Presto Pasta opens second location at Upper Waterloo Road
Published:Monday | February 17, 2025 | 9:22 AMOmar Tomlinson/Contributor
Hot on the heels of its runaway success with a Red Hills Road debut last year, Presto Pasta now has a second location on the local fast-casual culinary landscape with the eatery’s founder, caterer Shea Stewart’s embraced brand of a taste of Italy with a Jamaican twist.
Just weeks after opening upstairs at Shop A10 in The Waterloo commercial complex at 34 Upper Waterloo Road, Presto Pasta’s menu has proven Instagram-story buzzworthy (yes, the hipster crowd has been posting with increasing frequency). The restaurant offers distinctive sweet chilli oxtail and vegan (ackee and callaloo) pizzas, as well as jerk chicken and peppa shrimp pastas and lasagna.
Walk-in and call-in orders are already generating good traction. “The response has been amazing,” Karaine Hill, Presto’s manager, divulged to The Gleaner when we popped in for lunch at the art-deco interior-designed space at Waterloo that comfortably occupies 800 square feet. “We’ve had a steady flow of customers, with a mix of young professionals, families, and students who love the convenience and taste of our offerings. We focus on high-quality, made-to-order pasta and pizza dishes, offering customisation and a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere. Whether you’re a pasta or pizza lover or just looking for a quick, satisfying meal, we bring something different to Kingston’s food scene.”
Talking over bites of the eatery’s delish parmesan chicken sliders – one of the eatery’s best-selling items – Hill proudly tied the restaurant’s ever-growing customer base to the tried-and-tested combination of freshness, authenticity and portion sizes.
“Our portions are hearty and satisfying, giving customers real value for money compared to skimpy pasta servings that others may offer,” she posited. “Unlike pizza chains that rely on frozen dough and mass-produced ingredients, Presto uses fresh, high-quality ingredients to create bold, flavourful pizzas and pasta dishes, and all our sauces are made in-house, and our pasta is cooked to order.”
What separates Presto from pizza chains is that “we bring a local touch, infusing flavours and customer service that feel more connected to the Jamaican audience”.
The celebration of Jamaican flavours is integrally weaved into the DNA of the food chain, according to Hill. “Some of our menu items feature local ingredients like jerk chicken, Scotch bonnet peppers, oxtail, curry mutton and rich, spicy seasonings that give a unique kick to traditional Italian dishes. It’s our way of making pasta more familiar and exciting for Jamaicans while still keeping the Italian essence intact.”
What of new menu items?
Hill disclosed that innovation is central to Presto Pasta’s development. “We’re always looking at ways to keep the menu exciting. We’re considering more seafood-based pasta options, additional vegetarian dishes, gluten-free pasta and possibly some seasonal limited-time offerings. Sweet treats is another area we’re thinking about expanding,” she explained.
The concept for Presto Pasta was formulated three years earlier at the tail-end of the COVID outbreak.
“I started thinking about Presto seriously in 2022, near the end of the pandemic. I shared my idea with a few friends, but to no one in depth. I had always thought a pasta-based restaurant would do well in Jamaica, and I found the urge to refine and open this model as I no longer wanted to rely on just my catering company,” disclosed Stewart, a seasoned restaurateur who co-founded the Asian-themed hotspot Oceano in The Marketplace.
Also a much-called-upon caterer through his now seven-year company, Elite Kreations, Stewart has an accomplished resume that includes such clients as J Wray & Nephew, ATL Group, Bank of Jamaica and Grace Kennedy under his belt.
With Presto, his continued love affair is expanding into franchise territory, but he’s ever mindful of where it all started. “I’ve always said it’s my God-given talent. I felt I was born to do this. I have tremendous love and passion for what I do, and up to this day, I’m so eager to learn. I was lucky to find something that I was good at and that I loved to do from a relatively early age. It still excites me [to see] reactions from persons after creating something from just a thought. It’s something that makes me so proud and full of gratitude.”
And, as he looks to the future, the franchise ideator is angling to build out an additional Presto Pasta outside of the capital city.
“Expansion is definitely on the radar,” revealed the 38-year-old Stewart, a Level One-certified food preparation graduate of the HEART College of Hospitality Services.
He is eyeing possible locations in St Andrew as well as Portmore, St Catherine, and Ocho Rios in St Ann to introduce his pizza and pasta brand to more customers.