IL Primo is a perfect date night spot or sit at the bar for after work! Just know they do take reservations for a 1/3 of the tables and then the rest of the restaurant is first come first serve. The food never disappoints! We started the meal with Baked Feta which was perfect with a slightly spiced red sauce topped with feta cheese and baked and garlic crostini on the side and perfect and with the daily special of a Caprese Salad and Caesar salad made a perfect balance of appetizers. For entrees tonight I enjoyed the Chicken Marsala and the boss went to her tried and true Mushroom Ravioli. The food and service never disappoints at Il Primo, if you haven't tried do not sleep on this place! read more

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Came here on a Monday night for dinner and was quickly seated. I ordered a Cesar salad and mushroom ravioli and the focaccia was complimentary with the meal. The food was great, and I especially liked the mushroom ravioli. The waiter kept checking up on me throughout the meal to see if I needed anything. Would love to come back again for other dishes. read more

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Wonderful food, service and ambience! I highly recommend this restaurant! To everyone!

Food and service have always been great. Best lasagna ever in my opinion. Bread is really good.

I would give three stars but honestly should be five stars alone for Riley's service, he was great with recommendations on food and went out of his way to make sure dinner was as best as it could be all around. Inside was a bit loud so opted for outside with the beautiful weather going on. The fried ravioli was crispy and filled with meat although completely lacking flavor, the fritto misto (calamari) was crispy like styrofoam. There was no true crisp or crunch and was very sad with no flavor, although the bell peppers were the one thing that saved it but was hard to balance with the bitter fried lemon wheels they threw in. The tartar sauce was an airy liquid that resembled nothing what it should be. The bread that was offered was laying near the entrance/exit of the building for anything to land on from bugs to trash or even someone to cough on passing by. Not sure if it was meant to be appealing or convenient for staff or guests. Almost gave up hope but then had a really tasty bottle of cab named Smith & Elliot Cabernet, highly recommend for a middle ground cab at a steal for 40$ for the bottle on Wednesdays, paired with their Wednesday special carbonara (21$). Really delightful pasta, filled with flavor meat and sauce. Definitely would return again for the carbonara pasta, wine and Riley's service. read more

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I got a reservation a day before. The process was very straightforward and easy to make online. We came to Il Primo on a Saturday evening, the plaza was packed but there was still enough parking on the outskirts. Once we arrived, we got seated pretty quickly. We all ordered the same thing: the Mushroom Ravioli. It was absolutely delicious. The raviolis were covered in sauce and had parmesan and parsley sprinkled on top. Presentation was nice. I loved how creamy, yet light the sauce was. Also perfectly salted too. The Mushroom Raviolis were very flavorful, had a rich umami and savory taste to it. For my first dish here, it was very memorable. I'm pretty sure I was about to drink the sauce because I loved it haha. My only complaint is that I wish there was more. The dish had 6 raviolis. The ravioli was a decent size, but for the price I was expecting a little bit more. Despite this, I would come back again. I really enjoyed my food, it was a 4.5/5 for me. read more

IL Primo - Mushroom Ravioli - Italian Near Me - Ooltewah, Tennessee

Consistently clean, fantastic food and terrific service. Absolutely #1 place to eat in that area.

Il Primo has been our go to spot for years. Dates, anniversaries, graduations, all of it!

We hosted a rehearsal dinner for our daughter in their private dining room earlier this month, and everything was simply amazing! The food was over the top good and the service was outstanding! The drinks were also delicious!! this was our first time eating here and we will definitely be back! The ambiance is wonderful too! Seriously 10 stars!! read more

IL Primo - Italian Near Me - Ooltewah, Tennessee

Il Primo is my favorite restaurant in Ooltewah - best chicken piccata, though everything is delish! Kind staff, chic atmosphere & great food! read more

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Great food. I had papardelle ragu it was superb. Very good service. Dessert was excellent also. read more

Food was very authentic and tasted so different in a good way!! Service was amazing by our waiter Megan (I believe that was her name) because since my family is vegetarian she explained what items could be modified or are already vegetarian. The whole ambience of the place is cozy and romantic. Super clean bathrooms and the interior is pretty. read more

We have been having date night Il Primo Ooltewah for a year and up until last night the food was delicious. Last night marked a huge change. I had the cauliflower soup and a salad was mediocre but the soup was disgusting. A few weeks ago I had delicious white creamy cauliflower soup here. Last night it was a brown disgusting mess. My husband gets the fish special and usually it is cooked perfectly. Last night the flounder was cooked to a mushy dry mess. They must have hired a new awful chef there. read more

