Primo Family Restaurant

False Advertisement is what got me to come here. I found this great coupon on the Primo website where if you buy a pitcher of beer you get a pizza for $ 10. I decided to go on Friday, June 3^rd, when I entered the restaurant I was greeted kindly by who I’m assuming was the owner and was told to sit anywhere. After picking a booth I mentioned to the owner that my friend and I came because of the coupon we found. The owner quickly told me that they no longer do that deal and that the coupon was taken off the website long ago, so I told him that I just looked at the coupon that day. The owner then had us bring the coupon up on our phones and once we showed him that it was still on his website his response was ‘sorry we no longer do that deal, it was more trouble than it was worth and should have been taken down’. He didn’t offer to honor the deal since its still on the website or any sort of discount at all. At this point I was ready to get up and leave but it was pouring down rain, and I wanted pizza.
We ordered pizza anyway and 1 beer each instead of the pitcher we were initially going to get. We got a medium Primo Special pizza and it was awesome but very expensive ($ 23 for a medium). The crust was thin and crisp on the bottom and had a nice crust at the top and they were very generous with the toppings and it had that nice string of melted cheese when you take a slice. My only complaint about the pizza is that the mushrooms were obviously canned and for that price I would expect fresh mushrooms.
Overall would I go back? I’ll definitely order pizza to go on Tuesdays when they have their deal of buy one large and get one for 4.99, that is unless the owner suddenly decides they aren’t taking that coupon any more either.
Today is June 6^th and the coupon is still up.

Eh… I wasn’t impressed. We always pass by this restaurant and there’s always people. It looked busy. We thought it’s a good hole in the wall kinda spot. I was wrong.
Didn’t order much and our bill was almost $ 50. I have been to other restaurants and spent that much or more and it felt like it was worth it. But this time, I felt like I was cheated.
The calamari had decent flavoring but it could’ve been crunchy or cooked more.
French Onion soup was GREAT.
Pastichio was a flop. — don’t waste your $ 16 and part of the cheese was burnt
Steak and Cheese sub was bland
The service was ok. It wasn’t consistent. Some were greeted and seated by the waiter and some, including ourselves weren’t.
Had to ask for napkins but they did refill our drinks w/​o asking.
This is my opinion… Take it as you may. Hope it helps.

It’s ok. Prices were raised massively. Nice area, but needs to be renovated. Eat lunch with contingency workers. It was nice. Waitress there who has an elevator that don’t go all the way to the top. Plus I feel they want to get you as soon as possible.

Went to Primo today with 2 of my granddaughters. Breakfast here is the best in the area! Had the French Toast and Bacon. Cooked to perfection! Kids had Bacon, Eggs and Pancakes, loved them. Wished they served breakfast everyday, but only weekends. Would have been 5 stars but no sugar free syrup or sweet & low. And the waitress was slow and her hair dipped in to my coffee, good thing I saw that or it could have been a hairy experience.

It was much better when the Greek family owned it before. Prices are high for what you get.

As long as you don’t order something too complicated, you’ll be fine. The pizza, omelettes, soups and salads are very good. The pasta dishes also generally work. The cost is reasonable. The reason I give this place five stars is the service, which is excellent — friendly and prompt. Also, the owner, Jim, is often there and there’s no substitute for that kind of attention. In short, it really works as a family place/​diner. Much better than Table Talk.

Thank you Primo’s! My family loves, loves, loves Primo’s for the food, the prices, the location, and the way the staff makes us feel welcome. For all of you who insist on décor like Outback or any another ‘boxed’ restaurant, you just don’t get the family atmosphere at Primo’s. How many places have wait staff who remember that you like two slices of lemon in your tea and brings it that way without having to ask each time you go there? It’s little things like this that make us feel a part of the Primo Family, and we love having a place to feel at home in!
Some of our favorite dishes are the lasagna, Souvlaki platters, Angus chopped steak, salmon (cooked perfectly), Chicken Marsala, spaghetti with meat sauce, pizza, and the specials like the Greek Combo, fresh mouth-​watering, delicately prepared fish, stuffed cabbage, and the Friday crowd pleaser: fish and chips! The portions are huge, which makes for easy delicious leftovers the next day.
Get to know this food, the staff, and the owner! It’s just ‘Home’ to so many of us in this pocket of Fairfax County!

My wife and I have enjoyed Primo’s many times in the past, to the point where we chose the restaurant to hold our wedding reception a few years ago. As it happens, today was our anniversary — hurray for us! — so we decided to celebrate at Primo’s for not-​so-​old times’ sake.
We arrived there mid-​afternoon on a Tuesday and so the crowd was relatively light. Yet our server seemed rushed or we were otherwise experiencing a communication gap. One example: my wife attempted to ask for an upgrade to her side salad but the server just kept asking «What kind of dressing?» At the end of the meal when my wife said she was interested in dessert, he asked «What do you want?» instead of offering to bring back the menu. (He did eventually retrieve the menu.)
We shared hummus with pita bread as an appetizer. I had the chicken dijon while my wife had the lamb kampama. Our meal was very good; we were just disappointed in the brusque service.
The owner apparently was out of the restaurant that day. As he is a gregarious fellow, we would have felt comfortable approaching him with our dissatisfaction about our server. It won’t stop us from coming again but it probably wouldn’t hurt for management to give a refresher course in customer service to the waitstaff.

