Pop’s

The food here was fantastic. I had the Kobe flank steak with gnocchi. It was cooked perfectly. However, the service was not as good. A lady brought us water and poured olive oil in a bowl and left without a word. No bread, just oil. People who sat after us, were eating before our order was taken. It took our waiter over 45 minutes to return to take our order. After this it got better. The manager came and made everything right. BUT our waiter acted like he wasnt aware of our dissatisfaction, and had a clear attitude when we pointed out that our drinks and apps were to be taken off our bill. He did say that he was the bartender and was just helping out, unfortunately for us i guess. Other than that it was a good experience.

We haven’t been to Pop’s in a while and I was a little nervous given recent reviews but as always they didn’t disappoint! Our waitress was very nice and super attentive. We started with their famous salty egg brick oven pizza, yum! My husband had the farfalle with shrimp and I had their sausage and mushroom lasagna. Both were delicious. Pop’s had slipped into our first choice for Italian and we will definitely be back!

Date night, good adult beverages and bar. Very friendly staff. Industrial stripped down interior. Couldn’t understand a word our waiter said, I had a great glass of wine and above average tasty food.

Had heard this was a great place so took my daughter tonight to give it a try. Not impressed at all. Wasn’t too excited about being offered seats in the bar when everyone else was on the restaurant side. I ordered the lasagne and asked for the veggie lasagne and received the meat lasagne. No big deal since I like both and it was after 8pm and I was too hungry to wait for a new one (plus the waiter never asked how our food was anyway). This lasagne tasted like it had been made and sliced yesterday and just reheated. Totally dry. Sauce had been poured around the edges but it wasn’t great. My daughter got the clams and angel hair. She enjoyed it but it was pretty heavy on the garlic. We would not go again. Bottom line: lazy food and lackluster service.

Last Friday, Our first time in this location and our last unless some major issues are taken care of. There is no attention to detail: spray bottles and rags on the bar where you are seated. Plastics water pitchers all over the counter. The TV above the bar had all the wires hanging down. The waiter needed to slow down and wouldn’t give us bread till we ordered and got the menus out of the way.
We were chatting so didn’t want to order right away so we received no bread.
The ladies room was very messy. When I complained, the owner/​chef did come and speak with us. He was very apologetic but offered no compensation. He did say he spent 15 hours a day in the kitchen: how can you run a restaurant of your always in the kitchen?
Asked for the check as soon as we finished. There is more but OMG I’m sure you’ve heard enough!

My wife, her cousin, and I went to Pop’s for dinner tonight and were disappointed. The cousin was here a couple weeks ago and had a good experience, so we decided to go tonight.
The ladies arrived before me and said that they waited for 5 minutes before anyone even asked to seat them — I arrived just in time to follow them to the table.
The server came by promptly and brought bread and olive oil, told us about the items of the day, but also told us about the menu items they were out of.
He came back shortly and took orders. I asked for more bread, which he brought, but no more oil. I didn’t ask for more, but I shouldn’t have had to — he could see that the dish was almost empty.
That’s the last we saw of our server until he brought the check.
Salads came promptly, then it was at least another 15 minutes until the main dish came. Since we couldn’t find our server, we asked someone else for drink refills.
When the server finally came back at the end of the meal, I commented that we hadn’t seen him in a while. There was no apology nor even an excuse — he just said, «That was my fault.» When he brought the check, he just put in on the table with, «Here you go.» No appreciation for us eating there nor an apology for his lack of attention.
I did ask another server to find us a manager — he/​she never came by in the 10 minutes we were there waiting for our check.

