Maybe the chaos at the entrance of the restaurant was cute at one time it’s not anymore. The food was over salted. The halibut was overdone. Drinks were nice. Wine was good but the excess salt on almost every dish ruined the experience . Primo no more..
Joshua Cohen
I wanted to like Primo but it simply did not land… my boyfriend selected Primo to celebrate his birthday. The reservation was easy to make and the person I spoke to on the phone was friendly. This was a relief as we were arriving with a large party of 9. When we arrived to the restaurant I was taken back by the lovely decorations but that’s where the great experience ended. We were met by staff who quite frankly didn’t seem like they wanted to be there. We were seated upstairs which was also decorated really nicely. Let’s talk about the food: -There are two *known* vegetarian options… two options in 2025. A third was mentioned but our waiter (Ben?) said it was “Whatever the kitchen has available” and was not able to tell us what that was. Note that I did look at their menu on their website but it was a bit different than what was placed in front of us. Perhaps it changes often. -Our appetizers consisted of a poorly dressed salad and a charcuterie board with a selection of meats, cheeses and pickled vegetables. The pickled vegetables lacked any flavor and the cheeses were okay at best. -The party order a variety of things for their man courses however I will only speak to mine and my partners. Mine was a grainy peppery pasta that was not more spectacular than what comes out of a Stonewall kitchen jar. My partners pasta was under seasoned and just lackluster. -The service… again it felt as though no one wanted to be there the entire time. From the way the annoyance the waiter had when I asked about vegetarian options to the snarky announcement of the 20% automatic tip added.
All this to say that perhaps Primo has gotten lazy with things considering the name recognition power they’ve amassed? Perhaps if the bill wasn’t more than my car payment I’d feel differently (it was nearly $800) but I can say I have never been more disappointed with a dining experience than this one.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
Kathy Holler
Our dinner, from apps to dessert was wonderful. The oysters on the half shell were briny and had a great taste. The charcuterie board was fun and delicious. We enjoyed trying many different combos from it. Our party of four enjoyed ravioli, chicken & dumplings (very different and very good), monkfish, and spicy sausage rigatoni. Everyday was excellent. For dessert we enjoyed donuts with creme brulee. We also brought home cannoli and a version of cinnamon beignets for breakfast tomorrow!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Viktor Warhola
Wonderful restaurant!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
MarcoPro2050
Good, not great, restaurants as of 2025 are an exception I believe from the viewpoint of a world traveler once for work and now for pleasure. Occasionally, you find a magical place. Primo is that place in Rockland, Maine. They employ over a hundred folk who manage the farm, orchard, livestock as well as of course restaurant and pub. This is truly their farm to their tables via their restaurant. The staff are well trained, well managed, well groomed who are a delight to see and interact with as part of the dining experience. The ambience is rustic yet refined and comfortable. The food quality from ingredients to preparation to presentation to taste are all top quality. The prices for the quality of food, beverage and service as well as ambience is on target. Thank you Page for a wonderful evening as well as all of your team servers who were so effective and welcoming including with smiles. Would I dine here again? Absolutely YES. Would I recommend it to others? Absolutely YES. GO Primo Team, GO!
calendarmum
Food, setting, service all delivered a very pleasing experience. First visit. Big reputation with some contra reviews; I approached the evening with skepticism. However, the welcome was warm and the staff, especially Paige, did a superb job of assisting and pacing with great skill. Best of all the food truly measured up. The price was reasonable given the work it takes to make and serve such sophisticated offerings. I look forward to a return visit - and we came a long way to check this place out! Don’t miss Primo if you appreciate well sourced and crafted dining.
ChesterfieldVA
Incredible meal at this beautiful farm to table restaurant. Great atmosphere. Delicious food. Far exceeded our expectations even with it being highly recommended to us from friends.
