Popoli Ristorante & Sullivan’s Bar

First and foremost; the food was amazing! The Cornish game hen was the best I’ve ever had. It was very tender and perfectly prepared. The flourless chocolate torte was a great way to end the meal. Their recently added chef has helped turn the food around. Additionally, the atmosphere of this establishment is very romantic and the history of the building is fascinating!

The atmosphere is lovely and this place should be more than it is. The food prices were driven based on the restaurant’s concept, but the quality fell short of expectations. The concept said, ‘this is an upscale place where you will have a unique experience.’ I got the hen for $ 28, and would have much rather gotten a rotisserie chicken from Hy-​Vee. If the quality of the food meets the ambiance then this place would be a winner.

I went with my family last week to Popoli. The building was beautiful and our Dinner was fantastic! We were told they were revamping their menu due to being under new management. We got to sample the bone in ribeye from the new menu, wow, it was amazing. Service was attentive and friendly. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourself. We can’t wait to go back and try the new menu.

This place is a nice resturant. the old bank and everything else thay have done is realy interesting. i had the cajun tenderloin and it was amazing. very unique flavor and meat was cooked pefect. my wife had some pasta with sausage, this was not amazing. it was average at best you could get better at olive garden. since i am writting the review it is 4 stars because my food was so amazing. plan on spending $ 100 for 2 people when you go here also do not be in a hurry. i enjoyed the laid back slow pace of the service. we were not rushed and we were able to have a relaxed evening. we were there for about 1.5 hrs and didnt sit and linger. so inshort: dont get the pasta, bring your big wallet, relax and enjoy the atmosphere

Go for the building and service, not for the food. This was my third time eating here. It is a wonderful, historic building with beautiful murals and stained glass. There are explanations on the wall in the hallway to the bathroom that explains the arquitecture. The lighting is perfect to see the murals, which are elevated above you, even at night. Why they put plasma T.V.s on the wall baffles me. The service and staff were very good. The food — underwhelming. I had the chicken which was over salted and had too much pepper. I’m still thirsty the next day and dealing with puffy skin.

Steaks are always of the best quality and the seafood is really fresh. Beautiful place to treat yourself to a special night. Employees really make you feel at home despite how upscale the place looks.

We received excellent service from a waiter who had the perfect balance of being friendly, welcoming and professional. Good choices of meals, appetizers and beverages. The meals we ordered were delicious and well presented. The food or service was not rushed. We had a pleasant, relaxing and enjoyable experience. The building is beautiful and a historic gem. I highly recommend !

Great experience. Wonderful steak and brussel sprouts! Ambience is awesome. Historical and the view of the bank vault is great. Reservations are important unless you don’t care to sit at a top table with minimal space.

As a former resident of Naples, Italy, it is difficult not to judge American Italia cuisine harshly. That said, please hear me when I say that Popoli is, by far, one of the best restaurants Cedar Rapids has to offer… Maybe all of Iowa for that matter. Located in a re-​urbanized downtown area, it is attractively built into a former bank, with vaults intact as private dining rooms. The modern décor is stunning with stain glass windows and murals on the vaulted ceilings., certainly unexpected based on the simple exterior. Our server, Casey, was extremely attentive and knowledgeable, offering recommendations on both food and wine.
Now the food. We started our meal with traditional bruschetta. There were combinations offered on the menu to include a chef’s special that changed on a daily basis. The traditional was simple, marinated tomatoes with garlic on toasted bread. however it had parsley instead of basil and also had and cubes of mozzarella. Different but delicious. It could, however have benefited from a simple drizzle of balsamic.
There were many interesting items on the menu. Each entrée comes with a mixed green salad with your choice of dressing, or soup (French Onion was offered), we both choice salad. I had balsamic vinaigrette, my husband had blue cheese (Which was creamy and not overwhelming) .both good choices. For dinner we had pasta. My husband enjoyed his, orrichetti in a spicy Bolognese, but it was a bit too spicy for me. I had pasta carbonara, with bucatini, crispy pancetta and an over-​easy egg… simply SUBLIME! (I shall FOREVER, from this day forward, call this dish Glorious, Rich, Hallelujah Pasta!!!)
All in all, this was an incredible dining experience. I look forward to returning and sharing this jewel with friends and co-​workers.

Mediocre at best. We eat out often and decided to splurge on their very expensive menu. We stayed of with a fig, precutto and flatbed appetizer that was.okay. We were tempted to not eat the bread because it didn’t add anything to the taste. The figs were good. Then 15 minutes later came our salads which were the highlight of the meal. Husband got the grouper which was overcooked and I got the seafood pasta in white wine sauce which was bitter and just not good. I was tempted to send it back. Service was very very slow. but the décor was amazing.
We paid over $ 75 for such a disappointing meal. We will not be going back.

My husband and I have been coming here regularly since it opened. Why do we keep coming back? It’s easy. Great food. Great service. Great atmosphere. Great owner.
Last night was no exception. We knew this was a safe place to bring our friends on a double date. They had never been before. And I know for sure that after last night, they will be back.
First of all, the food is always excellent. We like the fact that the menu sometimes changes. Brandon, the owner, also offers specials regularly. Yesterday he posted a special on Facebook that grabbed my husband’s attention. You have to know that my husband usually never sways from his standby favorite, the buccatini & meatballs. However, the picture of the California seabass with sweet corn succotash and chive oil truly captured his interest. One bite of that and he was in heaven. He could not compliment the chef enough for the magic on his plate.
As for me, I appreciate the fact that the chefs are not afraid to cook up something unique and different on request. They have done it for me in the past, and once again last night when I told our amazing server, Megan, that I wanted something with the mushroom risotto & veggies. I told her the chef could add chicken, if he wanted. The dish came to me beautifully presented with long asparagus stalks decorating the top. And it was fantastic! Every single morsel.
Our friends, too, enjoyed everything about their meal, which included two appetizers and a soup. With our before dinner side salads and complementary bread for the table, you can understand why we opted not to partake in dessert. There is always next time.

