Cafe Presto

Friendly Owner, homemade Italian food, delicious, recommend this place for someone who does not look for fancy but good food

I would give this no stars if I could. We were staying a my a hotel around the corner and stopped here to eat. The pasta was not fresh (clearly it was store bought) and for three rather small meals, three salads, and 2 cans of soda it was $ 45! We were still hungry after we left. I don’t know how it stays open.

Cuisine traditionnelle italienne, vraiment excellent très très bon !!! Mérite encore plus d’étoile

Petit resto typique italien. On y est super bien reçu. Une cuisine italienne traditionnelle excellente.

Super cute little place — definitely cozy, and loved being seated right in the front so we could see everything going on outside as we had lots of friends in Montréal at the same time so did lots of waving! The owner and chef was very very nice, cash only — Alex had some plain pasta and Jack had the manicotti — I had a salad and it was just absolutely perfect for lunch! Gelato for dessert! Don’t expect a menu, today’s selection is written on the board and the chef and owner will tell you what he’s made after you’ve been seated! What a great experience

This has to be one of the WORST restaurant I have ever been to. We were a party of 4 people going for dinner on a Saturday night and the restaurant was completely empty except for us. I had a bad feeling when I walked in, but my boyfriend insisted that we stay here because it had a 4-​star rating on Unilocal.:(
We were told to sit at the royal table for 4 which was literally us sitting facing the sideway were we can wave at people. There was no menu, the owner/​cook came over and told us what was available and got really irritated when I asked him to repeat what he said. He did not mention the price and also asked if we wanted salad, which was lettuce and 1 slice of mushy tomato drenched in oil (no it was no olive oil)…
We ended up getting the vegetarian pesto lasagna, veal cannelloni, Italian sausage on penne and penne arrabiata for the main course. The portion was tiny (it was stated on their sign that they had «repas leger/​light meal», but the portion size was more like a snack size) and it was absolutely disgusting.
Everything was microwaved from frozen. The penne with sausage tasted/​looked exactly like the penne arrrabiata except there was sausage on top (even though the owner/​chef said they are very different), the lasagna was drenched in cream sauce (looked a bit like vomit to tell the truth…) and there was 2 tiny cannelloni with meat that looked 1 week old.
The WORST part was that this meal costed $ 65!!! We were completely riped off.
Also, the only server there was an Asian girl that looked like she didn’t want to be there. She didn’t say a single word when she poured us water and brought us food even when we thanked her.
I would NEVER go back to this place and I definitely DO NOT recommend this place.

Found this restaurant a block away from our hotel on Drummond. Small café with a wonderful owner. Forgot his name. We had Spaghetti and meatballs and the stew. Both were recited by the owner who waited on us. There is the menu of the day written on the board which is the same as recited. The food was well prepared and very tasty. The price was very reasonable. The café was quiet in the early evening. The owner said it gets very crowded during lunch and local events. We were fortunate to come in when the crowds were gone. This is a hidden gem that will not disappoint.

Un endroit où j’aime aller.
Un personnel efficace et bien attentionné qui connaît sa clientèle. Un rapport qualité/​prix très intéressant. Pratique pour les midis rapides. Sans oublier les cannellonis ! Ohhhhhhh ! un délice !
One of my good spots.
An enjoying staff, efficient who knows well the regulars. A good quality/​price ratio. For fast a lunch, it’s the place. Don’t forget the cannellonis ! Ohhhhhhhh ! what a delight !

Attentive service but sauces taste like they are out of a can. Don’t miss out on the the cannoli — best I’ve ever had! They do NOT accept credit cards — good thing we had cash!

Having had just checked into our hotel, we were prowling the nearby streets famished. Just around the corner we found a cozy little restaurant called «Café Presto». It was casual, and promised light meals (repas leger in French) which was precisely what we were looking for.
We were greeted by the avuncular owner. This charming older gentleman led us to our table. As we sat down we asked for water, mentioning that we’d get wine with dinner. «Jolly Good,» he replied in his warm accent.
There’s no menu, he just rhymes off what’s available for the day. We selected our dishes and then asked for half a liter of wine; he didn’t pause to ask us what we’d like. He simply returned with two bistro style wine glasses (think family dinner table wine glasses on the Sopranos) and the house red.
We had a Hot Italian Sausage Pasta and a Beef Stew. Things come delicately flavoured, the tomato sauce is always fresh, and it feels like home cooking. This is a lovely spot to grab a simple and delicious quick lunch or early dinner.
It’s the atmosphere of this place that really drew us in, and what will draw us back.

A nice place to catch a quick and inexpensive lunch.
During lunch hours, this little place is PACKED. The four of us had to squeeeeze into a corner, in a table usually set up for 2 people. Not a problem. We all ended up ordering the same thing, rigatoni in tomato basil sauce. Pasta is $ 5.95, a side salad is $ 1.75. Just lettuce, tomatoes and vinagrette, nothing special, but the price is right. Pop is $ 2.
The food is pretty good, the sauce is fresh, but what’s really outstanding is the service. The man who owns the place (?) is super super friendly and gregarious and the two servers are quick as hell. Food comes out quickly, and plates are snapped up as soon as you’re done. There’s even a dessert table in there where I saw the owner serving up fresh strawberries with cream.
We were in and out in maybe half an hour (after a 10 minute wait to get seated). It was fantastic way to start a day of sightseeing.

An inexpensive ($ 6!!!) sit-​down restaurant in a downtown business district! A warm, welcome interior (mostly natural lighting from the storefront) and owner/​waiter! A (small) menu of homestyle Italian-​American entrees (ie — a red sauce, or mom/​pop establishment)! I’d kill for a place like this in Austin or anywhere else I end up living.
Don’t let the incredibly charming waiter sell you a «garden» salad. My Montréal friend told me that the meatballs and sausage are where it’s at; I enjoyed my lasagna lunch.

A warm homey place, nice owner. Food was well prepared. Not a wide variety of pastas, in fact, the menu was verbally told to me by the owner/​chef. Overall, a good experience.