Popi's Restaurant — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Many of my friends in the south Philadelphia area use this as the go to restaurant for celebrations etc. I have been here several times and always had a good meal. Most recently, I was just here with my sister and her friends for a get together. The whole experience was rather surreal and uncomfortable. Our waiter, Vincenzo, was nice enough. He amazingly rattled all the specials off from memory. However there were really so many specials and he didn’t even take a breath. Well it’s impressive that he can remember all of that, it might be better if the restaurant placed a printed insert inside the regular menu so one could take the time to really decide whether they wanted a special or not. Our food came out relatively quick, and everyone enjoyed their entrées. While mine tasted fine, it was not really plated very nice at all. It truly looked like someone scraped leftovers into my dish. Thankfully it did taste way better than it looked. We did not order any alcoholic drinks and when we said we didn’t want any coffee or dessert, it appeared that the waiter was annoyed. Once again he was nice enough… It could’ve just been he had a dry personality. However we sat there talking a little bit after we got the check and one of the girls that was with us stated that he kept staring at us with a frown and it was making her uncomfortable so we had to get up and leave. I can understand this if the restaurant was crowded but we had come in a little later so it wasn’t like we were holding up a table. All in all, I would come here again. Especially since many of my acquaintances love it here. But I will say I feel that the wait staff needs to be less stiff. There was also a side situation where my sister needed a receipt to turn in for business purposes, and the manager had to come out and explain how they don’t split checks. We didn’t really need to split a check, my sister just needed something itemized for her records and they were reluctant to oblige. It was rather awkward however my sister wound up getting something...

I booked a table for Mother's day brunch and didn't have the greatest experience. I was told at the time of booking that they would take a 50.00 deposit and we would be given a gift card back for 50.00. No problem. We get there and are seated. We get up and go to the buffet and a whole other family was seated at our table.🤣 The lady even drank my mom's water! The staff moved the family and apologized....fine. The first thing my father went for was the chicken parm. He lifted the lid to find one lonely dry chicken cutlet. The staff apologized and immediately replenished the hotel pan. The rest of the food was very mediocre honestly. Not terrible but just underwhelming. My daughter and I ordered expresso martinis and they were very bitter. Heavy on the expresso not enough sweetness and it was honestly hard to finish. The stuff pork loin was dry,like it had been sitting for a while. I'm only leaving a review because we went to a five star restaurant on Friday and the bill was less expensive than our dinner at this establishment. We had a table of five and the bill was 420.00 for a buffet with gratuity included. We were also charged an additional 12.00 surcharge which we were confused about. They ended up not taking the 50.00 deposit and there was no gift card so that was confusing at the end also. We are not cheap people. We enjoy spending money in the neighborhood establishments,that's not the issue here. The price was very high for a very mediocre experience. I have been here many times in the past.I even had my wedding dinner here, but we definitely won't be returning. The staff were accommodating and the atmosphere is pretty,but the food definitely needs more creativity. You can always tell when there is love added into a dish....

Pass.

To start with the positives, this place is located in a prime spot with ample parking throughout. It's very close to all the sports complexes, making it highly accessible for a pre and/or post game rendezvous. It's a new-ish building and the aesthetics are pleasing and clean. There's a casual/upscale vibe with an all around traditional Italian motif. There are two entrances, either the main "restaurant entrance" or the through the "banquet entrance" each opening up to a parlor type area before splitting to their respective style seating.

We were seated in the large banquet hall in the back. The area was clean and well lit, with plenty of space for everyone.

As far as the food was concerned - not much accommodation was made for vegetarians. The kitchen seemed to be sticking to established recipes and not delineating - I found this to be the biggest sticking point. I think some modifications could've been made so everyone could enjoy their dinner. I ended up with a plate of grilled vegetables for my "entree" - umm....thanks. The vegetables were palatable but nothing spectacular. I think the restaurant could've at least made some modifications to their panchetta infused pasta in order to make it veggie friendly - would've appreciated this moreso than a "entree" of sides.

I did find one server that was very helpful. During dessert, instead of the tiramisu (which had eggs), he was able to come out with an ice cream sundae - hit the spot nicely! I wish he took care of my order from the beginning, could've been a better dining experience.

Overall - I would probably pass on this place given the experience. It's a shame since there is a ton...