We ordered: linguini pomodoro & chicken franchise. Food was just okay for that price point.

Service was pretty terrible. We arrived at 0745PM for our reservation and was seated promptly. We ordered and didn't get any food until 0915PM. Excuse from management was that they were "very busy." It was a shame because the food was excellent. We had the Carbonara, Melanzane Tagin, and Popolari pizza. Decor reminded me of those small cafes on the coast of Italy; well done! I probably wouldn't come back unless their time management was handled better; I'd definitely order takeout and wait for it at home or work. read more

Food was amazing! Left is Popolari Gnocci (substituted pasta for gnocchi) and right is Spicy Vodka Pasta. Probably some of the best pesto I've had. Staff was AMAZING as well. The owner made sure to introduce himself and offered to show us around the restaurant (which is beautiful, be sure to ask about some of the art work he created himself). Our waiters, Jen & Aiden, were extremely hospitable and showed so much care for every customer, even the rude ones who we had to sit next to. I am excited to come back and try more of their dishes, considering I didn't have a single negative thing to say about what I tried. read more

Popolari - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

We finally got to Popolari last night. Sad that this wasn't there when we lived just two blocks away but worth the trip from our new home. Charming little place decorated with vintage Italian graphics (think La Dolce Vita). They took a very basic pizzeria and made it a cozy little neighborhood restaurant. Tables are close but not uncomfortably so and place is really cute. But the star is the food. We ordered arancini and the lamb pops to start and they were great. We had chicken Francese, lasagna, shrimp scampi and the pork chop and peppers. My husband cleaned his plate of lasagna, the rest of us took home generous leftovers because the portions were large. Probably one of the best Francese in the area. Dessert was zeppole served with a chocolate dipping sauce to share - Yum. BYOB which is perfect - liquor store two doors away. We actually stayed too long and got nudged a bit to leave which is reasonable on a Saturday night after we had paid the check and people were waiting. Oh - service was spot on. We'll definitely be back. read more

Had an absolutely lovely Saturday night dinner here. My roommate and I arrived around 8 without a reservation (hint: don't do that, make a res!). The energy of the restaurant was inviting from the moment we stepped in--a welcome spark of vitality and charm to otherwise dull Broad Street. The place was packed and it was raining, but instead of turning us away, they wiped off some chairs on the back patio, lit a candle, and the table's umbrella kept us totally dry. (As someone who loves nature, I loved that affirmative attitude toward the rain. Also, the back patio is romantic af for a date.) Our server, Patrick, cemented our opinion of the place. He was so helpful and full of positive energy; he made our experience feel personal, special, and fun. Finally: the FOOD! It was delicious. We ordered the mussels in white wine (good, but the least rave-worthy part), the gnocchi with burrata (amazing), and the Quatro Formaggio (also very tasty). It's BYOB and conveniently located right by the wine store. I'll be back for sure :) read more

1 star for the delicious pasta and dessert. Not much else that is positive comes to mind. When I first entered, the staff made eye contact with me several times to acknowledge my presence, yet let me stand there in the entrance for several minutes before I was finally approached to confirm my reservation and be seated. Food is overpriced and service is extremely slow. I really couldn't justify the cost of anything but the pasta. Can of soda: $3.25. Tiny slice of cake: $9. Ice-cold coffee (because they don't check if it's hot before serving): $2. It took a very long time to get drinks and food. Our waiter seemed very disorganized--taking the order, coming back 10-15 min later to inform us that something wasn't available, bringing out the sides, then some of the food, then utensils... all in separate trips as 5 min elapsed in between each trip. Staff are ill-equipped to address unruly customers appropriately and in a timely manner, as they pandered to an anti-Semitic patron seated nearby who spent the entirety of her dining experience screaming at a Jewish patron in a heated argument and complaining about her food and pretty much everything else in her life to every waiter that approached her and her husband. It was like a scene right out of Real Housewives on Bravo TV. I honestly don't know who would win in a fight between her and Teresa Giudice. The owner remained completely uninvolved in assisting his staff on this evening, as he focused on making his rounds schmoozing and serving shots to patrons of the larger parties. Not once did he address the woman's unacceptable and aggressive behavior. Additionally, the restaurant was clearly overbooked and several members of larger parties were standing around like it was a nightclub. I felt like I was at a bar during SantaCon. Would recommend they get a covering by the door (as many restaurants do in NYC) as the winter draft with patrons frequently entering/exiting only adds to the uncomfortable dining experience that already exists from the loud and crowded environment. I now understand why so many people were picking up takeout. The outside and interior decor of the restaurant imply that this is a cozy, relaxing atmosphere but it could not be further from the truth. Definitely wouldn't return here to dine in ever again, what a nightmarish experience. read more

