Poppys Italiano — Restaurant in Florida

We absolutely loved our dinner at Poppy’s tonight. Donny, our server, might be my new best friend… I’m not entirely sure since I’m old enough to be his mom. Maybe I’ll just adopt him.

Boo got water to drink and I got a “Helen’s Spritzer,” which is basically an Aperol Spritz,. Regardless, it was very good and served promptly.

We don’t usually get appetizers, but Donny recommended the bruschetta and it was so fresh and delicious. I am 100% NOT a fresh tomato person, but the tomatoes weren’t overwhelming. The olive oil and balsamic were both flavorful, while the ciabatta bread was surprisingly light while still having that amazing crust that makes it so appealing. The mozzarella was fresh and creamy, while the Boursin cheese was an unexpected, and delightful, addition. After it was all said and done, this is Boo’s favorite part of the meal and next time he may get it as his main course.

One thing that I do want to mention is that you can order one main dish and have the kitchen split it for you for $5.00. I don’t eat a lot so we typically do split. Whats’s nice about Poppy’s is everything that $5.00 actually gets you. Its’s not just one portion split onto two plates; each diner gets their choice of plain or garlic bread, soup or salad AND the “half” portions are actually larger. Abso-positively-lutely worth the minimal extra charge.

Now, that being said, next came the soup and salad course. I opted for the Caesar Salad and Boo chose Italian Wedding soup. The salad was rather unremarkable and pretty typical. I cannot stand it when my salad is overdressed and this one was perfectly acceptable, but nothing special (Boo actually thought that the dressing needed more garlic and less Parmesan. I thought it was fine). Boo’s soup was much better! I mean, it’s starting to warm up around here and we do live in Florida… so soup wasn’t really on my mind. The fullness of flavor in the broth was a nice surprise. The meatballs were perfect, and not too large. Overall, we were both happy.

For a main we chose to split the veal parmigiana. Full disclosure, it is not what I wanted or felt like ordering but it’s still Boo’s birthday week so I let him choose with no objection. Honest to goodness I am SO happy he did! It was easily the best prepared veal I’ve ever had. It was tender and mild flavored that was the perfect vessel for all the sauce I wanted to scoop up with each bite. The spaghetti was an afterthought for me. I honestly didn’t even try the pasta until my last bite - just to say I did it. The veal was the star of this dish.

Finally, just as we were getting ready to ask someone to kindly roll our overstuffed bodies out, we opted for dessert!!! I know that the canola cream is made in house, because Donny said so. I don’t know, however, how it tastes. It’s Boo’s and he ordered it to go so he hasn’t let me try it yet!! The spumoni was spot on. Obviously the pistachio is the best part, but the cherry was bright and the chocolate was decadent. Yes, I ate the WHOLE thing (I was nice though and shared with Boo).

We’re new to this part of town and have been pleased with all the dining options available in Saint John’s & St. Augustine. Poppy’s Italiano has definitely just earned a top spot in our rotation. If you go, make sure to ask for Donny, he’s adorable and has a wonderful understanding...

Made reservations via their web site for 7pm, Tuesday 5/21/2024. Arrived at 6:50pm and was seated immediately. Place was moderately busy when we arrived.

Meredith (name on receipt) was our server and she was excellent. Personable, professional and made great recommendations on the wine and desserts. Appetizers and entrees arrived right on time and came to the table nice and hot.

Looked at the Google reviews before arriving and the chocolate martini and garlic bread were highly recommended. Those reviews couldn't have been more correct. The chocolate martini was listed as an after dinner drink on the menu but I'm glad we ordered it to start the meal off because it would have competed with the amazing deserts we ordered which were also chocolate.

We had the calamari for the appetizer and they came out immediately, freshly fried and hot. There were a few that were chewy but most were perfect. The marinara used for the dipping sauce was delicious. One order was more than enough for the two of us and chewy or not there wasn't any left.

Next came the Frutti Di Mare. It came with shrimp, scallops, calamari and mussels that were cooked beautifully. The linguini was perfectly cooked and the sauce was marinara based but with a little less marinara bite to it. Perfect sauce to allow the seafood to shine. We asked Meredith to recommend a chianti to pair it with as there were several to choose from. Meredith recommended one of the moderately priced chiantis and it paired wonderfully. Between the martinis, garlic bread and calamari appetizer we were getting full and could only eat half of it. My wife likes her food spicy hot and they made a "diablo" version for her that she said was perfect. The portions are pretty good so we ended up taking enough Frutti Di Mare home for a second meal. I know it'll taste even better the second time!!!!

For desert I asked for the most chocolate thing they had and out came a slice of chocolate, chocolate cake. The chocolate wasn't overwhelmingly sweet but was seriously chocolate. Loved it. My wife is not big into sweets but is partial to cheesecake and they had one on special that night and it was like it was made for her.

First time we've been here and we're already looking forward to...

It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this review. I wanted to love Poppy's. It is close to my house, and I love Italian food. We went this past Saturday and sat outside. We were seated around 505 (per text from restaurant). I liked the outdoor space. My fiancé ordered a specialty drink and I ordered wine. We then placed dinner orders at 518PM both ordered from the early bird menu. Immediately after we ordered my fiancé got up to change our baby and I texted my mom that we got a seat at Poppy's without waiting and was super happy about it. Fast forward to 545 when the waiter comes back, and we ask about the wine that comes with out meals. I was not the biggest fan of the malbec on the menu. The waiter said we ordered at 532 and the system shuts them out completely after 530. We looked puzzled at him and then he goes on to say my wine is not on the early bird menu... which is not what I wanted/ asked for. Yes, we could and should have pushed back, did we want to throw the waiter under the bus? No. Did we really want to talk through everything with a manager that may or may not have honored it. IT cost us ~$25 for not pushing back. Still tipped 18% even though the service was a pinch slower than I would like but it was busy. I felt the mozzarella stick appetizer/ sauce was bland. I ordered the meat ravioli, and it was ok but still bland. My fiancé ordered spaghetti and meatballs with sausage. The meatball was ok. We both got the Fagioli soup and thought it was ok. Maybe our biggest issue is the red sauce, and I should have ordered something else. Maybe we should have pushed more on the early bird meal, but overall super underwhelmed. Maybe I was expecting too much. Unsure of what happened but not happy spending $125 with tip for two bland dinners, one appetizer, and 4 drinks total (when I should have gotten 2 glasses of wine (house wine) for free. One thing I am super happy about was that there were changing rooms so that my finance (male) could change baby girl. That was VERY appreciated. My fiancé loved his cocktail. The waiter was super nice and had...