IL Primo - Disgusting cauliflower soup. - Italian Near Me - Ooltewah, Tennessee

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This is the 2nd time that I'll Primo has packaged items on their sides allowing everything to spew out onto my nice rugs and floors. this tonight was the absolute worse! After I saw juices/ sauces drupping from the bagall over my nice rugs and floor, I opened the stapled bag (that although was sealed up) what I found inside was horrible and purposely placed by the restaurant to either purposely spill out everywhere or the restaurant did not care. I found bowels of food items placed purposely on their sides to squeeze everything into one bag. The dipping oil, the sauces from my bruschetta and meatballs was poured out into the bag. this is the second time that this has happened by this horrible restaurant and this time was the absolute worse. I plan to make sure that all of my business connections and family plus friends know what happen. read more

Ate at a different location with my aunt and uncle when I first moved here about a year ago. Everything tasted like it was made with a salt shaker and nothing more: even the pasta was salted to death. I had a pork scallopini, which is basically pork that is banged down and breaded and fried. It was salty as lord knows. The only good thing? Was the bread. The bill for 3 people was near $200 -- horrible experience and embarrassment to have brought my family read more

Il Primo Ootelwah never fails to deliver an amazing meal. I enjoyed the Roasted Beet Salad and the Arencini Telefono - Molto Belle! My husband had the Hallibut with Pineapple Salsa with a side of creamy Peccorino Polenta. We both are in the most amazing food comas! read more

IL Primo - Roasted Beet.with goat cheese salad - Italian Near Me - Ooltewah, Tennessee

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I would give this restaurant 4.5 stars if I could. Christy our server was great, very attentive and quick. The food was very good! The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I would have liked the ravioli to have been cooked a bit longer. It was very al dente to the pint of being a bit hard on the edges. The flavor though, was amazing! read more

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Freshly carved focaccia, super friendly service and delicious entrees. Great atmosphere for a family or a special occasion. What a treat for our family. I appreciate a restaurant that treats you well and IL Primo does not disappoint! Highly recommend! read more

Consistent good food, friendly service and a very nice dining atmosphere. As locals and "dining regulars" we of course have our personal favorite servers however in general the staff are all wonderful overall! Great patio dining experience where sometimes the live music can as well be heard and enjoyed from the main stage at the adjacent Central Park. A great restaurant for a date night with your sweetheart as well as can easily accommodate smaller friends and family gatherings. read more

I came here finally after hearing great things about it and I left very satisfied. Service and food were all top notch. This is a nice upper end place to eat if you are in the area please stop in I am confident it will be a great dining experience for you just as it was for us. read more

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This is a fabulous restaurant in a great mall. From the start you are welcomed by the ambiance of the open air environment outside walking to the restaurant. Upon entering, you are overwhelmed by the incredible smells. (They should charge for them.) the decor is simple because the food - and drink, sells itself. The team of servers, waiters, greeters, bar staff and everyone else and kind, polite, helpful and professional! I loved the experience and look forward to returning to take photos and give a second opinion. read more

Can't say enough good about this place. The ambience, the service, the food, all is top notch.

Food and service is always excellent. We enjoy sitting outside, weather permitting, as inside can be loud, but we still go as food is that good. read more

Food and service was good! The atmosphere was cozy. Wish they had their fall menu out already though. read more

IL Primo - Dessert - Italian Near Me - Ooltewah, Tennessee

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Just amazing. We got the baked feta and asked them to do regular marinara instead of spicy. They were so accommodating. We also shared the special of the day, which was the chicken carbonara, and they even separated it into two plates. Our server was very attentive. Just overall, great experience read more

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Sat at the bar and enjoyed some cocktails. I enjoyed the food. Service was good and ambiance was nice.

Great food and service. A bit pricey. My wife and I had a good time. I suggest making reservations

Here's the scoop on Il Primo--a little loud yet not bad (on a Monday--too loud on the weekend). Meatballs are very good. An excellent date location--maybe trickier for a large group if you want broad conversation (perfect if you want to lean a touch yet not so bad you have to keep asking your interlocutor to repeat themselves). If the date goes well you could walk around the square and grab ice cream from Tasty Scoops & Sweets for $3.5 before stopping at the central fountain to continue chatting. You're looking at $50-100/person depending on your preferences & if you get the works or keep it simple. read more

Location, food and service are great we don't always go downtown but when we do we always make a stop here

