I found this place after some research and I have to say this is a must try. There were so many good options I didn't know what to pick. We had the margarita pizza as an appetizer and it was perfect. Not too thin, sauce was good and cheese was not the cheap type. For the entrees we had the penne vodka with meatball and the lamb chops. The pasta was creamy and the meatballs were flavorable. Lamb chops were medium rare and I realized next time I should tell them how I would like them. It was a lot of food and we had leftovers. We saved room for dessert and got the creme brûlée. I am not a fan of sweets but this was good. I would say I would order it again. I wanted the tiramisu but they didn't have it in stock. I will def go back again. They had a lot of choices so u must go back again. The place was very cute, they had a outside seating area with lights (great for a summer/fall day). Inside they had 2 booth seating and smaller tables for couples. The small tables seem really small but manageable. Service was good, the waiter was so nice and checked back in with us too. read more

Popolari - Lamb chops - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

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Great food and service! My wife and I came here for our wedding anniversary and were not disappointed. They gave us a nice crostini at the counter to start while we waited to be seated. I had the rack of lamb and my wife had the chicken Murphy. We also shared a pasta special with lobster as well as the trio appetizer. It's byob so nice on the wallet and there are also bottles to by on site if you for get. The atmosphere is great for a date or earlier for family dining. I will definitely be back soon! read more

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3.5 stars for this cozy neighborhood establishment 1 star off for the "weird" welcome by the waiter Context: as we entered he asked my fiancée "how can he help us?" What reasons do 2 people enter a restaurant at 4pm on a Sunday ? ( that's rhetorical) 1/2 star off for a lil extra spice that my pasta required of it ....... Great reviews for the clean , cozy space & large portions ! B.Y.O.B menu is not a big deal Bring whatever you feel like drinking is no problem for meeee :-) read more

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DO NOT EAT HERE!!! we celebrated a family member's birthday the day after Christmas (party of 11). Six of us were sick as dogs!!! vomiting & diarrhea! Called the day after, spoke to one of the owners and he was defensive, disrespectful and not accountable! He told me unless we all had doctor bills proving we got sick from his food, he couldn't help us. Sad. especially because there were kids at our party. With the horrible customer service and unsanitary food, dine at your own risk.. Also, the owner even said that we probably got sick from the cake we bought in lol . Hysterical because 2 of the people that were sick didn't eat cake. Horrible dinning experience. read more

My wife and I had dinner at Poplari on Friday night. The pizza was amazing and the service was great. Food was reasonably priced. I gave this place a two star review because we ended up paying $15.00 for three cans of Diet Coke?? Price gauging? read more

I had lowered my expectations after reading some of the reviews, but I was surprised once we got there! The place is not super big so when we got there we had to wait a few minutes for a table for a party our size would open up (not a big deal some of our party was late so in a way it worked out). Once we sat down our waitress came straight to our table to get our order for drinks and give us the menus. Just a heads up they are BYOB! Our waitress stopped by our table a few times before we we're finally ready to order. Once we were ready she took our order for apps (which she brought out first) as well as our entrees. FOOD: For appetizers we got two orders of the Arancini which is only two balls but they are pretty big enough for two people to share. For our entrees we went with the Carbonara (delicious) , Spicy Vodka Pasta (not too spicy and we added the breaded chicken, soo good!), we also got the Popolari Pizza recommended by our waitress and it was amazing, and lastly we ordered the Diavola Pizza with the pesto chive sauce to dip the crust. I would love to come back here again and bring some drinks and have a cozy night with amazing food! read more

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Last week, I came to Popolari for my friend's surprise dinner. We sat outside in the patio area by the parking lot. The area is very cute. We called for 8 people and they sat us down at a picnic type table - this could probably fit 6 people in a cramped way, but they had an extra table next to us to accommodate. We were given garlic knots on the house with this delicious marinara sauce. They were freshly made and was great to have as we were waiting for our food. I ordered the Cavatelli Broccoli Pasta and it was really good. The broccoli and sauce went really well with the cavatelli pasta. One friend had the Spicy Vodka Pasta and she enjoyed it. The Gnocchi looked really good. My friend tried it for the first time and she loved it. I think that if I come again then I will definitely order the gnocchi. They give pretty generous portion sizes too! One thing about the pasta though: it is definitely al dente so if you aren't used to it, ask them to cook it extra. It does take some time for them to bring your food out, but it is a cute spot to have a nice dinner with friends. Overall, I would recommend. read more

Popolari - Cavatelli Broccoli Pasta - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

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Food and service was amazing, Karina our server was the best she was very attentive the entire time.

