Primavera Ristorante

After a badly handled dinner issue and poorly trained wait staff I wrote the following letter to Primavera:
Dear Primavera:
We came in with another couple for dinner last Saturday night, on 4÷23÷16. I have a couple of complaints to share — First, I was NOT happy with the lobster ravioli entrée that I’d ordered. After calling the waitress over I first asked her if I had perhaps gotten an incorrect entrée?
I explained and I showed her that there were shrimp, but absolutely no lobster. Further the ravioli’s, when I opened them up for her with my fork, you could only see cheese filling and particles of what looked to be spinach — No lobster.
The closest thing that I saw that possibly looked like lobster were strips of red peppers thinly sliced in the Alfredo sauce. The dish had zero taste of any lobster flavor… Instead, what it was is a shrimp dish with cheese ravioli’s in an Alfredo sauce.
After explaining my displeasure and questioning if I’d received the correct meal, our waitress left to go ask the chef, and then never came back to the table with an answer — Wrong move!
Finally the other gentleman that I was with flagged her down, and said: «Excuse me, but what did the chef say now that we’re finished with our meals?»
…We’ll she told us that you make all the raviolis here themselves by hand, and that they could not understand why I didn’t find any lobster in them? [Ah, perhaps they gave me the wrong raviolis by chance???] However, that she’d mentioned it to the manager.
Not once was there ANY effort by the waitress to ask me if I would like something else instead? Can I take it back and have the kitchen correct it? Or to even say, I’m sorry, but I have now taken your meal off the check — Nothing! I mean, this is Restaurant 101!
What probably would have been the correct way to handle this was that the chef should have taken a moment to come out to the table, or that your manager had come over to introduce themselves and ask: «I understand you had a problem tonight…»? And have at least then tried to make it right — NOTHING!
Upon leaving, my friend went to the hostess desk and started to explain to them what occurred thinking that one of two ladies was a manager. When I stepped over and joined in the conversation, all we were told were excuses… i.e., «Well it was a busy night, we had several managers and we’re not sure who our waitress spoke to… SORRY!» Again, there was no offer to adjust things and obviously no senior manager to speak with! It was a TOTAL FAIL!!!
Also want to mention that the four of us were seated at a table along the wall with a padded bench and chairs. The table was accessible from both sides for the wait staff to access and serve.
Never have I seen a waitress, and a waitress in training serve people at a table, reaching over and handing food over then other people’s plates, or reaching over someone else’s meal to great cheese on another plate! You simply never do that! Instead you walk around the table to the other side and serve or clear! This was NOT some diner that we were in!
Further when you order a bottle of wine, the server should open it, pour a tasting, allow you to check and make sure the wine is OK and acceptable, before filling the other people’s glasses. Also for the hose ordering the wine, you never fill the glass half way up before tasting. Again another «Failure» in training even with the seasoned waitress!
Overall I think your staff totally mishandled the overall situation, and instead of the customer being right, I was wrong, and all they did was make excuses for «why» vs. embracing the problem and correcting it — Period!
It is obvious that you need to better train your staff in dealing with a situation such as this, as well as your manager’s and even your chef! Plus your wait staff needs some better instructions as to proper serving food and wine!
Needless to say, I will not be in any hurry to come back anytime soon. But I thought you should know about my very poor experience.
Sincerely,
JMS

Decent food. Horrible service. We were ignored for 20 minutes before we were seated. They acted like they were doing us a favor. In 90 minutes we had decent apps and soup, but no entrée. We waited another 20 minutes before asking for it to go. No apology, no nothing as we walked out the door.
One of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in years. We will not be going back there.

I had not been to Primavera in a while and figured I would give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Appetizers, pasta’s and entrees were all very good, the gnocchi was a little less memorable than the rest, but it was all good. Portions were good, prices were fair. No complaints at all.

I’ve eaten here many times and the food was always great and the price was right too. Not too expensive in my opinion. Not sure where these bad reviews are coming from.

You would think for an Italian restaurant you would have some flavor in the food… nope! All the apps we tried were like cafeteria food. Boring and lacking any real taste. We didn’t order a main course since we were disappointed already.
The place is rundown and in desperate need of a makeover and a new chef! Don’t waste your money people!

