Primo

I am delinquent in writing a review of Primo, should have a long time ago.
Primo was on the cutting edge of farm to table a long time ago, and cooking with the seasons in Maine. Primo is a primo (get that pun?) experience for the foodie. Great menu, fresh and natural ingredients, locally sourced, excellent preparation by one of the top chefs in the country. It is pricey, it is unique, and it is a place that you should try if you have not. Not just a night out, a food and dining experience!

This place was FABULOUS! We are a family of five (teenagers and young kid included) and our taste buds range. We were all fulfilled! The food was incredible, the service outstanding, and the setting beautiful This was a hit on our holiday vacation… the most expensive meal of our trip, but definitely one we will not forget.

All local ingredients, many of which are farm raised by the owners. Pork saltimbocca was absolutely amazing. The duck is incredible. Oysters are always top notch from local waters. Sit up stairs in the bar or kitchen area for additional me u items that are slightly less pricey but equally amazing. I’ve been coming here for years and it is always amazing.

Sub-​Primo
I should have heeded my own advice from the last review of Primo but what could I do when my wife chose it for an anniversary dinner. It was a sweet gesture on her part but I wish she had chosen otherwise.
I am beginning to think that Primo has it in for me. The meal started off pretty well. There were a few little complimentary items like a cider with Calvados. The baked Camembert salad was also good, but they were just lulling me into false complacency: the main course was a disaster.
I ordered a pork chop on the theory that Primo specializes in pork. Moreover, I had just had a lovely chop in a restaurant in NJ and figured I’d double down on pig meat. What arrived at the table appeared, at first glance, to be a generously large chop nicely browned.
I was living in a fool’s paradise. Sub-​Primo struck again. The chop was 90% fat – dense, pale, unctious, inedible fat. I probed the chop desperately searching for meat but all I could come up with was more fat.
I called over Benjamin the server and pointed out the problem. He conceded that the chop was mostly fat and asked me if I had another choice. He offered me osso buco that he said could be quickly delivered to the table. I declined the offer.
A man wearing a necktie next appeared at the table and seemed to laugh the whole thing off.
AT THAT POINT, I VOWED NEVER TO RETURN TO PRIMO AND I NEVER WILL.

We really haven’t had any food home runs on this trip. Dinners have been surprisingly disappointing but still, overall enjoyable –due mostly to 1) Mind over Matter and 2) We’re on vaCAtion, and we’re in beautiful MAINE! (Btw, foliage color is very late this year
and it is fabulously PEAKing up here, as we speak. We feel so lucky!)
Primo, downstairs, is simply TOO expensive, imo, and it colored the experience for me. $ 36 for clam pasta, $ 36 for a duck entrée and $ 36 for the scallops entrée, none of which had expensive components in their starch or veggie accompaniments. My Love loved his muharrama scallops on spaghetti squash; my moulard duck was certainly more robust and ‘ducky’ than other ducks I’ve had, and the pickled plum sauce was interesting but not a fav.
The clam pasta (we split a half-​portion as an app.) was really in need of some punch, so the requested parm helped a lot. But my point is that, esp. at that price, it shouldn’t have needed anything. Actually, my fav thing all night was the house made miche with Plugra butter that they whip with sea salt. (Plugra as the table butter?– now you know where those higher food prices come from.)House-made gelati was not memorable but the accompanying Bomboli, very thin– shelled deep fried ‘donuts’, were ethereal. Service was professional but the kitchen
def slipped into ’ island time’, or someone misplaced our order. Three hours for dinner was just tooo long; we prob waited 40 min for our entrees. Everyone around us seemed to be having a great time, though. If we do return, we’ll take the midcoast mainiac advice to only eat upstairs, where a more casual menu is offered.

Food was skillfully prepared and as local as it gets. Cool farm property location where they grow what they serve mostly, so it’ s super fresh. Clearly a venue where everything matters to the ownership: food quality & presentation, freshness, original takes on traditional fare, variety that shifts by season, ambiance, and carefully provided service.
An old farm house impressively converted into a restaurant/​upscale cocktail bar. The different dining areas have their own style and scene. Upstairs has two separate bar areas with trendy/​cool music, downstairs is a little quieter and more intimate. Both are very classy and decorated with care.
The food was on point! Wife and I had the quail appetizer, venison steak, and rabbit 4-​ways… all were absolutely perfect in terms of freshness, presentation, and carefully selected side accompaniments.
A little pricey for the area, but there is NO restaurant anywhere around that can compare to the level of farm to table quality. If you want to impress, this is the perfect place.

Copy and paste any one star review here… This place is done. Sent everything back and paid for the drinks. Flavorless and tough. Overbooked. Better off going for Chinese.

