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    Primo

    4.1 (489 reviews)
    Ultra High-EndMediterranean, Italian, Greek
    Closed 5:00 pm - 10:00 PM
    Updated 2 months ago

    Primo Photos

    PRIMO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Classy
    Upscale
    Outdoor seating

    Recommended Reviews - Primo

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    Reviews With Photos

    Pork Salimbocca
    Andy W.

    Let me preface this review to reflect this visit only. Primo is a 4-5 star restaurant, but the management fell short during this visit. We ate there on a Friday night and all started well: good waiter, delicious appetizers, then... Main courses didn't come for more than an hour. We were told there was a wedding party and they had backed up the kitchen, our orders would arrive shortly. They did not. No apology from host or basket of bread, extra appetizers, nothing. We even had to order bread to tide us over for which we were charged. For an establishment of this caliber, this is not to be expected or tolerated. If they could not accommodate s wedding party and their regular diners, they should not have booked a large party, or not booked tables during this time. They should have made this right with guests, who should not have to wait an hour between courses. I was embarrassed to take my out of town guests to our local fine-dining restaurant and be treated so flippantly. They even charged us for the dessert for one of celebrating their birthday. Shame on them.

    Primo Chicken Cavatelli
    chris c.

    Farm 2 Table and Five Freakin' Stars, y'all. The food was enchanting -- every bite, so savory. Mmm... Nosh, nosh, nosh, mow, mow, mow!!! It's a James Beard award winning restaurant that serves refined culinary dishes that feel like experiences. The chow is artistic; beautiful, even. This is a restaurant that Kristen Kish would probably enjoy chowing down at!!!! Yes! Burp. I LOVED IT HERE!!! Exceptional service. Exquisite atmosphere. Perhaps the freshest entrées ever consumed on planet Earth. My linguini was handmade + homemade!!! It was reminiscent of pasta I've tasted on coastal Italy. They had squashes on display in their foyer. I liked that. Eclectic. Compliments to the kitchen & front of house. Bravo, team! Well done. Oh, also -- if you are nosy -- the restaurant is in a house-setting. But not, like, a haunted house. Just old timey. Marvelous. You'll love Primo.

    Chris C.

    Special occasion tonight so we did a walk in at Primo, no reservation, but early in line so got a nice seat at the bar. Bartender was super friendly and did me a nice Belvedere martini! Primo is always great, certainly one of the best places in the state! I had the Bronzino and my wife had the Saltimbocca, nice dinner, Special place!

    Zeppole
    Megan H.

    We were here for my fiancés birthday and holy moly it was fantastic. We ended up at the counter, which had its own special menu for the night. We tried the chicharrones and foie gras for an appetizer. The chicharrones were salt and vinegar flavored - the vinegar was a bit aggressive but otherwise they were beautifully made. The foie gras was impeccable - I had never had it before. The bread was almost French toast esque. It could've easily been heavy but it was perfect. We had an array of mains & desserts. I had the pork saltimbocca. Everything about it was perfect. I had the zeppole and lemon curd meringue & honey berry jam donut. The zeppole was the lightest fried item I've ever had. The donut mixed with the meringue, curd and jam, went perfectly together. Our waitress was also absolutely incredible. She joked around with us and was so attentive even with having to deal with a private party. Counter chefs Jen and Max were also incredible- answering all our questions and telling us about all the things they do. Cannot recommend this place enough

    Charcoal Grilled Quail with roasted grapes and figs
    Paul A.

    After more than a decade of dining at Primo, I must say that it consistently delivers excellent farm-to-table cuisine in a cozy atmosphere. The chef's passion over the years has driven the restaurant and its' accompanying grounds to deliver more and more of their own product. It is certainly worth the trip, and ask for Ed. He is a true professional waiter, who not only knows where to lead you in terms of the menu, but he seems to always do it with kindness and a desire to please every guest.

    Karen Q.

