Primavera Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Da Lat City

I’m honestly sad to share this review after visiting this place every time I’m in town (should be twice a year at least) and even recommended to many friends who came to visit due to the great taste of food and atmosphere. But the service I received today put an end to all the good experience I’ve had.

First of all, nobody was waiting downstairs, only a cook who asked us whether we had a reservation, then asked us to go upstairs and see if there are still available tables. The same procedure repeated when we headed upstairs, we didn’t expect much but none of the staff were friendly. No greetings, then showed us to a table and threw 2 menus at us. We could sympathize that they were tired after working non-stop during the holiday and we were happy that we got to our table even though no reservations was made. Little did we know that we would have such a bad dinner. It really ruined our night!

Let’s talk about the main topic, the terrible service began here. We understand that this is holiday season so not all the dishes on the menu can be served, but the waiter who served us today couldn’t even explain why a dish is not on the menu and whether the dish we ordered was available or not. He first told us that he would check with the Chef and never got back to us. We had to call him back and he confirmed that they had that dish today so we kept waiting. And finally the dish (which was supposed to be our appertizer) came after the 2 main courses, turns out it was another dish that we didn’t order (even the price was different). When we asked another waiter he said the dish we ordered was not on the menu today after we showed him a photo of what the dish should have looked like. Plus he couldn’t even prounounce the name of the dish correctly.

After we go to the check out counter and shared the experience with the lady there (I supposed she was the supervisor or owner), she explained that the dish we wanted to order is not on the right menu (which is in English), it was on the Vietnamese menu. Why would you serve two menu and one of which is out of date?? And why is the Vietnamese menu not updated/different from the English one? We are in Vietnam, aren’t we supposed to be served in our native language? I even heard the couple sitting next to our table struggling to order because they were not familiar with both English and Italian dishes.

The order of the dishes, as mentioned above, was weird. What Italian place would serve a sandwich after pasta and salmon steak (we ordered our food in one go, not separately)? The drinks we ordered (home made ginger tea) were not even served. We had to recall and the waitress nearby made it for us. We took a good look after having our meal, the place were only serving half of its capacity but the waiters don’t seem to know what to do, they kept themselves busy by moving around but none of the guests were attentively taken care of.

Lastly, as I have been a regular customer, I thought I should share with the owner our feedback so they can improve, I even thought of leaving tips since it’s the holiday season here but the attitude of the lady really disappointed us. She only shared about the 2 different menus and the waiter must have misunderstood us. No apology or any question about the experience. She even said the 2 dishes are similar. What did she expect? If they want me to eat the dish maybe just come and say “Hey sorry we’re not serving what you ordered today but there’s a similar dish would you like to try?” They didn’t say word and at the last moment when we thought we should give the place another chance, we were let down.

With all the negative reviews here, will they improve? I don’t know. But I’m sure that I won’t recommend this place or revisit it again.

P/s: I usually go easy on waiters and waitresses as I work in the hospitality industry as well, I know it’s hard for them but this time the attitude of the whole restaurant led to this review. And I bet the owner is going to send a backfire comment below if they ever reply. Just look at the negative reviews here...

Avoid Primavera Italian Restaurant in Dalat: A Place That Disrespects Its Customers

Primavera Italian Restaurant on Phan Dinh Phung Street, Dalat, is not just a bad dining experience—it’s a complete insult to anyone expecting even the most basic level of respect and hospitality. This is a place where your dignity is thrown out the window the moment you walk in.

We made a reservation in advance, expecting that this would ensure a comfortable and well-prepared dining experience. Instead, we were crammed into an unreasonably tiny table that barely had space for two dishes. It was clear from the start that this restaurant prioritizes squeezing in as many guests as possible over providing any semblance of comfort or care.

From the moment we arrived, the staff set the tone for the evening. The person who took our order was unfriendly, cold, and visibly impatient, pressuring us to place our order as quickly as possible. There was no warmth, no welcome—just an unspoken message that we should hurry up and move along. It felt less like a restaurant and more like a production line.

We ordered a salad, a pizza, a beef steak, and two drinks, but only managed to eat the salad and pizza due to the sheer chaos and stress of the experience. The staff and the lady owner repeatedly pushed us to clear the table, demanding that we make space for the next dish. They brought the beef steak to our table twice, insisting that we finish our food quickly. How are guests supposed to enjoy their meal when they’re being harassed and rushed at every turn?

This was not a fast-food joint; this was supposed to be a proper Italian dinner. Yet the staff treated us like we were an inconvenience for not eating fast enough. The constant pressure to clear the table was humiliating and demeaning. It was clear that the restaurant values nothing more than turning over tables as quickly as possible, with zero regard for the customers’ experience or dignity.