Expattraveler100
Everything about this place is first class. Walk to the rear and see all the fresh produce growing (including real pigs!!) and enjoy as this restaurant home - pub feel dining ready on and it’s worth undergo staff take care to f all your needs. Wish we lived closer so we could return every week!
erica110
No reservation, but was able to get a bar seat. Grab a drink at O km and walk the farm while you wait. I don't mind being seated close to others, but the bar seats are really uncomfortable for a long meal. Service was a smidge slow, but I planned for a long night out. Food, however, was FANTASTIC! Had the squash blossoms and duck breast for dinner. Excellent. We do a lot of cooking at home, so a night out is for something we're not able to do well at home or a special occasion. Don't miss this experience while in Rockland. It was the best meal out on my whole two week trip to the East Coast.
Chris B
Highlight of our trip to Maine. The food, drinks and service were all top notch. Try the foie gras. One of the best bites of my life.
We cook a lot so not so easy to please. A great meal: Bread, Zucchini salad (which I've since tried to duplicate), Halibut, amazing husband loved his scallops with corn risotto. Yummy Berry crostata with ice cream. Nice atmosphere and service for a special birthday. :-)
chrisbM2536WX
Unbelievable experience at Primo. Food, drinks and atmosphere all top notch. Get the foie gras! You will not be disappointed.
mary_to_travel
We have eaten at Primo before and have had a good experience and it's highly reviewed However this time we left lacking It stated with the hostess, it was raining and it was just opening There was a young lady with a rust colored jump suit with tattoos on her arm I didn't get her name thus the description There were several couples in the entry due to the weather so some of us stepped further in, which did not make her happy she was rude and paid more attention to her seating chart She finally turned putting on the charm and seated everyone but first impressions matter We ordered the Pappa all pomodora soup and stewed tomatoes would have been a better description It had several large pieces of tomatoes with soggy bread cubes and larges leaves of basil served lukewarm Then I ordered the halibut which was a very small piece with another squashed tomato on the side along with some crispy inedible artichoke leaves and a few pieces of artichoke My husband ordered the Branzino which once filleted by our waiter was good It was messy to eat due to the multiple bones It was served with a couple of Romano beans and a smattering of salsa Oh and some kale chips along with some inedible greens The best part of our meal was our waiter he was very polite and cordial He made our dining experience But we left hungry and with a large bill We won't return
jsan1994
The food here is fantastic! There's a reason Melissa Kelly won multiple awards. I had the zucchini blossoms which were stuffed with a light cheese and very lightly fried - not heavy tasting at all - delightful! I also got the duck which was so creatively prepared. So interesting and flavorful! The duck was in smaller chunks so I was a little surprised though, and feel that it was a little overpriced as a result. And the desserts were soooo good - the cannolis, the zeppoli (which must have had like 8 in a bowl!), and the chocolate sorbet (perfectly paired with the zeppoli....who knew you could make a sorbet with something other than fruit??). All that said, we were less than thrilled with the staff. We came here as walk-ins with friends as they couldn't take anymore reservations. So we were seated at a bar, not stocked with alcohol, it was unclear what the bar was for as it was kind of empty and unstaffed. And yet there were empty tables all around us for quite a while and our understanding is that some of those tables are for walk-ins as well. As we were being seated, the hostess made a few comments as if we were sub-par as walk-ins. And our server was fine but not the friendliest. There was just one person who made things a little better - I don't know if he was the manager, but he was very apologetic about having to move us to the end of the bar. While we understood his rationale, we were hoping to sit at the corner where the four of us could kind of sit and be able to hear each other.
TrailBlazer439690
Totally overrated. We were not even greeted or got water for 20 minutes. When waiter finally came over he was rushed and distracted. Didn’t come back with our wine for another 10 minutes, then didn’t take our order for quite a while after that. It was cramped, too many people shoved into dining room. Charging 5$ a persons for “bread service” is crazy considering it’s a small basket of 6 tiny pieces of ok bread. Oil was slapped down on the table with it- no offer of salt and pepper- waiter disappeared. Food runner brought out the burratta app which was underwhelming. Tiny piece of cheese, covered in herbs including wayyy too much mint. My husband got the rigatoni- I couldn’t even see any sausage in there, flavor good but TINY portion for the money for PASTA. My mussel gemelli pasta dish was awful. The 6 mussels themselves were cooked perfectly, the very under done pasta had a terrible sauce with overpowering tarragon in it. I wanted to send it back but we were trying to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary and I was trying to salvage the experience. Waiter was missing for a long time, never checked in. We just wanted to leave. For a meal that cost nearly $200 we were highly disappointed and still hungry.
