Popi's Place Bradenton — Restaurant in Bradenton

I want to preface my review by stating that we've been eating at this restaurant 2 - 3 times per month for the past 7 years. The food has always been delicious and the service excellent.

About 2 months ago we stopped in for an early dinner. We found entirely new staff and new ownership. The menu had changed somewhat but for the most part was the same as before. When the food arrived the portions were smaller, the food was lukewarm and the service was not good.

The gentleman at the next table ordered the new daily ravioli special. He was told that the chef could not find the ravioli and he would have to order something else.

We gave the new owners a chance to settle in and get their act together and decided to try again.

Two weeks ago we returned to the restaurant for breakfast/lunch. We were seated, given menus and my partner went to the men's room. Before he even returned the waitress came over and wanted to take our orders. I explained that my partner hadn't returned yet and didn't even have time to look at the menu so she walked away. As I was looking at the NEW menu I couldn't find any prices on it so I asked the waitress where the prices were. She said that the prices were at the end of each description. When I looked I saw only a number with no dollar sign, no decinal and no cents (i.e. omelette 8).

My partner returned to the table and told the waitress that the bathroom was a disaster. All the stalls were backed up and water was all over the floor. She said she would tell someone about it but seemed totally unconcerned. She was only interested in taking our order. Again, we told her we needed some time to look over the menu. Within the next 5 minutes the waitress came back to our table at least three times. I couldn't understand why she was rushing us when there were only two other customers in the whole restaurant.

Finally, my partner ordered the chicken cutlet parmesan dinner and I ordered a cheese omelette with home fries and a biscuit.

The waitress returned with our food and my partner was presented with a huge plate of spaghetti (1 lb without exaggeration). Puzzled, he asked the waitress if the chicken cutlet was underneath the pile of spaghetti and she looked at him with a blank expression on her face. She said he didn't order chicken cutlet parmesan he ordered spaghetti. We both insisted that he HAD ordered the chicken cutlet parmesan dinner so she apologized and took his plate back into the kitchen. When she finally returned all they had done was shove the spaghetti (which was by now cold) to one side of the plate and put the chicken cutlet next to it.

My meal was a total disaster. The omelette was flat like a crepe with barely any cheese inside, the home fries where skimpy, dried out and half raw and the biscuit was less than half the size of the biscuits they used to serve. When I went to slice the biscuit and put butter on it, the inside of the biscuit was raw and the entire biscuit crumbled into a million pieces all over me, the table and the floor.

I was furious. I told the waitress I would not eat nor pay for my meal and that I would never return to the restaurant again. My partner paid for his meal and had it boxed up to go.

If they continue in this manner I'm sure the restaurant will be changing...

Have eaten at PopI’s lots of times. Female owner can be rude. Got ribs there once. Full of fat. More fat than meat. I pulled fat off & very little meat there. I told her I couldn’t eat it. No one else complains she stated. I told her to look at the fat pulled off. She stated ribs are supposed to be like this. $16.00 dollar dinner I couldn’t eat. I told her I would pay for what I ate, but not the ribs. She got huffy & never apologized.

So just the other day me & my grandson went there for lunch. I got a hamburger all fixings but no bread. Very good.He got a salad. Got a salad to go. Didn’t eat it that day, but opened to eat it & there was like a 3 inch piece of hair on the egg. Called store & she argued with me about the hair. I’m black, have short kinky hair & not around any strait light haired people at home. She said it was an egg hair. Never heard of that. All her people have nets on she said, or it’s been two days. I told her all I wanted was a replacement salad. Said she would give me 50% off. I told her no way. How do I know whose hair it was she said. Told her, not mine because mine is black & kinky. Paid $13.00 for salad. Don’t want money, just wanted salad replacement. Just gives you a hard time. No one else does if there is a problem with their food. Don’t think I’ll be returning. Have always bragged about the place. Don’t think I should be treated like this, if I’m paying my hard earned money. Our total bill with tip was almost $50.00. Not a...

My wife, father-in-law, and I were looking for a place to grab breakfast on Christmas Eve. My sister-in-law suggested Popi's Place, and I'm so glad she did! We stopped in around 9:00 on December 24th, 2024. There was a good crowd but a few tables were still available (by the time we left it was almost completely full). It has a classic diner vibe, and was nicely decorated for the holidays.

I ordered the corned beef hash with two eggs over-easy, home fries, and their homemade biscuits. It might sound like a lot of food, but I tend to work up an appetite during the holidays. Everything was delicious; especially the homemade biscuits! Make sure to get the biscuits grilled, it takes them to a whole other level. My wife loved the Hawaiian Omelette and grilled biscuits. My father-in-law got the Eggs Benedict. He must have enjoyed it because he cleaned his plate!

The have a coffee bar featuring a wide variety of options including Cappuccino and Lattes. They also offer smoothies.

Popi's is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Next time I want to try lunch or dinner options. Service is friendly and quick; and prices are reasonable for what you get. Can't wait for...