy....the bread was good, probably the best part of the meal honestly. Our salads came, my husband requested additional dressing, which took the server a long while to get and when she returned with it, .she reached across my plate to hand it to him, stuck her armpit in my face and didnt even bother to say excuse me. Finally our food came, the second I looked at my plate I could tell it wasnt warm, I stuck my finger into the pasta, my husband saw me roll my eyes, watched the waitress watch me roll my eyes and she turned and walked away. When she came back by, not to check on us, but in passing, I told her that 2 of our meals were cold, she just got an annoyed look on her face, like it was something she was used to having happen. She took our plates and came back several minutes later, they had some fresh red sauce dumped on them and were microwaved for a minute, tops, mine was still not warm, though she didnt know because she never once asked us how things were after that. Our bread was empty, 3 of our 5 drinks were empty and she could have cared less....walking by and ignoring us.. Im not that picky, but her manners were awful and her attentiveness was totally lacking. When we were leaving the restaurant, we asked the girls in the front if she was new, they said she'd been there several years. We then asked if she was the owners daughter or something, they said no. I have no idea why they would want a waitress working there that makes customers feel like they are an inconvenience...they did not apologize for any of the issues we had either, though did thank us for bringing her poor waitressing skills to their attention, I doubt they will do anything about it...but I can say for sure this time, I will not ever go back, ever..... FOLLOW UP 3/16/15: I received an email today from Julian, with the restaurant, telling me that my review hurt their business and that I did not give them a chance to remedy the situation. As my review stated, we brought it to the attention of the staff members at the door on our way out and they didnt seem to offer any sort of remedy. I tried to respond to the email, but could not get the system to allow me to do so.
(1)
MaryAnn C.
I have been eating here for almost 24 years. The staff are just wonderful and make the dining experience so relaxing and pleasant. They make their own creamy Italian dressing -scrumptious! They bring you a whole bottle when you receive a salad and we always ask them to leave it so we can pour some onto a dish and dip our bread into it. The pizza comes out of a wood burning oven. I've had over the years just about everything on the menu and it's all good. My favorite is the Italian sausage with green peppers and onions. Make room for dessert because the tiramisu and my favorite-zuppa ingles (probably spelling it wrong) tastes like homemade and I love it!
(5)
Jamii Y.
A group of us were thinking Italian food for dinner. I thought of this restaurant because of their billboards claiming "authentic Italian food" and cute large tomatoes displayed outside you can see from the US 41. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table on a Friday night, so we waited in the bar area. The bartender was friendly and eager to serve us. After we were seated, we waited for about ten minutes and never once did a server greet our table or take our beverage orders. Getting impatient and hungry, we flagged down a server and asked who our server was. He came back and told us that our server was very busy and he in fact would be our server. He ended up giving us great service but that is where the positive aspects of our experience end. The food was not "authentic" Italian food. Even the bread and salad before our dinners were making us wish we had just gone to Olive Garden. The most awful part of our experience at Primo was a one man band that was playing there. He was walking around the restaurant from table to table singing and playing (not sure if it was Italian music or not...). He had a "tips" pouch on his waist but no one was tipping him simply because he was extremely annoying. He came right up the table and would play the music so loud that you would either have to stop your conversation or start screaming across the table. He also had no respect for personal space and got extremely close; which is uncalled for when you are trying to enjoy your meal. I watched him from table to table and no other customers seemed to be enjoying his entertainment. I am surprised the manager let's him play there and "bother" everyone while they are trying to eat. Do not come here unless you want overpriced, mediocre Italian food and want to have an old sweaty man hovering over you while you try to eat it.
(1)
Robert N.
AVERAGE is how I would describe our experience. We dined with a group of 6 while on Winter Vacation. Compared to other Italian Restaurants (Carrabba's) as example, the food was very average and did not have the impact flavors. My entre was the Chicken Parmesan. The bread and salad was also average. The service was a plus. Our meals were during the "happy hour" so the price was right. Dinner for two for less than 25 dollars was a true bargain. Would we return..(yes) but only with a special or early bird pricing. Otherwise, stick to Olive Garden or Carabbas if you want more flavorful meals..
(3)
Ali M.
