Primitivo

I have been to the Primitivo on several occasion for many different reason. I have to say this is the best restaurant to meet my energy and food desires. The seasonal menu is one I look forward to, well, every season. For a tapas restaurant the portion sizes are a bit bigger than one would expect, however that does not mean you have to eat your entire meal. The food is always made fresh and brought to the table in a timely manner. One can tell the wine has been carefully selected to pair with the many different tapas options on the menu. The Primitivo also carries a lot of local and international wines to meet the many needs of the wide range of locals and visitors from around the world. Not knowingly the staff is very professional but work to make your experience one that fits your particular dining experience. From the hostess to the bar tender to the GM each person works in-sync to make your dining experience both comfortable and incredible. Please be sure to make a RSVP and use the Valet to park your automobile. Remember one cannot enjoy any experience if one goes into it with a negative disposition!!! Have a great time and go back many times!!!! Pros: Excellent Selection (Food&Wine) Cons: You might have to wait if you do not call ahead!!!!!! more

I have never felt the need to write a bad review until now. I went to Primitivo on Saturday night to meet a group of friends. I was carded when I ordered a drink at the bar and couldn’t find my ID because I had been traveling all day and it was lost in my purse within a purse. The bartender said that he couldn’t serve me and I understood. I’m clearly 32 years old so I asked to speak to the manager. I was informed that the manager was on break and that he would be over in a minute. Eventually, the manager sauntered over to me and as I tried to explain the situation, he began speaking to me in a very condescending tone. I wound up leaving to get my ID and when I returned the manager met me at the front. He started belittling me as he yanked the ID from my hand and said that he needed to take it to the back to make sure it wasn’t a fake. He was so unbelievably rude that I wanted to leave but my party had already sat down. Subsequently, my party had waited almost 2 hours for a table on the patio which they haphazardly gave to another group that had arrived after us. The hostess was rude and unapologetic. After being seated, the waitress took everyone’s order except mine. I waited an hour to order food and drink because she ignored me every time she came up to the table. The food was average but the Sangria was good. Overall, this was the worst restaurant experience I have ever had. I have never been treated so poorly at a restaurant. Is customer service dead? Pros: Good Sangrias Cons: Rude Management and Staff more

we told him we had a party of 20. We told her that we were interested in their Thursday night special. However, Primitivo, acted like a used car sales woman and did the bait and switch. They tried to have us each commit to 35 dollars a person and 18 percent tip !! I was shocked. I asked them what about your Thursday night special. She changed the subject. I ask that you do not give your business to these con artists. Honest to God I was going to bring 25 people to that place. ALSO. i did visit the place and the place is a little run down. They have this we don't care attitude Pros: Location is the only pro Cons: Horrible Management....Run Down place more

Last week I was meeting three of my friends here for dinner. I arrived early and the hostess asked if I wanted to be seated or wait for my group to arrive. I choose to sit at the bar and wait and I am so happy I did. The bar was awesome. The bartender was quick to help me find a wine I loved. I am usually a cab drinker, but wanted to try something different. He suggested I try a Rioja and it was wonderful. By the time my friends arrived I was having so much fun we decided pass on our table and eat at the bar. We tasted a bunch of different wines and I was impressed with how large of a selection they had. As for the food things just got better and better. The tuna tartar and cheese plate got us started, but for the really good stuff we had short ribs, tiger shrimp, scallops, and salmon wrapped in grape leaves. This place is a gem for sure!! Pros: service and wine more

Let me start off by saying this place has the perfect vibe. The bar is full of people tasting, sharing, and loving wine. The tables inside are great for a fun dinner, or the two outside patios will allow you to have a romantic evening over looking the beautiful garden. \r But who cares about all that? lets get to the food! For starters try the endive salad with blue cheese and bacon, need I say more? Follow that with what I call asparagus heaven? its grilled I think with a fried egg, morel mushrooms, bearnaise sauce, prosciutto, and a little bit of manchego cheese. I then had rosemary lamb chops. They come over a barley risotto and lasted all of two seconds on our table. I never can remember which wines I like, but our server was quick to make suggestions with each course and they were spot on. The rest of table must have been just as happy because from the time the first plate landed we didn?t talk until it was time for desert and port. Thanks again and I will be back for the asparagus! Pros: great food, wine and service more

Really great food and excellent wine selection. Okay, I'm really just writing this review to test Facebook Connect :) Pros: Excellent selection of unique tapas Cons: None! more

This place destroyed the definition of tapas. Most plates are $15, which sounds a little pricey for a tapas place, and I have eaten in many of them in Los Angeles. The waiter did not bother to mention the size of the ""tapas""...and most of them are like a regular entree. We ordered gnocchi with ox tail, short rib, and salmon wrapped in grape leaves. When we saw the actual plates, we could not comprehend how they could have been called tapas. We were able to eat only gnocchi and short rib and took the salmon home. Well, the food has poor quality. I've eaten ox tail and until this place had no idea that it could be inedible. The sauce on the gnocchi was very greasy and gnocchi did not taste freshly made. The rib was ok, but for a plate as a whole, tastelessly thrown on the top of sauted kale, did not make up a tapas dish, and was just ridiculous for an entree... The salmon I tried the next day, and it tasted as a farm raised, was very fat and the side beans had too much lemon on them, that left a bad after taste in my mouth. In addition about the service: I am pregnant and did not order any wine. And the second the waiter heard of my and my husband's choices of water, he became disengaged. He took the order without even mentioning the specials, and disappeared. I had to look for him at the end of the meal to ask to give us the check. Plus the sloppy cleaning people dropped some grease from a plate to my designer purse permanently marking it. And the music was so loud that it was impossible to communicate!!!\r So a big NO to Primitivo unless you go there for their huge wine bar... Pros: huge wine bar Cons: food, service, loud music more