My husband and I had a fantastic dinner at this restaurant in Ooltewah. This restaurant is beautiful, we had great service and a wonderful meal! We will return here. read more

IL Primo - Lasagna - Italian Near Me - Ooltewah, Tennessee

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So happy to be able to dine at Il Primo again! Met up with a friend to grab a bite and chat--we both enjoyed Il Primo greatly. Our server was absolutely delightful from her approach to service, her sunny attitude, and knowledge of their menu fare. We had a great time talking with her throughout our dining experience. We decided to split a special winter salad that our server recommended. It was a nice base of baby spinach topped with blood orange segments, candied walnuts, goat cheese crumbles, dried cranberries, and a citrus vinaigrette. It was so delicious! We also split a thing of their Arancini Telefono. It was also very good and one of my go-to antipasto items. The cheese center for these seems to be mozzarella pearls that don't get very melty but rather stringy which was a nice change from other restaurants. For mains, we stuck with primi courses. I wanted to try their Tuesday special of Lobster Pappardelle with Tuscan Cream Sauce while my friend tried the Mushroom Ravioli. I also saw that a favorite that once could only be gotten as a rare special had been added to the main menu so I also got that...just had too--couldn't resist! The only critiquing I would make was towards the lobster aspect of the pappardelle dish. The seafood smelled noticeably fishy and was overcooked. I would suggest reassessing how the lobster is handled and prepared. We also tried their bubbly version of limoncello, cider sangria, and the red sangria. All were amazing but wow did their version of red wine based sangria stand out to me--beautifully smoky, buttery goodness with the perfect hints of citrus and spice. The atmosphere is especially ambient after the sun goes down as they only have soft lights in the dining areas. This can make it a bit hard for some to read the menus. Reservations are definitely recommended. They only have three full booths with the rest of the seating being mostly chairs or half-booths. Love sitting in the section with the full booths and request that in the reservation every so often. Parking can be interesting because of how crowded the square gets in the evenings so be prepared to look in the many different parking areas till you find a spot. Is always a pleasant walk though no matter where you have to park. read more

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I've been a huge fan of Il Primo for years, but they really knocked it out of the park with the Duck Confit Risotto from the winter menu. It's hard to find a perfect dish, but this is pretty darn close. It hits every note of savory, richness, subtle sweetness. Incredible! read more

Great food and d a very cool ambiance. My significant other and I love this restaurant and will be back, once again, for the great food and fun times. read more

Best food in town & TN Fresh,cooked wonderfully, & marvelous taste. It is our favorite restaurant read more

Starved after a long day, I was desperate for a good meal. I don't live that far from Il Primo. I always thought it was a place for anniversaries or when a high profile client came into to town. I was always going to go "one day". Too hungry to care, we found that it was one of those evenings when the other places were already closed at Cambridge Square. Frankly, I didn't think that I was dressed up enough to be let in to IP. We tried anyway. Surprise! We were able to scoot right into a booth. The accommodating staff were delightful and responded quickly to our unique preferences. The time from order to table was amazing! The food arrived quickly and hot. It was delicious! Yeah, I may go back for an anniversary or when that high profile client comes into town. Between now and then I will have been there to enjoy at least a dozen or more times. read more

IL Primo - Marinara sauce on spaghetti with a side of broccoli. - Italian Near Me - Ooltewah, Tennessee

Both of our entrees were wonderful, and the limoncello is a must! The service was impeccable!

This restaurant has delicious food and great service. It is always a treat to eat here.

Had reservations at 5:45 last week on a Thursday (no early bird special). Seated right away it was not crowded but did pick up before we all left. Plenty of free parking. It was pretty noisy, they had plenty of tables and I think it had a bar but did not really look around that much. I know it had draft beer (+1). I ordered the antipasti appetizer (5 selections) and it was excellent and enough for the 4 of us. Could have had a few more of the bisquits/crackers for the spread but overall very good. I ordered the Rigatoni al'Arrabbiata & Sausage ($16). It was excellent (with a little spicy and plenty of sausage) and had enough to take a small plate home. Overall, service was excellent as was the food. I will go again. read more

This place has the best lasagna! I don't know about anything else because it's what I order every time it's so good!

Another amazing dinner at Il Primo. Started with my fav apps- burrata with blistered tomatoes outstanding! . Arrancini telephono- warm and creamy delicious. Excellent pasta dish of orcchetta bolognase. Finally one of the most fantastic trout dish that I have ever experienced. Seasoned and cooked to perfection. read more

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