Pops Restaurant

I’m all for a little hot and steamy action, but not so much of the greenhouse variety. That’s the effect we experienced during a shockingly potent Indian Summer in the glassed-​in back room at Pops.
Less-​than-​adequate breezes from the windows and uncomfortably sweaty armpits aside, brunch at Pops seems to be a failure-​free experience. Bottomless mugs of steaming coffee and a much-​missed breakfast burrito were precisely the things I needed in my life to get me through the rest of my day. Additionally, nothing says excess like a side of rosemary shoestring fries before noon.
And you want to know what the most impressive thing about Pops? The food and service were so on point that I didn’t even have to medicate myself on hard liquor (which is available to those in need) to successfully make it through big gay brunch. If that’s not cause for four happy stars, I don’t know what is!

As I sit with an empty bowl of what was once leftovers, I’m forced to take a trip down the memory lane of last night’s dinner.
The brother and I ventured down to the intersection of Tremont and Claredon. We took a walk perusing menus of the many restaurants that call the area home. After over a dozen restaurant fronts were visited Pops comfort food won over our intrigue.
We walked in and were led to the back dining room. I didn’t even know it existed behind the bar, but the 20 person room overlooking a little garden is oddly charming.
The second we sat down our stomachs did a 360 from not hungry to starving. We ordered a special sampler for the night which included smaller servings of the margherita flat bread, rice balls and street cart fries. The flat bread tasted of fresh ingredients but overall wasn’t really my thing. The rice balls were perfectly crisp on the outside, soft rice on the inside, and gooey in the middle. I would not skip over these. The street cart fries might as well be one big guilty pleasure: french fries, creamy cheese bechmel sauce, duck confit, and (for everyone else in the world but me) bacon. Yup, that just happened all on one plate. They were surprisingly mellow and not-​so-​surprisingly delicious.
All these were enjoyed with some super delicious drinks. I love a well made, strong drink. Enjoying a drink where I can actually taste the liquor in my beverage is among my top 10 favorite things in life. I had a cucumber gin drink that I want about 600 more of ASAP. The brother had some vodka drink that I did not get to try, but he seemed to enjoy quite a bit.
Though I thoroughly enjoyed the appetizer sampler and the drinks, the star of it all really was the entrees. He had the short ribs. A long, thin plate came out with delicious truffle mashed potatoes providing a pillow for fall-​apart-​in-​your-​mouth short ribs. According to him you can never really go wrong with short ribs but these were done sooooooooo well. I took more than one bite off his plate and though I’m not normally a short rib person, I would absolutely order these in the future.
I went with the deconstructed pot pie. In the words of my Australian friend «holy dooley». It was great. A chicken breast and full wing came out on top of (what I think was) darker chicken meat and mushrooms in a sauce (I really wish I clarified because I still don’t know. I also don’t care because it was delicious). Next to them was a mini-​cast iron looking pot of your typical pot pie filling — celery, carrots, and onions in that gravy-​esqe sauce. On top of all that was a homemade biscuit. Yeah, really. I could only eat about a third, but my leftovers today were almost as good as yesterday’s meal.
The intention was to go out afterward, but we were both excited to bask in the glory of our satisfied food coma. For two drinks, a generous appetizer platter, and two phenomenal entrees the bill came to about $ 100. I was incredibly happy with this considering the other options we almost went with for the night.
In summary, I’m so glad I finally got to try Pops. A certain friend of mine lives close by and can expect to get some phone calls from me soon requesting we go back…