I’ve been here once for brunch and several times for dinner. Super great experiences on all occasions including friendly staff and delicious food! There hummus dip they serve with the bread is so good!

Went with familiy to Sunday brunch. Not very crowded. Service was fair, never really got a hot cup of coffee. Staff paid more attention to filling water glasses than asking if we wanted anything else to drink. Food was actually pretty good. Nice selection and omelette stand was very good. Bill was complicated even though we told hostess we had 6 adults and 2 kids. Not broken down on bill. Overall, place was just ok, nothing special.

We’ve been there twice this year and honestly last Saturday is my last time. The service was terrible and the brunch was lame. How do you serve carved prime beef and not have au jus? They sat us in the middle section that they have a material covered ceiling it was filthy dirty and blowing soot down on our table. They moved us to bar area. The murals on the walls a creepy and had to look a painting of a woman’s nipple through out brunch. Yuck. My friend got a Bloody Mary it had nothing but tomato juice and a rotting celery stalk. As we were leaving a man who worked there was digging out cigarette butts out of the ashtray with his hands. No scoop and no gloves so gross. I won’t even bring up the inebriated Easter bunny on Easter Sunday. Get your restaurant in order people it was always a gem of a place.

This restaurant was a big disappointment! Poor service… waited over 45 minutes for our food… and when my ravioli came, nothing was inside it! It was just the pasta, hardly any cheese or butternut squash. It might have been the first time I left a restaurant hungry!

Hands down the worst customer service I have ever experience at a restaurant. Extremely disrespectful staff.

Went there for mothers day brunch today and was not impressed at all… same food as regular brunch and just wasnt good. What upset me the most is that I did message them on Facebook and gave them also 1 star. Their response was for me to go to Olive Garden!
I will never go there again just because of their very unprofessional response.

Every time I come here I have no clue where the bad reviews come from. Service is great, food is always delicious and the portions are huge! Love the fresh focaccia bread to start with, so good. I had the bolognese and my husband had a special, both were made with fresh pappardelle pasta and were very good. Can’t wait for the patio to open!

Went last Friday as a party of 6. The food was very good, priced well. Not crowded at all, so we had a great time. Service was fine, just it was a little on the cool side, maybe because doors on both sides. Wish the waitress asked me if I wanted coffee with my dessert. I would add some music or something to liven it up.

Disappointing. Food was «just OK». Definitely not great. Service was slow even though it wasn’t busy. No wait for a table Saturday night, I know why not. !
You know what REALLY drives me crazy?
It’s when a place refills my glass of Diet Coke over and over during the meal, then when I get the bill I find out they’re charging for the individual refills.
That ‘s the kind of nickel and dime stuff that Primavera does.

Mother’s Day buffet was well run and organized. We were concerned considering the reviews we read. But they rose to the occasion. Food was fresh, hot and tasty. Well done.

We went back to Primavera for the first time in a long time. Rachel our waitress was attentive and friendly. The first thing that tipped us off that we were in for a good night was the heavy pours in the wine glasses. The apps were large and delicious. We ordered the Crazy Wings (very juicy), Risotto Balls and Fried Calamari. We couldn’t even finish the app they were so big. I had the special of the evening, Steak tip and sausage Bolognese over polenta. The tips absolutely melted in my mouth. My wife and daughter ordered chicken dishes that were amazing. It is going to be one of our go to favorite places from here on in.

After our drinks and appetizers arrived, we simply could not wait for the rest of our meals. The appetizers were delicious, but unfortunately they could not compensate for the hour and a half that we waited for the entrées. Upon inquiring with the waitress, she informed us that the kitchen forgot to make our meals, «but don’t worry,» she said «we took them off the bill». Excuse me, what? Obviously the entrées would be taken off of the bill, considering we never even got them– but what’s worse is that she then brought the check over without ever mentioning whether or not we would get our food! When we asked, she reported that she had told the kitchen not to make it because she figured we would probably want to leave after waiting for so long. It was an absolutely horrendous experience and we quickly left– but not without telling the hostess how displeased we were with the service. Her response? «Please don’t tell people, that’s not fair to us».
I wish it were possible to give this abhorrent restaurant zero stars. We have been here multiple times over the past 6 years or so; however, since undergoing new management, Primavera has become the poster child for despicable service and mediocre food.
The waitstaff and hostesses conduct themselves unprofessionally and most likely could not even meet McDonald’s requirements for proper dining room behavior. From the hostesses to the bartenders, we did not encounter one individual that seemed happy to be employed. Avoid this place, you will probably get better service at the Subway up the street.

