On the south end of Playa Del Carmen there has been a little Italian restaurant that is winning the hearts and stomachs of value conscience people. The name is Primer Plato. This restaurant is bringing good Italian food to Playa Del Carmen with a budget price. This is a must go place! Here is why….
Primer Plato Restaurant
The restaurant is not in a place you think there would be an Italian pasta place. It is not even in the “Little Italy” of Playa Del Carmen. This restaurant is below Juarez Avenue on 15th Avenue.
Rents are hard to work with in Playa Del Carmen and even harder to serve reasonably priced food, so this out of the way location affords them more flexibility. The restaurant/café is small and just has counter seating with stools. Primer Plato Restaurant makes for a great lunch spot. Take out is also available but you might not want to wait that long to dive into your dish!
Handmade pasta to order!
The food is a fresh made and we love the fact they roll out the semolina dough for the pasta, then cut it and right into the pot it goes, fresh for your dish. This is not a full on high cuisine Italian restaurant but rather café with very good value. We do have to say though, the plates taste better than many restaurants in Italy. Compared with Italian restaurants locally, this restaurant could triple the prices and still be considered aa good value. The taste is superb!
The people behind Primer Plato Restaurant
The people are super nice and friendly and you can tell they have a passion for food. A husband and wife team run this restaurant with just one employee. Just look at the photo below!
Menu at Primer Plato
On the menu here you can find raviolis, gnocchi, spaghetti and lasagna. Prices are very reasonable and being hand made Italian food makes it really rather a good deal. Spaghettis are 60-80 pesos, raviolis are 80-100 pesos, lasagna 80-100 pesos gnocchi 80 pesos. They have desserts like tiramisu. Drinks are very reasonably priced also. Make sure you come early as some of the items will be sold out later in the day.
Tip: The lower price menu items are good but for another 20 pesos or more your meal can be 3 times as good. It pays to go for the more expensive menu items. Go ahead and treat yourself!
Portion size is nice, just see photos below.
Fore more great restaurant ideas be sure to check out our Restaurant Guide to Playa Del Carmen here.
Hours at Primer Plato
This is the hours for now, since they are new this might change. Open Monday-Saturday. 9:00am-6:30 pm-ish. Closed Sundays.
Where is Primer Plato Restaurant?
Primer Plato is located on 15th Avenue between Juarez Avenue and Calle 1 sur. It is on the west side of the street in the middle of the block. It is a one-story white building.
Have you been to Primer Plato Restaurant? What did you think? Let us know in the comment box below.
About The Author
Ate our last meal there before leaving PDC. OMG, it was so incredible and so inexpensive. Hands down best meal we had. The people working there are so friendly!
Thanks so much for your comments. We are glad you found this place and had a good experience. Hope you come back soon to Playa.
We wanted to try this restaurant and found it. I think they have changed their sign but your article helped us located it. We had some good pasta here.
Back again 2 months later. This place is a must try for all. Excellent food, great prices, and friendly owners! The seafood salad is the bomb. Going back again before we leave.
Thanks so much for your update. we have not been on this south end of town in a while. We will try to go there this Monday and try the seafood salad on your recommendations. Thanks for letting us know your experience at Primer Plato.
We stopped by this place on the way to Playacar beach. We enjoyed our pasta here and the people were very sweet.
We read about this little restaurant and had to go check it out. We were glad to find this place. The people were very sweet and the prices for pasta are very reasonable. I work near here and never new about it. Thanks you to for finding it.
Hello Audrey. We are so glad you found Primer Plato. We love supporting small businesses and helping people discover the best of Playa Del Carmen. We hope your future visits are good here as well.
We love this small Italian restaurant! We found it on your site and stopped in this week Great value and food at this restaurant. We have to start reading more of your site for recommendations!
Wow, fantastic write up on restaurants. I found this little Italian restaurant and loved the friendly people.
Your site is wonderful, as well as the content! You guys put so much work into it and it is appreciated.
These people were so sweet there and the food was good. It is a nice little find in Playa Del Carmen for Italian food.
This is a beautifully friend restaurant. I work near here and never knew it was just a few blocks away from my office. Thanks guys finding all the cool places in Playa Del Carmen.
This small restaurant is a good find and good food.
First and last meal in PDC. Favorite place to eat while in PDC. Diego and Silvy are genuine folks and so pleasant to be around. The food is amazing….everything!
So glad you put me onto this place. I stopped by the other day and it was better than many restaurants in Italy. The facet they make the pasta for your order and the prices! So good! I will be going back here more!
Hello Ed
We are so glad you found this place. It is a gem, we hope to do more for this little restaurant even though sometimes they are full at times.
We live in Cozumel and go to Playa del Carmen twice a month to shop. We take the noon ferry each time to eat at Primer Plato and enjoy the best Italian around. They are open m-f 12-5 pm perfect for our lunches.
Great restaurant suggestion. We stopped by and loved it. Thank you.
Hello there! You always have the great finds in Playa del Carmen. We loved this tiny restaurant and would not have found it if it were not for your website. Thanks again.
It’s actually now one of our favorite restaurants in Playa Del Carmen!
Amazing restaurant find! I see why you featured them. Great prices as well.
So sad. Apparently nearby Construction has cut off their power. There is a sign posted saying they were closed
This place is absolutely amazing. The attention to detail from Diego and his wife make the food and service 5 star!
We are so glad you found this little place. We love it as well.