The perfect example of «looks better than it tastes,» the Pops burger is a head turner. It’s one of those burgers that once someone orders it, half the people in the room will follow. And why not, a glistening burger with a huge cone of golden fries looks good to everyone, right? Looks can be deceiving, as many choices made with respect to the burger are puzzling and not up to par. The first (predictable) downfall is the use of the much maligned Brioche bun. Quite possibly the largest bun to date, it was mostly over-​charred and incredibly sweet to boot, more reminiscent of Challah, but still a massive disappointment. Above average beef flavor couldn’t save this burger, poorly prepared mushrooms and bacon only add to my list of gripes.
Bigger is almost never better; the individual ingredients will never shine, and the burger at Pops is no different. Seasoned unevenly, the few bits of salt are welcome, forming a minor crust on the exterior, but vastly overwhelmed by black pepper and not much else. Medium juiciness is appreciated, but the patty is cooked inconsistently, ranging from rare to medium-​well all over the place, it epitomizes the downfalls of a colossal burger. The bacon and mushrooms just don’t work for me; both tasting as if they had been prepared from the earlier brunch shift, the bacon was off-​putting and sweet, while the mushrooms were soggy and bland. Ditto for the caramelized onions, which tasted watery and lacked any pungency.
The fries are a mystery too, a very hard exterior, although not necessarily crispy in a traditional way, they are dense on the inside with no fluffy potato to speak of. Salted nicely with the faintest hint of rosemary, they also didn’t taste like they were freshly prepared. Despite a fair amount of beefiness and modest seasoning, the Pops burger is a major let-​down. The brioche bun takes over everything, but the mushrooms, bacon, and caramelized onions are not on point regardless, so I’m not sure it makes much of a difference. For $ 14 you’re better off splitting this burger, if you even decide to go.

This is THE most underrated restaurant in the South End.
After Pop’s abrupt close and revamp of its setup and interior design, I wasn’t sure what to expect. All of a sudden there was more bar space, less dining room, and a whole lot more «South End» appeal. Honestly, I was worried that they had ruined a really good (although untapped) South End anomaly.
I have always been a fan of the Pops Philosophy: solid, low price-​point food menu coupled with a stellar cocktail list. I was incredulous of the alteration of this rare, yet coveted (and much appreciated), concept.

However, since the changes in the set-​up of Front-​of-​House coupled with the addition of the presence of a new, delicious, and accessible menu courtesy of Chef Amanda Howell, Pops has only gotten better.
The last time I dined there (about a week ago), Howell had altered her usually hearty-​comfort-​food specials with options more conducive to the scorching heat, making patio eating enjoyable and seasonal.
Not only was the food delicious, seasonally relevant, and thoughtful, it was well described by not only the clearly educated servers, but described and explained by the Chef who came out from behind the line to check on us.
My last couple experiences at Pops have been even better than those when it had already been an «A» in my book.
My best advice would be to go often, and always consider the specials. I doubt this is a place that will disappoint on any front.

Trendy, flavorful, adventurous, and in its own niche across the BCA — POPS highlights the qualities of a South End restaurant that keeps me coming back.
The environment is humble (but not too tiny). The bar welcomes you as you walk down the few steps entering the restaurant. The mood is intimate, the lighting is dim, while natural light floods to the bar and through the back windows. I usually sit at the bar and feel that there is the perfect amount of space between my guest and I. Just enough that I’m not overhearing my neighbors’ conversation.
I can’t praise their ‘Street Cart Fries’ enough: it was everything I could make at home, but turned on its head; I marveled its dubiously simple presentation. Duck confit + mole sauce + Mornay sauce + French fries — this is one of the hallmarks of this South End establishment. Eating it gave me just as strong of a reaction — the flavors of the duck confit, mole, and cheese set off multiple synapse responses in my brain (I had a friend describe that to me as a ‘food memory’). My reaction was the same for most of the food that I’ve tried, with the dishes being warm and presented well, and above all, extremely innovative in concept – this is the definition of modern cuisine. I personally am a fan of their Lychee Martini, as is my roommate!
As for the service… I’ve only sat at the bar, but the bartenders have always been attentive and cognizant of what you need at a given time (water being refilled without you knowing it and completed dishes taken away as you speak to your friends – yeah, that kind of stuff). Runners brought food out very timely and I’ve never had a problem with time.
I would highly recommend this place!

