Il Primo Northshore — Restaurant in Chattanooga

My family and I rolled in a hot and hangry mess. Tired and cold from a long rainy adventure at Rock City, we were desperate for a comforting meal and a service staff that cared. After not finding accommodations at our first choice recommended by our Airbnb we just happened upon Il Primo. So grateful we did because we weren’t in the mood to care at all about anything at that point in our day. We even basically double parked crooked and were like, “nah… that ain’t that bad”. It was that bad but we were exhausted and probably needed a drink more than food, just being real. We’ve all been there.

We first checked with the host to see if they could accommodate our blended little band of circus bandits (2 teenage boys, our 4 and 1 year old girls and the two of us sleepless old wranglers trying to keep our sh*t together). The front end staff were gracious and though they didn’t have a high chair for the 1 year old they allowed us to bring in our stroller.

We first sat at a nice, almost picnic style table that perfectly fit our stroller. However, the AC was blowing directly on us and we knew it would just be too uncomfortable for our little ones who’d just dried off from the rain in their shorts and tank tops. Again, hangry and disappointed we decided to thank the staff for being so accommodating and leave. We resigned ourselves to the sad and sorry idea of Pizza Hut back at the Airbnb. Booo…

Defeated and frustrated we walked out. As we were opening the doors to our car we hear what can only be described as the voice of Jesus Christ himself say, “folks, please come back and eat a delicious dinner with us. We will find you a table that’s warm.” I mean, that actually sounded straight out of the New Testament in the moment. We were burdened, weary and heavy ladened when a man, out of nowhere (felt like heaven), chased us down to serve us.

The man, not Jesus Christ, happened to be the owner. He kindly walked us to the perfect table. Our server, Jordan, was exceptional and we ate, as good ole JC prophesied, a delicious dinner.

The bread, dipped in olive oil, was the most comforting way to start the meal. Our boys devoured their pasta and ravioli dishes and I ate the best lasagna I’ve ever put in my hungry hole of a mouth. I mean, if I’ve compared the owner to JC then Nonna was the Virgin Mary cause that lasagna recipe was divinely inspired. Literally the best I’ve ever had.

You can put a price on great food but you can’t put a price on a great experience. We came in tired, cold and hangry but left happy, warm and satisfied. Thank you Il Primo for, as promised, a delicious dinner, gracious service and an exceptional experience. Thanks also to you, Mr Italian Jesus Owner. You saw us hungry and in need and knew you could help. We will always remember you and your food. Theres a lot of love in what you have there and it shows. Bless you all and your...

We go here often, but Thursday (Veal night) we had a very poor experience with our server Owen. He seemed nice enough, even though he kept forgetting to bring what we asked for and was frustrated when we asked a second time for something. He took our drink order and was unfamiliar with simple cocktails, I let him know that the bartender would know (they did as always great drinks) My wife and the lady from the other couple we were dining with ordered happy hour wine (50% off). At about 5:50pm 10 minutes before happy hour ended, the lady we were dining with called him over as he was bringing water to a table. He said "I will be right with you" then walked back to the bar. When he came out he took another table their bill, and we thought he would come to us. instead he went to the table next to us and took their dinner order. After he took the order he was again walking away and we called out by name and he came to our table. It was now 6:03pm and we asked about ordering a refill on happy hour, we were told that "WE" just missed the cutoff. We pointed out that we have been trying to get his attention for almost 15 minutes. This is the part I have an issue with. He rudely looked at us and Hey I have been busy with other tables. I know that this is not the level of service that Nathan Lindley would want. We dine at Public House (I have double pours for life) we also go the both Alliea and 2nd American (owned by Daniel Lindley). I am not a tourist and love the Veal, in my opinion it's the best in town. I will return and even left a 20% tip (I usually tip much higher), but anyone can have a bad day. I hope our next time is better, the food was great but we felt like Owen had a problem with us...

An experience. Showed up as the first couple at 715 for a 730 reservation for 8 we didn't book. Hostess is a rude, and has general RBF during the encounter. States that we had a 630 reservation, this is after not having the name of the girl who made the reservation right either... are 8 people showing up on time for dinner wrong or the one person who took the reservation? This turned me off.

Atmosphere of the place is industrial and has a lot of professionals after work coming for dinner. A group of ten at the already full bar makes it real tight and you start to intrude on people's eating space.

Went to the bar and they were busy, but got service you would expect. I got the seasonal beer which was an APA and it was good, wife got the house red.

We decide as a group to stay, group grows to 11 and they accommodate and get us seated in about 30 minutes.

Everyone is pretty hungry and orders are put in. I order mushroom raviolis and waiter comes back 5 minutes later to inform me their out, but he brings bread. At least he knows how to deliver bad news, also to note, he brings a menu and an idea of different options. These are service people that are irreplaceable, they get it an a alternative was found rather quickly.

Rest of the night goes off without a hitch. Main course was good across the board, but the crown jewel is that cannoli! The cannoli were great, fresh shell that had a good crunch and a filling that was smooth and not grainy with large chocolate chips throughout. We have been searching for good cannoli for a while and we're stoked when it was...