Piripi — Restaurant in Erie

There were very few redeeming qualities to our meal here this weekend. I was actually blown away that it's so well-reviewed, which makes me wonder if a) This was just a really, really, really bad night for them or b) There are still a lot of people enamored by the concept of tapas who don't pay that much attention to the actual food.

First: Zero social distancing. The place was packed to the brim, sitting side-by-side and back-to-back with other diners.

Service was slow. We waited quite a while before being asked even for drink orders. Similar delays and waiting for all other portions of the meal. It felt like the servers, etc. don't really pick up on the cues that other restaurants do. A bit chaotic.

For most of the meal, I stared into a brightly lit room that appears to be a children's play area behind my wife's seat near the bar. We weren't tucked into some overflow either; this is in the main dining area. For some reason there's a gigantic window that looks right into it, and it ruined what little atmosphere there was.

The drinks weren't great. And that's coming from a pair of cocktail lovers. My Old Fashioned was bitter, watered down, and pithy. My wife's first cocktail was similarly unpalatable, and she went with wine the remainder of the meal. I asked for the same thing as my wife, which my waitress interpreted as another Old Fashioned. Oh well. The second OF was a bit better, at least.

The food... Eh. The scallops were WAAAY oversalted. It was the only dish we sent back, because we didn't want to be "those people". But this was the only one that was completely inedible.

The octopus was undercooked and lacking any texture. It's pretty standard to sightly char octopus prepared this way to balance the presentation. This tasted like it was steamed or boiled and then chopped up. I almost gagged trying to finish the last few pieces.

The patatas bravas were okay, but underwhelming. A bit like thin french fries covered in a little marinara drizzled in cream, then thrown under a broiler for a couple seconds. The sauce was dry and crusty.

The shrimp were okay, not overcooked or undercooked. Just kind of boring. There's an attempt at something with some toasted bread on the side to soak up the sauce (presumably) but it just doesn't really work well.

I'm not sure if I'd return. Absolutely not during COVID while they are stuffing the restaurant to the brim. But there are too many other fantastic restaurants nearby to spend so much money on overpriced tapas at Piripi. I hope they're able to figure out the food and drinks, because I do honestly want Erie businesses to succeed. But they're going to have to really step up the game to make it long term after the initial wave of...

We were excited to try this restaurant in downtown Erie which is a really charming location. Parking is a little difficult, especially if you’re there during the majority of business hours.

We snagged a reservation about 15 minutes before and were so glad we did because there were people waiting when we got there and by the time we left the line was wrapped around the top floor.

To get to the restaurant on the second floor, we took a small elevator that was very slow and a little sketchy and made scary noises- not the sketchiest elevator we’ve ridden in but we were definitely ready to get off. There was an accessible bathroom on the first floor next to the elevator, with a fairly heavy door.

To start the service was fantastic- everyone from the host to the waiter to the busboy. Our biggest complaint is that the space was too crowded- they tried to cram too many tables into a small area to the point where an entire table had to move for the people at the table next to them to get up. This was especially challenging for us with one wheelchair user. Multiple people had to move for us to be able to get through. The hallway to the bathroom was also blocked off for anybody using a wheelchair or walker by having a table placed in the space. Otherwise, according to the non-wheelchair user of the group, the hallway would have been accessible and the bathroom would have been spacious with a light door and a large bathroom stall and reachable soap. Would have been great if we could have gotten to it.

We enjoyed the multiple nonalcoholic options on the drink menu. Most of the menu is gluten free. We started with burrata with balsamic and a green sauce- everything was good but the green sauce was a little overpowering which hid the flavor of the burrata. We also had a Caesar salad- the dressing was delicious and the greens were fresh, heads up it was heavily decorated with anchovies which could be a plus or minus depending on your palate.

For our main course we had the chimichurri steak with potatoes, carrots and broccolini, which was the star of the night. The chimichurri was delicious. We also got the homemade fetuccini with the basil cream sauce- the sauce was a little underwhelming, and the chicken could have used a bit more flavor.

By the bathrooms, there is a cute little play room for kids with arcade games and toys, probably best for ages 8 and under.

The prices seemed a little high- it was $115 (without tip) for two nonalcoholic drinks, two appetizers, and two entrees.

We would consider going back for lunch when the prices are more reasonable- and it would hopefully be...

First time here and the last time. What a weird night. Party of six. Dinner. $450. We had THREE different servers. Tell me that doesn’t create confusion. Things started out good then went down hill. Right to the very end. My wife and I had the fish and chips. $26. Nothing else included for $26 - three small pieces of fried cod and some potatoes. Turned out ours was the best bite of the group. Two in our party had the mahi-mahi. One said it was rubbery. The other said it had no flavor. Two in our party had steaks. Both were ordered medium-rare. Both were served well done. Well done vs. medium rare just can’t be overlooked so they sent the steaks back. The rest of us had no choice but to start our meals while they were still hot. Many minutes later while the four of us were about done with our meals the replacement steaks were served - still wrong. Medium. Not medium rare. Our friends had no choice at this point but to accept the still overcooked steaks. Ugh. Because I wanted a complete meal, in addition to my fish and chips I ordered a Mediterranean salad - $14. Quite good. But pricey, right? Onto the drinks. They offer a $10 Martini menu with several options. I had a traditional gin with olives. Served ice cold and very tasty. My wife had a glass of house Cabernet for $9. Adequate quality. One in our party ordered a no-alcohol Margherita. Found out at check out time that the price with or without alcohol Is the same. When he questioned the price he was told, sorry, no difference in price with or without alcohol. My coffee - good. But no refills were offered and when I asked for a second cup it took a long time to be served, but she forgot the cream. Had to ask twice. By now I was the laggard in the group because everyone was ready to leave. So, no management got involved with the over cooked steaks. No consideration at all on the price. No courtesy whatsoever offered. Water went unfilled, as was mentioned in another recent review. Just inconsistent. Irritatingly inconsistent. $450. Understaffed? Lack of management? I don’t know. Some pics...