Food was very good, service was great. Only thing that sucked was we were seated (party of 6) right by the door and it was a cold cold night, every time someone went in or out we got blasted with cold air. Overall, we would go back, maybe during springtime/summer for an overall better experience! read more

It's a small friendly restaurant. Tables are a little bit too small. The food was DELICIOUS!!!! We ordered lamb pops they were amazing delicious tender full of flavor so it was the Mafaldine e fungi truffle. The popolari pizza was great as well. We will definitely be back read more

We just so happened to stumble on Popolari and it was amazing !!! The food itself was delicious and the staff , so friendly ....we live two hours away and will be back to eat for sure ! read more

Popolari - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

Highly disappointed at this establishment! We went there on a Saturday evening with a party of 6. We were seated and offered bottled water...no other choice. We then ordered our food at 7:15 pm and 4 of us were served our food at 8:20 pm. The two that were not served had ordered personal pizzas. Our server only came over a couple of times and offered no explanation. After eating our meals, the pizzas came out 10 minutes after everyone else, we asked for the bill. When our server, Oscar, handed us the bill he offered no apologies and stated "don't worry about the tip since we already added 20% to the bill". I was outraged after waiting over an hour for our food and the poor service they had the audacity to charge a 20% gratuity!! The owner/manager was there and did not even have the decency to come over and apologize. Not a way to run a business! read more

I never leave negative reviews or complain. Seriously check my reviews. I try and find the good in all spots I visit. Also, this is in no way reflective of the waitress- she was sweet. This is on the business- the poor time management, the prioritizing of to-go orders, the lack of overall competency. If I could give this a negative score, I'd say it would rank at -16394096378. HORRIBLE service. We waited for over an hour for 3 pasta dishes, were charged 26$ for 4 diet cokes since they double charged us. Ultimately we paid the $126 to go and when I finally snapped at the incompetency and audacity of not even comping something- the manager gave us a $25 gift card (basically 13 bucks factoring in the double charge) JOKE. We got to our painting class at 8pm a couple of minutes late and super hungry as we have lukewarm pasta dishes in to go boxes in the car. Never again will we return and will try my best to sway anyone who even thinks or visiting this joke of a business. read more

Popolari - A hungry person who thought 1.5 hours was enough to eat some spaghetti. - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

What a great local place, I love to sit at the bar and watch the food being made and pizzas in the wood burning oven. Floyd and his staff is always fun to talk with. read more

First time ever leaving a negative review but this place is NOT WORTH IT. The food was alright in my opinion. I think we would've enjoyed it more if the service wasn't so awful!! We were only a party of 2 and we were at the restaurant for over 3 hours. We waited an hour for appetizers (Burrata Salad & Margherita Pizza) and then another 50 mins for our entrees. It's BYOB so be sure bring your drinks because with this wait you're gonna want lots of wine. read more

The staff are friendly and responsive. The food is excellent and good value. The ambiance is warm and inviting. They also got a license to sell wine, which is nice. All in all a great spot for Italian food. read more

The first time I ordered with them through Grubhub they didn't send me the right food. I ordered the mushroom pasta and instead received overcooked pasta with a red meat sauce. I decided to give them another chance and ordered a couple pizzas and apps and they cancelled my order, received nothing. Will never try this restaurant again nor recommend them! read more

Food was good, but service was horrible. Barely anyone in the restaurant but I still couldn't get my waiter's attention - too busy on his cellphone. read more