Sorry I really want to love this place and gave it a second shot. Service is awful, I was told they are short staffed however I know a few places that are short staffed and you know what you do you stop take out by a certain time so that you can focus on your customers that are going to your restaurant. I was there for almost two hours had to ask for water constantly I had to ask for a wine glass about four times they served one of our members at our table their food about 30 minutes before anyone else got anything. It seems their focus is more on take out as I saw people coming in and out with take out but the kitchen was backed up for the actual people sitting down trying to enjoy a meal. The food is good but not that good that I will sit through this again. read more

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Love this new addition to Bloomfield! The pizza and pasta is delicious and I especially loved the arancini. The decor is so beautiful and you really feel like you're in Italy. It's BYOB so bring your favorite drink or pick it up from the liquor store nearby! Enjoy! read more

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The highlight of the meal was the Popolari Pizza. The meatballs were also good. Loaded with tons of fresh toppings. I was a little disappointed by the vodka sauce on the pasta. It was a little runny. Overall a cute place. read more

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Came in for lunch on a Sunday and we were seated immediately. The interior felt super trendy and I loved the old italian posters on the walls. We ordered an appetizer and 2 pastas. Lamb Pops - 3/5 These were honestly just okay. The meat itself was slightly overdone and didn't have a lot flavor. Most of the flavor comes from the tahini sauce that comes with it. Mafaldine E Fungi Truffel - 4/5 Super buttery and rich, I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms but this pasta was pretty good. Spicy Vodka Penne with Breaded Chicken - 5/5 This was the best dish of the three. I'm a sucker for vodka sauce and chicken cutlet so this was like a match made in heaven. I'm definitely coming back to get this again! Overall the food was delicious and I really liked the vibes of the restaurant. Giving this 4 stars though, the service was pretty slow and it took a while for the food to come out. Also the area around our table was a little dirty. I definitely recommend coming for the pasta and they have really nice outdoor seating as well! read more

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Food was ready an hour after I was told to pick it up. Pasta was overcooked and few ends of the spaghetti were burnt. Would not come back again since the food was not great either. Several other dishes were mediocre as well. read more

Came in with my family, super nice small place. The food was delicious, the lasagna was AMAZING. Our server was a little slow getting us our food, we had to wait extra time to get our food because another server gave our appetizers to another table. The wine we had was a great pair to the food we ordered. We will be back. read more

Horrible. Second time we have gone here and left. We reserved a reservation on the phone and when we showed up we were told we had to sit outside because the dining room was over booked, even though they never told us they had outside seating. It was 50 degrees outside, and my self (pregnant) and my grandmother who is 88 years old did not want to sit out side in the freezing cold. The owner was not apogolgic at all, and was just rude. He said if we wanted we could eat in the nail salon next door? Horrible. Second time we have had rude service from the owner. Do not recommend waisting your money on a dump restaurant in Bloomfield. read more

Over rated. Cute decor. Good menu. Overpriced mediocre food. Went pretty basic - meatball app, chicken parm entree, margherita pizza. Meatballs and sauce are great, chicken parm awful, pizza mediocre. 95 degree day and no A/C. Looks like this place is having trouble. It's a shame. I had heard great things but it didn't live up to the hype. read more

Probably one of our favorites Italian restaurants. We ordered margerita pizza, fried calamari, and penne. Plentiful and so tasty. There is a liquor store right next door since this is BYOB. We will be returning. read more

The prices on the bill did not match the prices on the menu. I guess the prices have been raised and they felt no need to print new menus. And on top of it they charged us at 3% restaurant fee. What the heck is that? (This was not a credit card fee). The food was good, not great, definitely not worth the prices. read more