Last time I was here was over 5 years ago. Great restaurant then. Excellent food, with large portions. I went back because of a Living Social coupon & what a difference. It was bad the very first step in the door. The oder was disgusting. Didn't even smell like food. The floors were black & dirty. As a chef, you can tell fresh from packaged/frozen food. The only thing fresh might have been the pasta. None of the sauces or toppings were fresh. Even the filling for the cannoli was packaged. Their homemade salad dressing had no flavor & watery. I'm not sure if the AC on broken but it was over 90 degrees in that place. We couldn't stop sweating. The poor waitress had this crazy cowboy outfit on ( I have no idea what that has to do with Italian food) and looked like she just finished a rodeo. You know you're in for a long night when the first thing you think of is "we should call Restaurant Impossible"!
(1)
Dawn S.
Am saddened by all the poor ratings of Primo's. I never got the impression that it was trying to be anything other than what it is: working class Italian food for working class folks. Nothing more, certainly not less. Our service has always been ok--not exactly 5-star, but competent, timely and adequate. I do agree with the slams on their salad and dressing as it's little more than some iceberg & carrot shavings mostly, and the 'house' dressing does come in their own bottles. I also am turned off by the fact that it sits on tables (who knows for how long) AND contains MSG, among other chemicals. One can opt for Caesar (for a bit more). However, we like their bread and dipping oil/spices. It's simple and tasty. Same with the calamari, which we order there every time. A heaping helping, hot from the frier, and yummy! The marinara is chunky and delish. Entrees have been hit-or-miss, but mainly b/c I, personally, didn't like the dish I ordered as I like to try new things. The Orchiette Bariesse (pasta, sausage & broccoli w/olive oil and garlic) was just too greasy and, frankly, could've used marinara for flavor and to cut the greasiness of the sausage--the olive oil on it just made that quality worse. But when I've ordered other, more-classic dishes, I was pleased (I mean, it's not my grandmother or mother's pasta/sauce, but it's darn passable--esp for FLA!). We've never had their desserts so can't comment. But my fiance' thinks their coffee is pretty good. As for the paper tablecloths, we use 'em to play hangman and tic-tac-toe between courses, so never were offended by them in any way! :) Again, it's a *casual* restaurant--many of those don't have ANY tablecloths! I despise that. Dishes here are in the $10-$15 range with $8-$9 appetizers. They're also open til 10 p.m., which is a nice bonus.
(3)
Karen S.
Dined at Primos tonight, haven't been here ina few years....thought we'd give it a try tonight. All 3 dinners were cold, or slightly warm when they arrived. We like our food HOT. Had a very nice waiter Daniel. Unfortunately he spilled water on me, my cell phone, my mom and 3/4 of the table. Him and another man took away the wet paper top and wet wet menus. Same WET menus were returned to us later. ( hoping cell phone will be ok ) Had dirty silver wear. Taste of my Dads' veal was pretty good. My mom enjoyed her chicken parm. My chicken marsala was just ok. tons of onions...but hard to really enjoy it as it was cold. Potatoes were bland, not garlicy as expected. Salad was nice , dressing was good but very very thin and watery...and not form the spilled water. Bread was very good. Never got my lime in my soda/coke. Was served a complimentary serving of stale chocolate rasberry cake for the water spill incident.
(1)
John G.
My experience with Primos has been erratic. Sometimes the food is good/great. Any other times very poor. Not going there any more.
(2)
Cheryl Z.
I have seen the billboard for Primos stating authentic Italian food for years, but have never tried. My friend got a coupon on Living Social which got us to go. Frist when you walk in (like someone else wrote) it smelled not of authentic Italian food but of mold and moth balls, disgusting.....the carpet was black with dirt. We were seated and the menus where dirty as well with food stuck to them. We were served bread that tasted like it was frozen white bread baked. I was going to order one of the specials but they were not to be used with a coupon. I went with the pizza, my friend lasagna. She got a salad with CANNED CORN thown on top. The salad looked like it was prepared earlier as the tomatoes where not fresh. My pizza was awful............the crust was like a saltine cracker, dry and tasteless. I asked for somemore sauce and the watier brings it to me COLD!!! He was like "I took it off the pizza bar"...I guess he nuked it and brought it back luke warm. My friends lasanga was smaller than a frozen lean cuisne for $14. She like someone else wrote said it was OK. During dinner we couldn't get over the moldy smell and at one point we looked up and there were stains on the ceiling. If not for the the $30 coupon we would have really been sick. Ranks up there with one of the worst meals every.
