Editor Pick
I Won't Be Popping Down to El Popo's Again
- October 28, 2009
- Rated 1 of 5 by
Praskipark from Warsaw, Poland
I can't believe it is eight weeks since I ate at this restaurant and four generations of our family were together in one place. El Popo was the restaurant my son chose for this special occassion - a very colourful Mexican establishment situated at number 27 Senatorska Street just across from the Wielki Theatre in downtown Warsaw.
As we entered the outside entrance of the restaurant we were very pleased as this delightful building was very cool with stone floors, high ceilings and enormous terracotta pots lining the area filled with cacti. As it was a glorious day outside we decided to sit on the terrace so when the waitress approached us with a menu and asked us where we would like to sit we expressed our wishes. She immediately said, that it was too cold to sit outside and it wasn't the done thing. She then walked away and left us all in limbo. We assumed she was going to open the huge glass doors that led out on to the terrace.
In the meantime I studied the interior decor of the restaurant and I was very pleased as it was really vibrant with Mexican coloured pottery, terracotta tiles and the whole room had a light and airy feel to it. On the back wall was a huge mural depicting pictures of Aztec life. Crazy shapes and figures in colours of purple, pink, blue, green and red lit up the wall. The design of the bar was interesting and fun to look at - very colourful decorations on top of the bar with stools stood in a long row on the customer side of the bar.
Seating was of the wooden variety - long sofas with triangular, square and oval cushions; again in aztec designs giving the dining areas a soft, cosy atmosphere.
I thought the outside terrace was simple and very pleasant - varnished wooden tables and chairs on a decked floor with flower boxes hanging on the railings and on the pavement below more tall vases with cacti. There were 6 members in our party and my 3 month old granddaughter who obviously wasn't eating. The table was large and long enough to fit us all in with enough leg room and space if we needed to get out.
Within 5 minutes of sitting down a different waitress came with menus, a smile, a plate of tortillas and bowls of salsa. She asked us if we wanted to order any drinks which we did - we all had a large glass of Tyskie beer which was delicious.
Immediately we started tucking into the tortillas while looking at the menu. Some were floury and others were greasy but they were definitely home-made and not bad. The salsa that came in two very pretty blue bowls was definitely freshly-made but I thought a bit weak, watery and tasteless.
My son suggested perhaps it would be a good idea to order lots of different dishes so we could all try a bit of each others.
Next is a run down of the meals we ordered;
Nachos with guacamole - crispy, just the right amount of spice and not too greasy. The avocado dip was fine - smooth and creamy with a hint of lime.
Queso fundido - I didn't think these tasted of much at all - very bland and mild melted cheese so all in all - rather boring although my son managed to chomp his way through the plateful.
Empanadas - same goes for this starter - far too bland for my taste buds.Corn dumplings were okay but the cheese again was too mild.
Quesadillas - this was my son's choice - each person had two tortillas fried with cheese and choice of fillings whether it be minced beef, cheese or chicken.No complaints.
We also ordered a variety of appetisers for two people which was all the starters above only double the quantity. This might sound like a lot of starters but each starter was only small in size.
Although the starters looked attractive served on antique looking dishes with an added salad decoration, I wasn't too impressed with the tastes. Where was the hot spicy flavours?
Moving on to main meals - this is where I thought we would all be pleased and find the food tasty and filling.
Chicken breasts served with a cream and red pepper sauce. Delicious. Chicken was smooth and tender and the sauce was creamy and piping hot.
Baked Zucchini with stuffed baked vegetables. This dish looked very colourful and was served on a long white dish with a side portion of Mexican rice and salad. Scrumptious with a nice balance of seasoning.
Avocado salad with shrimps. This was my daughter-in-law's choice but I think she was a bit disappointed because I shared the dish with her but we didn't actually find many prawns. What we did find were plump and juicy. The avocado was cubed and I thought was deliciously smooth to taste mixed in with red pepper, cucumber, onion and dressed with lime and lemon. This salad was served in a wooden bowl with wooden salad tongs - very nice.
Finally, the 'drunken pork chop.' It is called this because it is supposed to have been marinaded in tequilla the night before. The famous chop came served on a long antique dish with red beans and roasted vergetables. We had a couple of bowls of rice as extras to go with this to bulk the meal out. When the waitress sat the chop down we all looked at each other and gasped. It looked disgusting. We could hardly see the pork for the enormous wedge of undercooked fat on the top of the meat. I said, 'Surely, it can't be for real.' My initial reaction was to send it back and ask for another but I didn't want to rock the boat as it looks rude when somebody else is paying. We cut the fat off the meat and put it to on one side and then I cut slices of the pork off the bone and shared it amongst us all. The meat was okay but it wasn't the tastiest pork I have eaten. It was stringy and if I'm honest not very good quality meat.They must have run out of tequilla the evening before because the meat just didn't taste of anything. Nil points fo the drunken pork chop although the roasted vegetables and beans were good.
A couple of other dishes we had to bulk out the order were cheese jalapinos and jalapinos stuffed with tuna. Both dishes were very nice but again very small small quantities.
After we had finished eating we considered desserts but having looked at the menu we weren't tempted so we had another beer and sat in the sun talking.
I was extremely disappointed with the food. My husband thought it was pretty bad and my son and his wife thought it was okay but such small portions. My mother-in-law didn't say anything until in the evening at home and she asked me how many stars I would give it. I said 2 only -one for decor which was zany, colourful and interesting and the other for waitress service which was very good. Actually, I would give the girls full marks except for the grumpy one who wasn't going to let us sit outside. They all looked very smart and were professional and their language skills were impeccable.
All members of the party needed to use the toilets.They were very prettily designed in a ranch style with wooden doors and pale purple walls. Very clean. Plenty of flowers and toiletries. Disabled persons will struggle with the toilets as there isn't enough space to manoeuvre in and out.
The bill came to just over 300 zloty which I know is only about £60 but remember this is Warsaw and not London and most of the meals we had were starters and very small portions. I don't think I will visit El Popo's again although I did really love the design of the restaurant, music and ambiance. I am not an expert on Mexican food but I got the feeling that the people cooking these dishes were Poles and not Mexicans. This restaurant has a reputation of being one of the best in the city and the local rag rates it quite highly for its authenticity but I don't see how. The food is too bland and just not enough zip in it. As for the fatty pork - in retrospect we should have sent that meal back as it was absolutely awful. My marks - 4/10.
You can find El Popo's at; Ulica Senatorska 27.
Take trams 15, 18, 35, 36 to Plac Bankowy - restaurant is within walking distance from here.
If visiting the restaurant by car parking is not allowed outside and to find a place near to the restaurant is difficult during busy times.