Gourmet pastas and intricate desserts ready in mere minutes? It sounds too good to be true. But Northshore-born Prima Après is making it happen and bringing the tasty magic to the Capital Region with its first Baton Rouge location.
Prima Après opened last week in the old Sips daiquiri bar on Nicholson Drive. Operating like a topping-filled fro-yo shop, Prima Après is an Italian pasta and French pavlova eatery that allows customers to dress up their entrees and sweet treats with savory and sugary touches. Everything is made quickly and served in white take-out containers, but guests are welcome to stay and indulge or purchase pasta and pavlova bags to customize at home.
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“This is basically a fine dining offering in a counter service (format),” co-owner Abney Harper says. “What was a $40 pasta dish is now at a counter service and is a $15 dish… it’s all chef-driven, scratch-kitchen. We make the pastas fresh from semolina flour and water. The sauces are all made with fresh ingredients.”
Harper and her husband, James Vitrano, opened the concept’s first location in Mandeville in March, which also features a commissary in the back where the team produces fresh pasta, pavlovas and chef-made sauces, and prepares the counter-ready toppings. Inside the Baton Rouge location, a large white counter stands out against the black walls where customers can customize their treats. Large mirrors lend an open, airy vibe, and seating options line the walls. White orb-shaped lanterns hang from the ceiling for extra lighting.
Harper says the decision to look to Baton Rouge for the second location was partially inspired by her three daughters attending LSU, but also because she didn’t see similar offerings in the Capital Area. She says Prima Après was created to grow.
“We’re trying to be strategic about where we put these,” she says. “But, it’s a really easy build-out. And it’s a really quick build-out. It’s really just a counter, and it’s not an expensive investment to open.”
Because of this, Harper says other Baton Rouge locations are a possibility. She also shares that Prima Après’ sister business Sucré, known for its sparkly king cakes, tasty macarons and gelato, is set to open its first Baton Rouge location by the fall as part of an expansion plan across the Southeast.
Harper came up with the idea for Prima Après after years of traveling and operating restaurants. The name uses both Italian and French words to describe what the restaurant serves—and in what order to eat them. Prima means “first” in Italian and après is “after” in French. The moniker suggests starting with the pasta and ending with the pavlova. But there are no real rules when it comes to indulging here.
“My restaurant (in Georgia) closed during COVID,” Harper says. “We took my best-selling dessert, which is the pavlova. They are made of a French meringue. They’re made of egg whites and sugar. So, I would make the meringue, and then I had all these leftover egg yolks. So, I started making pasta.”
The customization process of the pasta at Prima Après starts with choosing from six, handmade pasta shapes like spaghetti, radiatori, gemelli and more. Once picked, the pasta takes a scalding bath to cook. After, it’s time to pick from six sauce options like a bright Buttery Lemon, a peppery Cacio E Pepe or a hearty bolognese which are then piped on top of the pasta pile. Finally, diners can pick a dusting of toppings, like pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, olives, breadcrumbs, crispy prosciutto and red pepper flakes.
“We buy dyes to cut the pasta, and we picked six dyes,” Harper says. “I went with spaghetti because it’s familiar to everybody. With the other pastas, they have a deep history in Italian culture, but in the United States they’re just not as common. I picked some unconventional shapes, and they’re fun.”
For dessert, there’s the pavlova—a melt-in-your-mouth French meringue. The puffy, cloud-like treat is placed on a bed of whipped cream and vanilla ice cream before being covered in more sweet toppings. Customers can add everything from chocolate shavings and rainbow sprinkles to English toffee and toasted coconut. A drizzle of syrup, like caramel, chocolate and housemade raspberry, is the final touch.
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“My true love is the pavlova,” Harper says. “I had a fashion boutique and a home store as well. So we would go to Paris and Milan on buying trips for fashion, and I saw these meringue clouds all over. They’re not here, so I came back and I started making them. I just love them, and they are really a wonderful canvas for all kinds of flavors.”
Prima Après is currently open with summer hours Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Find it at 4225 Nicholson Drive, and follow it on Instagram for more info.