Primo

Primo in Rockland, Maine, is the culinary project of chef Melissa Kelly, a two-time James Beard Award winner who transformed a Victorian house on South Main Street into one of New England's most admired farm-to-table restaurants. The defining feature of Primo's operation is its working on-site farm: pigs, chickens, and ducks are raised on the property, and a large kitchen garden produces vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers that appear on the menu within hours of harvest. The Italian farm-to-table philosophy drives a menu of housemade pastas, wood-oven flatbreads, and slow-roasted meats that changes almost daily. Pasta is rolled and cut in-house; the Maine shrimp pasta has become a seasonal emblem. The slow-roasted pork, raised on kitchen scraps and farm waste, achieves a depth of flavor that reflects the closed loop between kitchen and farm. The dining rooms spread across several converted spaces in the Victorian house, each with a different character — some intimate, others more open — and an overall atmosphere of relaxed sophistication. The wine list includes Italian regional bottles alongside American selections that suit the farm-driven cooking. Reservations are essential and should be made two to three weeks ahead for peak summer months in Rockland, Maine.