Attended a dinner at Pop’s last night — a going away celebration for a long time Durhamite who was moving away. Our reservation for 12 was made weeks in advance. I had not been there in years and very much looking forward to a great evening. We were a a happy, relaxed group without time constraints (FYI: Reservations were at 6:30 on a week night.)
Our waiter was surly from the start. I asked to sample a draft beer I’d never had before and while he did bring me a taste, was not happy about it. Not once did he smile or try to appear pleasant. I ordered salad only and mistakenly accepted my husband’s when his was brought out as a first course. When my husband inquired as to his salad, the frustrated, cranky waiter pointed and me and said, «She ate it.» How about, «Let me bring one out for you!»
The restaurant was not very busy yet it took forever to get our food. When it did arrive, most commented that their dish was over salted. Suffice it to say, that Pop’s has been crossed off the list. It’s a pity, but you can not live off your past reputation. With all the truly great eateries in Durham, I would not waste my time or my money.

I was surprised after so so ratings to have a great meal and service. Granted it was a weeknight. Pizza was wonderful coming out of their brick oven — Brix x move over, Lasagna very rich and meaty, dessert of Apple Cobbler with requested Feta broiled on top made for the fifth star given the reasonable prices. Wonderful ambience!

This was my first time eating at Pop’s and it’ll definitely be my last. The food was mediocre at best and way overpriced. Our service was poor, and some people we ate there with commented that they had had the same server before and had similarly poor service. Also, I was shocked that there’s a mandatory 20% gratuity for large groups. Usually it’s 15−18% with the choice to tip more for excellent service. I make it a habit to round up when tipping to 20%+ if I receive good service, but in this case I wouldn’t have tipped even 18%. The server was rude, she was inattentive, and when she brought the bill out she shook it in my husband’s face because I guess he took too long to take it. We were there for 20 minutes before getting bread and the food didn’t all come out at once. All in all it was a bad experience. I’ll be looking elsewhere for good Italian food in Durham.

Started out with a dead bug on the table. Then the waitress brought over one glass of water at a time (table of 5) after only a 20 minute wait. She then quickly left and didn’t return for another 7 minutes. She did bring the gift of slightly frozen chunks of bread. When she finally came back we ordered our food and drinks bc we didn’t know when she would be back. We her, as well as the man who seated us, that we had tickets at 8 at dpac so were in a bit of a hurry. The food came out over 20 minutes later but only 3 of 5 entrees. At that point we asked again for the check (before some of the food had even arrived) bc we never knew when she would come back. Finally got the rest if the mediocre food and inhaled it so we wouldn’t be even later to dpac. Never going back.

Of all the times i have visted durham in the past 2 years, the place is amazing and had the best dinner yet so far. Came with my friend for a nice night out and we had the most incredible dinner. I had the ribeye with asaparagus risotto and she had the flounder wrapped in proscioutto with the risotto too. Service was slow but worht the wait.

My visit to Pop’s was the first time at this location. I used to frequently dine at Pop’s when they were still at Brightleaf. After picking up a colleague from the airport who was visiting from our international headquarters and getting him moved into his temporary housing, we dropped in at Pop’s for dinner. It was a Saturday, and we did not have reservations. To boot, we didn’t realize we had arrived 15 minutes before their kitchen opened. We weren’t the only ones though. However, it all worked out. Once their kitchen opened we were seated promptly at the tall cocktail tables next to the wall of windows. Good thing we arrived when we did because the restaurant began to fill up quickly.
Our waiter promptly got our drink orders and brought out focaccia bread and olive oil. We also shared a dish of their toasted marinated almonds. I had the St. Germain Cocktail. Yum. Dinner was the chicken cooked under a brick with rustic Italian green bean casserole, artichokes and crispy fried onions and Pop’s famous salty egg & prosciutto with roasted garlic, kalamata olives & mozzarella. The food was quite delicious. I’ll definitely come back.