(1)
Mike M.
I don't know why all the fuss. Simple restaurant decent food. I've been here several times on overnights. I think everyone expects a high dollar,trendy Italian place. If that's what you are looking for, this not it. My mom is FBI - full bloded italian so I know what everyday Italian is. No it's not always Giada De Laurentis. I've had several things from the menu and all has been good. Good bread, love the salad dressing, nice mains. Service was good. I was here close to closing time and we were not overlooked. I'll keep coming back.
(3)
Vic O.
This place should not exist. Their food is soooo mediocre. My b/f's comment when asked about his dinner was, "F***!, not even close to Siciliano's!". He asked the waitress twice for water and it never arrived, but the tip was built into the bill, so why should she bother? She was busy kneeling in a booth yakking with other people in our group who's gratuity was also included, so go figure. The 'family style' salad was boring but fresh, I'll give them that, served in a big heavy bowl, passed around the table. The salad dressing came to the table in a commerical bottle with the restaurant's label, without a cap; it was tasteless, not even salty or garlicky, odd. No one at my table of 6 liked it, and it was the only option, apparently. The bread, while fresh, had little taste, too. The bread dipping oil tasted awful - RANCID, it 'bit' your tongue, a sure sign it had been exposed to air and light well beyond it's time, if not reused. I took one bite and could not finish my piece of bread. When I asked for cheese, a serving person brought over a box grater and a bare hunk of cheese in his bare hand (isn't that illegal?). He grated it over my dinner before I could realize what he was doing. I think that is VERY UNSANITARY AND DISGUSTING! Where is a health inspector when you need one? Probably with the staff, out on the porch smoking, which you can't miss, because you must walk through the cigarette smoke to enter and exit, and you can also smell it throughout your meal, even when you're in the middle room. They put white butcher paper on the tables. This 'may' be more sanitary than the plastic tablecloths beneath, but it is stiff and unforgiving when you are trying to eat. It is not very absorbant, pokes you, and curls up and is generally annoying. Everyone at our table said they hate paper on tables. This is all for the restaurant's convenience. Primo's 'studied' casual ambiance comes off as cheap and cheesy, like a bare naked randomly washed hand and a box grater. The lobby is decorated in a 'jokey' manner, with LOTS of fake bread on display...fake croissants (they're French, not Italian, right?) on a tray in the hand of a life-sized chef mannequin and more scattered around the room on various surfaces. Why? It's old school decor, and it's OLD decor. It looks trashy, not kitschy. There is a MUCH, MUCH BETTER Italian restaurant north of this one on 14, by 60th Ave, closer to Cortez, that is MUCH BETTER foodwise. It's Siciliano's at 6103 14th St W, Bradenton, FL 34207, (941) 739-0444 Siciliano's is a lot smaller and not as pretentious, but the cooking is astoundingly better. In my dreams, Primo goes out of business and Siciliano's expands to their location, so it can serve more people comfortably. I'm sure they'd dust off the wall hangings, at least. Only trouble with that is it would be a lot farther away from where I live. Sigh. Primo really needs to get a clue.
(1)
Jfer K.
I always wanted to try this place. Past by it many times. When my husband and I got in the door, we were seated promptly, by I think, the owner. Very thick Italian accent, and was on top of it. Unfortunately, the service wasn't. We waited more than five minutes to get a drink order and the server (who supposedly was the owner's nephew) did not have a clue what he was doing. I don't want to go on a whole book on this server, but come on. He kept forgetting stuff, he called us folks, he had way poor table side manners. Another server there, had a dirty towel hangin from his pant pocket..After he had grated fresh cheese, I guess he was in such a hurry, he just put the whole thing on this table/dresser that was near the walkway. I thought that was disgusting. Anyway, cute atmosphere, it has potential. The hostess needs to be a bit more nicely dressed, instead of a tight, short dress. You can tell who's family there and who respects their jobs, though. They try to care, but not to the fullest. Sad, I really wanted to like this place.
(2)
Crystal C.
