Primizie Osteria Italian Café & Wine Bar

02/19/2008 Posted by allenej

Because we got the last available table, we were seated immediately. They seemed to be understaffed, so it took quite a long time for someone to acknowledge our table. The spinach salad was great, and my lasagna was amazing. I also tried the other dishes: Caprino e Balsamico Pizza, Orecchiette all Checca con Scamorza, and Spaghettoni Aglio e Olio con Gamberi. They were all delicious, and the portions were perfect for dinner (sadly, no leftovers). The tiramisu was basic, but the chocolate torte was delightfully rich. We did try to order drinks at the bar while we were waiting, but unfortunately they wouldn't allow us to add them to our table's bill (they required separate tabs even though the bar/restaurant area is small & combined). Given that the wait was so long, it would've been nice if we were offered bread to munch on. I also think that a small salad should be included with the meal. Our waitress was very sweet, and our overall experience was a nice one.

Pros: amazing taste, vegetarian options

Cons: long wait, slightly overpriced

01/26/2008 Posted by chrisdm21

A group of friends and I go out to dinner every Friday and we were all excited about trying Primizie. There was about an hour wait when we got there (8pm on a Friday) so we waited at the bar. The bar was packed but there wasn’t anyone behind it serving drinks. For the 45 min we gathered around the bar we managed to flag someone down for one drink. After being seated at our table, we sat for about 15 min before our drink orders were taken and another 10-15 min after that before placing a food order. We kept thinking they had forgotten about us. The food took 45min+ and by that time it was 10:30 or so.. it was almost comical. Primizie has a good atmosphere but it's VERY loud. They have good food, but it's not worth the lack of service.

Pros: Menu, atmosphere

Cons: Service

12/20/2007 Posted by santg

I sooo wanted to love Primizie. I live on the east side and we are lacking in fabulous italian restaurants so when I heard a new one had opened up on our side of town -- I was ALL over it! 've been twice and here's a rundown of what we observed on the 2 occasions: Food: 1st time: Husband and I went with 2 friends and ordered an appetizer and 4 meals. The food was good all around -- I had the citrus marinated vegetables which, I thought were particularly good, everyone else said their meal was good. 2nd time: I came a week later with 2 girlfriends and told them they should try the citrus marinated vegetables -- and found that they were different! The first time had lots of greens -- green beans and broccoli along with eggplant etc. The second time was cauliflower, sweet potatoes and a lot of starches...they didn't taste citrus marinated and frankly they were WAY WAY oversalted and gross. I was shocked at the inconsistency. My friends weren't impressed either. Service: Both times the service was reallllly lacking -- tea refills were non-existent -- our waitress (2 different ones) would disappear for 10-15 mins ata time. Further to that, the 2nd time we ate we were given a menu by the waitress and she said 'here is our happy hour menu -- you can order off of that'. We noticed it was the same menu for apps with a cheaper price so we ordered an app from that menu. When we got the bill it was the full price -I pointed it out, she left and returned and said "oh, well, we can't adjust it because I ordered you the full price appetizer and it's bigger - so you got more"...I was quite appalled. She made a mistake and we got to pay? Wow. Too, the 2nd time we went, when we ordered that infamous app, it was supposed to come with bread -- it didn't - we asked and she said 'no this doesn't come with bread' we showed her the menu where it did indeed come with bread. She looked puzzled. Maybe they need some time to work out their issues??

Pros: Has a lot of potential to be a great east side eatery

Cons: REALLY NOISY -- you have to yell to be heard, Terrible Service, inconsistent quality of food

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

10/22/2007 Posted by lillgonz

I visited Primizie Osteria with a friend for lunch last week. It’s nestled into this wonderful area in east/central Austin that has experienced a renaissance since I had last been there. The décor is very modern, although still warm and inviting, and allows you to focus on the food instead of being distracted by random things on the wall like many other Italian restaurants. I ordered a grilled vegetable salad, the perfect item for someone who isn’t big on traditional cold lettuce and house dressing. It was made with roasted potatoes and green beans that were surprisingly fresh and crisp, with the tastiest sweet grilled onions I have ever enjoyed. The flatbread served with it was soft and full of herbs; I could have eaten it for days. The wait staff couldn’t have been more attentive, I never had a minute without iced water. I’m looking forward to returning to try more new dishes, I wish I lived in the area so I could have hot cappuccinos and the baked goods I saw in the case in the morning before work!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

10/17/2007 Posted by lisalisalisa1234

I have never walked out of a resturant before tonight when we visited Primizie for the first time. The space is beautiful and I was anxious to try the cheese plate, a glass of wine and a salad but we couldnt get anyone to even give us water! After being told to seat ourselves we waited over ten minutes before we decided to leave. I can understand if they were slammed but there were four people standing behind the counter and only one appeared to be doing anything. I think we left mainly because all the employees kept looking over, could see we had not been helped yet no one came over. The manager/owner or someone might want to run a tighter ship. I'll never go there again.