I’m actually fairly shocked at the low rating for this restaurant as I had a wonderful experience. Initially my friend and I were going to come here in February before a show at DPAC but because of the snow they were not able to get their food shipments in and did not want to open if only a few of their entrees were available. The owner/​manager (?) called my friend who had made the reservation and was extremely apologetic. She said he was very nice and was clearly very sorry. We completely understood and decided to try again before our next show.
I ended up eating on my own as she got held up and had a wonderful meal. For a Thursday evening before a DPAC show, service was timely and I had no trouble making curtain time. My waiter was very nice and attentive. I had the penne pasta with beef and arugula and it was delicious! I can’t describe enough how good it tasted. If I could have I would have eaten the whole thing. My husband who is a bit of a food snob even thought it was very good eating the leftovers the next day.
I had no trouble parking (parked in the attached parking lot on the other side of their building) but wouldn’t have minded paying $ 3 as a previous post mentioned to park in a nearby garage. I guess I just expect that kind of thing trying to park in downtown of a major city. (And frankly $ 3 for garage parking is a bargain.)
My only complaint is the lack of signs when you enter the building. Wasn’t sure whether to go up or down the stairs (for the record, up).
All in all I definitely plan on returning with my friend before our next show. Probably other times as well as there were a few other dishes I want to try on their menu.

Went there on the recommendation of a friend who teaches at Duke University.
The restaurant is in a converted tobacco warehouse and feels airy and modern. It was full on a Sunday evening.
The service was warm and friendly. The food average. The cuisine is nouvelle Italian. My appetizer of Mussels in a tomato broth was enjoyable, however my entrée if pork tenderloin with risotto was watery and flavorless.
On good alone it would be a two star.

Went here for a little dinner date. Loved the open space and the style of the restaurant. The variety in the menu is nice and I would love to go back and try more food! I had the mussels for an appetizer, which were amazing and for the main course I had the delicious scallops — I highly recommend both!

I went here tonight with my daughter and we had a very nice meal. To address some of the prior concerns mentioned:
Parking– while there is not a lot of street parking available, we easily parked in the brightleaf parking lot just a block away. The $ 3 fee was worth the ease of the lot and proximity to the restaurant.
Service– we arrived at 7:55 for an 8pm reservation on a Friday night and were greeted warmly and shown directly to our table. We were served drinks and bread with olive oil immediately. Our waitress answered our questions and had just the right level of attentiveness, refilling glasses as needed but not overcrowding our conversation.
My daughter ordered a Caesar salad and a pizza, both of which were delicious. With the apple crisp for dessert. She would return in a heartbeat and order the same dinner. I ordered the olives, which I did not enjoy. They are marinated (as described) and I was expecting slightly less marinade. Too strong of a balsamic vinegar flavor for me. For an my entrée I ordered the scallops which were fine. I would get a pizza the next time as they all looked fabulous.
I will definitely come again.

First, i give the food here 4+ stars and the service 2+, hence only a 3 star review. This is my second time here and in spite of arriving 45 min early for our 8pm reservation, it was packed and we had to wait for our table. We got a couple of appetizers while waiting at the bar that were excellent: the calamari and the butternut squash gratinee. The butternut squash was sliced in thin layers and served stacked with a gorgonzola sauce and sweet balsamic onions on top. Simply magnificent. The calamari came tossed with green cabbage and a spicy remoulade sauce. Not heavy and really good.
Once seated, we waited close to 10 min for our server to arrive. Since we had been waiting we knew what we wanted. I went with the Black Sea Bass with a green olive tapenade, diced red potatoes and roasted red onions. The fish was cooked to perfection: crispy on the outside, light and flaky on the inside. The flavors of the red onion and green olives were refreshing. I would definitely order this again.
We finished our meal with the tiramisu which was a little heavy but the flavor was good.
I would like to come back here on a weeknight to see if the service improves.

Three Cheers for Pops and the great staff! Our family party of 27 stormed the joint Sept. 27^th for a pre-​wedding dinner while the Bride & Groom were rehearsing.
The entire family are «out of towners» and Pop’s was a recommendation from the happy couple. The food was well prepared and tasty. We are also a big drinking group, I lost count of how many wine bottles were poured but I’m not exaggerating; we literally drank the place dry.
Thanks for making our visit to Durham a great 1.