The reviews below make me wonder if I was at the same restaurant. The service was amazing, the food was good and I was offered extras of cheese, dessert and Prosecco!! The Soprano pasta dish was to die for. Yummy and the flavors were great. I am not from FL, I am from Northern CA and I wish I could take this restaurant home with me. I did sit at the bar and dined alone, but the bartender and the "owner" I believe made me feel welcome and taken care of!! I will go back again and urge you to try it!!
(4)
Pamela M.
Found a coupon in the paper for Primo and thought to myself, I've never been there after all these years...so went. The parking lot was empty on a Saturday night around 9 which was a hint, I suppose, but times are hard so people aren't dining out as much, which I took into consideration. Cute place, gorgeous bar, however, the smell of moth balls knocked me out when we opened the door...WOW! I don't know what they have done or what decor they recently added from MaMa's attic but take it out now. It's horrible and really ruined the entire meal. You can't enjoy italian food and all it's glorious aromas when the place is offering a heavy scent like that. Seriously, I couldn't taste nor smell the garlic for this. The staff was ok, just ok. The owners kids were constantly going behind the bar which was not correct. I took most of my shrimp pasta in light sauce home...and threw it out when I still smelled the moth balls in the takeout containers. Don't recommend this place and will not be back. The coupon - also had restrictions for limited days to honor it and you had to have 4 people, which we didn't. Waste of time and money.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes
Pizza is a famous Italian dish savored around the world. The entire credit for the popularity of Pizza in the United States goes to the chain of pizzerias all over the country. While the base and the texture of Pizza remains same across the globe, it's the toppings that differs from country to country. In the United States, you will find the top pizzerias serving pizzas with the toppings of mainly beef, bacon, chicken, ham, and sausage for the non-vegetarians. Other than these famous meat options, Pizzas with veg toppings such as mushrooms, pepperonis, garlic, tomatoes, spinach, etc. are also famous in most restaurants in the United States.
Irrespective of your locality, you will find a variety of different restaurants in your cities offering pizzas of all different types. Pizza is hot favorite among people of all ages in the United States. A large size pizza is enough to feed a family of 3 or 4 at large. Pizza is also the most preferred food whenever a group of friends is hanging out together. Pizza gained popularity in the United States after the American soldiers stationed in Italy returned from World War II.
Over the years, different pizzerias in the United States have developed their own respective regional variations. Pizza gained popularity as the iconic dish in the United States in the second half of the 20th century. Whether you prefer thin or thick crust pizza, you can find a pizza of your preference at the best pizza restaurants in your city.
Italian Cuisine
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.
James S.
I was hoping many of the reviews were wrong. My waitress suggested the baked lasagne. I decided to order it. It was served so hot I had to wait about 10 minutes before eating. I could have made better lasagne (and I'm not a cook). I guess this was the reason I only saw my waitress once more (when she brought my bill). I travel to Sarasota quite a bit, this place will not be one of my stops. Sorry Primo Ristorante.
(1)Franklin B.
A nice local neighborhood Italian restaurant. Popular with the locals in a homey comfortable atmosphere. It is what it is and for what it is it deserves 4 stars. The obligatory bread and herbed olive oil is tasty, along with the salad and house dressing. Had the spaghetti and clams which was delicious. Finished with a chilled grappa. The service was friendly and attentive. From my Atlanta perspective seems that all restaurants in Sarasota are a bit pricey including this one. All in all, I'll be back.
(4)Mimi K.
The only reason I cannot give this place a perfect 5 is because the olive oil and bread was terrible. For a place with such great food I would expect better olive oil/bread combination. The mozarella rolls were amazing along wtih the salad and the Salmone. I wish I could have eaten here every day on my trip.
(4)Benjamin M.
This is a bad restaurant. The food is borderline edible. The tables are uncomfortable. The decor garish. Go somewhere else.
(1)Ingrid G.
Not trendy but classy and tasty Italian restaurant appropriate for taking your mom. Our waiter was wonderful. I'd say it's $31-60 per person with wine.
(4)Kelly K.
