Popolo Restaurant

Even though the food and service are decent for a quick sit down FiDi lunch, and you can feel classy with their table linens and cloth napkins, this place is WAY TOO QUIET for 3 gals to get together and have a quality gossip session. Now EVERYONE knows what you did last weekend… so sorry!
P. S. This place is closing in two days, and patrons are being directed to their sister restaurant Pasta Bene. This could be a blessing in disguise for whomever we happen to get the scoop on next weekend… unless, of course, you know someone who eats at Pasta Bene.

Today’s girl lunch finally taught us thick-​skulled gossip mongers a thing or two about dining out in the fidi on weekdays: Pick a spot where the music and/​or other patrons are loud enough to drown out the shrill «OHMYGOD“s and juicy sex talk spewing forth from your table.
Popolo is closing this week and it’s no question why: peeling paint, two empty dining rooms, and mediocre food mean there are numerous better choices in the surrounding blocks. The staff, however, is gracious and professional. There are linens on every table. The pesto cream sauce and butter-​sauteed mushrooms on Drue’s Popolo Platter were pretty darn good. But our salads were a little on the day-​old side and the prices were reasonable for the menu descriptions, but considering what actually came to the table, I would have happily shelled out a few more bucks for a Mixt Greens salad in their utilitarian setting. No matter. The girlgasm we had talking about boys, booze, and New Year’s gossip was the real highlight, as usual, and Popolo was an acceptable stage for our show.
Hit up Pasta Bene, their sister spot next door. Look for us if you do. We’ll be the three hysterical hookers in the corner, stuffing ourselves and dishing about our fabulously healthy sex lives.

I was on my way to Belden and noticed this place and decided to try it. What a mistake, and here’s why…
–Restaurant was cold (they had a space heater in the corner)
–Service was slow, even when the place was only ¹⁄₃ full
–Vegetables tasted like they were frozen (come on, we’re in SF, get some fresh veggies)
–Kitchen got one of our orders wrong, and the wait staff tried to push it on us, but when asked «what’s in a seafood plater?» and the answer was «um… seafood,» we insisted on our original order
–Everything we got reminded me of cafeteria food, even the bread
Needless to say, I would never go back. I don’t know how this place can survive in a restaurant haven like San Francisco.

It’s Friday in the City. Hmmm and it’s November and t-​shirt weather. Shall we try a bar with outdoor table for a group of ten? So we saunter off to Irish Bank. Nope. Everything is full. Try another and another. And that how we ended up at Popolo — after a number of failed attempts at other establishments in the area. They do have HH food and beverage combo for about $ 9. Includes choice of wine, juice, soda or martini + one of bruschetta, chicken pasta salad, chicken wings, smoked salmon, or margarita pizza. Not bad. Food was okay but service was worse. Apparently they forgot to bring out a few dishes so most people in my group were finished eating while others were still waiting for their food. I was a victim — my chicken pasta didn’t arrive with the rest of the food. (Maybe my karma is coming back to bite me after I have recently given up a vegetarian lifestyle of many years. I think, «Darn that chicken salad does look good — I’ll think about karma and cosmic forces later.») When I went to complain, one of the wait staff mouths «oops» and then quickly rushes into the kitchen, picks up a bowl of chicken pasta and hands it to me. And so I ended up serving myself. And that’s not the end of the story. The last person with no food questions the waitress.
Q: So how long is it going to take for my Ravioli?
Waitress: It’s going to take a while. Sorry.
Q: Can I substitute another dish?
Waitress: That’s not going to help. That’ll be even longer
Q: Can I have anything that’s fast? Canceled orders from others or food under the dropped but within ten-​second rule. (He was only half joking and she’s didn’t get it anyway)
His ravioli eventually arrives. This would have been a 1 star but the restaurant does not charge us for the chicken pasta and ravioli.

The service is what dragged down the rating for me. I’ll say that straight up front, cuz the food was fine. It wasn’t like oooooooh taaaasty, but it was decent.
Service though… and I know this could just be the result of having a particular person… was really unfavorable. Our server was not very nice and then forgot to come back to take our order after we ordered drinks/​appetizers (did she think we were only having that?) So I was annoyed at first, but then after attempts to call people over and being ignored I got peeved. Thankfully another waiter was prompt and smoothed out the dining experience. So yea this review is very much just based on a possible one-​time occurrence, but hey service can really make a meal, and it can really influence how much I enjoy the food too.