Such an impressive menu to be found in Rockland. This is a one of a kind farm-​to-​table dining experience in mid-​coast Maine. I’ve even nightly chef’s specials, pastas, appetizers and desserts. The wood fired pizzas, cocktails and samples are always good. One of my favorite places to dine in Maine.

We were soooo excited, have heard so much about the farm-​to-​table brilliance. Wedding anniversary. 9:00 seating. Great ambiance. Awesome wine list.
Awesome ends there. Watermelon and tomato salad, fine, but not great. Squid spaghetti, el dente was an understatement. Seated at 8:42, by 10:40, still no entrees. No idea what the entrees taste like, sitting in the hotel frig.
I guess I forgot, by the end of the night, the kitchens burnt. I assumed with all the rewards it would be different. Its not.

Wouldn’t change a thing about this experience. We had:
Oysters (it was $ 1 oyster night, hoorah)
Zucchini noodles — excellent
Foie gras + polenta — my favorite dish of the night
Panzanella — incredible
Fried squash blossom — okay but nothing special
Pasta — can’t recall the name but it was quite lovely
Duck breast — my least favorite dish
Scallops — very tasty; a little spicy and different than usual
I’d come here again and again if I lived nearby. Service was outstanding. Thanks, Primo!

Where do I begin? Our family of 15 had dinner at Primo tonight and we haven’t stopped talking about it! We were seated upstairs with plenty of room to move around. Greeted by our waitress, Holly, who never let us down she patiently and professionally worked our table that included 6 young people. Her menu suggestions were right on target for every palate in the group. We started with the featured cocktail of the evening and ended by tasting every dessert on the menu. Each course better than the next. Too many choices to go into detail but be sure that whatever you order you won’t be disappointed. Our group dines frequently in Manhattan and this was, by far, one of the best we’ve been at. Highly recommend if you’re in the area to check it out. Make your reservations early!

Amazing amazing! Décor is beautiful and food is even better. I love seeing the farm out back. Will definitely be back next time I am in Maine.

We had dinner here last night. The foie gras was fabulous! The halibut and sea bass were really good as well. My husband had 2 desserts the cannoli and the chocolate cake.

My boyfriend and I ate here for our anniversary, and we both left in agreement that it was the best meal we had ever eaten together. The grounds outside are gorgeous and inviting, and course after course was balanced and delicious. The menu changes daily, so I feel bad for anyone who doesn’t get to try the ricotta-​stuffed squash blossoms we had, but I’m sure anything you order will live up to the hype. We walked out after two entrees, two appetizers and more drinks than I care to disclose, and we are already planning our next visit the next time we are in Maine.

Ambiance: (5) best, freshest atmosphere I’ve ever eaten in.
Food: (4) extremely delicious, however, perhaps the fusilli was not worth the cost. Regretting not ordering the New York strip.
Service: (5) lovely hostess, helpful and friendly wait staff of whom greeted us with drink menus while we waited for only 5 – 10 minutes or so, happily sipping on one of Primo’s signature cocktails and local beers.

Not just a dinner, but a memory.
There is something about Primo that puts me in mind of the British TV series/​movie «The Trip» — taking a leisurely drive up route 1, pulling into a dirt parking lot and seeing the farm expanding in the rear, dining near a window during twilight in a plush room, the food has a Mediterranean flare, but the setting is distinctly British countryside fine dining. See also: «Whites» on hulu.
The service here is five-​stars for sure. There were so many specials that our waiter was running out of breath getting through them all, but he did a commendable job. Even at our early-​bird-​special reservation hour of 6pm the dining room was packed, but the bustle of servers seemed to be on top of it. (p.s. reservations recommended, you can make them on open table)
For food, we started out with a delicious little taste of foie gras that was honestly one of the best things we ate all night and we didn’t even order it! We split some razor clam ceviche for an appetizer which was perfectly light and fresh.
For my entrée I went with a fresh pasta, while my husband got a seafood special featuring fish in a savory broth. My entrée featured scallops and local mushrooms and was the most umami thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. Weird, but good. Excellent pasta, but the whole thing left me feeling overly full. He was the better orderer this time I think. (It’s always a competition, don’t you know?)
Over all, a dinner we won’t forget for some time. Primo lives up to its reputation on all fronts.