Kind of cute, though crazy crowded with tables way too close… even for a city place. Service was fine and efficient. Been here a handful of times, each time worse than the last.
The food was kind of a rip off. It’s cheap ingredient comfort food that ultimately is barely average. The Caesar’s salad was deconstructed into a mess, 2 quarters of romaine lettuce with some dressing smeared on it and some breaded and deep fried anchovies – 9 bucks. Please some warning if you are going to take stupid liberties with such a basic staple. The lobster mac and cheese was just mac and cheese, considering there were three (3) tiny pieces of lobster in the whole dish. It was fine, but again at $ 22, it’s a bit of an embarrassment for them. The green salad was barely big enough and a bit too mustardy, but good enough. The meatloaf was simultaneously dry and gloppy… something hard to accomplish. And the salt content was out of control.
Really, no reason to go here again.

The brunch experience at Pops was just average at best. The egg dishes here are subpar. I had the Crab Benny (suggested by my server) and the presentation was unappetizing. The long, narrow rectangular dish made it look tiny and my food was just falling off the plate every time I tried to cut into it. The crab cakes were just okay, the herbed sauce was bland and flavorless (it might have just been a melted stick of butter with some unidentifiable herbs), the poached eggs were fine, but they didn’t serve it with any bread to soak up the runny yolk. Instead, they served it with a tiny side of potatoes were just cubed and deep fried. As I was walking out, I saw this pink (yes, pink) omelet on another patrons plate that was sitting in a puddle of pink water. I think she was only able to eat a few bites before giving up.
The turkey sandwich saved this place from being a one star. The bread was toasted perfectly and the turkey with the onions, cheese, peppers, and avocado went well together. It came with a lightly dressed baby mixed greens salad.

Wow this was NOT the same restaurant that I went to a little while back. I don’t know if it was just an off night for them or what, but I was not pleased with my experience. It was borderline abysmal.
I was happy to see they had changed the menu a tiny bit and added a few different options; however, they did raise the prices a tad for many of the dishes (just about $ 1 – 2 more).
The main problem of the night was service. All of the servers were kind, but BOY was it slow. The restaurant was pretty empty too! Yet for some reason it took forever to bring us our food. Thank god I was in good company so we had fun and had lots to talk about, but still… I was HUNGRY and when I’m hungry I tend to stuff my face unnecessarily with bread (which was also not nearly as good as I remembered it).
Our food finally came and was unfortunately pretty mediocre and for entrees pretty small portions as well. On top of that our food was barely warm. Part of me thinks it was just sitting in the back getting cold before the waitress brought it out. The dishes were also pretty flavorless. The chicken was just plain BLAND and the scallops were boring.
Overall, I was really displeased with my experience that night, which makes me really sad because I had previously enjoyed my times at Pops. Needless to say, unless someone gives me a really good reason to give them another shot, I wont be going back.

