Popol Nah

Popol nah provides a small oasis and chance to escape the abyss of the plethora of well dated tourist trap Italian restaurants stuck in an 80’s time warp that inundate Lygon street. My primary reason for choosing this place (South American cuisine) was that I didn’t have endure of suffer being accosted by the annoying footpath sales pitch that is all to common with this particular end of Lygon street. Great tapas and sharing style food, flavoursome, well made and executed. I enjoyed dining here, the owner is very charismatic, and entertaining. All the staff seemed friendly and jovial, which is a great sign and they don’t need to pester patrons on the street for trade. Great alternative on Lygon street, and highly recommened. Great food.

Friendly staff, good margaritas and great food. Really enjoyed the chicken tacos with pineapple and jalapeño salsa. The avocado ceviche was also a delightful and refreshing dish.

5 Stars should mean as good as it gets, and let me tell you this is as good as it gets! This is without doubt the best meal I’ve had this year, and as I write this we are at the end of the year. To start out the service was excellent. A delivery had come late and the kitchen had to open later than normal, but being the only diner there at the time they pushed my order through anyway. I started with a Cachaço #2 cocktail which was beautifully unique and fruity. My entrée was the Ceviche De Aguacate which was ticked every box of taste, texture, and freshness. The main was the Taco De Frijoles which redefined what I consider tacos to be. Let me be clear too that I have had good South American food before. I am not coming straight from something like Taco Bell or Mad Mex. My next cocktail was the Caipirinah which tasted exquisite and went extremely well with the dessert. Dessert was Tres Leches which rounded off the meal in style. I am astounded that people are not beating down the door. Treat yourself and go eat there now. And make it fast, because as soon as people realise how good this place is, it will never be empty.

This could have been quite a good experience, unfortunately a few little things added up which individually wouldn’t have been too bad.
Firstly, I will say that we WERE here on a dreaded coupon deal. I see these vouchers as being a really good marketing exercise for various restaurants and businesses, a chance to lure you in so they can impress you and you’ll go back again, entourage in tow. Sadly that rarely seems to be the case and I could go into my various coupon experiences but I’ll stick to Popol Nah.
On arrival we were seated promptly and the menu and coupon inclusions explained. Drinks came promptly and the restaurant filled to a surprisingly busy level for a weeknight, which seemed a positive sign. As we were quite hungry we ordered an additional side on top of the coupon inclusions, bread with honey and black pepper butter, as bread usually comes out quickly (and it sounded good). It didn’t and we did wait awhile until the first dish (pulled beef empanadas) which were tasty but nothing mind blowing. They were also a little cold on the inside.
Next up was ceviche with a lovely fresh coleslaw, quickly followed by chorizo fondue (with delicious pita style corn chips) very salty but thoroughly enjoyable, and the bread. Initially the bread came out with no butter, and when I enquired if it was separate, the waitress (who seemed somewhat confused throughout the evening) went back to fetch some and came back with normal butter. Not the honey and black pepper butter we’d been looking forward to trying. That’s ok, it’s just butter, not worth complaining about.
We continued with fried chicken tacos (delicious salsa, chicken was a little flavourless but wonderfully crispy) and patatas bravas (never have a complaint about these anywhere really). Then the waitress came and asked «how was everything?» and we looked at each other and said… fine… so far… because the meat course we’d ordered (pork shoulder) hadn’t come out at all. That was investigated and duly delivered, and while not what I expected was another nice dish, although the coleslaw with it was so drowned in black pepper it was difficult to taste the other ingredients.
Somewhere during this time we finished our included sangria and the waitress started to ask us if we wanted more drinks. We declined, but were asked again quite forcefully about 4 or 5 times between the chicken tacos and the arrival of desserts, and we got the distinct impression that as ‘coupon users’ they were desperately trying to scrape a little more money off us.
We ordered dessert — again, only one was included but we decided to order an extra — and to sum them up the Guava pie was absolutely delicious and the chocolate pudding cake was kind of ruined by an overzealousness for chilli. I know chocolate and chilli is a legitimate combination, but chilli syrup is not a replacement for caramel sauce and you don’t need to completely drown a cake in it.
When we paid for the extras we’d had, they charged us for the more expensive options. Again, a small thing, and not a large amount of extra money, but considering we could easily have ordered only the more expensive options, had them included in our deal, and not paid anything extra at all (we didn’t need the 2 extra dishes) it just came across as again trying to scrape the bottom of the barrel for a little extra cash. I just think if you’re not really happy with what you’re getting out of a coupon offering, don’t sell the coupon.
Overall the food was fairly good and the restaurant seemed popular, but a few little things just kind of added up to sour the experience slightly for me. I don’t think I’d bother dragging everyone I know back there.

