Osteria da Primo

If you haven't tried this place you are missing out! Some of the best steak and seafood ever, not to mention perfectly cooked pasta and Italian style pizza. The owners are great and provide an excellent experience. Their wine knowlege is quite impressive and the selection of Italian wines at a resonable price can't be beat. Be prepared to feel like you are in Italy, it is amazing. more

The restaurant is located on a main street that appears to be dying during the day but has more energy in the evening. We were greeted promptly, then waited 20 minutes for our wine. We soon became aware of just how understaffed they were. The room is small, maybe holding 60 if it was packed, with two people serving. Our server was not only taking drink orders, she was pouring them (no bartender?). She was hustling orders in and food out; she felt badly that we had to wait so long to have our order taken that she put ours at the top. The other ""server"" appeared to have two tables that were concluding their meals. Her efforts consisted of walking rapidly up and down the aisle, flipping her ponytail and being very careful to not make eye contact with anyone. The servers are evidently expected to clear and re-set the tables which further reduces service to the diners. I actually felt sorry for our server as she was extremely pleasant and didn't like not being able to pay attention to her tables. I'll mention the bread, which was served immediately accompanied by an olive oil and balsamic dip and it was quite good. My husband ordered the veal scallopini which he thought was good and I thought was fine. I ordered baked spaghetti. (Remember, it's an Italian restaurant. If they can't do the basic spaghetti what are chances the rest of the menu will be good?) Again, I thought it was fine. It was served with a combination bechamel and red sauce and was to be baked. I'm fairly certain it was broiled to expedite serving. It was so bland... I asked for red peppers and was delighted they offered chopped red peppers in olive oil. Once I added that, the spaghetti became quite tasty. Salads are served after the entre (their bow to the European way) so we didn't have one, nor did anyone else around us order one. The Tiramisu for dessert was wonderful as it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet (and shouldn't be). Will be go back? Quite possibly. However next time it will be to try the wood fired pizza! Pros: Pleasant atmosphere Cons: Too lightly staffed more

I am not a food critic, but I know what I love, and I love Osteria Da Primo. This is a great place to take a date, or your family. The food is out of this world, my family ordered the wood fired pizza for an appetizer, and watched it go right into the 800 plus degree oven (you can actually see the temperature gauge). I have been here about 4 times, and have never been disappointed. Last night, my wife and I ordered the pasta dishes, and we woke up talking about how amazing they were. We live in Ballard, and it only took us 25 minutes to get home. Osteria Da Primo is easily as good as the ""top rated"" Italian restaurants in Seattle, where you will spend 25 minutes finding a parking place, and from experience, it is nearly half the price. Do yourself a favor and try it one night. You will be glad you did. Cons: Great food, great atmosphere, great service & great prices more

If you have ever been to Italy, had the food along with the family atmosphere then when you walk in these doors you will feel like you are in Italy!\r We love this place as it is about 10 min. from west seattle, always parking and the owners are so nice an the food - ah perfect- carpacio, pizzas and pasta are always so good. Pros: Food Cons: Its in burien and not west seattle more

Everything was perfect both times we've went..I've been to some the best eateries around Seattle and this gem really sticks out amoung them..THE FOOD IS SIMPLY ----PRIMO... Burien is lucky to have you... Pros: everything Cons: NOTHING more

Just a short 15 minutes from downtown Seattle where parking is free and plentiful you will find this jewel of a restaurant in Burien. \r \r If you are lucky you will meet Primo and Fiamma and you will most certainly meet their parents, the owners, Carlo Guida and Lindsay White. \r \r Chic and clean, beautiful pictures of Italy grace the restuarants' walls (don't miss the picture of the paternal matriarch in the women's room). \r \r Out of the wood fired oven comes made to order, thin crust pizza topped with the freshest of ingredients. Other menu items are family recipes straight from Calabria. Come early and linger over great wine and their outstanding desserts. You won't be disappointed. Pros: Wood fired pizza more

Billy Joel wrote a song about his favoriate Italian restaurant, and if I had any musical talent, I would write a song about this one. From the food to the atmosphere, this restaurant captures what is best about Italy: food with incredible flavor and authenticity that tastes homemade, with a wine selection to go with any entree. It is a place where you want to bring people because they will love it. I'll meet you anytime you want, at this Italian restaurant. Pros: Best Italian food Cons: Not enough days in the week to eat there more

Have you ever had authentic wood-fired Italian pizza? It's the greatest thing since sliced bread...and you'll get some of that too when you are seated. The first time I went to Primo's was shortly after they opened 3 or 4 years ago. I had lived in Florence for 6 months and was keen on finding out HOW authentic this food was. When I sat at the bar and heard the owner speaking Italian whilst making one of those yummy pizzas, I knew it would be buonissimo, and it was! The pasta is wonderful (try the fig and gorgonzola or split the four cheese gnocchi with a bottle of Aglianico). Osso Bucco is a recent selection that just melts in your mouth. They have gluten-free and vegetarian selections as well. Great atmosphere, service and food. Pros: Best Tiramisu and Gnocchi more

Carlo and Lindsey have created a fabulous little part of Italy right in Burien, Washington! How lucky we are! The food, wine, service and atmosphere are wonderful. Everything is terrific, but the made-in-Italy spumoni is a big surprise! Not that white/pink/green stuff of my childhood! If you like Italian food, you must come here! Pros: Best thin crust pizza ever! more