The pictures looked good, Unilocal was giving it a 4-​star avg., and it was within walking distance of my office, so it had to be crossed off my list. It was a lunch, not a dinner, which suited my «meeting to discuss business» needs.
Service: Friendly, but not knowledgeable. Seating was aplenty, but by 1:00, the place was empty. The food was delivered very quickly and was the perfect temperature.
Décor: What décor? There was nothing offensive or inoffensive about the place, but it did have a «plastic-​ness» to it. I wouldn’t bring a date here, unless you’re looking to break up with someone. You could, however, bring family — especially if you’re looking to eek more rent money out of your parents. Place is best for a quick work-​related lunch/​dinner.
Food: In fairness, the pasta’s consistency was excellent, the portions were generous, but David’s Special Angel Hair pasta left me wondering what David had done to the place to deserve the notoriety. It should have been listed as a sandwich considering the portions of chicken that were choking out the pasta. «Choke Chicken Pasta» gets my vote for the rebranding. I tried adding salt, but it accentuated the dryness. I like sauciness, and instead, I felt like I was licking a piece of dry, grilled chicken.
My dining companion had the Angel’s Hair that wasn’t corrupted by David. It came out looking just like the picture (on Unilocal). He ate half and took the rest home, but without commenting on its taste/​quality. I took that as a sign that he couldn’t complain.
In fairness, we were having a conversation that made the food secondary, so I’m going to revisit and hope for a more pleasant experience, but right now — they get my props and two stars for:
Price: reasonable (assuming your SF standards of reason are $ 12 for a plate of pasta… at lunch).
Vibe: seems like a nice, little family-​owned restaurant (could be wrong about that), but who doesn’t want to support a place that’s got major competition from über-​restaurant tycoons, celebrity chefs, and expense account meals that are more than I pay for rent?

Nice. Quiet. Tucked away. Can be busy during lunch, but dinner is usually quiet.
Seafood Risotto!
Chicken Picatta!
Steak Sandwich!

if you like free buffet during happy hour, this is the place for you. the owner is a really nice gentleman too.

A great late night stand by in the Financial District and by late I mean 8PM. If you work in the Financial District you know what I mean. About Popolo: good food, good service, well priced. I had the angel hair, chicken, mushroom dish which was good (and piping hot), but I want to try the crab ravioli next time.
They’re heavy handed on the sauce, but that how I like it.

Good food, reasonably priced. Was planning on heading to Pasta Bene but this place was nicer and had tablecloths. Pleasant service.

Wonderful spot! I have been going to Popolo since it first opened over 10 years ago. This is a warm, family run restaurant with great food for excellent prices. They make me feel as if I am part of their family. I love stopping in, whether it’s for a glass of wine after work, or a nice lunch during the work-​day. It’s a great value for a place in the heart of the Financial District.

I was disappointed in Popolo, to say the least. After reading all the great reviews from Unilocalers, I thought I was in for a treat. Not the case.
The service was satisfactory, and the environment professional but mellow. The food, however, was extremely bland. The sauce in my angel hair pasta lacked any flavor. And despite it looking like some saffron was cooked into my friend’s penne dish, hers left something to be desired as well.
Neither one of us will be returning to Popolo’s, despite the service and décor. Because without great food, why would you?

Reasonable prices. Had the ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese and some kind of vegetable. I enjoyed the meal and the service, but couldn’t really pay attention to either b/​c of the company I was with… not in a good way.

1÷9÷08 Update: Boo Hoo! Walked by here today and noticed that they are closed effective 1÷5÷08. Seems they lost their lease. Well that could explain why the service went down hill in the later reviews. :(
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I recently organized a company lunch here. I’m more than pleased with the service and food. Ladan, the manager, was very accommodating. She helped set up a prix fixe menu for us at our suggested price point (it was actually a pretty good menu!).
We sat in the back room and it was comfortable. Service was brisk and food was excellent. I had the salmon and shrimp. The salmon was moist and did not have the usual fishy smell associated with fish. Price was reasonable for FIDi and portions were big. Would definitely come back again!

One of my favorite downtown lunch spots. It’s unpretentious and the food is reliably good. But what really makes this place is the fantastic service. The waiters are friendly and attentive, and if you come in a few times, they remember not only your face but also your drink order.

Perhaps it was a bad time to be there (Monday night), but it was worse than mediocre. My snapper was cold, the sauce was gummy, and the calamari appetizer tasted fishy. The snapper looked like they took one of those display dishes and just served it to me.

have been passing by this restaurant every morning and finally decided to go in cuz a friend had recommended, and to me surprise, what a great restaurant this is… it seems like a tiny restaurant but once you go to the back, you’ll be surprised how big it is… the wait staff were really nice and friendly there and their food is quite good… you should try their pesto tomato mushroom penne… or just go for their shrimp louie… my…i would call them prawns instead… they also have seafood newburg… but that will be my next try!!!

I can’t really review this place as I’ve never been there, but the name is hilarious!!! Popolo is actually a somewhat derogatory term in Hawaii for a certain race of people which I won’t mention here. YIKES! I’ll give it a 5-​star since that seems to be the consensus.

I’m sad to say I’ve never been to Popolo until this afternoon. My friend Josh and I met for a quick lunch — everyone in the restaurant knew him by name — there is nothing finer than when a place knows how to treat a regular. Really friendly folks, nice service. I went with the chicken kabob, which was excellent as well as hugely portioned. Looking forward to going back, trying to get my own name on a salad…