Pop's At Durham (Reported Closed)

Recommends

gourmetgirl86

Joined 8 years ago

Risotto. The best dish on the menu is the Risotto. It has had many incarnations in my several visits, but i have NEVER been disappointed. The seafood is another strength of this Brightleaf restaurant. After visiting often for more than a year, I've become tired of their chicken and beef dishes, which aren't particularly spectacular; it's worth a trip for the risotto and seafood--until you start seeing repeats, then you should head somewhere else--nothing new is on the horizon.

Recommends

tkb_talos

Joined 8 years ago

Above average but not great. My expectations were admittedly pretty high but I was disappointed that the food wasn't better.

Both the field green and caesar salads were very good. The pizza w/ white truffle oil was outstanding. My ravioli dish with goat cheese was just above average. Dessert (chocolate pudding cake) was spectacular.

The prices weren't outrageous. The service was good too. The restaurant's atmosphere is nice but it's too crowded and noisy to be romantic.

Doesn't Recommend

bhooka

Joined 8 years ago

A let down. We were ten of us celebrating a friend's birthday.

We ordered the marinated olives as appetizers. They were excellent and is highly recommended.

For the entree's- We ordered the following:

Their shrimp pizza, a porcini pizza, A halibut served over a gnocchi and baby tomatoes, a flounder and a steak.

We had to return both the flounders back to the cook as they had actually gone bad. The restaurant replaced it with the halbuts.

The steak had a nice texture but the veal jus was extremely salty.

For dessert, we ordered the choclate pudding cake. Very moist and served well.

Will we ever go there again? I don't think so. I agree with some of the reviews that there are better places to eat in Durham.

Doesn't Recommend

saxman717

Joined 8 years ago

Avoid --- Much Better Places to Eat in Durham. Food was bland, moderate-quality and took over 45 minutes to arrive. Bread was close-to-stale and was distributed one piece at a time, not as a whole basket. Salad was a disappointment. Service was unattentive and indifferent. The antipasto salad is really Middle Eastern, with humus, pita bread etc. -- not a real Italian antipasto salad. The atmosphere was dark and the room was cramped. There are many better restaurants in Durham --- Pop's is exceedingly overpriced, sub-par food, average service, dismal atmosphere. Save yourself the trouble and avoid.

Recommends

parzick

Joined 8 years ago

User review by parzick. Three of us went to Pop's for dinner and ordered different meals. All of the meals were great! The service and ambience were fantastic. There is a good selection of beers and wine. The only downside to Pop's was that I felt that the prices were slightly high for the portion sizes.

Overall, I think that Pop's is a great place to dine in Durham. We went to eat on a Tuesday night, so we were seated promptly. I think that on peak dining nights, reservations should be made, though.

Recommends

rocche71

Joined 8 years ago

Best value in Durham. This place has really improved with new ownership. Honest, flavorful food without pretension at great prices. The French trained chefs bring a different style to the place. I've found the specials to be excellent (confit chicken and rabbit, Kobe beef flank) to be excellent.

Recommends

neworleansrefugee

Joined 9 years ago

Not Bad at all. Enjoyed dinner at Pop's very much. The seafood was caught-yesterday fresh, the wine list was adequate, and the salads were excellent. Particularly love the sour dough bread. A bit cramped, the owner should consider removing a couple of tops to create a bit more space between the tables. Otherwise nice rustic ambiance.

Doesn't Recommend

bgvet

Joined 9 years ago

avoid. It was not worth the money or time. The place was so noisy (and it was not busy at the time) that our table could not talk to each other. The salads were so bad that they could not be eaten. The service was poor and inefficient. The staff in general was indifferent. A bad experience all around.

Doesn't Recommend

johnj434

Joined 9 years ago

Overrated. Pops is the most overrated restaurant in Durham, I ate there for the fourth time recently and am more convinced of this than ever.

While the wine menu is creative and well priced, the food offers nothing new, the service is terse, and the ambiance in the porch room is unacceptably bland.

In a town where wonderful new restaurants are blossoming Pops is not worth your time or your money.

Recommends

maxshish

Joined 9 years ago

pop's. food was great, the whole experience was very sexy and romantic. Great place to take a date!