Service can be hit or miss here. Last time we came on a date night, we had to get our food to go to make a movie. Tonight, they were extremely busy with to go orders for Christmas Eve but service was great for our family. The ambiance and design are great, but they need to solve the heating in the winter. With so many people coming in and out for pickup, the lobby stays very cold. We all kept jackets on. The food was great as always. Bottom line, be prepared for long waits sometimes, but the food is above average. read more

Popolari - Margherita Pizza with capers - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

The restaurant is modern and tastefully decorated. The server was both friendly and professional. However, I found the food to be quite overpriced considering the portion sizes. For instance, a soda costs $3.50 and is served directly from the can with a straw. No glass or ice. Additionally, there was no bread provided at the table, nor a salad included with the meal. We paid over $30 for the Chicken Parm, which came with only one chicken cutlet and no grated cheese. read more

First time stopping in for a late lunch, we all had an amazing experience Victor hands down is the best he's knowledgeable he's friendly we didn't feel rushed. He opened our delicious mineral water and put lemons in without us even asking now let's get to the good part, the food outstanding, we decided to do a Smorgasburg & order a few things off the menu, we started with the rice balls they are insanely delicious you have two choices of fillings, we went with the beef perfectly cooked, not over fried, we also had the arugula salad with the shaved Parmesan, perfectly dressed and lots of shaved Parmesan then we had the Pappardelle Bolognese the noodles melted in your mouth. The sauce was perfectly flavored. Plus we had the chicken Milanese the chicken was nice and thin. Had a nice flavor. Also served with mashed potatoes that have chunks of potatoes and a side of delicious vegetables with fresh sliced garlic.!! If you guys lived around the corner from me, I would probably eat here every day. There's so much on the menu. I can't wait to come back you have customers for life best part is they do have read more

I always look forward to the great food, friendly service, and fun ambiance. You didn't disappoint as we celebrated another special occasion at your place. Thank you, Mido and team! I highly recommend this gem. read more

Want to share what my $27 pizza looks like. 3 toppings at $4 each plus $15 for the pie. My bad for not looking at menu prices. For that price I was envisioning an overload of peppers and onions in my pizza. $4 per topping. I see 6 tiny slices of pepper - outrageous. Pizza was okay - not worth the price of 4 frozen DiGorno pizzas I could have bought. I get inflation but come on! Don't price yourself out of the market. read more

Popolari - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

We celebrated a family birthday here this weekend and everything was fabulous--the food and the service were top-notch...they even brought out a guitar and the staff sang Italian "happy birthday" with zeppoles and sparklers! Our family loved their food and our waitress, Ciera, took great care of us. Highly recommend. read more

I was torn on the number of starts to give Popolari. I'm hoping others fully read the reviews here so they know what to expect vs just looking at the stars. Make sure you make a reservation. Inside is really small with only a few tables. I know in the warmer months they have an outdoor seating area, but I would still recommend a reservation. Even with a reservation we waited 10 minutes for our table. Service was bad. Like suuuuper slow. We sat down and I even wondered if there was a different way we were supposed to order, as nobody came to the table for a good 20 minutes. Our food came out pretty timely, but nobody came to check in on us or refill our water. After we finished, we waited for the check. At this point, the restaurant was no longer busy so I'm not sure why nobody approached our table to at least ask how things were or if we were interested in dessert. The food itself was really impressive, and that's the reason for the 4 stars. If the food was subpar, I definitely would have knocked another 1-2 stars off given the bad service. But the food was delicious! We ordered a calzone and the spicy rigatoni w/ chicken cutlet, along with a side of garlic knots. Note - there is no complimentary bread basket, so you have to order either garlic knots or their focaccia for a price, I need my bread! The chicken cutlet in the pasta was ehhh, not the best, but the pasta was amazing. Great sauce. Overall, I'm not sure if I would come again. I really was taken back by how bad the service is, but the food is good... so I'm torn! Just know what you're getting into before you come. read more

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i discovered this place a few months ago and have been coming once a month since. my personal favorites are the spicy vodka, the lamb pops and every single one of their pizzas!! the ambiance exudes "small local family owned italian" with the occasional middle eastern surprise. really cute date night place as well. pretty small wine selection but i dont mind that. highly recommend!! read more

