Popolo Shoreditch Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Food was good, the pasta dishes were excellent."
• "The food is prepared with the most attention to detail."
• "Outstanding food. Great service. Tremendous flavours...the nettle Ravioli was ridiculous."
• "The octopus was absolutely the best I’ve ever eaten cooked to perfection and all the ingredients are of the highest quality."
• "Every dish has perfectly balanced ingredients that are respectful to its origins while simultaneously introducing you to something new."
• "Everything is made to the highest of quality with great ingredients."
• "The food was great, especially liked the octopus and potatoes and the huge scallops."

Cons:

• "The food was ok, but not great."
• "The scallop with nduja contained only trace amounts of nduja."
• "Lobster spaghetti is not really Al dente."
• "The ravioli had nice dough but the filling was lacking texture in my opinion."
• "The food was good, but not mind-blowing."
• "Some dishes, like the artichokes, were just plain bad."
• "Although pasta was a bit soft."

Service

Pros:

• "Since brexit service in hospitality has understandably dropped off, this wasn't the case in this restaurant."
• "The service was superb with the staff very happy to talk through the dishes."
• "Karim ensured our evening was special, taking the time to pair a wine for me."
• "The service was great and we were looked after by a lovely guy always topping up our glasses."
• "The service was fast and friendly. Our waiter was very cheerful and happy to help."
• "The service was excellent, staff and chefs very friendly."
• "The service was fantastic, super friendly and knowledgeable."

Cons:

• "The service was abrupt and not very attentive (probably busy) and hinting that we need to leave the table."
• "We weren’t sat on a normal table, but a bar table so the seats were uncomfortable."
• "The waitress kept hovering around so it made us feel like we're being pushed out."
• "What I really disliked was the attitude of the waiter, who was visibly annoyed as we helped ourselves to extra fork and spoon as common utensil."
• "The service and handling of reservations could improve."
• "The staff of Popolo rushed the food on the table, after 40 minutes we were expected to leave."
• "The service was not very nice, we felt super rushed and not very welcomed."

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Generally tasty food, some plates better than others, good and intimate atmosphere."
• "Popolo is a small-size Italian restaurant serving tapas-like plates in a warm and trendy setting."
• "The treatment received by the service was incredible."
• "Ambiance is unassuming but cosy and makes you not want to leave."
• "The restaurant felt authentic, relaxed and intimate."
• "It’s a really lovely bistro vibe😍."
• "Friendly staff, great atmosphere."

Cons:

• "It's also a tiny tiny place and unfortunately the upstairs doesn't smell great at the moment."
• "Mind the table is really tiny."
• "Unfortunately the room is very small and, as well as the music being rather loud, there were a lot of noisy patrons."
• "The restaurant is very small and intimate (tables are basically joined)."
• "The atmosphere is not relaxing either, we only stayed there for probably 40 minutes."
• "They cram in bookings - our table was only available for 90 minutes."
• "It is packed. And I don't just mean with people - I mean they did their best to pack as many chairs and tables together as they could."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "The prices are not low, but not over the top either. Definitely worth it as a treat."
• "For the quality of the cooking and the ingredients used this place really is a bargain to eat at, you would struggle to find better food at swanky west restaurants charging three times price."
• "Really cheap for the quality you get! We spent around £60 between the two of us, which we thought was probably Popolo underselling themselves."
• "Amazing value for money.I highly recommend it."
• "Food is unforgettable. Italian with heavy Spanish influence. Dishes are well balanced and mouth watering. Amazing value for money."
• "Great small restaurant that takes utmost care in choosing local and/or sustainable products."
• "Fantastic food in buzzy people-watching atmosphere."

Cons:

• "Quite expensive though - about £24 for a small fish and £18 for 6 pieces of pasta."
• "However I do think they’re a tad overpriced at £19 each."
• "Charging £13.50 for some broccoli, egg yolk and Parmesan and then £24 for 4 slices of potato and octopus I didnt feel was worth the money."
• "Especially since the prices are too high in my opinion."
• "The plates seemed not too expensive separately but you need to eat between 5 and 6 plates for 2 persons."
• "Also small space quite cramped, when paying £80 a head I expect a little more room."
• "While the food was decent, the portions were tapas-sized and overpriced."