Located in the heart of Downtown Suffolk, Primo 116 markets itself as an upscale Italian restaurant. Though a good concept and much needed in the area, Primo 116 fails to deliver in almost every area of the dining experience.
Right from the beginning you get the feeling that someone didn’t think things through completely when they designed the layout of the establishment. The doors open directly into the main seating area, with nothing to block the weather from the patrons inside. There is a small waiting area with a coat rack to the left of the entrance, but it is so tight that congestion occurs and frustration ensues. The chaos is only amplified by the lack of a dedicated host to seat guests as they arrive. Throughout the night the front entrance was left unmanned more often than not.
Though the seating is comfortable it is not plentiful, excusable due to the “bistro” nature of the restaurant. The restrooms were clean and well maintained, with the exception of the archaic soap dispenser. Was someone going for the high school locker room feel? Sad.
Moving on to more important matters (I just couldn’t ignore that soap dispenser), the service was excellent. Though I got the impression that our server was new, he was very cordial and eager to please. It’s not always important to know the fancy jargon or every ingredient in the dish, I would much rather have a full glass and fresh bread. Service is the single item that Primo got right.
Geraldine and I each had an appetizer and an entree. Our appetizers were poorly seasoned and we barely touched them. They kindly removed them from our bill (without us asking), but in my opinion the dish should not have been served – it was that bad. The entrees weren’t any better though. Neither Geraldine nor myself finished the second course, which took at least 45 minutes to be presented. Poor presentation and bland flavors are reoccurring themes at Primo 116.
If you’re looking for good Italian food you’ll be hard pressed to find worse than Primo 116. Even Olive Garden manages better dishes and gets them out in a timely manner. If you are in the market for fine Italian dining, look to Amalfi in Norfolk.
Primo 116 attempts to present itself as a warm and cozy “Italian Bistro”. When entering the bistro, there is an area to the left to hang your coat. However, there is no one there to take your coat. Typically when a coat hanging area is so small at a restaurant, someone is there to take your coat—not here though. The place looked cozy, but it didn’t feel it because the temperature was near freezing.
The seats were fairly comfortable, and for the most part the restrooms were nice—stocked with lotion and thick cloth towels. The restrooms weren’t all good though. I spent quite a bit of the evening in the restroom thanks to the soap dispenser, which, was very difficult to use and dispensed little soap.
Aside from the atmosphere, the food was terrible. It was the worst Italian food I’ve ever had. Nothing was seasoned or cooked to the point where it was pleasantly edible. The only decent aspect of my meal was the bread and the martini I had to drink. The presentation of the food was just as bad as the taste of it.
On a lighter note, I must say the service was excellent. Our waiter was cordial, tried his best to please, and kept our drinks full. Overall, the bad aspects of this place outweighed the good by far. Since the food was so poorly prepared, I left hungry, and I shall never return. I wouldn’t recommend wasting your time on this place. Take my word for it—it’s bad.
Contact Information for Primo 116:
Primo 116
116 West Washington Street
Suffolk, Virginia 23434
757-923-0116
