Prima, a hidden gem in the East Village (58 East 1st Street) is what results when a Rat Pack-esque group of five restaurant biz friends join forces to create a seafood focused café and bar. Prima is owned and operated by Hamid Rashidzada, Greg Seider, Ken Nye, Mathieu Palombino, and David Malbequi, who runs Prima’s kitchen fulltime. The friends wanted to open an eatery with seamless service giving guests a place to eat when many other restaurants are closed in between lunch and dinner service. Prima opens at 8 a.m. for coffee (provided by Nye’s Ninth Street Espresso) and pastries, so no matter the time, they’ll be there serving up their delightful dishes.

With a view of their open kitchen, diners are seated at bar-height stone-topped tables in the cozy brick-walled dining area. Although the space is small Prima is ideal for group dining due to the nature of their raw bar and appetizer choices. Similar to a steakhouse, Prima allows diners to customize their entrees by choosing a protein (fish, scallops), a sauce (pesto, tartar, etc.), and a side vegetable (sautéed wild mushrooms, garlic spinach, etc.). All of the seafood on Prima’s menu is based on seasonal availability, is all sustainably caught, and you’ll only find seafood that is not found on the endangered species list. Not only does Prima open before most of us have to be to work, let you call the shots for your dinner while using only environmentally friendly fishing practices, they also have an amazing Happy Hour, daily from 5‑7 p.m. Their Happy Hour specials include two for one cocktails and two for one oysters.

 

Speaking of cocktails! Master mixologist, Greg Seider, who owns and runs The Summit Bar with Hamid Rashidzada, created Prima’s Alchemist Cocktail menu. Seider who has won several cocktail competitions, at home and abroad, and was award as one of Time Out Magazine’s Best Bartenders in New York developed this menu by creating “riffs on classic American cocktails.” Seider also choose to use fresh, Mediterranean flavors, such as tarragon, thyme, and lemon to complement Palombino’s “fish-centric” dishes. The most popular on the Alchemist menu is hands down, The Last Cocktail. This cocktail, made with Spring 44 gin, prosecco, pear puree, rosemary-infused agave, fresh lemon, and clove dust, is flavorful and perfectly fruity. The Last Cocktail made us rethink being anti-gin for so long.

 

 

The food at Prima is absolutely delicious, platted beautifully, straightforward and simply prepared. If you’re in the mood for some small plate sea snacks, here are our suggestions:

From the raw bar: Blue Point Oysters and Malpeques Oysters on the half-shell, both of which were salty, briny, and everything a good oyster should be and the Bay Scallops topped with Orleans mustard and kumquat dressing were great choices for those who love raw seafood.

From the appetizer section: a must try is the perfectly fried Crab Cake with radish, pickles, and tartar sauce. Even those who do not typically eat octopus agree that the Octopus with aromatic oil, niçoise olives, feta, and preserved lemons is mandatory for anyone eating dinner at Prima.

Prima only has a dessert menu with two items making it incredibly hard to choose between the two. Have both, you won’t regret it. The light and fluffy Mille-Feuille is a layered dessert, similar to a Neapolitan, made with two types of vanilla pastry cream and strawberry jam. The creamy and airy Chocolate Mousse dessert is infused with Ninth Street Espresso and paired with crème anglaise and maple syrup to be used as dipping sauce.

This weekend, Prima will debut their brunch menu with dishes such as Crab Cake Eggs Benedict served on an English muffin, Almond Pancakes with caramelized banana rum sauce, and other brunch items. Prima will be serving brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30‑  4 p.m.