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Hearty and delicious food, small portions and pricey though. A group of 4 came here on 3-20 for dinner and were met with a cute mom and pop, cozy ambiance. Ordered Bianca pizza, calamari, calzone, pesto gnocchi, spicy vodka pasta, carbonara, and a large meatball. All of the food was tasty and like true comfort food. Portions of pasta are a bit on the smaller size esp for price (17-22$) per pasta dish, not to mention and extra $5-6 to add chicken or a large meatball. Bianca pizza was a touch on the salty side, and again pricey ($15) for a very small pizza. Pastas seemed overcooked to me, would have preferred more Al dente! Service was super friendly and ambiance gives this place major bonus points. BYOB which is also a huge plus. Overall, a great place and I would def be back. It is a tad on the pricey side considering portions are smaller than you might expect. For 4 of us (brought our own wine), total for dinner was about $200. Parking on street or small parking lot on the side. Would recommend and would def be back ! read more

Amazing place Love the European retro Look although-out. Me and my friends started at the Pizza Bar watched the chef make pizza as he entertained us with his dough skills, then we had our entrees at the pizza Garden with candles and garden lights, cool music, kind staff and good food. must try will definitely be back and can't wait for them to start brunch read more

Ordered take out and was told it was going to be 50 mins. Get there an hour and half later. The pizza is done for 35 mins and getting cold while they cook the 1 order of pasta they forgot about. Only ordered 3 items. Food is good but really ridiculous that they didn't acknowledge that my order was forgotten. Over a hour for take out that's being picked up and only 5 tables seated. Lots of staff hanging out. The cook took told one of the customers to go somewhere else if they can't wait. Really terrible service and disappointing. I used to recommend this place to everyone. Looks like I won't be back or recommending anymore. I get being short staffed. The only person that said they were sorry was the nice young man making pizza. read more

Popolari - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

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The food here is good, maybe a little overpriced. I got pasta with eggplant. It was okay, good but not worth the price. My friend got a Margherita pizza, something I didn't get to try however looked really good. We both got garlic knots as our appetizer. They were also okay, some were hard and some were soft, however at the end of the day garlic knots taste good. The wait was extremely long. We didn't expect it to be so long, luckily we came before we were really hungry because we were really hungry once the food came out. The interior is beautifully decorated. If you come I would suggest coming before you're hungry! read more

The food came out super quick, my friends and I came here for a birthday. They were kind enough to put the birthday cake in the fridge. Food and appetizers were the best italian food i've ever had. Really impressed. The ambiance is also really pleasing too. read more

Ordered takeout and it was ready in about 20 minutes - very quick. The atmosphere is also really cute and looks like a fun date night spot. Ordered the pepperoni American pizza and Neapolitan margherita pizza. Pepperoni pizza was pretty good. Nice and heavy on the cheese and loaded with pepperoni. Crust could have been crisper. The margherita was a terrible disappointment. Much smaller than expected and almost no cheese. Crust was also soggy. Looks nothing like the pictures they advertised. read more

Popolari - Expectations vs reality. Margherita Pizza - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

After working in this business for years, it takes a lot for me to write a bad review. But this was really not good. We just moved down the street and were so excited to try this place. We made a 7:15 reservation, walked in to an employee or manager handling an issue with someone who had a takeout order that had been waiting there for over a half hour and had to have the kitchen make the order multiple times. (This should've been the first red flag) We sat down maybe 5 mins after arriving and our server didn't come to our table until 10 minutes after we sat, not a huge deal. She took our appetizer & entree orders and we asked for glasses of water and some wine glasses for the wine we brought. No exaggeration, 40 minutes later our water and wine glasses arrive. We ask for a wine opener for our bottle, she says she has to see "if she can go find one" and never comes back to open the wine... 15 minutes later, our appetizers arrive. No sharing plates are put on the table and no one checks in on us so we all eat directly off of the appetizer plate. 30 minutes later, our entrees arrive. Again, no one checks in on us. No one ever brings the wine opener. We immediately ask for the check because we don't want to stay another hour to wait to pay. I fully understand how tough it is with being understaffed but it was the lack of caring that was so bothersome. Even just a two second check in to see if everything was okay or bringing over the wine opener for us to open the wine ourselves would've been fine but the staff just simply didn't care. We saw multiple parties walk out because no one ever came to bring them water/take their order after being sat for 20-30 minutes. We also saw multiple parties complaining to the employee/manager. I really wanted to love this place but it's truly just not worth it. It's not exactly cheap so if you're spending a decent amount of money, there is an expectation to be taken care of and for the food to be pretty good and they missed the mark on both of these which we're pretty bummed about. We had hoped this would be our new place but we will not return. read more