I saw this place in the little coupon book we got at the car rental place, saw that they had a wood-fired pizza oven, and we decided to give it a try. We have desperately been looking for good thin crust pizza since we left DC, so it's always at the top of our list. We decided to get a couple of pizzas and an appetizer to share, and we would get it all to go. So we got a margherita pizza, a pizza with artichokes and black olives, and a caprese salad to share. When hubby ordered over the phone, he asked the girl if they had black olives (our toddler loves them- kind of weird), and she said yes, so I got those on my pizza. So he goes to pick everything up, and comes back with our food PLUS 2 house salads. The girl neglected to tell us that pizzas come with a house salad. If we had known this, we wouldn't have ordered the caprese. So- the mozzarella in the caprese had no taste whatsoever. I had to eat several capers (in a caprese?) with each bite for the dish to have some taste. The pizza was NOT thin crust, as we thought it would be. I guess we are wrong in assuming that wood-fired= thin crust. The pizza was good at first, then got progressively worse with each bite. It was very greasy. Also, those were NOT black olives on my pizza but were Kalamata olives. We were lucky that our kid likes kalamata olives (who knew?), but I had to really cut them up for him because half of them still had pits. I never even ate my house salad, so that was a waste. I also got a Tiramisu. It was ok. Not a fan of this place.
(2)Linda C.
Although it is not a chain restaurant, Promo feels like one. The menu is overly ambitious which, to me, is a sign of the potential quality. Service was good. The shared table salad was beyond boring. The bread was fresh but the dipping olive oil was filled with an extreme excess of dried basil flakes. Our party of 4 ordered different dishes. I had the lamb shank which was juicy and dry at the same time. The dish was smothered in a sauce of unidentifiable vegetables which also covered a side of angel hair pasta which was cooked perfectly. If you love overpriced food filled with MSG, this is a place you can consider.
(2)Ken B.
First visit in a couple of years, big mistake. Waited 15 minutes for a waiter in the bar to take our drink order. When seated at our table informed our waiter that we had a groupon certificate and was informed that most food and the wine selection would be at a higher price because of the coupon ( stay away fro coupons in this place ). Waiter lost our order so we were an hour before being served. The food is mediocre at best and our service was terrible. Run, Run Fast away from this place, you'll thank me later.
(1)Gina D.
Good food nice staff. Well under rated. This was our first time there and was questionable because of the reviews. Everything we order was delicious. And the portions was way more than we could eat. I highly recommend the mozzarella rolls. They are to die for. We will be back.
(5)Patsy T.
Good food. Sort of an old school Italian restaurant with lots of little private areas to dine plus the main room. They have half price meal Wednesday dinners during the summer. Great bargain.
(4)Emily G.
I love going to primo's. The food is fantastic and the staff is always very kind and helpful!
(5)Stacey S.
This place has excellent Italian food. Great service too!
(5)Cynthia H.
I told myself after 2 or 3 tries years ago, that I would not go back....alas, today we went back.Party of 5, 7:30 Saturday night, nearly dead in the place, though the lot was mobbed. We went in and told the hostess we had 5 people, then she got on the phone and we stood and stood, waiting. Finally another waitress came over and asked what we were waiting for, she sat us. Our waitress, Mia, seemed nervous and new, I ordered water, with lemon, it came sans the lemon, I knew already that it would go badly. She brought out some bread and a bowl of oil, with little herbs, it was just greasy....the bread was good, probably the best part of the meal honestly. Our salads came, my husband requested additional dressing, which took the server a long while to get and when she returned with it, .she reached across my plate to hand it to him, stuck her armpit in my face and didnt even bother to say excuse me. Finally our food came, the second I looked at my plate I could tell it wasnt warm, I stuck my finger into the pasta, my husband saw me roll my eyes, watched the waitress watch me roll my eyes and she turned and walked away. When she came back by, not to check on us, but in passing, I told her that 2 of our meals were cold, she just got an annoyed look on her face, like it was something she was used to having happen. She took our plates and came back several minutes later, they had some fresh red sauce dumped on them and were microwaved for a minute, tops, mine was still not warm, though she didnt know because she never once asked us how things were after that. Our bread was empty, 3 of our 5 drinks were empty and she could have cared less....walking by and ignoring us.. Im not that picky, but her manners were awful and her attentiveness was totally lacking. When we were leaving the restaurant, we asked the girls in the front if she was new, they said she'd been there several years. We then asked if she was the owners daughter or something, they said no. I have no idea why they would want a waitress working there that makes customers feel like they are an inconvenience...they did not apologize for any of the issues we had either, though did thank us for bringing her poor waitressing skills to their attention, I doubt they will do anything about it...but I can say for sure this time, I will not ever go back, ever..... FOLLOW UP 3/16/15: I received an email today from Julian, with the restaurant, telling me that my review hurt their business and that I did not give them a chance to remedy the situation. As my review stated, we brought it to the attention of the staff members at the door on our way out and they didnt seem to offer any sort of remedy. I tried to respond to the email, but could not get the system to allow me to do so.