While the food is good, the service is abysmal, so I would not recommend ordering unless you're ordering more than 2 hours before you actually plan to eat. I originally placed my order on door dash at 5:48pm, but after an hour no dasher had accepted the order. In retrospect, I should have taken that as a warning that no driver wanted to deal with this restaurant. I spoke with DoorDash about having delivery fees refunded so I could just pick it up, and headed to the restaurant. First I was told my order would be ready in 15 minutes. They then told me my order was cancelled so they never made my food. While I recognize that DoorDash made that error in mistakenly marking it canceled when partial refunding me, I arrived 5 minutes after speaking to DoorDash, and my order had been placed over an hour earlier. I said that my food should have been ready way before they got that note and that all that should have needed to happen was for me to pay them myself. The woman behind the counter was not at all helpful and seemed overwhelmed, and seemed very happy to just blame it all on DoorDash rather than the fact that their kitchen was very behind. Plus she had clearly originally made up that it would be 15 minutes for my food to be ready before she had even actually looked at the order. We decided to leave, but once we were outside, a gentleman I assume to be either the manager or owner came out and asked us what happened. He then offered to make it right and have it made and then delivered by his own driver. He promised we would be "front of the line" so I decided to give them another chance. This was at 7:05pm. Well I hate to know what "back of the line" service is, because my order was finally delivered at 8:20pm, an hour and fifteen minutes later (and 2.5 hours after I originally placed the order). They should have just let me leave, cause I was irritated but would have just cut my losses and gotten food elsewhere, and would have been open to trying them again in the future. But the fact that you follow me outside, convince me to give you another shot to make my order as a priority, and then leave me again waiting OVER AN HOUR is absolutely ridiculous. The correction for the mistake was more insulting and aggravating than the original problem!! and I also had called at 7:55pm to see what was going on and was told "it's coming". I legitimately live down the road 2 minutes away (just was exhausted and was willing to pay for delivery), so that was a third lie since it took an additional 25 minutes. It's very clear this restaurant will just say whatever they need to say, but that their words and promises are empty. The food was pretty good, but not "wait 2.5 hours and be lied to repeatedly" good. Now that I know what "front of the line" service is, I will absolutely not be ordering again. I rarely leave bad reviews cause I know everyone has bad days, but if this is the service you provide to a customer you legit followed to ask for a second chance, than the problem is bigger than just one bad day. read more

Great food! Pizza is delicious, gnocchi also very good. Attentive service. Welcome addition to neighborhood.

My daughter wanted to celebrate her birthday here, saying their food was great. I thought it was going to be a typical pizzeria. I'm glad to have been proven wonderfully wrong. They have great brick oven pizza as we shared their Quatro Formaggio pizza as an appy along with crispy and tender fried calamari. The Popolari Gnocci in pistachio basil pesto creme sauce and their Fetuccine carbonara were super tasty. Their pasta's are homemade. The Eggplant Parmigano was a stack of eggplant rounds, cooked perfectly alongside their homemade pasta in a marinara sauce, I always use eggplant parm as a judge of a good Italian restaurant and this one was one of the best I've had. The whole staff comes out and plays an accordion and sings a birthday tune. Oscar, our server was very helpful and lots of fun. We had a wonderful dinner and we look forward to our next visit. read more

Place is small and cute but food was delicious. Went for date night and we were both very happy with our pasta. The place is BYOB and the service was pretty good. read more

Bottom line up front: Your reservation time doesn't matter, you'll wait regardless - they don't know how to properly time seating. Food is good but won't outweigh your wait. Servers do their best but aren't properly trained. I would not recommend visiting this restaurant - especially if you have a party larger than 4 people. I made a reservation two weeks in advance for 8 people at 7pm on a Saturday to celebrate a mother in laws' birthday. While en route to the restaurant around 6:45pm, I received a call that they needed to move the reservation to 7:20, although an inconvenience, I accepted - - however, we did not get seated until 8pm, 40 min after the rescheduled reservation. We were initially waiting outside in the front, it was about 45 degrees + wind, then the owner moved us to the back of the restaurant, where he deemed it "less windy", but I surmise that 8 people waiting out front wasn't a good look for him. The owner checked in on us saying the people at our table were "taking too long and he couldn't just kick them out," then returned saying they are having dessert, and then told us if we were cold outside to one by one come inside and stand by the oven... Of course during that wait time, we looked for other places for dinner but 8 people, last minute, on a Saturday night is not an quick seating. When we sat down, we received cups of ice, but no water, and no flatware, or napkins. read more

