by MATHILDE RABBAT

At first glance, Prato Pizzeria and Café, sitting smack-dab on the Main, looks like a typical gourmet pizza restaurant. What really makes it stand out though, along with the delicious food they serve, is the giant coal-fired brick oven in the dining area.

By day, Prato acts as a café with the requisite papers and mags laid out on the back of a high, leather banquette. When night falls, the joint becomes a little Italian eatery, likely not the type of pizzeria you may have frequented as a kid - unless you were raised in Italia proper of course.

Prato has a broad selection of pies, some 14 varieties on the menu, served with both meat and veg-only ingredients. They come on large and stylish rectangular metal platters lined with white paper. Tomato sauce is standard on all, save for the Bianca ($9.95), which, as the name suggests, has a cream sauce as its base and is topped with rosemary, smoked bacon and onions.

Pies are generally priced between $7.75 - like the Pomodoro, with tomato sauce, parmesan and fresh basil - and $11.50, such as the meat-lovers special "Pizza sur la main," which comes slathered with tomato sauce, smoked meat, Italian sausage, pepperoni and peppers. Other pizza ingredients include anchovies, black olives and capers, as on the Napolitana ($9.95), while those who just can't get enough of cheese will go for the Fromaggio ($10.50) - a cocktail of mozzarella, goat and bocconcini cheeses, also topped with tomato sauce, sundried tomatoes and fresh basil. The Spinaci pizza ($10.50) will leave you wanting more as it has just the right amount of tomato sauce, spinach, goat cheese, mushrooms and garlic. The pizza portion of the menu also offers affordable little extras ($1-$2.25) like pesto, prosciutto or oregano, that you may want to have thrown on top.

Pizzas aren't the only tasty treat Prato prepares well. Check the blackboards on the walls for the menu du jour, which typically lists the soup of the day and a couple of pasta dishes. The soups tend to be light but hearty, such as the Pasta Fagioli (3.95$), a thin stock in which a few beans, pasta, croutons and basil swim. Main dishes featured on the board can include Penne Pomodoro ($8.95), prepared with a sauce made from fresh tomatoes, green onions and white wine, or Tortellini Bianci ($9.95) in a cream and arugula sauce that I recommend. With its fresh, cheese-stuffed pasta shells drizzled with a sauce that is rich but not overpowering, these miniature crescents are very tasty indeed.

The owners seem to regularly check on patrons and the atmosphere is warm and inviting as wood, brick and autumnal colours dominate the space. The ceilings are high, and a series of metallic ceiling fans ensure that things don't get too hot and steamy when the oven is fired up. Besides the main dining room housing the nifty stove and wooden square tables and chairs that can easily be shifted around to accommodate parties of various sizes, a second, slightly elevated room with a foosball table can be found behind the first. This area can be reserved for vernissages or other private events.

Whatever you choose at Prato, the cozy atmosphere by the big, hot oven, and the mouth-watering sights and smells make a trip to this resto well worth your while.

Prato
ADDRESS: 3891 St-Laurent (near Napoléon)
PHONE: 285-1616
HOURS: Mon-Thurs 11:30AM-10PM; Fri 11:30AM-11PM;
Sat Noon-11PM, Sun 5-10PM
BEST FEATURES: Thin-crust pizza on a platter baked
in a coal-burning stove right before your eyes.
ALCOHOL: Yes
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
NO-SMOKING SECTION: Yes
PRICE: $20 per person, before tax and tip
RATING: *** out of ****