Primary Tavern Restaurant & Bakery — Restaurant in Ocala

First time here! The whole experience was so strange. Two doors opposite sides of front of building. Door 1 said Bakery and Take Out. Door on other end said Welcome come on in ? I really didn’t pay too much attention, I knew I wasn’t there for door number one. As soon as you step in the door you are already in the dining area. Literally less than 5 feet from people trying to eat. Nowhere to wait? No hostess? A waiter stopped and said they were full but expected a table to clear soon, we could sit at the bar( there were a couple seats left) or just wait there. I didn’t feel comfortable standing there like a vulture watching and waiting for people to eat, so I said we’ll wait outside on the bench. He said ok. We went outside and waited. While we fed the mosquitos - there were so many- I seen another couple walk in. Nobody had taken our name and there wasn’t a paging system. So I called from my phone and asked if they needed my name. The woman was polite and asked it and also said any time now someone should be leaving and she would come out and let us know. The mosquitos got to be too much , we went inside. The other couple that had gone in were waiting down by the other door and bakery. We were heading that way when a waiter motioned for us to come to the table she was cleaning. The inside is really nice, looks very clean. You start to think higher end dining . Waiter was polite and asked for our drink order while we decided. The menu is unique. Both in look and content. First page states menu has been designed for flavor experience and they do not do substitutions or omitting. Our drinks came in clear plastic cups. For a restaurant with double cloth tablecloth’s this seemed odd. Our party of 3 ordered the same dish. The portions were very small and served on paper plates. Square 8inch paper plates with normal stainless utensils? I found the meat to be dry and tough, there was no butter offered for the egg sized roll and there was a couscous salad ( also a tiny paper plate-3inch) that I can’t even describe. Waiter was polite but not at all knowledgeable about questions when asked about the food. We all agreed there was a vinegar taste to the meat. In all we were very disappointed. We Don’t plan on returning but Please for everyone’s sake put something by the bench to help with the mosquitos...

Just disappointed. My mother in law and I went to dine last night. We were greeted by a lady in the completely open kitchen area which is right by the front door. Given a quick everything is baked under this roof. Next we stood waiting to be seated while we watched a lady walk through the dining room with a trash bag. We were finally told to have a seat anywhere by a lady clear across the other side of the room. We choose a table near the bar area. There was a large party and several other tables seated. We waited a little for a waitress. When she came by the table she asked what we would like? I asked for a wine list which she pointed out was in the middle of the table in a small acrylic frame. We asked for two waters while we looked over the menu. When our water arrived they were in clear plastic cup with lids and of course a straw. My mother in law and I both had a few questions about the menu. Which were answered and followed up with a rather abrupt statement of “there are absolutely no substitutions”. I was confused by the curtness of her response because none of our questions even indicated we wanted a substitution. The menu read more like a lunch and appetizers menu rather than dinner except for the last five item, manicotti, pork loin, chicken beast, pot roast and a waffle something. There were no sides, like a salad to add to dinner. Also, where is this bread baked fresh ever day. Sad to say after a few moments of conversation as to what we wanted to eat we decided to go to our tried and true restaurant clear cross town. The first impression with plastic cups did not say anything other than take out and lazy. Disappointing because we need more upscale and elegant dining choices on this side of town without...

After a very good lunch a few weeks ago, our dinner this past Monday was a complete disappointment. The first chair I sat in had not been cleaned (crumbs on the seat/shiny marks on the back), which I didn't see until coming back from looking at the almost empty dessert case. Considering we came at opening on Monday and they're closed all day Sunday, there is no excuse for not cleaning thoroughly between the last service on Saturday and the first service on Monday.

One waitress for the dining room that grew to 2/3rds full. She was slow to clear our plates and we had to request refills of our drinks.

The pork tenderloin was sliced so thin, was not accompanied by enough apples, had no discernment of molasses, and was absent of any swiss cheese.

Finally, I ordered the carrot cake as it only had one piece sliced from it and I was assured it had been baked that day. Aside from two cheesecakes and a coconut cream pie, the dessert case was bare. A couple random slices of ginger peach pie and a couple slices of apple cranberry pie that had to be leftovers from Saturday. No fresh baked strudels, nothing with chocolate, nothing like the case we chose from at our previous lunch.

And the cake was dry...my guess is it was baked a few minutes too long, as the other components were very good. Told our waitress who spoke with Kelly, chef/owner, who didn't offer to comp or to send us home with a different offering.

Fitting end to a...