Pizzeria Popolare — Restaurant in Paris

I took a short trip to Paris and had a food emergency!!! I was craving pizza. Great pizza! Like the kind of pizza you tell all your friends about when you’re discussing the best piece of pizza you’ve ever had…..maybe I’m the only one that has those conversations.

So anyway I found an article on glowenoven.com about the best pizza in Paris. Pizza Popolare was listed as the best overall so I decided to check it out.

I followed the map and couldn’t find it - probably a combination of not knowing a lick of French and not great signage. I kind of had a feeling that I found the place by the line that was outside….on a Wednesday night no less.

I was still a little skeptical - pizza in Paris?? My server Michael assured me that this was legit ITALIAN pizza. Only the best. He broke every stereotype by being the nicest server ever. In my opinion, Paris gets a bad rap for being rude. Maybe it’s my Philly roots that lowers my standards but I’ve found the Parisians to be super helpful and friendly. Michael was the best!!

Anyway about that pizza. I ordered the Fantastiques pizza (4 cheeses, all from Italy). WOW! The cheese flavor literally exploded in my mouth. Maybe better than the cheese was the crust. Light and flavorful. A perfect complement to the deliciousness of the four cheeses. The white sauce had a rich flavor that tied it all together. WOW. WOW!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment on the atmosphere. The music was awesome and the crowd was lively. People were definitely enjoying the atmosphere and food. Just an overall happy and lively environment.

That is a pizza that I will remember for years to come. If you’re in Paris I strongly encourage you to make a reservation and check it out. This place is no hidden gem - and getting an opportunity to satisfy that craving for an authentic Italian pie may be a once in a lifetime event.

If I’m ever in Europe again, I’m going to make it a point to get to Paris for another...

Ughhhh sad to post this because I’m a generally positive reviewer but this last trip to pizzeria popolare was a nightmare. So mind you, we made it to our reservations 5 minutes earlier and waited in line for about 10. Excusable, it’s Valentine’s Day. It’s Valentine’s Day and I love love so hell yeah I’ll wait if it means accommodating. Now we make it inside and we get seated in a 6 person table top. In the middle of two couples. One couple wasn’t present yet so we place our coats in the hook under the table. As the third couple arrives we’re told to put our jackets elsewhere and figure it out because they need that space. The math wasn’t mathing. There were no hooks, no space, no nothing.

Oh oh. I forgot to mention the gifted scratch off given to us in which we won nothing. Seriously why do scratch offs if there’s not going to be a prize? It’s cruel. I did prizeless scatchoffs in my sixth grade bday party and it made me very unpopular with the student body. I understand why. IT IS CRUEL.

okay okay. We order after like 20 minutes of waiting. The drinks arrive. My drink is so tiny & gets spilled over me. At this point I’m just like okay. Give me all you’ve got. Appetizer comes out. There is no truffle, as ordered. But it was delicious. Credit is given where credit is due. Now the truffle was added in the check and on top of that the surcharge was more expensive on the ticket than on the menu!!! like cmon!! I’ve been taken as a fool one too many times here!!!

luckily the couples next to us were cool, as expected. I love humans and interacting with them but a warning would have been nice. Especially on Valentine’s Day.

After reading responses for negative reviews I’m ready for a generic answer some “we’ll take your feedback into consideration HoPe YoU CHanGe YoUr MiND” but y’all just pleeeeeease avoid this place for special events. I’m all about that bag but don’t...

Overall, an Italian restaurant in central Paris often works on hype rather than other things.

I understand this place wants to present as familiar or family or friendly vibe. It doesn’t justify the discomfort generated from inconsistent service in the intention of fast turnover rate for each table, notably in the name of « specialty of the restaurant ».

Firstly, no matter you have reservations or not,you need to wait in the line, which made restaurants lose its meaning especially when you saw people without reservations got table faster than you. Several years ago we were among no reservations line, my friend spoke Italian and then we skipped the whole line together and get arranged the best seat. My story here is just to say the whole system is a myth.

Second, we have been told to share a table of 4, next to us was 6 people with 1 dog in between our table and theirs with water underneath. Again, justification « c’est notre spécialité ». No, even in Paris, it is unique but not out of good intention but too simply an intention to maximise your margin as restaurant. Be honest.

The positive part is the servant for our table, was helpful and attentive.

Finally, for first time comer or people who are looking for good Italian restaurants in general, Italian restaurants in city centre are usually very spoiled as they are kind of safer choice for most of the people. If you don’t mind take RER, Coco Rocco is a much better choice in...