Rating:

After a four-year hiatus, the prodigal, highly popular B.Y.O.B., Presto, has returned … to the delight of many former regulars. In 2005, owners David and Lori Salvo, among the most friendly and accommodating hosts you will find in the business, pulled up stakes and moved to the Jersey Shore, setting up in another small space in Margate. Presto Margate has thrived. It is currently closed, but will reopen in spring.

But two years ago, they started looking for a spot back home — they were both raised in the Plymouth Meeting-Conshy area — and found it only a few blocks from the original Presto.

The new Presto is a much larger restaurant, seating 100, with a renewed and spruced up interior.

The open dining room’s ambiance is family casual, in browns, wood tones and black. Comfortable booths around the room’s sides are lit with candles, as are the central tables. No linens are used, however, signaling Presto’s casual character.

We arrived on a Saturday night at 7:30 and were promptly seated in a corner booth, but were told that had we come an hour earlier, we would have found a line going out the door. We observed the throng of patrons greeting and chatting with each other.

Everyone seemed to know each other.

The cuisine is South Philly-style Italian comfort food favorites, led by Presto’s signature gnocchi ($8 as a starter, $16 entrée), and the perfectly reincarnated Jimmy’s Milan Salad ($9 for small, $11 for large) of Jimmy’s Milan fame). We had the gnocchi as an appetizer, so very light in texture that it melts in the mouth, with a delicious creamy pink “blush” sauce, which I am confident would hold up against any gnocchi made here or in Italy.

Italian sandwiches, wraps and paninis (all only $7) are made and served any time. The homemade Italian roast pork sandwich with long hots is simply an unbeatable lunch favorite.

A second starter, Sicilian style calamari, ($10) was a generous portion of tender, sautéed squid rings (no heads) with garlic, plum tomato, olives, olive oil, in a rich marinara sauce, with some serious zip from red pepper, almost a diavolo sauce.

Fresh, sliced Italian bread was on hand to dip in the sauces or in the provided dish of herbed olive oil and balsamic vinegar mix.

The eggplant Caprese salad ($9) was a tower of layered thick slices of eggplant, tomato, mozzarella and whole leaves of fresh basil topped with balsamic vinaigrette.

This cold salad would make a delightful summer’s day light lunch.

Our main course was a shared special of the day, one of six ($19 to $24), the eponymous Veal David platter. Attractively presented, it was lush with mouth-watering ingredients: veal tenders in a moderately-creamy wine, garlic and lemon “piccata” sauce. It had great gobs of jumbo lump crabmeat and two jumbo shrimp as well as long, crisp string beans and roast red pepper. It was a single plate feast!

Sides of “capellini” (angel hair) pasta in red sauce, and of meatballs ($4 on the side side) made it into a mini-banquet. Each item was perfectly cooked and served nice and hot from the kitchen.

Seafood lovers can choose from Presto’s seafood pasta dishes with shrimp, mussels, clams, lobster and a combination “pescatore.” Fish eaters were not forgotten on the specials list, which offered “bronzino” (sea bass), salmon and tilapia entrées.

A few classic desserts like canoli, cheesecake and tiramisu are homemade.

Overall Rating: 4 (out of 5 m’s) for very good Italian favorites, in a friendly atmosphere. To contact Mitch Davis, you can e-mail him at: MdavisMainCourse@aol.com

Presto Ristorante & Pizzeria Location: 410 W. Ridge Pike, Conshohocken Phone Number: 610-825-3663 Cuisine: Italian comfort food Ambience: : Family casual, very friendly Hours: Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Sunday 4 to 9:30 p.m. Prices: Salads, soups: $4 to $12; Entrées: $13 to $24 Web site: www.eatpresto.com Alcoholic Beverages: B.Y.O.B.