Prima Pasta And Cafe

Great food and great prices. Excellent restaurant

Such great food at great prices! I came here for the first time this past Saturday with friends and then again last night with my family! I live nearby and I always frequent Howard beach restaurants but never came here because the outside looks a little shady lol. Anyways, the dishes I tried were the mixed fried seafood platter, chicken Marsala, penne ala vodka, linguine in garlic and oil and chicken sorrentino! Everything was really tasty and fresh! The bread basket especially the pizza style breadsticks were great. The only thing to my fellow yelpers is that they do not honor that discount on Mondays as advertised. I spoke to the waiter and he said the restaurant never approved that and he doesn't know why it is advertised at all. But in any case, it was still two great nights of Italian dining which didn't break the bank in an area filled with several Italian eateries.

I gave three stars as there is potential here. With so many other Italian restaurants to choose from, Prima Pasta needs to step their game up.

Pro's:
- The pizza like breadsticks in the bread basket were good
- cold antipasti was good (note: I did not eat any of the cold cuts on there)
- Fried Calamari was also good
- Water pitchers, soda pitchers, wine carafes were kept full
- The wait staff was very friendly, patient and attentive

Con's:
- The other bread in the bread basket was just about stale and dry. No butter (or dipping oil) served with bread basket
- Penne vodka sauce - the sauce was good and tasty but the pasta was under cooked (more than al dente)
- Caesar salad dressing was plain and watered down. We had to season out salads with grated cheese and black pepper so it had some taste.
- Dinner portions were small. I had the eggplant parm; the sauce had a tangy taste to it like it was about to spoil. The eggplant is not breaded and friend but just dipped in egg and fried. My husband and son had the chicken parm and there sauce tasted fine.
- Entrees were served with sautéed string beans and carrots and a plain boiled potato. A PLAIN BOILED POTATO...that is exactly what you got on your dish next to the veggies and your entrée. I could not believe this and still can not get over it. no sauce, salt, butter, oil, seasonings, nothing, just a plain boiled potato.

Con's continued for facilities:
- The ladies restroom was DISGUSTING. The garbage was overflowing, the floor and countertop were wet and dirty. It was so disgusting that even though I had to urinate, I held it in until we got home in Jersey.
- I am one of those people that is cold all of the time. I was sweating in this place. I asked the hostess (an older, straight faced, not so warm or friendly woman) if they could turn the temperature down a bit. That is when she informed me that she had put the heat on for a customer that was very cold and that she shut off the heat earlier and I said okay but will you but the AC on? She said no, that she needs to keep everyone happy. I guess she realized I was with a large party, so she went and turned the AC because within 20 minutes the mugginess went away and the temperature must have dropped 10 degrees. Once the AC was on, the temperature was comfortable.
- New ceiling tiles and a wipe down of the vents would go along way to clean brighten up the dining rooms a bit.

Not only the food is great....but also the staff are in spot with the menu and friendly to everyone. ....a family place not to be missed

I've been dining at Prima Pasta for years. I haven't lived in Queens for over 13 years but whenever the opportunity (or excuse) presents itself to eat at Prima Pasta, I jump at it. Ten years ago, my friends from work got together there to celebrate a 50th birthday party. People came from Astoria, Yonkers and from the Princeton area of NJ. Everybody enjoyed it so much that we are getting together again there for a "re-enactment" - same trips will be made from Astoria (where some of the best food in the world can be found), Yonkers and NJ, but everybody feels it's worth it. Great food, great prices.