This review is based on my experience from early 2013. it was the first, and likely last time I’ll go here.
The male host was extremely snide. after asking if we had a reservation, and we replied «no», he just walked away! He was visibly annoyed! eventually a female host came and asked us if we had been helped and eventually we were seated at the bar, again, without any explanation if we were waiting for a table or not. We eventually saw an open table nearby and asked if we could snag it.
The service was SUPER slow, the food was mediocre, and the staff was just not pleasant. Not a single friendly person aside from the bartender. he was the only person who seemed to be able to do his job and be friendly.
Maybe it was an off-​night for this place, but with all the amazing restaurants in Durham, it’s clear that we never have to put Pop’s in the running when looking for a nice night out.
There are worse places, but no need to settle. Sorry! maybe it’s better now. Just sharing my experience from earlier this year

I came here with few of my coworker since we were invited here for dinner after all day event at IBM. We get to the location and couldn’t find a parking lot so we get to the building next to it and parked it all the way in the back. It was windy day and we were all dressed up in suit walking to get to the restaurant. We enter the vicinity and they had reserved a separate section just for us. We feel special already: D
Couple of waiters came to get the drinks order and I ordered a martini with special instructions… what I know how I like: D anyways the drink came out fine (I didn’t say perfect) All of us are chit chatting and enjoying our drinks. There came a time when we all had to seat down and start deciding what to eat. So we looked at the options and ordered appetizers which came in shortly after. We are enjoying our time and talking about different places we visited and I have to say that there were some interesting discoveries. Appetizer was fine (again) and we started ordering our entrée. We get back to our discussion and shortly after our food arrived, I was hungry after long day so I dive right in, the entrée was OK so I figured let’s try their dessert and leave a good taste in my mouth before we take off. I ordered tiramisu and I have to say this again it was OK (again).
Overall, I was say they had very good service, in my opinion they need to work on their food (for my taste) and they defiantly need to work on their parking cause people will not come and ask them where do I park, there needs to be a sign or someone standing outside.

After a first attempt at a weekly date-​night trend, and with tons of homework to do, we thought we’d get some italian takeout for a nice dinner and opted for Pops since we’d never tried it before. First of all, if you’re going to have a menu online, make sure it’s up to date. We called in to order and had to have the girl tell us the menu over the phone because the website is out of date (and tough to read).
I understand that takeout is never as good as sit-​in for most places but it’s really not that hard to make a meal edible out of a box. We got calamari as a starter which was cold and soggy. The meatball pasta dish was so salty I couldn’t eat it. I like my meals salted well, but this was like someone dumped a saltshaker in it. The scallops were doused in pepper so someone in the kitchen doesn’t know how to season a meal. Best part of the meal was the bread and the cabbage garnish on the calamari.
From what I’ve read from others, the owner doesn’t give a crap of what people think so I won’t be expecting a response to my review. I don’t think we’ll be back anyway unless that changes.

Apple and brie pizza was yummy! A little heavy on truffle oil, but tasty tasty. If there’s a wait, go down the street to the wine bar for a drink first :)
Minus one star for the waiter who kept putting his hand on our shoulders… creepy.

There’s nothing like a good Italian restaurant in your hood and Pop’s totally fits that bill! Tucked away in the back of Brightleaf Square, Pop’s has been dishing out great, homemade Italian food and pizzas to locals for years. Inside it’s cozy and really busy, they’ve got an open kitchen and exposed brick oven so you can catch all the cooking action and flames.
I started off the evening with a great mussels app made with red pepper flakes and tomatoes, really tasty. Not much butter was used so it was lighter than what I’m used to, a good thing. My wood oven pizza with sausage and pepperoni had a really rustic style crust that was burnt and crispy, delicious! And I’ve heard great things about the «chicken under a brick» dish. I’m guessing the chicken talked to the cops and met an untimely end…
Service was really nice here at Pops, peeps here are really friendly and probably used to handling big crowds. Prices and portions were fine so what can you say? Pops is a great local Italian restaurant (reminds me of the Point at Glenwood), for good food! 3 ½ stars but I’m rounding up for the homemade pasta. Oh, and they’re going to be moving soon so I’ll have to check out the new space…