When we decided to pay for only what we consumed and refused to pay for the steak we didn’t eat, we informed the owner about our terrible experience. His response? A sarcastic and dismissive “thank you”—no apology, no acknowledgment, and certainly no attempt to make amends. It was as if our feedback meant absolutely nothing to him.

Let’s talk about the food: it’s okay at best. Whatever reputation this restaurant might have had for quality is clearly fading. The pizza and salad were fine, but far from exceptional, and certainly not worth the frustration of dining here. The lack of care in the service seems to extend to the kitchen as well.

The seating arrangements are another disaster. While we were squeezed into a tiny table, a solo diner next to us enjoyed a spacious table, even though they ordered very little. The restaurant staff made no effort to accommodate or rearrange seating to ensure a better experience for us.

And the owner’s behavior? Truly appalling. At one point, we witnessed him rudely demanding that another table leave as soon as they finished eating. His exact words: “Are you finished? If you’re finished, we want to get back the table for other guests.” This led to a heated exchange, which only added to the tense, unwelcoming atmosphere.

This restaurant’s so-called “popularity” is nothing more than a facade. Its central location might draw in tourists, but beneath the surface lies a toxic culture of arrogance and contempt for customers. The staff and owner make it painfully clear that they couldn’t care less about your experience.

Dining at Primavera is not just a waste of time and money—it’s an insult to your dignity. There are countless other restaurants in Dalat where you’ll be treated with respect, served with care, and allowed to enjoy your meal in peace. Primavera Italian Restaurant is a disgrace to the dining scene in Dalat, and I urge everyone to avoid it at all costs.

You deserve better. Dalat has so much more to offer—don’t waste...

My experience here over the weekend with my friends was among one of the most distraught Italian dining I ever had. So distraught, I write my first ever food review.

Before I dived into the critic, I want to highlighted our “uncivilized” manner, which you may see from other recent reviews and responses from the owner. As claimed, we re-ordered another dish in replacement of the disappointing, mushy-layered lasagna, and we left shortly after “without” a word when the re-ordered dish has just come up. Humor me, but I do not grasp how they manage to remake a dish so quickly, yet one of my friend’s Gnocchi order from an hour before that was still not done. PMy friend even asked the waitress if it was okay to cancel, and she said yes, hence why we left. But this is all hearsay with no proof. In the end, I don’t know why we have to be “civilized” when our last 40 minutes of dining was filled with utter disappointment. You even complained that we ate half our food before returning. Were you expecting us to sit there from 7:30 to 9 pm, returning half the food we ordered with next to nothing in our stomach?

On that, first disappointment is the food. I highly recommend future eaters to only come to order “easy” to make food, such as spaghetti and bread appetizers. Those were good and up to standard. However, the lasagna we got had pasta layers that were so mushed it could fuse with weirdly-tasted minced meat tomato sauce in between. Risotto were so raw, it became rice porridge; The rice did not have the proper time to release gluten and puffed up water into a smooth and silky sauce. The gnocchi were also so raw, you could taste the uncooked flour inside. Almost all the dishes that involved meat, from ribs to venison, were dried. Dried. We could see meat fibers were squeezed out of water from the moment you cut into the meat. By any food standards, this is utter culinary disappointment, and a disgrace to Italian standard. Disappointment number 2 was the service. You claimed to be an Italian restaurant, but none of your staffs are trained with the mannerism of European service, let alone Italian. We did not get to taste tested the wine, did not get no introduction, and pouring technique is out of the question. When asked about what dish we ordered were called (risotto with ribs as we found out), they merely called it “cơm sườn”. A new staff may be untrained, but I catch all staffs were scared, unhappy, and confused half the time. I would question management. Such question was answered with disappointment number 3: Attitude. Half of my motive for writing the review is the attitude. Condescending, when you assumed us Asians do not understand Italian way of cooking. Unfortunately for you, half of us are of European descend, had been to this restaurant before, and many of us are avid cookers of multiple cuisines at home. Italian or not, the food quality was nothing short of ruinations. Hell, you don’t even know what you were talking about. I made complaint about my Venison Goulash with red wine, sided with risotto and small gnocchi, and the owner proceed to correct me by saying that “mì Ý được nấu 70% sống al dente”. Ma’am, risotto is rice, not noodle. None of the dishes we complained about involved noodles. To top it off, you proceeded to try to grill us for an extra 10 minutes out of the hour and a half we wasted at the restaurant to lecture us on “uncivilized” manner at the checking out counter. We simply wanted to leave and find food that does not cost a fortune at dog tier quality.

In the end, I did get my refund for dishes that was not worth after haggling for 10 minutes. But, many of my friends were upset at how one of their favorite, best italian dining in Dalat turns around to be so petty and...