    Really cool experience in Rockland, ME- totally worth the road trip we made from Portland. We arrived early to check out their farm. They have a few acres right next to the restaurant, with farm animals and garden beds full of vegetables. They are a full circle kitchen and farm to table restaurant. The chef is a two-time James Beard award winner and we loved this meal! The pastas especially are so well done.

    Entry to Primo restaurant.
    Catherine K.

    This is the most delicious meal my husband and I have had while here in Maine! The entire place is amazingly well-run... chef's imagination, kitchen's capability, speed and accuracy, the hostess and waitstaff, the cozy, friendly feel. Rachel served us and was wonderfully knowledgeable, kind and seemed thoroughly unflappable -- a perfect skill set for the role. The food? Delicious imaginative salads to start with clearly garden-to-table ingredients... fresh fennel, escarole, heirloom tomatoes and a creative splash of blueberries. My husband had the saltimbocca and I had the evening special, Squid Ink Pasta topped with an incredibly fresh marinara and crab meat. We didn't skip dessert and were glad of it! Blueberry and plum crostata with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was warm and crusty and absolutely delicious! Make a reservation and go! So well worth it for a great meal in a wonderful setting brought to the table by an incredible set of professionals. My only regret? I didn't take pictures of my food!

    Oysters
    Leslie G.

    If you are near this place on your trip through Maine don't miss it! The atmosphere on a Sunday was amazing with a live band. Communal seating was a real perk for all the food recs we got from locals at our table.

    Marc B.

    Primo has been on my list of restaurants to visit for quite some time now due to the fact that the chef has received numerous accolades and they are a farm to table restaurant. To celebrate the holidays with my partner, we decided to finally make it to Primo! My partner and I had made a reservation for 5:45, which I highly suggest doing, as when the doors open, people flood into the restaurant with reservations and others hoping that they can get in without one. Upon observation, the hopefuls without reservations were quickly turned away. In any case, my partner and I got to the venue at 5pm, knowing quite well that we were ahead of our reservation time. We figured we would give it a shot to see if maybe we could grab a drink or hang out somewhere until our table was ready. Once we made it to the host station, we explained that we knew we were early but that we were hoping to grab a drink in the meantime. The host seemed to be a bit dismissive and responded by saying, "Come back during your reservation time, because we are back to back right now." My partner and I slowly turned away and walked back into our car to wait out the time. We reentered the facility at our reservation time, and we were seated in the dining room. I wouldn't say the ambiance of the dining room was anything to be excited about...however, after looking at pictures, it seems like the upstairs has more of a quaint, rustic vibe to it. The dining room was a bit sterile, so if you plan on going, I would ask to be seated upstairs. We were quickly greeted by our waitress, however it was short lived because the server for the table next to us needed to deliver drinks to the table, so our waitress had to move out of the way for him to deliver the drinks, and then she proceeded to take our drink order after he was done. Again, not a HUGE deal...it just felt awkward, especially due to the notoriaty of the establishment. My partner and I received our drinks, which were fine. I got a Primo Martini while my partner got a tequila-based drink, which I forget the name of. As far as the menu, it is pretty expansive with a variety of options. We started with the octopus appetizer, which was large in size and super flavorful! I would highly recommend. My partner and I each ordered the porcini taggliatelle with scallops. Again portion was large...but flavors were very subdued and lacked seasoning. For a dish that was expensive...it unfortunately did not measure up. On top of the food, our service for the rest of the evening was a bit lackluster. We wanted to end the night with a glass of wine, and our waitress had never checked in on us, so we opted for the check. Once we got the check, it took 30 minutes for our waitress to notice that we had been waiting to cash out. Overall, we had a "meh" experience at Primo. Would I potentially go back? Sure? It just wouldn't be on the top of my list.

    Kristen S.