Everything we've gotten from here (delivery) has been good. I mainly order the Popolari Burger because it was amazing the first two times i had it. Unfortunately the last two times I've ordered it, they had to be cancel or substitute it because they run out of something (ran out of buns last time). We tried a agaub to get the burger. This time it took a total of 2 hrs and 4 different delivery people. I totally understand the first 3 people giving up on the order. The last person assigned to the order had to wait 30 Mins for it. Though the fries came hot, the burger didn't taste good at all. This experience is giving us more of a reason to just cook at home. read more

Popolari definitely has to be one of my favorite restaurants in the entire area! They have great food, people, and such a fun atmosphere. I have come to eat here a few times and have been blown away by the food. And I recently held a private event here having the whole restaurant for my engagement party. The staff were so helpful and attentive and the food was absolutely delicious and all my guests thought so too! Additionally the private event had so much food included in the package was really a great value. Would 100% recommend anybody looking for a location for a private event to consider going with Popolari! read more

Love the decor and ambiance of this cute place. Very small inside so might be a good idea to make a reservation if going to dinner at prime time. They do have a small outside section in the front and back of the restaurant. It was pretty hot inside since the ovens are going and it's a small spot. Food was very tasty. We ordered a margherita pie, ceasar salad, spicy penne vodka with a meatball and the chicken Francese. All were very good except the meatball was a bit too heavy for my liking. Really enjoyed the chicken dish came with mashed potatoes and a nice portion of steamed broccoli. Penne was cooked al dente which I loved. Now on to the service....the area where I think they need to spend more time to figure out. Our waitress seemed to be a bit overwhelmed. I had to go to the counter to ask for a wine glass since she just kept forgetting to bring one over. Didn't even give us waters until I asked and got one glass that was never refilled. The order didn't go in at first so that added time. However The business mentioned their systems went down and they were very backed up so we will give them the benefit of the doubt. They were very busy and could use another waitress for the weekend. Overall need some help to figure out service but I have hopes they will get there. Last but not least...it's a BYOB which y'all know is my fav! read more

Popolari - Margherita Pizza - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

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I was so looking forward to this place after seeing videos on Instagram! The food was good, the service and experience was HORRIBLE and sooooo slow. Over two hours for lunch. The menu also needs a major review. Things spelled incorrectly, Capuchino and espresso on the menu and they don't even have the machine to make either. So weird. read more

Popolari - Potatoes - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

Amazing authentic Italian food. I have eaten Carbonara in Italy and this place outdid themselves. Best I've eaten hands down. My daughter and her boyfriend stumbled upon this place one day and raved so much about it I had to try it, so what did we do we brought the family reservation for 11 please. Our waiter was awesome, always on point and the owners came out to greet us with friendly smiles. This place is a must. We tried burrata salad , calamari , and Arancini con carne, we all tried everything almost and all were amazing . Needless to say if you want great authentic Italian food don't pass this place you'll regret it. Love Jakes family read more

I highly recommend Popolari for your catering needs. Floyd and his crew made a terrific meal for over 130 people at a MhS event we had at The Women's Club on Union St. The food was excellent with many people asking where it was from. Then I hired Floyd to cater a meal for over 120 people in my backyard. Again it was hit. I would hire them again. Oh- not to mention eating at the restaurant is awesome too. read more

I was excited to try this restaurant that was recommended by my friend who has good taste in Italian cuisine. I was disappointed by the crowded seating but I would have overlooked this if everything else was running smoothly . Our server Omar was adorable but three items we ordered were not available. How are you out of cacio e pepe, veal parmigiana and branzino on a Saturday night at 6:30pm? Our party started off with mussels in red sauce. Barely any mussels but the sauce was good. Two of us had pasta with mushrooms and pasta was good. I traveled from Hudson County and not worth the trip. read more