Primavera Pizzeria and Grill — Restaurant in Virginia

Matt and I have always supported small businesses when we search for somewhere to eat.

However, after our visit today at Prima Vera on Rt. 17, I feel compelled to share this story with you all. I don’t want any other customers to be treated as we were today. Frankly, Prima Vera should be ASHAMED of themselves.

I offered to take Matt to lunch. We had to choose a place close to his work at Campers Inn. I suggested Prima Vera on Rt. 17 because Matt loves their alfredo.

We started going to Prima Vera over 4 years ago. We have probably spent $1000 or more there. Italian is our second favorite after Mexican. And we HAD loved everything we ate. Over the past few years, their quality has diminished, their service has diminished; yet, we have continued to go back to show our support for them in this current economy. We understand that everyone is suffering.

NOT AFTER TODAY! Matt only has an hour for lunch. We ordered our food at the counter and went to get our drinks. The girl behind the counter is usually in there and although she has always been aloof, never making eye contact and acting like she doesn't understand what we are ordering; we just chalk it up to teenagers.

Only ONE other couple was there & they were already eating their food. Matt ordered Ziti Alfredo with sausage and extra white sauce. I ordered a steak and cheese with double meat and cheese.

As we waited, we noticed how LOUD it was in the back. The girl was never in the front unless the doorbell rang. She was clearly back there with other(s) laughing, giggling, and sounding obnoxious.

40 MINUTES LATER - we get our meal. As soon as she put Matt's plate on the table, we both noticed that it CLEARLY had been sitting under some hotplate. Then Matt took his fork and started stirring it (MAN, I wish I had gotten a photo) and there was literally NO SAUCE in the alfredo!!? But there was a ton of cheese.

Matt told me she has messed up his order the LAST TWO times he has come. And yet, here we are back supporting Prima Vera. So when she put the plate down and Matt realized that his order was YET AGAIN for the THIRD time was wrong; he just let out this big sigh. He didn't really have time to wait. He was on his lunch break.

He told the girl again "I need to get back to work." She continued to ignore him. He could not wait anymore. As both of us walked up to the register, she came out and saw us and acted surprised! She said "Oh, just a few" Matt said "I can't wait" - she again, continued to ignore him.

Matt asks me to bring it home for his dinner. I was TICKED off that Matt had to go back to work without eating any lunch. She pushed the bag across the register. Me: "Thank you and I would like a refund on his meal." Ericka: "No, I am not giving you a refund, we remade it." I tried to explain to her that is not why I wanted my money back. I told her I wanted my money back because it took so long that he couldn't even eat it and because the service was awful.

Me: "I want to speak to your manager." Erika: "We have no manager." Me: "You have no manager?" Erika: She is out of town. Who knows when she will be back."

Me: "There is no one here that is above you?" Erika" "No I am here alone. That is why you didn't get meal. We had to make them others first" Two people came in 30 minutes after us. But if our meal is wrong, it should be put in FRONT of anyone who came in after us. ESPECIALLY when Matt told her that he was on his lunch break. Why did she continue to LIE to me? I could hear people including her back there messing around. Me: "I want your managers' name and number." Erika "I don’t' know her number. I looked on time sheet but it isn't there. She is out of town. I don't know when she comes back." Me: "You expect me to believe that you don't know your manager's name, number, or when she will be coming in?" Erika: "THAT IS OUR BUSINESS, NOT YOURS" What does that even mean? Matt opened his lunch tonight for dinner - IT IS WRONG AGAIN! Prima Vera - You have lost us as loyal customers & you have lost the FREE word of mouth ads. DO...

Two part review skip first paragraph if you’re not worried about the app

The reason I’m giving this restaurant a 3 star rating is solely based on their app alone. I shouldn’t have to be FORCED to spend more than $15 (excluding tip) just to have food that I want to pick up. Is it cheaper ordering your food on the Primavera app vs calling for pickup? Yes absolutely, but again if you’re ordering one thing for something quick to get by your day you shouldn’t be forced to buy more things or another food item.

Now BESIDES the app being my only issue. The food is always great here, I’ve been coming to this place for about 8-9 years and have to say that over the years the food and taste has been pretty much consistent nothing is over/under cooked nothing is too greasy or lacks any flavor even the salads always look fresh. As for the past two years the service for me has been EXCEPTIONALLY great and I’ve actually kind of know a couple of the crew members and throw jokes with them and they like to throw jokes back at me and see how I’m doing and such. Besides getting to know them, the staff is absolutely friendly and always makes sure that their customers are usually good to go. Inside it’s a little dark but I don’t mind it. There is more than enough lighting to make it feel like it’s pretty open and doesn’t feel too suffocating in size like most Pizzeria’s

So again besides the app being my main issue, overall primavera is definitely a great place to go to for some food. I’m change the star rating once the app issue...

I have had an issue with timing of scheduled deliveries with 2 separate events.

1st event was for my son's birthday party In January. The pizzas arrived almost an hour before the scheduled/requested time.

2nd event; I had family come into town Friday evening, I pre-ordered our dinner meal for delivery at a scheduled time of 630 pm. At 645 our food had not yet arrived. So I placed a call to the restaurant to check the status. I was told that the delivery driver was leaving just then with our food. Our food FINALLY arrived between 720 and 725. (I wish I would have checked the time exactly, but I didn't.) Mind you I ONLY live 3.6 miles from the restaurant, so maybe 9 minutes.

The ONLY thing the driver said when he arrived was that they were slammed ALL day. Yes, maybe they were... But a little courtesy call would have been wonderful. And to not be lied to when I called to check the status would have been nice as well.

The food when it arrived was semi warm, not hot by any means. The Calamari was rubbery, the breading was soggy, it seemed as though the Calamari was ready early and sat. The Gyro platter and pizzas had great flavor, but again were not hot.

I may order again and give another (the...