    Very disappointing visit. Wanted to love this place but it was a miss! After traveling 4 hours to our air bnb we decided to trek another hour to Rockland to eat at this farm to table restaurant. We had a 5:30 reservation that lingered past 8:00-crazy. We ordered the bread service, 4 apps, 2 half orders of pasta, 2 entrees and 2 desserts for the 2 of us. The pork belly special was so chewy it was almost inedible. Loved my salad of red lettuces and gemelli. Up until the pasta course, things were flowing rather quickly out of the kitchen... and then there was some sort of phenomenon where for 45 minutes not one person in the dining room had food. it was crrippling. The server had no idea what happened but it knocked the wind out of our sails....She comped our 2 cappaccinos on our $500 check for the two of us! Like you couldve comped a round of cocktails of the 2 desserts that were $32. Pretentious and unapologetic and the food didnt knock our socks off... Super disappointing!

    Entree
    MB A.

    Had an absolutely amazing dining experience here about a month ago with my significant other The staff was very accommodating to a late night arrival and was attentive to us all the way to the end of dinner with desert and coffe/tea. There is a lot of high brow painted art around the restaurant which we both appreciated. The ambiance was very chill and upbeat with soul music (think Sam Cooke, etc.) Playing in the background. Food was very tasty and unique. A fabulous first dining experience for me in Maine! Loved it so much and we are planning on going back again more together in the fall seasons to come Thanks Primo!

    Two half orders of pasta and Pork Saltimbocca
    Ashley C.

    Visiting Primo was one of the things I was most excited about on our honeymoon, and the only reason we stayed in Rockland for a night. I was expecting to absolutely love the food here, but unfortunately pretty much everything fell short. I will say the salad was lovely, vibrant, and fresh. The fried squash blossoms were very good. But the two pastas and the pork saltimbocca just missed the mark. I was honestly too bummed out to even try dessert. We did order bread service and they charged us $8 - $4 per person. I have never seen a restaurant do this before. Almost seems like a way to nickel and dime customers who are already paying a pretty penny to eat here. The ambiance inside was a little ... strange. It seemed much more casual for the type of magical experience I was expecting. The outdoor area is absolutely gorgeous and I loved being able to see the garden and the chickens. Was just expecting the food to match.

    Pork Saltimbocca
    Jeff D.

    Enjoyed our 17th anniversary dinner here. Eddie was our server and he was excellent navigating us through the menu. We started with house bread and the Chef's lobster bisque that was delicious and filling. We then ordered the charcuterie that had every taste of the property. Amazing. Server Eddie said that the saltimbocca was a favorite of Primo which I had to try. My wife had the Rigatoni cacio Pepe which is basically American version of Mac and cheese. Both entrees were delicious and we ended our dinner with Zeppole. We had a app, 4 drinks and two entrees for 165 that was outstanding.

    Seared tuna

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    1 year ago

    What a happy surprise. The food was excellent, the ambience lovely and we enjoyed the whole experience.

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    Ask the Community - Primo

    What do I wear!?

    Maine is a casual dining area so wear appropriate clothing. Casual is fine but don't feel bad if you dress up as the atmosphere can deserve something nicer. There is no dress code so use your judgement and dress for the occasion. Nice jeans on the… 

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Ada's Kitchen - Spaghetti and Meatballs

    Ada's Kitchen

    4.1(183 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    I know it seems rough to give three and a half stars, but rounding up to four doesn't seem quite…read moreaccurate. I think the problem is that it's been given a pass for so long that now it's reputation is untouchable, and this unfortunately is going to be a humbling post. It was highly recommended to us by our hotel during our stay in Rockland, and we went the first night, of which they were booked out but no problem at all, it smelled so good we decided to make reservations for the subsequent night. So we did. Mind you, let me caveat and say it's also always a challenge to eat at Italian restaurants, because it means that someone has to make a sauce that's better than you can make it home, and that's normally not the case, save a few exceptions. So we came back, excited, and ready to be blown away, because of the house made pasta, because of the amazing aroma, and because of the beautiful ambience. However, all of our meals fell short. Spaghetti & meatballs, the meatballs were quite dry and somewhat crumbly, and the sauce while yes fresh still had no flavor. The pasta, which was probably most of the excitement for eating there did not taste as delightful as you know fresh noodles should taste. Pizzas were just ok, and although the eggplant Parmesan was cooked well, again the same sauce was used to flavor it and was still non descript. Our server was phenomenal in good news, checking In repeatedly, saw the uneaten meatballs, and asked if there was a problem, which I just replied they weren't quite what I expected. Also, the vibe in the restaurant was amazing. So if anything I would go for that, but food would not recommend.