(1)MaryAnn C.
I have been eating here for almost 24 years. The staff are just wonderful and make the dining experience so relaxing and pleasant. They make their own creamy Italian dressing -scrumptious! They bring you a whole bottle when you receive a salad and we always ask them to leave it so we can pour some onto a dish and dip our bread into it. The pizza comes out of a wood burning oven. I've had over the years just about everything on the menu and it's all good. My favorite is the Italian sausage with green peppers and onions. Make room for dessert because the tiramisu and my favorite-zuppa ingles (probably spelling it wrong) tastes like homemade and I love it!
(5)Jamii Y.
A group of us were thinking Italian food for dinner. I thought of this restaurant because of their billboards claiming "authentic Italian food" and cute large tomatoes displayed outside you can see from the US 41. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table on a Friday night, so we waited in the bar area. The bartender was friendly and eager to serve us. After we were seated, we waited for about ten minutes and never once did a server greet our table or take our beverage orders. Getting impatient and hungry, we flagged down a server and asked who our server was. He came back and told us that our server was very busy and he in fact would be our server. He ended up giving us great service but that is where the positive aspects of our experience end. The food was not "authentic" Italian food. Even the bread and salad before our dinners were making us wish we had just gone to Olive Garden. The most awful part of our experience at Primo was a one man band that was playing there. He was walking around the restaurant from table to table singing and playing (not sure if it was Italian music or not...). He had a "tips" pouch on his waist but no one was tipping him simply because he was extremely annoying. He came right up the table and would play the music so loud that you would either have to stop your conversation or start screaming across the table. He also had no respect for personal space and got extremely close; which is uncalled for when you are trying to enjoy your meal. I watched him from table to table and no other customers seemed to be enjoying his entertainment. I am surprised the manager let's him play there and "bother" everyone while they are trying to eat. Do not come here unless you want overpriced, mediocre Italian food and want to have an old sweaty man hovering over you while you try to eat it.
(1)Robert N.
AVERAGE is how I would describe our experience. We dined with a group of 6 while on Winter Vacation. Compared to other Italian Restaurants (Carrabba's) as example, the food was very average and did not have the impact flavors. My entre was the Chicken Parmesan. The bread and salad was also average. The service was a plus. Our meals were during the "happy hour" so the price was right. Dinner for two for less than 25 dollars was a true bargain. Would we return..(yes) but only with a special or early bird pricing. Otherwise, stick to Olive Garden or Carabbas if you want more flavorful meals..
(3)Ali M.
Last time I was here was over 5 years ago. Great restaurant then. Excellent food, with large portions. I went back because of a Living Social coupon & what a difference. It was bad the very first step in the door. The oder was disgusting. Didn't even smell like food. The floors were black & dirty. As a chef, you can tell fresh from packaged/frozen food. The only thing fresh might have been the pasta. None of the sauces or toppings were fresh. Even the filling for the cannoli was packaged. Their homemade salad dressing had no flavor & watery. I'm not sure if the AC on broken but it was over 90 degrees in that place. We couldn't stop sweating. The poor waitress had this crazy cowboy outfit on ( I have no idea what that has to do with Italian food) and looked like she just finished a rodeo. You know you're in for a long night when the first thing you think of is "we should call Restaurant Impossible"!
(1)Dawn S.
