IT'S no secret that the building of controversial Lumiere on Wellington Street has hit surrounding businesses and resulted in the closure of one.

The current work may have been postponed for the time being but the surrounding hoardings and pavement closures remain in place.
So with this in mind – and combined with the credit crunch – it's a difficult climate for the opening of a new restaurant, particularly in this neck of the woods.

But I believe the newly-opened Italian Primo cannot fail to impress and thrive with its truly magnificent cuisine.

We visited it on a Saturday night where the place was rammed to the rafters with customers.

Despite being busy, we were treated to impeccable service and, moreover, impeccable food and we left there feeling very impressed.
The restaurant is not particularly to my taste in terms of style as I prefer intimate, small, cosy restaurants. Primo is the very oppsite – trendy, bright and airy.

But it is immaculate and hovers somewhere between formal and informal with its white and red theme. I found though, that with the high ceilings, open plan and slightly sparse style, it dampened down the atmosphere slightly.

We took to the bar for a drink first, where you can't fail to be drawn in by fridges of what looks like homemade Italian ice cream and a selection of handmade chocolates.

My partner went for a Queen of Bahia cocktail from a rich and colourful list. This was delicious with muddled fresh strawberries at the bottom.
We were able to relax here for some 30 minutes before heading over to our table, and where the restaurant's willingness to please became apparent.

My favourite Italian starter is antipasto misto but it wasn't on the menu. That was no problem though. Staff were happy to meet our needs and duly made the dish specially for me.

It was stunning. A selection of four meats each, with soft mozzarella and a bowl of olives flavoured with herbs arrived at the table. This, with the fabulous Italian bread, was more than enough for two (£8.75).
We also opted for Gambas Primo (£8) which was two king prawns each, covered in a light creamy sauce.

These were beautiful and the prawns were huge.

The menu has a lot to offer with the usual pizzas and pastas as well as a host of different dishes.

I went for veal as it's a rare dish to find in England these days. I wasn't disappointed. A large slab of breadcrumbed veal escalope, covered in slices of parma ham and shavings of parmesan was presented and I ordered a side dish of spinach (£3.50) to go with it. Trust me, you don't need much more than that as this is filling. Listed on the menu as Costata Petroniana, this was well worth £15.

I found the prices really reasonable with the veal in the most expensive bracket at £15.

My partner went for the monkfish (£16) which was delicious. It wasn't a huge portion but the emphasis here was definitely on high quality not quantity.

Tiramisu is a notoriously difficult dessert to get right and one that doesn't tend to come up to standard in a lot of restaurants. But at Primo it comes very close to perfection.

The sweet and creamy layers went down an absolute treat for my partner while I succumbed to the temptation of those handmade chocolates sitting in the fridges near the bar.

Two were bought over for us to try with our coffees and they were so good we ended up taking a box of them away for £5.85.

The dark truffles in cocoa dusting were real melt in your mouth stuff – perfect for bringing out at dinner parties.

I really liked how flexible, friendly and warm the staff were. Your wish really is their command and nothing seemed to be any trouble. It made a refreshing change and it was the icing on the cake for us.

Considering it's a new place, there appeared to be absolutely no teething troubles as far as I could see. It was incredibly busy but we were still served promptly – and with a smile. The staff were very attentive, even turning down the air conditioning in our area when I said it was too cold.

There was a real mixture of families and kids as well as large parties and couples.

A service charge was automatically put onto the bill but we had no qualms in paying it for such a good meal.

We had no preconceptions and I'd not heard much about Primo before eating there but I would definitely recommend it. It's reasonable – even the wine starts at just £12 per bottle – the service is great but most of all the food is amazing. We will definitely be going back.

Primo Ristorante Cafe Bar, West Point, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4JY
Tel: 0113 244 8443
Fax: 0560 204 4624
Email: primo@primo-ristorante.co.uk
Website: www.primo-ristorante.co.uk
Opening Times:
Mon - Thu 08:00 - 22:30
Fri 08:00 - 23:00
Sat 12:00 - 23:30

FOOD 4/5
VALUE 4/5
ATMOSPHERE 3/5
SERVICE 5/5