First time caller! Saw this place on social media, decided to give it a try. Lots of the reviews stated the service was slow, guess we lucked out because the service was pretty great. Lamb pops...four of them, but pretty amazing. Calamari...small portion, but tasted great! Vodka sauce pasta with a meatball. Seriously, I don't like eating pasta out and only like my dad's meatballs. But this was ridiculous! The sauce...I could have had in a glass. Served in a white bowl, we gave it back in a white bowl, not a trace of sauce to be found! Marinara pizza...tasted really good, but the garlic overwhelming took center stage. I felt like Van Helsing when I was done, ready to fight vampires! It was my birthday, the owner brought us a slice of chocolate cake and played the accordion! Seriously! That was amazing! Would absolutely come back again, just might choose a different pizza. But even with the garlic bombs on the pizza, well deserving of 5 stars. read more

Ordered food to go. It was ready on time and the staff was friendly but the food was nothing special. Basic pizzeria food trying to pass as like a hip cool italian American restaurant with the decor. The eggplant parm was heavy with the worst sauce and heavy chewy bread and the spicy penne vodka was mediocre at best. Not the worst I've ever eaten but bad enough to take time to write this review. read more

Great service and a very nice, spacious interior. But the best is their reliably delicious and consistent menu - takeout too is too-notch. Even though a tad pricey, worth it. read more

I'm still here . Great Italian spot . Everything we had was really good. The service is not bad at all. Had the pizza , pasta and savoy . Really good !! Gotta stop by if your in the area !! Don't let the reviews fool ya . The service is great! The owner was super nice !! read more

Amazing! This food is so good! We loved every bite! The penne vodka was perfection and the Sicilian pizza was one of the best I've ever had! It's also a really cute place. You have to check it out read more

Quite surprised this place doesn't score higher, but perhaps it's best to keep it a secret for the rest of us? We dined here last night and were charmed by the ambience of this quaint little restaurant. Wine by the bottle was very reasonably priced, and we both loved our entrees - my wife said her carbonara was the best she's ever had (better than mine, which is now in second place), and I really enjoyed the gnocchi with pistachio-basil pesto cream. Portions were ample, service was excellent. We're just sorry we don't live nearby so that we could try it all. read more

Came here last night for dinner and my initial impression was of how cute the atmosphere is! I love the open air/indoor-outdoor feel in front, and I didn't even realize that there was so much extra seating out back! The service was pretty slow to start things off. We were sat out back and the hostess was nice enough to bring us some glasses for our wine that we brought, but it took a bit of time before a server came over to greet us. It wasn't until the table next to us got sat that they must've realized we still hadn't been helped yet. Thankfully we were totally ready to order by then and got our food order in as soon as he came up to us! We got the arancini, bolognese and margherita pizza. My favorite dish was probably the pizza--the sauce was really good and it was cooked very well! The arancini was average and the pasta was just okay. For the price of the pasta dish ($19), it just fell kinda flat...we've had much better bolognese elsewhere. But overall, it's a really adorable restaurant with a great date night atmosphere. I'd go back to try some of the other pizzas and enjoy some wine outside! read more

See all

If you plan to BYOB - you better BYOG (Bring your own glasses and maybe a wine opener and some water while you are at it!) Got here around 6pm and sat outside in the heat. No joke - it's 6:30 and we have no drinks - no water or wine glasses for our wine. Waitress seemed confused and overwhelmed. I've worked in the restaurant business and honestly it takes 2 seconds to grab a few glasses and make a table happy. We were lucky enough to decide to leave before putting in our order. Every other table had the look of where is my food/waitress/check. I will say the food looked good so it's a shame that I will never return but there are small basics which can show some care for your customers. Just be prepared before you go - this is going to be a llooooonnng night. read more