Two things you can always count in this place... Fun Bar and Great Food. This is a great place with an ecletic crowed. From local singles at the bar to romantic couples on the back patio. more

Primotivo used to be a well-kept Venice secret with its amazing tapas and wine selection. I have tried some of the most amazing (and hard to find) Spanish wines and really appreciate that they are always willing to make things ""veggie"" friendly for me. I would highly recommend it, especially for happy hour, which is always a fun, eclectic mix of people. more

It is a quaint atmosphere which is usually quite crowded, but there's a reason. The wine list is amazing, and the tapas are great. It's a wonderful place to meet some girlfriends for dinner, talk business over a glass of wine, or have a romantic date. Pros: food, wine list, service, atmosphere Cons: usually have to valet your car more

Went to dinner here with my boyfriend and we both enjoyed everything ... the sangria, the lamb and shrimp were excellent. We also had the spinach salad with strawberries which was also wonderful. This place tends to get crowded, so reservations are recommended. Our waitress Amber was great - very helpful and great food recommendations. We will come back for many more dinners. Don't forget to check out their great happy hours deals too. Pros: Delicious Sangria Cons: Gets a bit noisy. more

I love your restaurant! I especially loved the Prix fixed lunch you used to offer. It was my favorite lunch option around. Please bring it back. It was so much fun to get a little bit of many things at great deal. I look forward to seeing it come back in the near future. more

By far one of my favorites! Beautiful food and wine list, and the service is always superb! I love this restaurant! Very romantic as well more

Tapas and Wine...this is one of my favorite restaurants in Venice. Take a big group and enjoy great Tapas... more

Tapas and Wine...this is one of my favorite restaurants in Venice. Take a big group and enjoy great Tapas dishes and share different delicious bit... more

Primitivo's tapas are great and the pitchers of Sangria keeps the fun coming. I prefer on their outside patio in the back, as it's a lot more quiet and less crowded that the main restaurant. It gets really crowded on weekends, so definately make reservations. more

One of the things I found most intriguing about Primitivo was the adaptable atmosphere that lended itself to either a romantic dinner by candlelight or a fun, friendly meal made feasible by the colored pencils and paper tablecloth. I made a reservation for 7:30 and was seated immediately in the little patio in the back garden, which definitely seemed more quaint and airy compared to the bustling indoor dining room. If you are one to typically watch carbs, this is definitely not the place to skip on the bread basket. The aioli sauce and olive tapanade that was served alongside the fresh sourdough bread is not to be missed. Between the two of us, we ordered four small dishes, three of which were incredible. The caesar salad, though creative in the way that they sauted the lettuce, was low on flavor and lacked the crispy texture of a typical salad. Everything else, including the refreshing citrus ceviche, the calamari and the steak that lay atop a bed of crunchy pomme fritte in an aged balsamic reduction was perfection. As a nice complement to the meal, order the sangria, which has just the right amount of fruity flavor yet doesn't overwhelm the taste of the actual wine. Pros: Sangria and Steak Cons: Caesar Salad more

I love going out to eat, and I really love going to Primitivo Wine Bistro. The staff is fantastic, everyone from the hostess to the food runners. My wife and I love to have our friends meet us there for some great wine and delicious food. I love the steak and fries and the paella with mussles chorizo and chicken. My wife who is a vegetarian can't get enough of grilled romaine salad and her new favorite asparagus risotto. They also have some great wines that won't break the bank. I suggest some South American reds!!!!! Pros: the food and service more

I come to Primitivo almost once every month and i have never had a problem with the food or service , it has wonderful tasty food for a price that won't make your wallet cringe and the wait staff are always attentive,always have a good attitude and are nice. I recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys great food , great wine selections and a wonderful atmosphere. I've read most of the reviews on this page and just think that some reviews ( mostly the bad ones) are a bit exagerated and well don't always believe what you hear so for you to judge the place yourself , you'll just have to come and visit the restaurant yourself . \r \r I rate this restaurant an A+ more

So, I went to Primitivo last Saturday for my wife's birthday, there were 10 of us. We brought a Cold Stone ice cream cake with kit kats on top and gave it to the waiter (who notified us of a cake cutting fee of ""a few dollars per person"").\r \r He brings the cake out after the meal, my wife puts out the candles, and then it got very weird. When he comes back with the slices there are no kit kats. So after we finish our slices I asked him to bring out the rest of the cake for us to polish off.\r \r The cake shows up . . . no kit kats. I ask ""where'd all the kit kats go"", to which he kind of grins and says ""Uh, that I cannot say.""\r \r Basically, someone ate all the kit kats, which I think is extremely trashy. Especially for a place that charges a cutting fee. But it gets better. I stare him down a la Larry David, and he says ""Well, I gave a piece to the cake cutter, but I don't know that anyone ate the toppings."" So basically, it's ok at Primitivo to charge customers to cut their cake, then steal part of said cake, including all the toppings.\r \r It gets worse. He comes back and offers to remove the fee, which I thank him for, but I figure the manager should know that the staff is eating people's food and ask to speak with him. He comes out and demands to speak with me away from the dining room. I begin to explain the situation to him, and he interrupts with this zinger: ""Listen buddy, I don't know how much you've had to drink but you need to tone down your attitude real fast.""\r \r At this point I just stare at him. He asks if I've ever worked in a restaurant, to which I respond ""What does that have to do with anything?"" Straight out of middle school, he asks again and demands an answer. I say no, and he says ""Well, if you did you'd know that the cutter always takes a piece for himself, and I don't know anything about any toppings being missing."" Real classy.\r \r I don't think I've ever had such poor service anywhere. Pros: Decent food - if no one steals it off your plate before it gets to you Cons: Worst service I've ever had, den of thieves more