Primo Piatto Dinner Review
*This gluten free dining experience took place in January 2020. It includes information about dairy free options, as well as a review of fish/shellfish free, peanut free, cabbage free, hazelnut free, and chicken & turkey free options.
Dinner at Primo Piatto
Primo Piatto is a quick service restaurant located in the newly opened Riviera Resort at Disney World. Like the resort, the restaurant is inspired by the European Riviera. Recently, Brandon and I stopped by the resort to have a bite to eat at this new restaurant and check out the special dietary needs options.
Atmosphere
This was our first time at the resort, and not only did we really love the resort's decor, but we really liked the charm of Primo Piatto.
Primo Piatto Sign / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
You can enter the restaurant from both outside and inside. I loved the exterior entrance sign at night.
Primo Piatto Seating / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
One of the things we learned quickly during our first visit was that the restaurant is quite small. The seating area is comfortable but with the holiday crowds, it felt very crowded. This photo was taken later in the evening after the crowds dwindled a little and the restaurant was nearing closing time.
Speaking of small, the restaurant only has two cash registers to order from. Not once in the entire hour we were there did the line ever not back up and go out the door. This definitely seemed to present a major challenge in the flow of ordering at the restaurant, and I hope they'll be able to adjust it a bit as the restaurant continues to get its footing.
Primo Piatto Seating / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Primo Piatto contains lots of bright open space that makes it very feel airy and light. It definitely has a European cafe feel to it. I did also really like that they had a variety of seating options including booths and high-top tables.
Primo Piatto / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
I absolutely loved the art, photographs, and pops of color & design in the restaurant. My favorite had to be the colorful fabric on the benches in the seating area. You can see how vibrant and rich the designs were in this photo of me that Brandon took.
*Unrelated to the theme or food, I should mention that if you're going to visit Disney's Riviera Resort and are driving or renting a vehicle, parking can be a challenge. Currently, the resort is quite strict about guests visiting who do not either have a dining reservation or are not staying at the resort. In fact, we were advised we could not park at the resort because of this. We were able to visit by entering through Caribbean Beach Resort, but it's worth mentioning, particularly if you're interested in dining at Primo Piatto which is a quick service and does not offer reservations. This is a fairly common practice at Disney resorts during peak times and is alway good to remember.
The Food
Like most Disney owned restaurants, Primo Piatto does carry an allergy-friendly lunch and dinner menu. Guests can also, at any time, speak with a manager at this location about options. We spoke with cast member Taylor who was just a delight. She also has food allergies and really went above and beyond to assist us with options.
The only bummer of this visit was that the restaurant isn't currently offering their after 4 p.m. dinner options. We were told by several cast members that Primo Piatto hopes to bring these back after the holiday season. I hope that is true because some of the dishes sounded really good.
Primo Piatto / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Once we placed our order with Taylor, we were given a place tracker to take with us to a table. All orders at Primo Piatto are made to order, and we were told they would bring the meals to our table. Taylor did advise us that we might have a slight wait time as the restaurant was both very busy and because we were getting baked allergy-friendly fries. While it was a slight wait, I wouldn't say it was excessive by any means.
Primo Piatto / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Because the after 4 p.m. entrees weren't available, Brandon and I decided to get burgers on our first visit. I ordered the Riviera Burger which normally comes with Grilled Portobello Mushroom, Swiss Cheese (lactose free), Caramelized Onions, and served on an Allergy-Friendly Bun. I did ask for my burger to have the mushroom removed, as I'm not a huge fan.
This burger was marked safe for Gluten/Wheat, Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies. If you're dairy free, you can omit the cheese to make this dairy free or order with vegan cheese (I believe they carry Daiya brand currently).
Overall, I was very impressed with the burger. The flavors were really good, and the quality of the actual burger was excellent. My favorite part was by far the Swiss cheese & Caramelized Onions. I would have liked to have had some type of sauce on the burger or some type of lettuce to bring it all together as it felt like there was one slight thing missing. This might have been because I omitted the portobello mushroom, but I would have liked just another texture or taste profile to add to the burger. But, I would definitely get it again.
The baked fries were just OK, in my opinion. Brandon really loved them, but I wasn't overly impressed. Next time we go, we'll be sure to ask about the Romano Parsley which we were told was safe but was missing from all of our fries.
Primo Piatto / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Brandon ended up ordering the Bacon Cheddar Burger which came with Applewood-Smoked Bacon, Aged Cheddar, and served on a regular gluten-filled bun. Like me, Brandon really enjoyed his burger and thought the actual burger patty itself was excellent. I think he was a little jealous of my cheese, as he said he thought mine looked tastier. But, he did say the bacon was really good. He also loved the baked fries.
His sandwich was safe for fish/shellfish, cabbage, peanut, hazelnut, and chicken & turkey allergies. I could have also ordered this gluten free, and dairy free guests could get this dairy free by omitting the cheese.
Overall
Both Brandon and I were highly impressed by our first visit to Primo Piatto. We really enjoyed the quality of the food, felt the prices were fair for what we received, and appreciated how helpful the cast members at this quick service restaurant were. Despite a few hiccups trying to park at the resort, we would definitely go back to Primo Piatto. We both want to try to go back soon, especially once they relaunch the after 4 p.m. dinner options, which sound great! I look forward to future visits to this great new quick service addition to Disney World.
Have you been to Primo Piatto? What was your experience dining there?