Primo Restaurant in Rockland, Maine enjoys a strong reputation as a high end restaurant with amazing food. Does the hype hold true?
We visited the restaurant in late summer with friends, making our reservation a month in advance. I worked in Rockland for five years, and visiting most of its restaurants during the time and in the following years, but Primo was a restaurant that we never seemed to line up when we were hungry. Probably the long wait for reservations was a big part of the reason.
Getting There
Primo is not particularly difficult to find, though some people “from away” confuse Rockland with Rockport, and vice-versa. My wife still does. The confusion is understandable, particularly where the towns border one another. Primo is located in Rockland, not Rockport.
Primo is located at 18 Main Street in Rockland.
The Setting
Primo Restaurant sits on a five acre parcel of land, of which most is utilized to farm fruit, vegetables, flowers, and animals, truly embodying the essence of farm-to-table dining. In fact, Primo was on the forefront of the farm-to-table craze when it was still new in many parts of the state and country, and it still always features fresh harvests from their gardens and farms inline with seasonal availability.
Primo Restaurant Menu
Primo’s menu is always changing. You can see their Daily Menu to find what will be served. It’s updated daily after 4:30 PM.
Our Meal
One of the people in our party has celiac disease, so making sure there were gluten free options was essential. The waiter assured us they take the issue very seriously, and let us know up front that every pasta dish on the menu can be made gluten free.
Drinks
To start, we ordered two Piccante Palomas featuring smoky mezcal and arbol chili syrup, a glass of Rose’, and a Lunch IPA from Maine Beer Company.
Appetizer
In addition to the traditional bread basket and olive oil starter, we ordered a plate of foie gras, which came surrounded by a creamy apple bread custard toast, with pears, hazelnuts, and caramelized onions and squash. The sweetness from the pears and custard toast was a nice touch to this dish.
Mains
The Spaghetti alla Bolognese, which was made with pork, beef, Primo pancetta, and prosciutto and coupled with broccoli, tomatoes, and basil was flavorful and hearty.
The duck was coupled with caramelized pear and hazelnut Farro, roasted Delicata squash, and set on ginger carrot puree.
The Moulard duck came from LaBelle Farms. While not located in Maine, LaBelle Farms is a small, family-run farm in Sullivan County, New York, and one of only three farms in the country to produce foie gras.
The scallops came with grilled baby leeks, vinegar peppers, set on a bed of black rice, and covered with Romesco sauce. This was one of the gluten free options on the menu.
Desserts
The cream puffs were the special of the day for desserts. Light and flaky, they were filled with salted caramel gelato and covered with melted chocolate – just the right amount of sweetness to top off a great and filling meal.
The Creme Brulee was one of many gluten free desserts on the menu. In fact, most desserts were gluten free, giving our friend multiple enticing options to debate over. It came topped with a vanilla shortbread and lemon curd.
The Review
We were pleased with our dinner at Primo. The service was very good, certainly better than most places. The prices are about what you’d expect for meals of this type. There are few restaurants in Rockland that are fine dining like Primo is, so if you are in the area looking for a higher-end meal, Primo is worth a visit.
Is Primo’s reputation warranted? Yes and no. Their farm-to-table concept was at the cutting edge when they were first established, and that was at a time when there were fewer high-end restaurants. They were fortunate to become established when they did, because I think that helped establish their reputation.
Have you visited Primo? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section.
