Prima Cucina Italiana

We always stop here on our road trip from Connecticut to Wisconsin...it never disappoints! The food is outstanding, which we did not expect the first time we stopped in. After all, we were in Youngstown Ohio, not Chicago or New York. What a gem! First of all, the wine. Here is where we learned about Pecorino wine...and we had thought it was just cheese. Delicious!As for appetizers, we always order the artichoke as it is stellar...and now we add the octopus to our list of must haves. Polpo was tender, perfectly cooked. Served with a garnish of potatoes and capers and a divine sauce, beautifully played.After all this, we split the eggplant Parmesan...light, full of flavor, perfect in every way. This restaurant is why we drive through Youngstown. We are excited to try their new spot in Austintown next time we come through. We understand they are moving there but also keeping this location as a more casual concept. We wish them luck.Amanda was a great server!!!!

Loved spring at the bar and having conversation with bartender and manager. We meet some regulars with standing reservations every Friday night... definitely gives you the first impression of a great restaurant.

This is a fabulous place to enjoy a delicious Italian meal! It's a beautiful restaurant with great ambiance, friendly staff, and the food is excellent. I have been here twice as this is the halfway point for my parents and I to meet up, and I can confidently say we will be back and this is our official meet-up restaurant for the future.On our last trip there, we ordered the mussels appetizer and the insalata misticanza (mixed salad) which were both delicious. Our main courses were the Pappardelle al Ragu', Linguini Neri allo Scoglio and the Spaghetti alle Vongole - all three were spectacular. I absolutely devoured my Pappardelle and the Ragu was the best I have ever tasted!

I'm not certain where these other reviewers ate, but I definitely had a different experience. I had the octopus appetizer that was almost an entree itself. My wife had the carbonara and it was delicious. A little side note about carbonara: many places and people make this incorrectly. My favorite celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, doesn't make it correctly. This place makes it the authentic Italian way with NO CREAM! And they use guanciale instead of bacon or pancetta. Yes, I am a bit of a food snob. I had the skirt steak for my entree and it was beautifully cooked and well seasoned with fingerling potatoes and broccolini. The green sauce was done well with the right amount of seasoning. We also had the artichokes. They were not overly salty as one reviewer posted Our server was very well informed and being from Eastern Europe, I was also impressed with his pronunciation of the Italian names of the dishes. It is a lovely and charming restaurant that is a great spot in downtown Youngstown.

Best dinner before the show in a lovely room with a nice bar. This family restaurant hand makes everything. And, yum. Everything tasted wonderfully. We started with wine and Caprese salad, Devils on Horseback dates, and Calamari. All were delicious. The Calamari was lightly fried and included two large shrimps. For entrees I had a fabulous grilled octopus starter called Polpo and some of the Calamari. Others had the Skirt steak that was large with a nice flavor, but was a lot of meat with a side of greens. The lamp chops were not on the menu, but my friend, who's a regular here, asked and received. She really liked the six chops. The evening's special was trout, and it was outstanding, said my husband who orders fish when we dine out. Next time we will try the handmade pasta. Having dessert was worth the extra time. We had lemon sorbet in a hollowed out lemon. The presentation in a martini glass was very creative with the cut lemon end used as the cap. Refreshing!

In town for a night and needed some dinner. Fantastic authentic Italian food, good service, and a really fun crowd. Can't wait to come back!

Our first visit, last evening, my birthday. The place was cold (low 60s?); mid-December, blustery & snowing, and most diners were wearing their coats as they ate. Fortunately, the greeter at the door turned up the thermostat at my request. The ambience is lacking, like a banquet hall with tables. Our drinks (dirty martini and a cosmo); were excellent and reasonably priced. The waiter, a young man with short dreadlocks; excellent, friendly and informative. The food; we had the most expensive meal on the menu; a $100 tomahawk steak plus a $19 caprese salad and $7 devils on horseback. The devils were delicious; bacon wrapped stuffed dates with a tasty dipping sauce. The caprese salad was a disappointment; tasteless tomatoes and below average mozzarella (nowhere near worth $19). ...and the tomahawk steak; cold and small. a huge rib bone with maybe 10 oz of meat beside it. 10 ounces. My wife ate one small piece, I had three, and there was two small pieces remaining. Steak quality was very good but this was the smallest tomahawk we've ever seen; barely a meal for one. ...and it was COLD. (Cold steak is not good). It came with a small serving of potatoes and some broccoli rabe; both also tasty but again, cold. Our bill was $160, we left a $40 tip, and gave the girl at the door $5 for turning up the heat. We will return - for an Italian meal, but do not recommend the tomahawk. Not a bad place, probably better in the warmer months, but Aqua Pazzo is so much better.

1st time at Prima...-Atmosphere was wonderful. A small cozy intimate type of ambiance. Cool little bar with 15 or so seats. Maybe a dozen dining tables with white tablecloths. -Service was great as well. Seated on time, bartender knows how to make an excellent Manhattan!!! Waiter was attentive, knowledgeable, and very pleasant.-Food was scratch made, with plenty of choices that all sounded delicious. Calamari/Shrimp appetizer may be the best I've ever had. Main course was a pork sauce with pasta, wife had chicken Milanese, both were excellent.If you're looking for an intimate, romantic atmosphere with excellent cocktails, food and atmosphere, you should give this place a shake. All around, the best restaurant in our area

I am not a food critic, but I know good food. Spend a lot of time traveling and have experienced many different types of food around the world. My wife took me out to dinner, for my Birthday, before a concert at Covelli Center. We made a reservation for 5:30. Concert was at 7. We arrived early (5:15) and they sat us immediately. We ordered the peppers as an appetizer. They were good, but bland. It basically was a whole pepper with a lemon oil over top. Not much spice. They tasted fair. We ordered our entree around 5:40. Food came out 6:08. I ordered the pollo alla milanese. The description was "Breaded chicken cutlet, arugula, lemon, and Shaved parmigiano". In my mind, I thought it would have been some kind of lemon sauce with arugula incorporated into the sauce. It wasn't. Now I understand that it's not their fault that I didn't really understand what Pollo allá Milanese was. But I am allergic to uncooked fruits and vegetables. A condition called "Oral allergy syndrome". After the food was served I knew I could eat it. Waiter came and I told her the situation, also explained that we were going to the show a crossed the street for 7pm. I asked if I could order something else. She told me the best they could do was make me spaghetti to go....... Now they did have other tables and 2 party's of 6 but there where only about 35 people in the restaurant. Not to mention a table that came in 20 mins after us, was already finished eating and leaving..... after she took my food away, no one came to check on us. Not the manager, not the server, not the chef. If I was a chef, I would want to know why an untouched plate came back.... 2 things could have happen, he either wasn't aware or didn't care. At 6:40, I asked for the check, server walked away and I had to request the manager. Really? You just had a customer sit and watch his wife he her food and didn't think the manager should have came to check on us? The manager came over with our check, they did take off my meal and also insisted on giving us $25 gift card. She was very understanding and told me she should have been told earlier and they would have been able to make another meal to eat in, and not to go...My wife enjoyed her meal and I did have a bite. The food was good. She ordered the papperdale Al ragú. Here is my complaint. My wife and I went to dinner for an experience and my birthday. We each ordered 2 drinks, an appetizer, and 2 entrees. If they didn't take my entree off, we would have paid $130 with tip for this meal. $130 in Youngstown is the average daily pay for someone. And much above average for a dinner bill in Youngstown. So the experience/service better be above average. Again not a food critic, and what I ordered was not their fault. But the way it was handled was poor until I asked to speak with the manager.

We experienced Excellent food, drinks and atmosphere. Everything was very neat, clean and tidy. We Highly recommend.