Maybe the chaos at the entrance of the restaurant was cute at one time it’s not anymore. The food was over salted. The halibut was overdone. Drinks were nice. Wine was good but the excess salt on almost every dish ruined the experience . Primo no more..
I wanted to like Primo but it simply did not land… my boyfriend selected Primo to celebrate his birthday. The reservation was easy to make and the person I spoke to on the phone was friendly. This was a relief as we were arriving with a large party of 9. When we arrived to the restaurant I was taken back by the lovely decorations but that’s where the great experience ended. We were met by staff who quite frankly didn’t seem like they wanted to be there. We were seated upstairs which was also decorated really nicely. Let’s talk about the food:
-There are two *known* vegetarian options… two options in 2025. A third was mentioned but our waiter (Ben?) said it was “Whatever the kitchen has available” and was not able to tell us what that was. Note that I did look at their menu on their website but it was a bit different than what was placed in front of us. Perhaps it changes often.
-Our appetizers consisted of a poorly dressed salad and a charcuterie board with a selection of meats, cheeses and pickled vegetables. The pickled vegetables lacked any flavor and the cheeses were okay at best.
-The party order a variety of things for their man courses however I will only speak to mine and my partners. Mine was a grainy peppery pasta that was not more spectacular than what comes out of a Stonewall kitchen jar. My partners pasta was under seasoned and just lackluster.
-The service… again it felt as though no one wanted to be there the entire time. From the way the annoyance the waiter had when I asked about vegetarian options to the snarky announcement of the 20% automatic tip added.
All this to say that perhaps Primo has gotten lazy with things considering the name recognition power they’ve amassed? Perhaps if the bill wasn’t more than my car payment I’d feel differently (it was nearly $800) but I can say I have never been more disappointed with a dining experience than this one.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
Our dinner, from apps to dessert was wonderful. The oysters on the half shell were briny and had a great taste. The charcuterie board was fun and delicious. We enjoyed trying many different combos from it. Our party of four enjoyed ravioli, chicken & dumplings (very different and very good), monkfish, and spicy sausage rigatoni. Everyday was excellent. For dessert we enjoyed donuts with creme brulee. We also brought home cannoli and a version of cinnamon beignets for breakfast tomorrow!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wonderful restaurant!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good, not great, restaurants as of 2025 are an exception I believe from the viewpoint of a world traveler once for work and now for pleasure. Occasionally, you find a magical place. Primo is that place in Rockland, Maine. They employ over a hundred folk who manage the farm, orchard, livestock as well as of course restaurant and pub. This is truly their farm to their tables via their restaurant. The staff are well trained, well managed, well groomed who are a delight to see and interact with as part of the dining experience. The ambience is rustic yet refined and comfortable. The food quality from ingredients to preparation to presentation to taste are all top quality. The prices for the quality of food, beverage and service as well as ambience is on target. Thank you Page for a wonderful evening as well as all of your team servers who were so effective and welcoming including with smiles. Would I dine here again? Absolutely YES. Would I recommend it to others? Absolutely YES. GO Primo Team, GO!
Food, setting, service all delivered a very pleasing experience. First visit. Big reputation with some contra reviews; I approached the evening with skepticism. However, the welcome was warm and the staff, especially Paige, did a superb job of assisting and pacing with great skill. Best of all the food truly measured up. The price was reasonable given the work it takes to make and serve such sophisticated offerings. I look forward to a return visit - and we came a long way to check this place out! Don’t miss Primo if you appreciate well sourced and crafted dining.
Incredible meal at this beautiful farm to table restaurant. Great atmosphere. Delicious food. Far exceeded our expectations even with it being highly recommended to us from friends.
Everything about this place is first class. Walk to the rear and see all the fresh produce growing (including real pigs!!) and enjoy as this restaurant home - pub feel dining ready on and it’s worth undergo staff take care to f all your needs. Wish we lived closer so we could return every week!