I had my eye on the butternut squash ravioli and the short ribs appetizer when we were planning our visit to Pops. Fortunately my dining companion was willing, and the items were still on the menu! (I ran into someone just a bit earlier that day who told me that her co-​worker had said that the menu online was totally out of date — fortunately for me, they must have updated since!)
Pops is basically across from the plaza where the Calderwood Pavilion is located, a few steps down from ground level. Their 2 individual water closets (WC) are located in the basement down a narrow turning staircase by the door, just beyond their hostess stand. I guess unless there’s another way in, and another bathroom, they’re not particularly handicap accessible.
The bar has a nice set up, with purse hooks conveniently spaced out regularly underneath.
A focaccia was served in a cone shaped basket with some butter that I declined to make use of. Instead, I took my bread and ran it gluttonously across the bottom of the plate that had previously housed our appetizer selection — Braised Short Ribs with Truffled Taro Purée, Mushrooms and Dried Plums $ 15. So good! The appetizer itself was good too. The short rib was fork tender, yet a bit stringy. The taro purée was like a light potato purée, and was quite enjoyable. At first I had a tough time telling the dried plums apart from the mushrooms, but once I realized the little light colored balls weren’t (they were pearl onions), I went investigating and found them on top of the short rib. The portion was good for two to share.
For entrees, we had the Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter and Goat Cheese Beignets $ 17 ($ 10 for an appetizer portion), and Cumin Braised Pork — 16 Hour Slow Cooked Pork, Rice and Beans, Plantains $ 17.
The ravioli were four large (3 inch diameter?) flat glistening pillows to an order. The appetizer portion is two. Three smaller oval goat cheese fritters accompanied. The filling inside the toothsome pasta was creamy and spoke well of the squash without being sweet. The fritters were a bit strong flavored until I smeared it on some bread as I remembered a goat cheese & honey tapas I had once enjoyed at Tapeo on Newbury.
The pork was really tender. Yep, no need for a knife! But the flavor of the tender beans and rice overwhelmed the plate, despite the odd slice of sweet plantain.
For our sweet endings, we were offered two choices of sweets — Chocolate Stuffed Donuts $ 8 and a chocolate tart with Nutella. We went with the donuts, which arrived in two large sugar crusted spheres with some dense chocolate sitting within their hallows, fresh berries, caramel drizzle, a mini raspberry popsicle with a sugar cane stick, and crème anglais on the side. My donut was okay, and the pour of crème anglais was reminiscent of a milk & cookies sort of treat. My favorite part of this course however was likely the popsicle.
Food here as a whole was good, but not great, and dessert was basically just okay. But the service here was fantastic for this level of restaurant. Sure, we had our main server, but this second server gave us as much attention as our main one. My water was refilled with reasonable frequency. New silverware arrived with each course. Two plates were brought out with our single dessert so that we could share more easily. We were also informed that a new chef had come aboard, who will be changing the menu a few dishes a week, while keeping the restaurant’s favorites.
The most concerning thing here, however, was the valet service that they offer for $ 16. My dining companion gave his ticket to our server 10 – 15 minutes before we wanted the car, as he had been instructed. When we exited the establishment, there was his car in front of the restaurant with engine running and doors unlocked… and no valet in sight!

Nice brunch or lunch place. Dishes here are not your normal breakfast or lunch menu. The huevos rancheros here was tasty and well prepared.
Good service, and nice décor. Not a place to take kids cause they don’t have a kids menu or something like that but that’s not a negative, just more of a fyi.

Here’s the thing with Pops:
In terms of food and drink, it’s a pretty solid 3-​star meh. Not bad, not outstanding, not very memorable.
In terms of service, it’s about 3.5 stars. Staff are pretty friendly but not overtly so.
In terms of décor, it’s 4.5 stars. A little elegant, a little stuffy, a little kitschy, a little extravagant, with a mesmerizing b&w theme that’s totes adorb.
As my friend and I agreed, it’s solid but not memorable. Definitely stop by if you’re already in the area and need an affordable place to have a sit-​down meal. Which is what we were doing before the CRAFTBOSTON fair at the Cylcorama.
We split the Prosciutto, Mushroom and Truffle Oil Omelette and the Kobe Beef Hot Dog. Both were quite tasty, and to my vast artery-​clogged relief, accompanied by generous helpings of salad. However, despite the K-​word, neither of us thought the hot dog tasted any different from any other dog. The accompanying caramelized onions did mix surprisingly well with it, though. I couldn’t taste any truffle in the omelette and barely got any prosciutto. So, yes, tasty, but not quite what I’d expected.
The Pomegranate Mimosa is lovely, though, and at $ 7, one of the cheaper brunch cocktails out there.