I’ll say this, the service was pretty good. Our charming host accommodating everything, given it was one of those awkward informal/​formal business meetings over lunch. The décor was very unique and was inviting and warm. We were able to eat outside on this winter day.
We enjoyed a purple libation of some sort. Non alcoholic of course, but it was quite tasty and unique. The ceviche was good, but not what I was expecting. We all had tacos. I managed to get one fish and one chicken. Once again, I have to confess that I have some experience with South American food and this didn’t light me on fire with enthusiasm. It was good. Adapted for Australian taste I assume.
In summary, it’s a cool, funky place with unique food that is pretty good. Charming service.
There must be gelato nearby because it was as distracting as a bikini at Bondi beach strolling by.

I had a hankering for some arepas and was hoping for a nice cheesy fix. I’ll admit I did have a little cold, so my sense of taste and smell are not quite functioning at 100%. Popoh Nah is quiet, 1 or 2 families inside, it’s had been around for just a fortnight when we went there early Sunday afternoon. With its white textured walls and warm lighting, its like a quiet sanctuary admist the madness of a typical weekend in Lygon St. Slatted wooden planks running along the left wall, deer antlers hanging from the ceiling, and a tiny light filled courtyard out back.
The breakfast and lunch menu is small but sufficient (no arepas though), it does have some interesting choices. Our waiter happily helps out with drink and food choices.
We did go a little overboard with the ordering as per usual, we decided on the huevos rancheros, some beef and lamb meatballs, the bocadillo de res which is a argentinian beef baguette with chimichurri as well as a zucchini salad and lastly a vegetarian empanada to share. A staggering amount of food i’d say. Im really glad i missed breakfast and it looked like i might be having a cup of tea for dinner too.
The first to grace the table was the empanada and the salad, the empanada really was a glorified spiced sweet potato pie, nice but forgettable, the zucchini salad was zingy there were little hints of vinegar pickled vegetables through it, it was a perfect accompaniment to the meatballs and the baguette. The meatballs were generously sized and served up with a tomato rich sauce with bits of mango salsa, it was an interesting accompaniment that actually worked.(I do have a cold so I am measuring some of my judgements by my friends enthusiasm for most of the food on the table). The chimichurri sauce was garlicky and spread liberally over the baguette, the baguette was crunchy and soft on the inside, with tender biting pieces off steak with a slice of fresh tomato. The pinnacle of the meal came last and one i could actually taste, the huevos rancheros… sounds so much sexier than baked eggs doesn’t it. This miracle dish was something that i would have picked up ran away with… sharing this should not be allowed! It came with a side of scrummy house made (i think) corn chips and creamy avocado. The eggs were baked in tomato sauce, they are perfectly creamy and just that right touch of cheesy.(Arepas?who needs that).
It’s worth a try, dinner seems to have a wider variety of foods so I guess I’ll be back but I’d suggest coming for brunch just for those eggs. Maybe some helados (argentinian ice cream) across the road after if you don’t over indulge and then head over to University Square for a nap on the grass in the sun.
* I’ve been back twice since the first time, if they have the chicken tortilla soup as a special GET IT!, its somewhat cleansing and comforting at the same time like clear chicken soup packed with goodies and flavour, oh and for dinner don’t go past the lamb its amazing