Delicious, Professionals, Clean, friendly staff, Good Price.
Lovely Place I recommend everyone to Try it.

Service was quick. Portions were well-​sized.
Now let’s get to the bad parts. The place settings were set upside-​down at the table. The vegetable medley in my seared ahi was clearly previously frozen. Pasta dishes were undercooked. The waitress didn’t clear the bread and bread plates the entire meal. The crème brûlée one person at my table ordered didn’t even have the melted sugar coating, and the tiramisu came in *plastic* cups (clearly not from Primavera’s kitchen). To top it all off, the men’s room a) was out of liquid soap, b) was out of paper towels, c) had a vomit-​filled toilet.
For one of the only restaurants in town with a classy feel, Primavera needs to step up their game and clean up their act before I’ll ever go back.

I write the following having been in the food service industry for 18 years myself and was at the restaurant with three other people, all of whom work or have worked in the food industry as well.
5:45 PM: We arrived for dinner on a Saturday night, there were 4 adults and our 11 month old daughter. We were promptly seated and given menus at which time I asked for a kids menu for our daughter. A few minutes later our server cam by and took our drink order, I did not order a drink because i hadn’t had a chance to look at the menu and asked for more time. A few minutes later the girl who sat us came by with the kids menu. We were given bread while waiting for our server to return and I asked the girl who brought us bread if she could place the order for our daughters meal.
5:55 PM: Our server arrived with the 2 glasses of wine. We order all of our food, our daughters food and my drink. We placed the order for our daughters food again as the girl who brought our bread did not have a chance to tell our server about the order.
6:15 PM: Our server returns to our table for the first time since our order was taken with my drink. I was told that the reason this took so long was because she couldn’t find the button for the drink in the POS system, I ordered some crazy hot chocolate drink off the menu. At this time I asked where the food was for my daughter. I explained that I was not concerned about the rest of the tables food but that getting our daughter fed was top priority. We had ordered chicken fingers and fries for her with no salt. I was told that the kitchen was very busy and she was sorry.
6:30 PM: I approached the server and asked to pay for the drinks and to cancel our order.
Never in my entire life have I left a restaurant before being served any food. In between each of the times noted above when we saw our server she was no where to be found. All I cared about was getting my daughter fed. To wait 35 minutes for chicken fingers and fries is a joke. Had we been able to feed her I am sure we would have stayed but who knew how long it was going to take for her food to arrive.
Here are a few other things I noticed during our 45 minutes here. The table to our right had already ordered before we sat down. In a 45 minute span I saw them get served 3 salads and a bowl of soup, non of these items had been cleared and were still on their table when we left. A table to our left sat down just after our first drink order was taken. They were about to have the dinner order taken when I asked for our check. That means that between sitting down and placing their order for dinner over 30 minutes had elapsed. I saw maybe four tables of customers get food over the 45 minutes. When we walked in the restaurant it was less than half full and few people had food in front of them. When we walked out they were about ¾ full.
I cannot say for sure but I think they had a function happening at the same time as we were there. I think that the kitchen couldn’t handle it and that the servers for the dining room were also working the function. If I am correct this is a bad business plan and it showed in the dining room.
Bottom line here is I would not recommend going here for dinner unless you don’t care about how long the service takes. This was a terribly frustrating experience for all of us involved. The worst part of the whole thing is once we left we had to find another option. Well at 6:30 PM on a Saturday night all of the other options were on a wait. Thanks to these guys we had no choice but to order takeout and eat at home. We were offered no apology from a manager on the way out or anyone for that matter. This situation made me feel like i was on the show kitchen nightmares. I was waiting for Gordon Ramsey to come out of the kitchen and tell all the guests that they were closing for the night because no one had any clue on how to expedite a service or even place an order. This place is a straight up joke, a really bad joke that you wish you had never heard.