Am saddened by all the poor ratings of Primo's. I never got the impression that it was trying to be anything other than what it is: working class Italian food for working class folks. Nothing more, certainly not less. Our service has always been ok--not exactly 5-star, but competent, timely and adequate. I do agree with the slams on their salad and dressing as it's little more than some iceberg & carrot shavings mostly, and the 'house' dressing does come in their own bottles. I also am turned off by the fact that it sits on tables (who knows for how long) AND contains MSG, among other chemicals. One can opt for Caesar (for a bit more). However, we like their bread and dipping oil/spices. It's simple and tasty. Same with the calamari, which we order there every time. A heaping helping, hot from the frier, and yummy! The marinara is chunky and delish. Entrees have been hit-or-miss, but mainly b/c I, personally, didn't like the dish I ordered as I like to try new things. The Orchiette Bariesse (pasta, sausage & broccoli w/olive oil and garlic) was just too greasy and, frankly, could've used marinara for flavor and to cut the greasiness of the sausage--the olive oil on it just made that quality worse. But when I've ordered other, more-classic dishes, I was pleased (I mean, it's not my grandmother or mother's pasta/sauce, but it's darn passable--esp for FLA!). We've never had their desserts so can't comment. But my fiance' thinks their coffee is pretty good. As for the paper tablecloths, we use 'em to play hangman and tic-tac-toe between courses, so never were offended by them in any way! :) Again, it's a *casual* restaurant--many of those don't have ANY tablecloths! I despise that. Dishes here are in the $10-$15 range with $8-$9 appetizers. They're also open til 10 p.m., which is a nice bonus.
(3)Karen S.
Dined at Primos tonight, haven't been here ina few years....thought we'd give it a try tonight. All 3 dinners were cold, or slightly warm when they arrived. We like our food HOT. Had a very nice waiter Daniel. Unfortunately he spilled water on me, my cell phone, my mom and 3/4 of the table. Him and another man took away the wet paper top and wet wet menus. Same WET menus were returned to us later. ( hoping cell phone will be ok ) Had dirty silver wear. Taste of my Dads' veal was pretty good. My mom enjoyed her chicken parm. My chicken marsala was just ok. tons of onions...but hard to really enjoy it as it was cold. Potatoes were bland, not garlicy as expected. Salad was nice , dressing was good but very very thin and watery...and not form the spilled water. Bread was very good. Never got my lime in my soda/coke. Was served a complimentary serving of stale chocolate rasberry cake for the water spill incident.
(1)John G.
My experience with Primos has been erratic. Sometimes the food is good/great. Any other times very poor. Not going there any more.
(2)Cheryl Z.
I have seen the billboard for Primos stating authentic Italian food for years, but have never tried. My friend got a coupon on Living Social which got us to go. Frist when you walk in (like someone else wrote) it smelled not of authentic Italian food but of mold and moth balls, disgusting.....the carpet was black with dirt. We were seated and the menus where dirty as well with food stuck to them. We were served bread that tasted like it was frozen white bread baked. I was going to order one of the specials but they were not to be used with a coupon. I went with the pizza, my friend lasagna. She got a salad with CANNED CORN thown on top. The salad looked like it was prepared earlier as the tomatoes where not fresh. My pizza was awful............the crust was like a saltine cracker, dry and tasteless. I asked for somemore sauce and the watier brings it to me COLD!!! He was like "I took it off the pizza bar"...I guess he nuked it and brought it back luke warm. My friends lasanga was smaller than a frozen lean cuisne for $14. She like someone else wrote said it was OK. During dinner we couldn't get over the moldy smell and at one point we looked up and there were stains on the ceiling. If not for the the $30 coupon we would have really been sick. Ranks up there with one of the worst meals every.
(1)Mike M.
I don't know why all the fuss. Simple restaurant decent food. I've been here several times on overnights. I think everyone expects a high dollar,trendy Italian place. If that's what you are looking for, this not it. My mom is FBI - full bloded italian so I know what everyday Italian is. No it's not always Giada De Laurentis. I've had several things from the menu and all has been good. Good bread, love the salad dressing, nice mains. Service was good. I was here close to closing time and we were not overlooked. I'll keep coming back.
(3)Vic O.
