Strolling the streets of Newport at this time of year can make for pedestrian gridlock if you stay on America’s Cup Avenue. But if you head to Lower Thames Street, you have a much better chance to leisurely window-shop and to land a table in one of the many fine restaurants along this stretch. Pronto is just such a place. New owners Kim and James Cavanaugh — he has cooked in DC, the Caribbean, and at Tucker’s Bistro — kept the name when they bought it a year ago, but they’ve changed everything else, inside and out.

Pronto has dining rooms on two floors, both creating a feel of Old World comfort: white linens accented with a flowered drape, damask rose tones downstairs, and deep blues upstairs. Large mirrors, old-fashioned ceiling fans, and almost a dozen chandeliers of various kinds set off the high-ceilinged downstairs room. We sat street-side, looking out on a flower box full of blooms. I could also watch the orange glow of the sunset spread across the harbor and light up the windows of a nearby warehouse.

The food was as lush as the sights around us, beginning with the house-made rosemary foccacia in the breadbasket. From several tempting appetizers, including steamed mussels, roasted clams, and a grilled pizza with chicken and a roasted shallot cream sauce, we nabbed the seafood crepe ($12) and an arugula salad ($9). The crepe was fat with lobster, shrimp, and tiny grape tomatoes, surrounded by a gorgonzola cream sauce and topped by toasted pine nuts. Each ingredient kept its independence, nestled next to but not subsumed by its friends. A garnish of house-marinated mushrooms and house-pickled Bermuda onions completed the taste medley. The arugula salad profited from those same onions and tomatoes, plus a delicious asiago vinaigrette.

There are eight entrées and eight pasta dishes at Pronto, running neck and neck, as they compete for a discerning diner’s attention. Along with the penne dishes, which feature shrimp and pesto, or chicken and spinach, are: jambalaya with sausage, shrimp and chicken over fettucine; a lobster/scallop dish in a salmon cream sauce; and a vegan paella, with veggies over saffron rice. I picked the vegetable cannelloni ($13.50) and loved every bite. Roasted vegetables, those marinated mushrooms, chunks of smoked mozzarella, gratings of asiago and Parmesan. What’s not to like? Folded into rectangles, the cannelloni were baked in a red sauce and then surrounded by a pesto bechamel sauce. Expertly done.

Bill zeroed in on the sun-dried tomato chicken ($19), passing over classic paella, halibut in a chorizo broth, seafood fra diavolo, and a Moroccan shrimp brochette. Other entrées included a Milanese veal chop with goat cheese polenta and grilled tenderloin doused in a rosemary port marinade and sprinkled with gorgonzola.

Bill couldn’t have been happier with his choice, both the presentation and the panoply of flavors. A small roasted half-chicken (Statler) was accompanied by a lemony sun-dried tomato and pine nut mixture on one side, broiled plum tomatoes on the other, a mound of mashed potatoes above the chicken, and spears of roasted asparagus angling across it all. The deft touch of Cavanaugh’s kitchen is evident everywhere. Each ingredient really counts; it’s not there just for show.

We were confident that this would be true with the house-made desserts as well, and we were not disappointed. Key lime pie, flourless chocolate torte, raspberry sorbet? We chose two more classics: chocolate mousse and tiramisu (each $6.50). A large square of tiramisu sat atop four ladyfingers, giving a contrasting crunch to the soft moist layers of mascarpone and espresso-soaked cookies. It was quite wonderful.

My chocolate mousse was dense, rich, and very chocolatey, enhanced by the dark-chocolate shell in which it was served. The sliced strawberries and strawberry coulis surrounding the shell provided just the right contrast of tartness.

Pronto has a strong list of wines, both whites and reds, imported and domestic, with good options by the glass and a few dessert wines. Our waitress was cheerful and attentive. The CD mix was jazzy. The noise level was low. It was one of those meals that leaves you thinking, "Why can’t all restaurateurs learn to do it this way?" Our evening there certainly made us want to return — pronto.