No reservation, but was able to get a bar seat. Grab a drink at O km and walk the farm while you wait. I don't mind being seated close to others, but the bar seats are really uncomfortable for a long meal. Service was a smidge slow, but I planned for a long night out. Food, however, was FANTASTIC! Had the squash blossoms and duck breast for dinner. Excellent. We do a lot of cooking at home, so a night out is for something we're not able to do well at home or a special occasion. Don't miss this experience while in Rockland. It was the best meal out on my whole two week trip to the East Coast.
Highlight of our trip to Maine. The food, drinks and service were all top notch. Try the foie gras. One of the best bites of my life.
Restaurantji Recommends
We cook a lot so not so easy to please. A great meal: Bread, Zucchini salad (which I've since tried to duplicate), Halibut, amazing husband loved his scallops with corn risotto. Yummy Berry crostata with ice cream. Nice atmosphere and service for a special birthday. :-)
Unbelievable experience at Primo. Food, drinks and atmosphere all top notch. Get the foie gras! You will not be disappointed.
We have eaten at Primo before and have had a good experience and it's highly reviewed However this time we left lacking It stated with the hostess, it was raining and it was just opening There was a young lady with a rust colored jump suit with tattoos on her arm I didn't get her name thus the description There were several couples in the entry due to the weather so some of us stepped further in, which did not make her happy she was rude and paid more attention to her seating chart She finally turned putting on the charm and seated everyone but first impressions matter We ordered the Pappa all pomodora soup and stewed tomatoes would have been a better description It had several large pieces of tomatoes with soggy bread cubes and larges leaves of basil served lukewarm Then I ordered the halibut which was a very small piece with another squashed tomato on the side along with some crispy inedible artichoke leaves and a few pieces of artichoke My husband ordered the Branzino which once filleted by our waiter was good It was messy to eat due to the multiple bones It was served with a couple of Romano beans and a smattering of salsa Oh and some kale chips along with some inedible greens The best part of our meal was our waiter he was very polite and cordial He made our dining experience But we left hungry and with a large bill We won't return
The food here is fantastic! There's a reason Melissa Kelly won multiple awards. I had the zucchini blossoms which were stuffed with a light cheese and very lightly fried - not heavy tasting at all - delightful! I also got the duck which was so creatively prepared. So interesting and flavorful! The duck was in smaller chunks so I was a little surprised though, and feel that it was a little overpriced as a result. And the desserts were soooo good - the cannolis, the zeppoli (which must have had like 8 in a bowl!), and the chocolate sorbet (perfectly paired with the zeppoli....who knew you could make a sorbet with something other than fruit??). All that said, we were less than thrilled with the staff. We came here as walk-ins with friends as they couldn't take anymore reservations. So we were seated at a bar, not stocked with alcohol, it was unclear what the bar was for as it was kind of empty and unstaffed. And yet there were empty tables all around us for quite a while and our understanding is that some of those tables are for walk-ins as well. As we were being seated, the hostess made a few comments as if we were sub-par as walk-ins. And our server was fine but not the friendliest. There was just one person who made things a little better - I don't know if he was the manager, but he was very apologetic about having to move us to the end of the bar. While we understood his rationale, we were hoping to sit at the corner where the four of us could kind of sit and be able to hear each other.
Totally overrated. We were not even greeted or got water for 20 minutes. When waiter finally came over he was rushed and distracted. Didn’t come back with our wine for another 10 minutes, then didn’t take our order for quite a while after that. It was cramped, too many people shoved into dining room. Charging 5$ a persons for “bread service” is crazy considering it’s a small basket of 6 tiny pieces of ok bread. Oil was slapped down on the table with it- no offer of salt and pepper- waiter disappeared. Food runner brought out the burratta app which was underwhelming. Tiny piece of cheese, covered in herbs including wayyy too much mint. My husband got the rigatoni- I couldn’t even see any sausage in there, flavor good but TINY portion for the money for PASTA. My mussel gemelli pasta dish was awful. The 6 mussels themselves were cooked perfectly, the very under done pasta had a terrible sauce with overpowering tarragon in it. I wanted to send it back but we were trying to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary and I was trying to salvage the experience. Waiter was missing for a long time, never checked in. We just wanted to leave. For a meal that cost nearly $200 we were highly disappointed and still hungry.
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