The fella and I went to Pops in celebration of the 1 year anniversary of purchasing our money pit. We made reservations on Open Table (love that) and were pleasantly surprised to see that the valet was only 13buckaroos. (Sidenote: Those valet guys were hilarious. Took one look at my fella and exclaimed: «Dude, has anyone ever told you you look like Harry Potter?»)
The restaurant space is cozy. Getting past the bar to the little back room with additional tables was a little trecherous (it was cold so there were lots of bulky jackets on chairs that I attempted to steer clear of). The service was nice and attentive.
The food? It was decent. He had the ciopinno and I had the brisket with mushrooms and mashed potatoes. We shared a side of the brussel sprouts. The ciopinno was tasty enough. The brisket was a 5 out of 10 on the tender scale and was a little stringy. The accompanying mushrooms were super delightful and tasty — really earthy and yummy. The real WOW of the meal were the brussel sprouts. I don’t know what they did to them, but the sprouts were super tender and almost sweet. Love.
The portions were decent for the price and they had a nice little cocktail/​beer/​wine selection.
All in all, an enjoyable evening out without breaking the bank.

Oh, Pops, if only we were truly related! I’ve only been here for drinks but that was good enough! The cocktails are creative and great for sipping. A perfect complement to a walk around the South End with a visiting friend.

Sleek and [South-​End] affordable dining with a retro feel, that serves classic comfort food. Straightforward menu without frills or spins… just well-​known flavors that work. Entrees average 17, with decent portions.
The dishes I liked:
The classic cheeseburger with brioche/​bacon is delicious, especially with the addicting thin rosemary fries. Beef brisket is tender and creamy, with a good sauce, served with a nice spin: scallion mashed potatoes.
Delicious clam cakes. Oh, and be sure to get some of that cheesy bread before the meal.
Ok dishes included the butternut squash, which my friends enjoyed a lot, but I thought were merely ok. Good cheese beignets. The Pops rice balls is their spin on risotto balls, with a twist of ginger, cirtrus ponzu and chicken, which fell flat for me.
Intimate seating areas combined with the bar and glass-​walled kitchen create a great ambiance, with the back «greenhouse» room great for larger parties. Pops certainly can hold its own on the Tremont St restaurant battle and is definitely worth a visit.
Food (⁷⁄₁₀)
Plating (²⁄₅)
Décor (⁴⁄₅)
Service (³⁄₅)

I love brunching at Pops. If you and your company enjoy mimosas and think you may have more than a glass each, you should do the bottle. They bring out a bottle of cava and a carafe of the pomegranate mix. The bottle is huge and very conducive to a good time!
I can never resist an order of their griddled banana bread. It’s simply to die for! If you’re feeling like something sickeningly sweet, the brioche french toast with pecans, bananas, and nutella is just the ticket. If you like savory, the omelette with prosciutto, portobello mushrooms and truffle oil is divine. If you want something light, the granola parfair comes with tons of yogurt, strawberries, and honey and is perfect.
I’ve only been once for dinner a couple years ago. I wasn’t too impressed, but it looks like they’ve changed their menu a bit. I’ll definitely give dinner another try.

I came in to catch the last few minutes of the depressing loss of Celtics. At least I was able to enjoy my Grey Goose for a bit before the blow. The patrons are nice and pleasant to chill with as too the bartender. I would hang out here more often if this was around the corner from home.
The atmosphere here is cozy. A good date place. I will definitely come back again to try the food here.

Oh such delicious small plates. Go with a friend or 2 so you can order several plates to sample all the great flavors. My friend and I ordered 3 small plates to split for dinner. My favorite was the chicken sushi riceballs. The clever play on arancini, an Italian favorite, with Japanese ingrediants, was something that I really enjoyed. The texture was spot on for the rice and the flavor was refreshing, like a nice sweet sushi rice. The other plates were also good, including the Ahi Tuna Ceviche.
The only thing that was a disappointment was that our table was teeny tiny which made eating very hard. We sat at one of the high bar tables in front. Knowing that the table is small we would have expected the waiter and kitchen to plan for this and stagger the plates. We had to pick up remove out appetizer sized plates from the table and just share directly from the dishes. Not entirely a problem but it would have been nice if they thought enough ahead and told us they would serve the plates slowly to avoid crowding, we would have preferred that over the jammed table.