Pros: The space is very pretty

Cons: Horrible service

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful

10/02/2007 Posted by angelakpires

Finally I found a restaurant that serves great gnocchi! It simply melts in your mouth. The Ravioli was excellent too, and the insalata caprese is a wonderful appetizer. But I think that the star of the night was the service: by mistake, and my husband and I assume part of the fault, our dinner order didn't go through, only the appetizer and the wine. When we realized it, my husband went to talk to the staff and re-order the dinner. They not only apologized as they pampered us the whole night. Not to mention that anything else that we order that night was in the house. What could have been a reason for us to be unhappy became a reason for us to not stop recommending the place. A friend said that she also couldn't believe how great the service is. Way to go!

Pros: Food, service, price

Cons: Order at the counter, a bit noisy

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

09/30/2007 Posted by marshg

I was sooo happy with all of the hearty vegetarian options. The Panzanella salad was actually a salad that satisfied unlike so many other places. They had several vegetarian pastas and paninis as well that I will definitely be going back for. I would agree that is was a little noisier than most, but I kind of liked the "buzz" it created. Great place for large groups that don't want to feel like they have to whisper.

Pros: Vegetarian Options, Vibe, Easy Parking

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

09/26/2007 Posted by moc_croc

When this place opened, my husband and I knew we had to try it because the Spedales had catered our wedding, and the food was wonderful (we got lots of compliments from guests on it). We were not disappointed. We tried the spinach salad, which had the same great dressing that we remembered from our wedding (that my husband has been craving ever since)! We also tried the Primizie crisps with the 3 different pestos, and all were very good. For our entrees, my husband had the goat cheese ravioli, and I had the gnocchi. Both were perfectly cooked and delicious. We didn't try the desserts, but probably will next time, as they all looked very tempting. The staff was super friendly & helpful. You have to order at the counter, but the staff informed us that they would soon be switching to full table service. Even so, the staff still brought out all of our dishes in a well-timed manner, so the counter ordering process was not a problem at all. The only (small) issue for us was that the place was pretty noisy, even without every table being filled. We could hear each other, but there was a fairly loud roar in the background. The prices were cheap to moderate for dinner, but might be considered a bit expensive for lunch. Overall, we thought it was excellent. We will be returning soon!

Pros: Food, dinner prices, staff

Cons: a bit noisy

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

09/21/2007 Posted by crystalle

Finally! A great place to eat in East Austin! The cafe was perfect! The decor was light and airy, the service phenomenal! Everyone was very knowledgable from the wine and spirits to dinner and dessert. I highly recommend you give it a shot! The chef even came to our table to check on us and answer any questions we may have had! Top notch! We had insalata caprese for an appetizer. Wow! Best I ever had. The mozzarella was outstanding and the tomatoes were oven dried, which I am now struggling to quit craving. Dinner, ragatoni- delicious! Dessert, Ohhhhhh, dessert! It was a HANDMADE chocolate cake with layers of melted truffle topped with vanilla gelato. It was the most heavenly experience I have had this year! And it was all very affordable. Clearly, I am a new, huge fan! If you're in the area and crave authentic Italian, you must stop by!

Pros: Atmosphere, food, service

Cons: haven't found one

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

09/18/2007 Posted by janellk00

Exactly what we’ve been waiting for! An innovative menu, appropriately stocked bar and reasonably priced delights in an atmosphere fit for the most discriminating Austinite. Primizie Osteria fills the void for authentic yet modern Italian food in a casual setting most deliciously. The uniqueness and freshness of the ingredients is reason enough to come try it out, however, the attention to detail for less cost than other high quality Italian spots is a reason to keep coming back – regularly. On our visit we ordered the brushcetta where we were blown away by the inventiveness of the red and golden beets on top of goat-cheese smothered crostinis. We also ordered the arugula salad – finally a salad that will truly fill a person up! The addition of butternut squash really makes it something special. Lastly, our order of ravioli was fresh, satisfying, and just the right olive flavor without being too overbearing or rich. The melted goat cheese filling left us wanting more… so we got dessert. Both desserts, the lemon cheesecake and the chocolate torte, were handmade. And one of the best parts for this young couple is that we didn’t have to break the bank! The counter service and stylish environment is perfect for a weekend evening out or a weekday lunch with co-workers. The local beers on tap and the wine list at a beautifully constructed bar also makes for a great happy hour or after dinner drink location. As you can tell, I’m very excited about this restaurant.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful