Reviews of Primal (Restaurant)

Melanie C

First time here and a wonderful dining experience. My wife and I shared the 5 course dinner and every bite caused a desire for the next. It is a rare occurrence when absolutely everything is excellent. We will return in the near future.

jmsjeps

Service

Terry Korte

Meal type

Colin Levey

Loved their pastas and soup. Being vegetarian I loved their Kale taglierine pasta. Never liked kale so much ????

mwmodz

Went to Primal on a Friday night and I tried making a reservation but bar top seating was the only option. I thought it was a glitch on the website, and we went without a reservation. Boy I was wrong. The place was full! So we were seated at the bar top. It is such a cool restaurant! Furs and vintage decor really set the mood. The only thing is that it was pretty dark in there! I saw some customers laugh about it and read the menu with the flashlight on their phone. Our server was attentive and was happy to suggest certain dishes and was able to do a dairy free dish for my husband. I love to research the places I’m going to. So when I looked at their website I was happy to find a menu. But the prices DON’T MATCH. I didn’t want to cause a scene, but that was disappointing. For a pretty high end restaurant I would hope they kept their website up to date. We ended up spending more than we planned to. The bison carpaccio was amazing. The pickled walnuts were our favourite part. My husband got the heart bolognese, without cheese. This was a bit disappointing, but I believe if there was cheese it would be better. The carbonara was tasty and very cheesy, but after a few bites, it was really one note. This was my first time having carbonara so maybe it’s just not for me.

Dimitri Katsiris

Food was amazing! Especially pasta was very similar to authentic Italian food. Loved the vibes and nice staff. A bit pricey.

Ed Grassie

The service was absolutely excellent. Very knowledgeable about the food & workings of the restaurant. Super great personality too! The brewed iced tea was amazing. Fresh pasta and local in season ingredients absolutely delicious!

Sara Warman

Came here for my birthday, and loooooved the food. The pasta we got was so rich and the drinks ordered were great! I bit pricey but totally worth it!

Ryan Blushke

Had dinner here with my family. I had heard great things and was long overdue to try it out. We all ordered different meals and tried a bit of everything. We also enjoyed some east coast oysters and some great wine pairings. This place is reminiscent of some of my favourite Italian food in Vancouver. 10/10 would recommend.

Jacob Reetz (The Lich)

This place never disappoints. Their mains are excellent, but their pastas are where they really excel, and are always making seasonal plates with fresh ingredients. Good wine selection.

Dayton Buziak

Dinner

Lauren Dauvin

Excellent use of local ingredients married to transitional Italian cuisine preparations. Worthy of their selection as a top restaurant in Canada

Kerri Wetaski

If you haven't gone to Primal....go now. My wife and I went for dinner and enjoyed the entire experience. The food and staff were great....really great. We took a pizza to go so we could eat primal the next night as well. We ended up eating a bunch in car on the way home because it's that good.

Dan Clapson

Phenomenal setting, and hands down the best pasta you'll find the city. The service is impeccable... Absolutely in awe with our time there tonight

Ken Alecxe

Some of the nicest of the nicest Italian food I've had in Saskatoon... But I only got 3 prawns and 1 scallop for an extortionate price. C'mon guys, there's plenty of fish in the sea.

Harley Francis

Dinner

Constantin Katsiris

My go to for delicious food in a relaxing atmosphere! I have always felt so safe and taken care of anytime I visit. Thank you Primal team for going above and beyond for your customers in Saskatoon ♥️

J M

Atrocious ambiance - everyone was competing to see who could shout and laugh the loudest. Waiter was rude and the vibe was pretentious but somehow vulgar at the same time. Food was unremarkable and completely overpriced considering the ambiance. Never again.

pratik mehta

Amazing handmade pasta and good wine selection, even better that it is local to Saskatoon.

Hailey

Service was fantastic. Server gave us rundown of the restaurants history and their goals. Everything being sustainable and locally sourced was amazing! Had the house bread and the rigatoni. It was incredible some of the best pasta I've ever had. Portions were not large but the flavour and richness well made up for and went well beyond. Had the pavlova sorbet for dessert and again it knocked it out of the park. A must if you are looking for some fantastic local Italian cuisine!

Scott Ziegler

The best restaurant, in my opinion, in Saskatoon. The staff is always fantastic which adds to the overall experience. The butternut squash ravioli is one of the best dishes I've ever tasted! The menu is always changing which is also nice.

Al VanCaeseele

Outstanding meal. We had a group and decided to do the family style 3 course meal. It was amazing. No many flavors and textures. Out entire evening, from our cocktails, appetizers, mains and dessert were amazing. And our waiter Connor tied our evening together to make it an outstanding dining experience.

Izzy Grace

Wow! Came here on a Tuesday for pasta and wine, and it was so amazing. The spaghetti and meatballs were just perfect, with the meatballs being so tasty and the perfect size for pasta. The tomato sauce was also so good. I also tried my family's pastas and they were great all around. The cream sauce had such a unique and wonderful taste. I would absolutely go again!

Michelle Poles

Pasta was delicious and can accommodate a dairy allergy. The server was knowledgeable and was able to suggest which dish would be best without dairy. I wish the portion of the bone marrow was larger, it was mouthwatering.

Nathan Smith

Truly a must-try restaurant for anyone visiting Saskatoon (or anyone in the city who hasn't been yet). Chef Christie Peters creates dynamic Italian cuisine using a wide range of Prairie-grown ingredients. The restaurant uses locally ground flour made with heritage grains. This is something very unique and impressive as far as Italian-style concepts go in Canada. The dining room always boasts a sophisticated, but inviting vibe and the wine selection is also great. Primal also has its own line of house-made products including pasta sauce and some wonderful foraged tea blends. ????????????????

Ashley C

I asked someone from Saskatoon where to eat when I was in town and I was told that Primal was their favourite restaurant in the whole country. That’s a pretty big statement…. And I totally understand. Great vibe, wonderful staff, libations on point…. And the food? Hot damn. The mint pea ravioli may be my favourite pasta dish of all time. That alone had me contemplating moving to Saskatoon…

Kayla Dain

Great food, great service and a very nice ambience, which was a pleasant surprise walking through the door. Had the seafood and thoroughly enjoyed it: Had colour, presentation and most importantly, lots of wonderful flavour.

Becky B

Dine in

MARS K169

Classic Italian Pasta on your radar? Primal is definitely a must stop. But, you better make a reservation because of this place one of a kind and always busy. Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs? Yep! Kale and Cashew Pesto? Absolutely! That's actually one of my go-to's! How about Spaghetti Carbonara... accompanied by some house made Fried Bread?? YES! They have that also! The top it off with a piece of Pavlova and a Chocolate Truffle! Deeeelish! Oh, and not in a mood for Pasta? Try their one of a kind Primal Pizza! It's out of this world! I'll be back again soon! See you there :)

Jacky J

Service

KARA FIRMAN

scallop and prawn arrabbiata, taglierini, tomato, chili $30. #supportlocal. Food was fresh and very tasty. Sauce was so good. VERY lite on the seafood however. Service was top notch. Cool vibe. 4 stars for price of the meal considering seafood quantity.

Tristen Nezcroche

Great atmosphere, locally and sustainably sourced ingredients, fair pricing, and helpful service to walk you through options. Food ranged between "I guess it's alright" to "holy hell, this is perfect". For example, the starter bread is a folded over pizza dough, which was explained to us, and it's exactly that. I would describe it as an empty calzone. It was fine, there was nothing wrong with it, but it just made me wish I had the rest of the pizza with it. Flip side, the prawn and scallop on the pasta were perfectly done; couldn't be better. Only slightly chewy but not too much with a nice crisped outer texture. My biggest complaint is the metal cups for water which makes the water both smell and taste like the metal. This is fine for a Moscow Mule or something where the scent and flavour of the drink masks that, but please use glass for water.

Murray H

Dine in

Vanessa Tonn

Second time at Primal, but decided to order individual dishes instead of the 5-course meal. Still fantastic service, and loved my chicken alfredo tagliatelle, but so disappointed in the lemon cream dessert. Worth a visit if you haven't gone yet. Great atmosphere for a date night or night out with friends.

RON JOHNSON

Food was great, but we where charged 20% gratuity for 6 people. The server was impatient and slow, I normally don't care but for 20% tip I expect better service. We will not eat here again.

Jen

Meal type

Nicole Hill

Had the mint and pea ravioli and it was AMAZING. Super light, fresh flavour. Our server was great and super knowledgeable. You can tell they care a lot about what goes into their food.

Nancy McLaughlan

Fabulous menu, fresh pasta... Just great flavours in everything we tasted. Smoked olives and fried bread we're great appetizers as was the apples + prosciutto combination. The tagliatelle bolonese was as good as I've had anywhere. HIGHLY recommend this place. Very knowledgeable and helpful server. High energy place...I love that, but it might be a bit loud for some.

Ivor Palmer

Great food. Ordered the five course meal. Between two of us we tried the tomato soup, bison carpaccio, rigatoni and arrabiata pastas, and striploin mains. Meat was cooked well. Recommend the cheesecake for dessert as it was surprisingly light.

Brett M

Staff were great and the food was awesome! The bison carpaccio was melt in your mouth delicious! The fresh pasta was so good and my husband's lemon cream finished the dinner nicely. If we lived close, we'd be there a lot.