Came across Popoli because we parked nearby for George Thorogood at McGrath. The service was excellent, our waitress made sure what mom ordered had no ingredients that she is allergic to. I don’t see my choice on the menu now, it was a fresh pasta with artichoke hearts, asparagus and something else in a butter parm sauce. Mom had a salmon dish that she ate all of!

My fiancé took me to Popoli for Mother’s Day. I had been looking forward to trying Popoli out for over year. Upon entering, the hostess looked stressed as we did not have reservations. We assured her we would take a vacant high top table next to the bar. We were seated immediately, but had to wait quite some time for service.
When we finally did order drinks, I was given a glass with not one but TWO red lipstick stains. As both my fiancé and I have worked in the restaurant industry, we understand mistakes can happen, and brushed it off. Even though our waiter was busy, he was very friendly with us. Unfortunately, we sat for long periods of time with our glasses empty. We watched as other patrons started leaving and other tables grew with frustration when their food was brought out (one man received crab macaroni and cheese with NO crab).
We had guests coming to our house and thought we could get a bite to eat and be back in time. Our ticket time painfully turned into an hour… an hour and a half. two hours, and I finally had to call for a ride to leave. My fiancé stayed to get our food, where instead of giving us the three items we ordered, we were only given two. Three hours later he came home, where I was starving and was quickly let down with the food.
Maybe this was a very random occurrence for Popoli’s. Unfortunately, I do not care to return to find out.

Service was slow — 2 minutes after ordering appetizers we switched one of them. Got the appetizers ½ hour later with no switch.
Concert was in town and they were not prepared — bar staff didn’t seem to care

3 words:
SALTED CARAMEL CREME BRULEE
Ok, that was 4 words but you get the picture. It was AMAZING! I know, I know it is just glorified pudding and while that is true, it is amazing pudding.
Salty, sweet, creamy goodness! Perfectly balanced and just the right size.
We came here for drinks and dessert after dinner at a Sushi place not too far away and it was well worth the trip!
Service was awesome, Mickey was friendly, knowledgeable and very attentive. The décor is also gorgeous, loved every moment of our experience here!
Definitely will be back for more of the Crème Brulee and maybe try some other food next time! :-)

I came here for lunch during the week and ordered the Roasted Turkey sandwich with fries. The meal was very filling and reasonably priced. The turkey breast in the sandwich was cut directly off an in-​house roasted turkey so it was of high quality. My only complaint is that the bread was too big for the sandwich. Also, it was a dense bread so it took forever to eat the sandwich.
I am likely to come back again. They have happy hour specials that I’d like to try out.

Thought we would give this place a second chance and see if it has improved.
Nope! It has not.
The food and the service are still mediocre. We were seated by someone who basically threw a bunch of menus on the table then rushed off, saying she was very busy. Meal was lukewarm. It took 25 minutes to get our waiter’s attention after we finished the meal. What a shame. It is such a beautiful building.

We have been to Popoli numerous times before, but I was especially impressed when we brought some friends there last Saturday night. We were looking to impress them because they were from surrounding big cities, and the night could not have gone any better!
We reserved the Vault Room (seats up to 8 people) and it was the perfect atmosphere. They were thoroughly impressed with the décor! The noise level inside the vault is perfect for visiting with your whole table, not just the person next to you. We had great service from the wait staff, even though it was a busy Saturday night with a couple other large parties. Our waiter made sure to communicate to us if the bartender was running behind, and the staff was very accommodating when they happened to be out of a bottle of wine on the menu. We felt well taken care of :)
The food was delicious as well! The appetizer special was Tuna Crudo and we ordered 2 plates for the table. The many bruschettas on the menu are also great. Our meals came with salad and their homemade bread. My favorite meals from Popoli contain their house made bucatini noodles because they have the perfect bite. Several people ordered the Carbonara (my favorite) and the Bucatini & Meatballs. Others ordered the fish & steak and everyone left happy with their meals.
Thanks Popoli for a great experience!

Though I have yet to experience dinner or late-​night happy hour at this upscale restaurant in a historic former bank building, three lunch visits and today’s brunch with the wife have earned my five star rating.
I’m a huge bleu cheese burger fan, and the Bleu Bison is second to none in the county. I’ve also had chicken lasagna prepared by the proprietor himself and was tempted to lick my empty plate.
The highlight came today at brunch. The Bloody Mary could have sufficed as a meal, but I wanted to try the Crab Mac & Cheese. Talk about food-​gasm!
I have a hard time believing some of the reviews posted here were even from the same place. Maybe they just had a bad day.
Even after a food-​coma nap, I can’t stop thinking about how good it was. And I haven’t even mentioned the lovely ambiance. I can’t wait for my next visit to this new star on the Cedar Rapids restaurant scene.

Packed thursday night 5ish. Seat at the bar after a chat with hostess.
Top-​notch remodel of this amazing building is unbelievable. The original stained glass vaulted center room with fully restored original murals and very clean updates and bar make for a classy feel.
Definitely a 5 star capable place. A great reason to play dress-​up with some friends but also okay with casual groups. Probably leave the kids at home.
Extensive beer selection on draft and bottle and sophisticated menu is online too.