Pops Restaurant
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Overall Rating: Sick Potential (78 out of 100)
560 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02118
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Phone: 617-695-1250
A brand new addition to Restaurant Row in the South End, Pops Restaurant is located in the space formerly occupied by Perdix. Pops features affordable, creative comfort food and an interesting lineup of cocktails. However, Pops needs a bit of refinement before reaching Sick Meals status.
Our History at Pops
Our first visit to Pops was on a Friday night at 7:30pm.
Appetizers
Pops' appetizers include cobb salad, lobster & cod croquettes, crispy pea ravioli, chicken wings, Rhode Island clam "stuffies", crispy oysters, and spinach salad. Prices range from $7.50 to $12. We tried the lobster & cod croquettes for $10 and the Rhode Island clam stuffies for $9.
Three lobster & cod croquettes were filled with healthy portions of lobster and cod and topped with aioli. The Rhode Island clam stuffies consisted of two oversized clam shells brimming with a corn, linguica, and clam-based stuffing. Both dishes shined in creativity and taste.
Rating: 8.5
Main Dishes
The dinner menu features osso bucco, putanesca eggplant pave, salmon, skirt steak, pork tenderloin, and a crispy confit of 1/2 duck. Prices range from $16-$20. In addition, Pops offers a few sandwiches, including a burger, for $12.
We ordered the grilled skirt steak and the osso bucco - for $20 each.
The grilled skirt steak was served with shitake mushroom gravy and garlic thyme fries. We requested a medium-cooked steak, but it arrived rare, and the texture was chewy. A disappointment, the lonely steak sat half-finished.
The veal breast osso bucco was slow cooked in lemon and sage and served with escarole and orzo. While the osso bucco was an improvement over the skirt steak, it was not a particularly memorable dish.
Rating: 7
Drinks
A bottle of white starts at $27 and a bottle of red starts at $25. Cocktails are $8. Several bottled beers are available for $5.
Pops had only flavored vodka on hand. A blood orange vodka mixer proved disastrous, but we later enjoyed chocolate espresso and strawbellini cocktails. The refreshing strawbellini was made with fresh pureed strawberries.
Rating: 7.9
Service
We were seated 15 minutes late for our 7:30pm reservation.
The full menu is available at the bar, but we chose to wait for a "table". Surprisingly, when it was time to be seated, we were shuffled to what appeared to be the other end of the long bar, but what actually represented additional seating for dining. To our disappointment, we waited 15 minutes to sit at stools and eat from a counter - not much different than dining at the bar. The hostess should inform guests of these unusual seating arrangements.
Otherwise, service was average. Pops opened less than a week ago; they are still going through initial growing pains. The staff seemed frazzled at times.
Rating: 7.5
Ambiance
Located at garden level, Pops offers a warm, cozy dining environment. Black and cream tones run through the restaurant. The ceiling features decorative, old-school molding. An ultra-wide mirror hangs in the center of the room.
There are not many tables for two. A party of two would likely be seated at stools that run along a long counter that connects to the bar. These counter seats face the kitchen which is viewable through transparent glass.
Rating: 8
Et Cetera
Trivia: Chef/owner Felino Samson is the former co-owner of Bomboa.
Reservations: Call for reservations. Reservations are recommended
Transportation: On weekends, street parking can be hard to find. Valet is available at Hammersley's Bistro, located across the street, for $14.
Dress: You may dress casually at Pops.
Hours: Pops serves dinner Sunday through Thursday from 5:00 PM to 10:30 PM and Friday and Saturday from 5:00 PM until midnight.
Labels: American, POPS, Sick-Potential, South-End
