Cafe Primo is downtown Bardstown’s Italian spot, a casual storefront at 120 N. Third St. that has been turning out thin-crust pizzas and lemon-butter pastas since 2015. Order the hot brown pizza, a Kentucky twist you won’t find at the chain places out on the bypass, and a basket of homemade bread with marinara. It serves lunch Tuesday through Saturday and dinner Monday through Saturday, and it is closed on Sundays.
What makes Cafe Primo worth a stop
In a town where most dinner menus lean on steaks, fried chicken and bourbon glazes, a plate of pasta is a welcome change of pace on day two of a bourbon trip. Cafe Primo is small and unfussy: sit down, order at the table, and eat pizza with a crust reviewers often describe as thin and crunchy. It pours beer and wine (Peroni, Stella Artois and a monthly draft feature, plus reds and whites by the glass at $8), which keeps the bill down if you’ve already had your fill of bourbon.
The prices are fair for downtown. On the May 2026 menu, large pizzas run $16.99 to $23.99 and dinner pastas $18.99 to $23.99, while lunch-size versions of the same dishes cost about $10 less.
What to order
Start with the homemade bread, $5.99 with freshly made marinara or $6.99 with white sauce. It shows up in almost every positive review on TripAdvisor, and it’s big enough to share.
Pizzas come in two sizes (small / large):
| Pizza | What’s on it | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hot Brown | Smoked turkey, bacon, mushrooms, mozzarella; tomato or white sauce | $13.99 / $21.99 |
| Primo Primo | Sausage, pepperoni, spinach, mushrooms, bacon, mozzarella | $14.99 / $23.99 |
| Margherita | Mozzarella, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil | $11.99 / $19.99 |
| Santa Lucia | Smoked ham, mushrooms, ricotta, Sicilian oregano | $13.99 / $21.99 |
The hot brown pizza is the one to order if you only get one. It borrows the flavors of the famous open-faced sandwich (turkey, bacon, a creamy sauce) and puts them on a crust, and the white-sauce version lands closest to the original. If you want the real sandwich too, the guide to Kentucky foods to try lists the dining rooms that serve it.
On the pasta side, the lemon-butter dishes are the house style. Penne Mediterranean ($23.99 at dinner) tosses grilled chicken, spinach, mushrooms and sun-dried tomato in olive oil and lemon butter; Pasta Romano brings shrimp, prosciutto and spinach over angel hair. For heat, the Arrabbiata combines Italian sausage and shrimp in house marinara with garlic and red chili. Finish with tiramisu ($9.99) or a cannoli with raspberry or chocolate sauce ($8.99), or walk a block to Hurst Drug’s soda fountain, a few doors down Third Street, for a milkshake if you finish lunch before it closes (6 p.m. weekdays, 5 p.m. Saturday).
Lunch or dinner? Timing your visit
Lunch runs 11 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and it is the better deal. Pastas and pizzas come in small portions only, and a Primo Lunch Plate Combo (soup, salad and veggie pasta) is $14.99. A smoked ham or turkey sandwich with homemade tomato soup is $13.99. The menu notes large portions are served only after 4:30 p.m.
Dinner starts at 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and runs to 9 p.m. Monday dinner is a useful card to hold: the Rickhouse, Mammy’s and Scout & Scholar are all closed that day. Sunday is a dark day, so plan around it.
The sweet spot is an early dinner, right at 4:30, after an afternoon distillery tour and before an evening show. In summer, that timing also works for the Stephen Foster Story at the state park, a short drive east.
What reviewers love, and what they don’t
Cafe Primo holds a 4.2 rating from about 167 TripAdvisor reviews, and the split is easy to read. Reviewers often praise the pizza (one August 2025 visitor called it the best they’d had in a long time), the fresh toppings, the bread and the reasonable prices, and a December 2025 reviewer rated the food a perfect 10.
The complaints are almost all about speed. Several 2025 reviews describe waits of 45 to 90 minutes for food on busy nights, an order that was lost, trouble getting served at the bar during a rush, and a manager who came across as dismissive. That’s a small kitchen under pressure, and it means you should plan accordingly:
- Don’t book Cafe Primo 60 minutes before a timed ghost walk, show or tour.
- Eat early or at lunch on festival and fall weekends.
- If the dining room is packed, order a pizza to go; the takeout menu is the same.
It’s also worth knowing the kitchen’s limits. There are vegetarian choices (Verdura Fresca pizza, Margherita, veggie pasta at lunch), but gluten-free options aren’t advertised on the menu, so ask before you sit down if that matters.
Reservations, groups and families
No reservation system is published on Cafe Primo’s website. Call (502) 348-8822 if you have a group, and remember the menu rule: no separate checks for six or more. Catering and private events are available through the restaurant.
Kids do well here. The menu has a proper kids’ section for ages 10 and under, with small cheese and pepperoni pizzas and plain penne, and the room is casual enough that nobody minds a bit of noise. It’s one of the easier downtown dinners with children; the page on family-friendly restaurants has more.
Parking and getting there
Cafe Primo sits on North Third Street a block north of Court Square, in the busiest shopping stretch downtown (it is listed in the Bardstown Main Street directory). Reviewers mention that parking nearby can be tight on busy evenings. Street spaces along Third and the side streets turn over reasonably fast, and the public lot at 113 E. Flaget Ave. is a short walk. The page on getting around and parking has the full list.
Pair it with
- Before dinner, browse the shops along North Third; the shopping guide covers the boutiques within a block of the restaurant.
- After dinner, walk to a nightcap at the cocktail bars Volstead and Liam Ash, both a few minutes away on foot.
- Planning a special night out instead? Compare Cafe Primo with the white-tablecloth options on the date-night dinner page.
Is Cafe Primo worth it?
Yes, for good pizza, a plate of pasta and a break from the steakhouse circuit at downtown prices. Order the bread and the hot brown pizza, go at lunch or right at 4:30, and bring a little patience. If the evening is tightly scheduled, get it to go. Follow the restaurant’s Facebook page for weekly specials.