    We came here on a whim while visiting and it did not disappoint. Our server Hyatt was so attentive…read moreand so kind, it was lovely. The food was really great as well. We had the carbonara and the margherita pizza. Both were quite delicious. The carbonara was genuinely one of the best I've had in some time. The pizza was light and not overtly heavy or dense. Definitely great for sharing. I do recommend either getting a reservation or preparing for a wait as they were quite busy the entire time we were there. Overall though the vibe was great and I would definitely go back when in town

    Photos
    Ada's Kitchen - Lovely att work

    Lovely att work

    Ada's Kitchen - Small Cheese Pizza

    Small Cheese Pizza

    Ada's Kitchen - Ada's

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    Ada's

    Ports of Italy - Fettuccine Verdi Alla Carolina

    Ports of Italy

    4.4(414 reviews)
    30.6 mi
    $$$

    It's rare that I return to a restaurant that I really enjoyed and pick exactly the same dish I had…read morebefore; I usually want to explore the rest of the menu. Chitarrucci neri ai frutti di mare (black ink chitarra pasta with seafood), however, was something I really wanted to have again. I was hoping that it would be as great as I remembered ... it was. We started with Cozze alla sambuca. I would not have thought of putting fennel or sambuca with mussels, but it was a good combination. The other players (shallot and herbs) were well balanced too. The Insalata de Cesare was fresh and well dressed, with a generous portion of shaved parmesan. The Chitarrucci was the star, with pasta cooked just right and plenty of mussels, shrimp, scallops, calamari, and clams. If I have to be picky, the calamari may have been slightly over cooked, but I'd order this dish over and over again. (I didn't taste it, but the gentleman at the next table had a beautiful plate of ossobuco, with the osso standing up in the middle of the risotto with a sprig of herb 'planted' in the marrow. He said it was great) If you're anywhere near Boothbay, make a reservation and try Ports of Italy.

    We dined at Ports of Italy one night while in Boothbay Harbor. For an Italian restaurant, it was…read moregood but not great. We shared a Caesar salad, which was fine, but it was nothing memorable either. We each got our own entrees, which we hadn't been doing because it's usually too much food, and since we were on a road trip, there wasn't much point to requesting doggy bags like we normally would because we wouldn't be able to eat the leftovers. Unfortunately, neither of us finished our meals... they were both tasty, but we ended up leaving food on our plates. I hate wasting food like that. I think we'll return to our one-entree-and-share-it protocol for the remainder of our trip. That seems to be working for us. My chicken dish, Pollo con Funghi, which came with tomatoes, olives and mushrooms in a white wine butter sauce seasoned with basil, garlic and oregano, was tasty, but it was too large a portion for me to finish. There was also some squash, and we had ordered a side of spinach, too. I was very sad to not have taken the remaining food for leftovers. Would've been great. My husband ordered the Ravioli di Astice, which was lobster and ricotta filled ravioli in a prosecco and aurora sauce. Not sure what aurora sauce is, but when I tasted it, the sauce was delicious. My issue with his dish was that the ravioli was severely undercooked, and it was way too chewy... definitely not al dente. They simply didn't cook it long enough, which was a shame because the flavors were excellent. Big miss for an Italian restaurant. I suppose I'd give this place another try if we're ever fortunate enough to return to Boothbay. We definitely would have to agree on one entree between the two of us, though, so we don't waste food.

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    Ports of Italy
    Ports of Italy - Truffle

    Truffle

    Ports of Italy

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    Primo - mediterranean - Updated August 2026

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