""This is what I think of when I feel like Italian!!! great atmosphere and amazing true Italian food cooked by the Owner and Chef Carlo Guida. He and his wife Lindsay have created a wonderful eating experience hidden in Burien. The pizza is cooked in a wood fired oven and is a true thin crust delight! The pasta is cooked perfect evrerytime and dont even get me started on the meat and fish dishes! I have been back so many times I have tried alomost everything on the menu and I have yet to have something I did not enjoy.\r \r They also have a wonderful Italian wine selection and beer.\r \r Make sure to add this to your list! It is worth finding and worth coming back again!, and again!""\r Pros: Amazing Steak & Pizza more

My husband and I travel to the Seattle area (4 hours away from our home in Salem) approximately 3 times a month - specifically to eat at Osteria da Primo; that alone should tell you how good the restaurant is! \r \r Osteria da Primo is the best - and most authentic - Italian restaurant I have ever been to in the United States. This is probably because the owner and cook is Italian! This is very important to me because I am a Professor of Latin and my husband is a Professor of Roman History and Archeology, so we spend every summer in Italy. Osteria da Primo is the only restaurant that fulfils our cravings for authentic - and amazingly delicious - Italian food.\r \r The owners and waitstaff of Osteria da Primo are friendly and take good care of the customers. Within view of your table is an authentic wood-burning Pizza oven - just like those in Ancient Pompeii or Ostia - which is absolutely required to make authentic Italian pizza, quicky, at extremely high temperatures. The result is a flavor as if you were sitting in a Pizzeria in Trastevere, Rome - perfetto! The pasta are homemade as well, and the combination of flavors is to die for - Gorgonzola and Pistachio stuffed ravioli, for example. The menu is extensive so that anyone will find it almost hard to pick - because it all looks so good! \r \r For those of you who travelled to Italy, and have found most of the the bland, garlic-laden American imitations to be lacking, don't give up - you CAN find real Italian food in the Pacific Northwest! But only at Osteria da Primo. Pros: Authentic Italian Food, Romantic Atmosphere more

We love this place. Being Italian, we usually don't eat out at Italian restaurants but we love this place! The food is amazing, just like we get when we return to Italy, actually better and more creative. Pizzas are perfectly cooked in a real woodfired oven, no gas flame used here, I would recommend the Biancaneve. The wine list is amazing, more like a bible of the great wines to be found in Italy, not just Chianti. We celebrate all our birthdays, anniversaries, and most Wednesday nights at Primo's. Give it a try, it's real Italian food! Pros: Real Italian food prepared by an Italian chef Cons: closed Sundays, not kid friendly more

We love this place, discovered it before we took a trip to Italy, and appreciate it even more after the trip. We now live on the eastside and still try to make a weekly visit. \r \r The pizzas are cooked in the wood fired oven, tended carefully by Carlo. \r \r The pastas are homemade and absolutely delicious, and the soups are wonderful. \r \r We're frequent diners here and I still have trouble deciding what to choose from the menu.\r Pros: Great food Cons: Parking can be tight--but it's free! more

This restaurant is truly a great find. It is so warm and welcoming - and the food is amazing! The deep fried risottoballs are to die for, the pizza is awesome - and the Italian sausage is breathtaking. They have a truly amazing wine list, that is obviously very carefully and artfully put together. And hands down the absolute best tiramissu that i have ever tasted. And trust me, I am an expert! The owner and wait staff are a dream - you do not find places like this around much anymore. Buon Appetito - enjoy!!! Pros: Just has a great feel. Good prices, healthy portions and extreeeeeeeemly flavorful! Cons: Not a one! more

Okay, my first review but I just can't keep a secret....I was told by a friend to go here for ""real Italian"" cuisine. Well, I'm not sure I know what that is, but they knocked my socks off! The gniochi is to die for - both versions, loved the deep fried risotto and the Pollo alla Carlo was delicious! I asked the waiter to recommend a wine and I wasn't dissappointed. I've been there many times since and think I've created a small following of out of town collegues. It's now one of our favorite spots to meet and I haven't been dissappointed by a meal yet! Try it - you'll like it! Pros: The food and wine and cheerful staff Cons: Sometimes has special events and is closed more

I stopped by after work one day for a glass of wine. The owner and staff were visiting with the few customers enjoying an early dinner. I was pleased with the wine selection and decided to invite a friend down to join me. We ate appetizers and drank wine for hours while learning all about food and Italy. They also were advertising the Marti Gras celebration dinner they host. The entire evening felt like when I would sit in the kitchen at Grandma Bosco's enjoying hand-made ravioli and chatting about nothing important. It was an Italian family dinner for sure. Pros: The best olive oil more

If you're looking for a little Italian restaurant with an ""old country"" family feel to it and you hate chain restaurants, then this is the place for you. Surprisingly it's in an old Burien strip mall, but the interior has a nice feel and the food is deliciously authentic Italian, with antipasti, primi (pasta) dishes, secondi, and pizze, also perfect cappuccino -- no need to order ""dry"" or ""wet"", they will do it in PERFECT Italian fashion. \r \r I ordered the linguine diavolati with shrimp because I love linguine, shrimp, & spicy-- and it was delicious. It was enough for me so I did not order a secondo. My 6-year old had the pizza marinara and liked it; I had a taste and the sauce and crust were superb!\r \r The waitstaff are wonderfully attentive, and the owner is friendly. I felt a bit of the ""old country"" here, in Burien of all places. I hope this place does well. It is deserving. Pros: food, service, European family feel Cons: in a strip mall more