Primo is a great family restaurant with friendly service and good food. The menu covers a wide array of Greek and Italian food along with the usual American fare. The calimari is excellent with a batter that’s crisp and not too heavy. The sandwiches are solid all around. The pastas are always al dente and the tomato sauce is nicely balanced. The homemade meatballs are far better than the standard microwave meatballs you get at most places in the area. Although the prices are a bit higher than one would expect for a family restaurant, it is very family friendly and you get the feeling that you’re very welcomed there with kids. That’s not too often the case in most Alexandria restaurants.

Pizza is like Bloody Marys or Salsa… it really sets the tone for a bar or restaurant. Pizza MUST have good crust and quality ingredients.
Had seen the reviews and it wasn’t too far from my casa in Old Town. Of course, I had to try a taste of custard as I waited. Eyes rolled back in head — that good. Somehow I managed to avoid ordering one while waiting.
I accidentally ordered «tomato» on my pizza and half jalapeño. Meant just tomato sauce… My fault but that was ok.
Wow. Wow… the crust was crunchy on the bottom and the ingredients went close to the edge unlike some «designer (cue overpriced) pizza places where the ingredients take up about 60% of the pizza.
Easy to see why this is so popular. Glad to have found it!

Came to Primo’s with 80 students for breakfast!!! It was awesome… pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast and a great time had by all!!!

Great family spot. … best pizza in our area. Could use some updates but that’s part of its charm. Love the chicken kabobs… little pricey though.

Are you italian, American, or Greek? That’s the way I feel about the menu. Too many options to have truly good food.
There are only 2 good things about this place: pizza and custard
I’ve given this place several attempts, don’t think I will be back.

Amazing food! Ignore these idiots who just want to talk about the décor. Go for the food and good service. The pizza is the best. Super cheap breakfast!

Sunday morning breakfast was on point. They start serving breakfast from 8 – 12 for those sleepers and church goers. I am normally just a plane pancakes but i decided to try the short stack of blueberry pancakes and they were awesome. Definitely worth a try.
Premo is a family friendly atmosphere. Great for groups. They also do fundraiser for local school. I know West Potomac football team they sponsor and do events after foodball games.

I always make it a point to check in on 1-​star restaurants to see if anything has changed. A friend and I were in Belle Haven and he wanted a cup of coffee and a bucket of grits and didn’t want to do Roy Rogers or Bread & Water or the Starbucks in the Safeway. After my last experience at Primo, I figured I’d set my sights pretty low and was pleasantly surprised. The clueless waitresses were gone, the manager was working the tables, the coffee was fresh, and the gyros are still hand-​carved off a spit and not the Sysco cryovac grey bologna strips. Not bad at all. I will still go out of my way to patronize Atlantis or the Royal Restaurant or Table Talk, but Primo is now back on my edible list. Which is more than I can say for Elsie’s Magic Skillet.

Very outdated décor, but good service and reliably basic menu. Gyros, italian subs, pizzas, and pastas. Our party ordered calamari for appetizer and I had the chicken parmesan. Calamari contained rings and tentacles (as I prefer) with a standard marinara sauce — no complaints here. Chicken parmesan dinner was unremarkable, but decent. Meat was on the dry side, but sauce was good. Basic spaghetti with sauce and toasted french bread with butter to accompany. Side salad was mostly lettuce and boring. I would suggest going here for take-​out if you are curious. Others have noted the gyro sandwich and salad are good.
Owners, please give this place a face-​lift because the food is actually quite decent!

Someone needs to show the owners of this place a copy of the local newspaper so they can see what year it is. This place reminds me of someone’s house that was built in the 1970’s, stocked with 1970’s furniture and décor, and then never changed.
It’s so dark and dingy in here that I want to run away. The whole place screams «I’m old and get off my lawn.» It’s cold and uncomfortable. The age of the customers here appears to be over 60.
Robert Irvine needs to come in here and sledge-​hammer the whole place.
The pizza is very good, which is why it gets three stars. The owner/​manager is also very friendly but he’s not always there.

An entirely average restaurant full of suburban families taking out their grandparents for weekend brunch. Service is spotty, in that our waiter actually disappeared for a solid 20 minutes near the end of our meal.
Most sandwiches and breakfast items are $ 8 – 12, with the dinner entrees hitting the mid-​teens. The gyro is forgettable and loaded with bland tzatziki.
It’s a fine place to take grandpa, but I’d never go here on my own.

I have been coming to Primo Family Restaurant for almost 20 years, watching it go through highs and lows as well as change ownership, and I believe that the pizza has improved since the change in ownership. It is Greek-​style pizza which I usually hate, but I have to say that it is more of a hybrid of Greek and New York style pizza, which makes for a pretty solid pizza choice. Now, I always get the same thing: medium pie with xtra cheese, onions, and mushrooms.yum. What I love about this pizza is that Primo’s load s on the gooey cheese for a hearty, yummy pie. As soon as there was a change in ownership I noticed that there was a change in the quality of the cheese for the better. I spoke to the new owner – a really nice guy who is really proud of his restaurant – and he informed me that one of the first changes he made was to improve the quality of the pizza ingredients.
Another positive change at Primo has been the addition of frozen custard. It is old fashioned goodness that is bound to please adult and kid alike. Trust me, if you have never had it, it is not your father’s ice cream. Creamy and taste and well worth a try.
I have only eaten in this restaurant a few times and that has more to do with the décor than anything else. With it mass of seniors that eagerly rush to Primo’s for an early dinner, it reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry visits his parents in Fla and discovers that his folks are great lovers of the Early Bird Special. Nothing wrong with that, but I have never been too inclined to embrace that diner style of dinning.
When I started to write this review, I had rated Primo’s pizza at 3 stars, but now that I think about it, it is really a strong 3.5 stars, for I have scarfed it down with abandon. A great option for take out,