Good for Sunday brunch and catching up with a friend. I would make a reservation, because I got a lot of attitude from the hostess since I didn’t have one. The wait was about 20 minutes, so my friend and I just walked around to a few stores since it was a nice day out.
We came back and opted to sit at the bar which had some open seating. I had an iced tea which was unsweetened the way I like it. We ordered the cheeseburger with onion jam, cheese, and mushrooms. They took FOREVER to come out, at least 40 minutes no joke because we timed it. The burger was great, but the fries were WAY over cooked, they were hard and crispy and brown. Some guy thought they were seasoned fries, but they weren’t. To make things worse (I would have just thought that was the way they made their fries), my friend ordered a burger to-​go and the fries were normal potato color and much softer.
All in all good place, make a reservation and send back the fries if you think you might break a tooth on them.

The Good:
— Satisfying 3-​course prix fixe menu for $ 25
— Cute, friendly bartender
— Kobe meatloaf with mashed potatoes = terrific comfort food
— Truffled butternut squash ravioli with fried egg = sheer genius
The Bad:
— Somewhat scattered, inattentive service from our waiter
The Ugly:
— Not having heat lamps in the outdoor patio. Boston gets cold, in case you haven’t noticed!
— The way the wolf fish looks in real life. Thankfully it’s only served as a fillet in the restaurant. But I was curious as to what the fish looks like and let me tell you, it’s a monster with fangs. Bad enough to deter me from ordering it but not my friend, who I guess is more fearless than I am.

Pops popped my South End cherry. Before I entered the long and narrow corridor that was Pops, I observed some other excellent food establishments (so I’ve heard) nearby: Aquitane, Hamersley’s … so I was comforted by their presence.
I was pleased to find that the Pops atmosphere was unlike any I’ve witnessed in Boston with its symmetrical paisley wallpaper putting some punch in the basic black and white décor. It was an old-​ish scene though, dented floor vents, slightly stained cushion arm chairs, peeling paint. Felt a little diner for kings and queens-​esque. What does that mean? So, needless to say I was thinkin to myself, ‘man, i hope the food looks better than this dirty beat up plastic covered menu…‘
And I can’t decide what to eat. Everything on the menu looks great, but something holds me back from choosing my first instincts (order the damned hangar steak already!). Maybe it was the traditional cocktail list (caipirinha, mojito). I didn’t want just traditional food! Or did I?
My instinct drastically shifts. I order up the Sambal chicken wings with cucumber cream to start. Five thickly battered and seasoned wings arrived wrapped in a big ol banana leaf. A slip of the finger releases the carefully covered wings. Deliciousness is revealed! The cuke cream is rich and cool. The chicken falls off the bone. Every morsel is consumed with only the bone remaining. No strange chicken chunks. Nice.
My meal preference ends up being the Oyster Po’ Boy with BACON. Dave ordered the 7 oz Filet (not on the menu). The po’ boy was served on a fluffy sheeny brioche topped with succulent fried oysters, burnt bacon, and a slather of horseradish sauce heavily adorned with pickles! What I believed to be a simple sandwich turned into an oyster-​pickle-​bacon loving woman’s dream.
Dave’s filet was a nice thick cut of beef, charred on the outside, close to bloody on the inside. Surprising perfection. The mashed potatoes were awesome and the grilled jumbo asparagus made my pee smell (oh, it was tasty too).
When we were stuffed, we topped off our esophagus with a bit of freshly ground and brewed coffee. If I had energy to speak of, would have chilled out with dessert.
Seriously though, the food flavor, portion, and price were far better than I expected, and I will surely return (after I make my South End rounds. turns out, i like. slut.)