Had a really pleasant experience with the bf when we came here for dinner on a Saturday night. We apparently stumbled upon Primo on the night after their opening so the place was packed. Since we came during Maine off season, we were still able to get a reservation fairly easily – we arrived around 8pm. Primo is housed in this cute old house. You’re literally dining in rooms of a house which make for a nice ambiance.
All in all, it was just a pretty perfect experience. Really don’t have anything I can even think about complaining of. We shared oysters to start, then I went with the duck as my entrée and he went with the grilled branzino. For dessert, I got the sorbettos and he got some cake thing I think?
Not sure if there’s any use in going into the specific dishes since I know the menu here is quite seasonal. In general, both of us were just really blown away by how well done the entire experience really was. My duck was delicious – came with a nice quinoa base, sweet potato purée, and grilled vegetables. Everything was just cooked to perfect. Not too salty, not too sweet, just perfect. The sorbettos were amazing as well. They have some bomb flavors – I tried the clementine white chocolate which was amazing. Great texture and the flavors really popped. Also got a hot chocolate with a homemade marshmallow to top off the evening.
Really not much else to say except for kudos to Chef Kelly and team… it was such a perfectly executed meal. Great service, pacing was reasonable, and food was superb. These moments are rare in the dining world.
tldr; lovely place to go to for date night! super delicious food yum yum. awesome ambiance

After many years of visiting the mid coast area, I finally got to Primo last week. It was certainly worth the wait. Without repeating the reviews of everyone else on Unilocal,Primo is a farm to table restaurant with James Beard Award-​winning Chef Melissa Kelly at the helm. The restaurant is in a beautiful, large, old house, and is beautifully decorated.
We sat up in the bar area, and took advantage of both of the menus there. We ordered charcuterie, pig’s head torchon, steak tartare, two incredible pasta dishes, and a pizza. Yes, we maybe over-​ordered for just two people, but WOW was the food incredible. My advice for everyone: order anything you can with pig in it. The pigs are raised by Primo, and you can taste the freshness and the quality of the meat. We finished the meal with some zeppole, which were hot, fresh, and crispy.
The service was also very good. Despite it being a busy Friday night, everything came out in a reasonable amount of time and was spaced quite well. Our server was friendly and knew her stuff when it came to the menu.
Primo is an all-​around amazing experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a lover of delicious food.

Primo is widely hailed as one of the best restaurants in Maine. So in taking a romantic weekend in Rockland, this was a must-​stop. When spending $ 200 on dinner for two, I personally expect atmosphere, service, and food/​drinks to all wow.
Atmosphere: The restaurant is surrounded by gardens that supply the fresh produce, herbs, etc for the meals. It brings new meaning to farm-​to-​table. Inside is romantic and classy, with dim lighting and lots of space. We were seated upstairs on perhaps the most comfortable cushioned corner table I’ve ever experienced. I could have slept there.
Service: This was impeccable on all counts with a fleet of 7 servers (yes, I counted) holding court. Waters were refilled frequently but not obtrusively while the head server was knowledgable, prompt and friendly.
Food/​Drinks: This loses a star for me. The duck from Fore Street wowed me. So did the salmon at Grill Room. But the swordfish at Primo? Good, maybe very good, but it was missing something and was slightly overcooked. The Backyard Grilled Chicken was also good, but for $ 36, it missed perfection. The bread before dinner was excellent with 3 different varieties, and the salad (one of at least five) couldn’t have been fresher. The apple cider with cream amuse bouche was also excellent. Primo has an exceptionally diverse dinner menu with over 15 options to please even the pickiest diners.
We bypassed the multi page wine list for cocktails. These were fantastic and creative. With a good buzz and mostly (but not completely) satisfied with dinner, the dozen dessert options were impossible to resist. We sampled the nightly special with a fancy name, translatable to «Miniature Homemade Ice Cream Whoopie Pie.» It was delicious.
Primo is a special occasion restaurant experience and worth the trip. Some Old Port restaurants may have slightly better overall food, but as a complete package (and especially as a romantic getaway) Primo is one of the very best.

My boyfriend and I went to Primo twice on a vacation to Rockland. This is a MUST, and if you’re staying a little while I recommend going early on in case you want to go again. This is elegant but unpretentious farm to table and it really shows — everything is fresh and delicious.
We made a reservation (weeks in advance) and were seated in a lovely booth upstairs. We started with cocktails and Oysters Two Ways — a hot and a cold, kind of a play on Rockefeller and one with a vichyssoise and caviar. Both perfect. My boyfriend had the lobster over spaghetti and I had the mezzi rigate with ragu. Both were superb and their wine pairs beautifully. Our server, who was very personable and patient with our indecision, made great wine recommendations. We finished with a lava cake and a hazelnut mousse dessert. Dessert is worth it. And have their Tisane — mine was fresh mint and the fresh herbs from the garden make all the difference.
Tonight we went back and sat at the counter upstairs, where you need no reservation. We had oysters on the half shell ($ 1 oysters Thursdays and Sundays), a cuttlefish appetizer special, the foie gras, warm ricotta salata with house honey and sea salt, the gnudi, and cocktails. I love this atmosphere too, I would recommend either. We’re definitely glad we went back.
Everything here is tasty but I really think the pasta dishes are the stars of the menu.