The pizza is as good as my dough and it is 5 +.. Selected the vegetarian pizza white no tomato sauce suggested olive oil garlic herbs etc...First time with Popolari Restaurant 8/21/20221...EXCELLENT read more

We went on a Tuesday night when it was quiet and the service was great. The decor and ambience is perfect for a local spot. The penne vodka was 5/5 and popular pizza was amazing as well. We also had the fungi pasta (don't remember the name) and it was OK like 3/5. I would definitely come again. read more

If you are missing the good old days of Villa Victoria, Popolari will bring you back! The NY style pizza (note: takeout or delivery only in the evening!!) is blissfully similar to the old days at Villas before it went downhill. But unlike Villa, the other dishes are super and the dining space is inviting and well designed. We loved our Neapolitan pizzas. Go here. read more

Bad experience, told my takeout would be ready in a half hour. When I arrived I was told to wait outside. Was promised my order was almost ready. Started raining while I waited and I remained outside. After and hour I went to check and the order was nowhere to be found. I asked for my money back and left. Do what you say! Your word is all you have. read more

Had a reservation for 2 people at 730. Arrived early and staff were friendly, seemed like they were busy. Finally sat down down around 745, and ordered some beverages and appetizers. Apps arrived around 845, and were cold. Garlic knots were great thou! Entrees actually never reached us as we left after the staff told us they dropped our food in the kitchen. The staff kept telling us the kitchen was backed up but we new that wasn't the case as couples around us had received food, even though they arrived nearly 30mins after us. Overall service wasn't great, I understand it's covid. Was looking forward to trying the Spicy Vodka, heard great things. Too bad.. read more

Cozy new bistro that I've now been to once a week since they opened. The food is delicious, the staff and management are attentive, the ambiance is inviting. Who doesn't love a byob with fresh food made to order and a warm vibe? read more

Popolari - Italian Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

Excellent new addition to the Bloomfield/Montclair area. We've eaten here three times and each time service was excellent and food was fantastic. Casual BYOB. A very nice menu. Pasta all great so far. Great apps. Two different style pizzas. I'm really looking forward to going again. And has nice outside tables. A fun place and I highly recommend. Owner is always around and seems like a very nice guy. Also has a few non Italian dishes. read more

SO GLAD we stumbled upon this gem for lunch today! The Neapolitan pizza was delicious and the other dishes (zuppa di clams and arancini) were equally fantastic. The owner, chef, and server were friendly and highly attentive. I can't wait to return!!! read more

See all

This place is amazing!!!!!!!! The food is incredible !!! They have an adorable outdoor seating area in the front and the back, and the best part is that I'm a vegan and they accommodated me and my food was INCREDIBLE! My husband got the pizza and he said it was the best pizza he has had in a very long time! Definitely recommend! read more

I rarely write reviews, but this place deserves an honest review from someone that eats out often and is generally somewhat disappointed with either the food, service or atmosphere. My husband is a fantastic cook, he makes homemade soups, pizza's, you name it, what ever he touches is over the top delicious. With that, we go out with family or friends just to be with them. So this storefront pizzeria/italian restaurant blew us away! Our waitress was super sweet and attentive and each dish she delivered was DELICIOUS! We ordered 2 salads, L'Italiano and the Mediterraneo....both were outstanding. Fresh greens, superb parmigiano reggiano with the perfect dressing on each salad. Next was the pizza, cooked to perfection, totally delicious, great crust. We also ordered the meatballs, cavatelli and broccoli, pork chop and peppers and the mafaldine e fungi truffle pasta dish, I could go into detail how terrific each dish was but trust me, each dish was prepared and cooked by a talented chef. Whatever they are doing there is done with their heart and soul. It's a true gem! I can't wait to go back! read more

Fantastic meal here. Service was accurate, timely and most of all friendly and fun! Our table of four ordered selections from the salad menu, pizza, and pasta and we were all very pleased and agreed we'd definitely come back again. We sat outside and enjoyed the ambiance and the music. read more