This place should not exist. Their food is soooo mediocre. My b/f's comment when asked about his dinner was, "F***!, not even close to Siciliano's!". He asked the waitress twice for water and it never arrived, but the tip was built into the bill, so why should she bother? She was busy kneeling in a booth yakking with other people in our group who's gratuity was also included, so go figure. The 'family style' salad was boring but fresh, I'll give them that, served in a big heavy bowl, passed around the table. The salad dressing came to the table in a commerical bottle with the restaurant's label, without a cap; it was tasteless, not even salty or garlicky, odd. No one at my table of 6 liked it, and it was the only option, apparently. The bread, while fresh, had little taste, too. The bread dipping oil tasted awful - RANCID, it 'bit' your tongue, a sure sign it had been exposed to air and light well beyond it's time, if not reused. I took one bite and could not finish my piece of bread. When I asked for cheese, a serving person brought over a box grater and a bare hunk of cheese in his bare hand (isn't that illegal?). He grated it over my dinner before I could realize what he was doing. I think that is VERY UNSANITARY AND DISGUSTING! Where is a health inspector when you need one? Probably with the staff, out on the porch smoking, which you can't miss, because you must walk through the cigarette smoke to enter and exit, and you can also smell it throughout your meal, even when you're in the middle room. They put white butcher paper on the tables. This 'may' be more sanitary than the plastic tablecloths beneath, but it is stiff and unforgiving when you are trying to eat. It is not very absorbant, pokes you, and curls up and is generally annoying. Everyone at our table said they hate paper on tables. This is all for the restaurant's convenience. Primo's 'studied' casual ambiance comes off as cheap and cheesy, like a bare naked randomly washed hand and a box grater. The lobby is decorated in a 'jokey' manner, with LOTS of fake bread on display...fake croissants (they're French, not Italian, right?) on a tray in the hand of a life-sized chef mannequin and more scattered around the room on various surfaces. Why? It's old school decor, and it's OLD decor. It looks trashy, not kitschy. There is a MUCH, MUCH BETTER Italian restaurant north of this one on 14, by 60th Ave, closer to Cortez, that is MUCH BETTER foodwise. It's Siciliano's at 6103 14th St W, Bradenton, FL 34207, (941) 739-0444 Siciliano's is a lot smaller and not as pretentious, but the cooking is astoundingly better. In my dreams, Primo goes out of business and Siciliano's expands to their location, so it can serve more people comfortably. I'm sure they'd dust off the wall hangings, at least. Only trouble with that is it would be a lot farther away from where I live. Sigh. Primo really needs to get a clue.
(1)Jfer K.
I always wanted to try this place. Past by it many times. When my husband and I got in the door, we were seated promptly, by I think, the owner. Very thick Italian accent, and was on top of it. Unfortunately, the service wasn't. We waited more than five minutes to get a drink order and the server (who supposedly was the owner's nephew) did not have a clue what he was doing. I don't want to go on a whole book on this server, but come on. He kept forgetting stuff, he called us folks, he had way poor table side manners. Another server there, had a dirty towel hangin from his pant pocket..After he had grated fresh cheese, I guess he was in such a hurry, he just put the whole thing on this table/dresser that was near the walkway. I thought that was disgusting. Anyway, cute atmosphere, it has potential. The hostess needs to be a bit more nicely dressed, instead of a tight, short dress. You can tell who's family there and who respects their jobs, though. They try to care, but not to the fullest. Sad, I really wanted to like this place.
(2)Crystal C.
The reviews below make me wonder if I was at the same restaurant. The service was amazing, the food was good and I was offered extras of cheese, dessert and Prosecco!! The Soprano pasta dish was to die for. Yummy and the flavors were great. I am not from FL, I am from Northern CA and I wish I could take this restaurant home with me. I did sit at the bar and dined alone, but the bartender and the "owner" I believe made me feel welcome and taken care of!! I will go back again and urge you to try it!!
(4)Pamela M.
Found a coupon in the paper for Primo and thought to myself, I've never been there after all these years...so went. The parking lot was empty on a Saturday night around 9 which was a hint, I suppose, but times are hard so people aren't dining out as much, which I took into consideration. Cute place, gorgeous bar, however, the smell of moth balls knocked me out when we opened the door...WOW! I don't know what they have done or what decor they recently added from MaMa's attic but take it out now. It's horrible and really ruined the entire meal. You can't enjoy italian food and all it's glorious aromas when the place is offering a heavy scent like that. Seriously, I couldn't taste nor smell the garlic for this. The staff was ok, just ok. The owners kids were constantly going behind the bar which was not correct. I took most of my shrimp pasta in light sauce home...and threw it out when I still smelled the moth balls in the takeout containers. Don't recommend this place and will not be back. The coupon - also had restrictions for limited days to honor it and you had to have 4 people, which we didn't. Waste of time and money.
(1)