I don't usually go out on Sundays but when I do, I try to keep it as relaxed as possible to not interfere with my work the day after. When a friend wanted to hang out last Sunday for lunch at Popolo, it was most ideal. With sweeping river views, it was almost picturesque.
Given how busy dining out is lately, it was very lucky she made a reservation two weeks before hand as the restaurant was completely packed. Service was friendly, albeit inflexible. We dined in a group of four, but all the entrees came in portions for three and we were unable to request an extra serve.
That is the reason why our entree was the Carpaccio Di Manzo rather than our preferred Arancini. The wagyu was topped with lemon emulsion, herb salad, toasted pine nuts, truffle pecorino and olive oil. Although not explicitly mentioned in the menu, there was a generous drizzle of truffle paste on the dish which really made it all the more delicious. The wagyu was thinly sliced, the pecorino wash sharp as was the lemon. It was a really delicious starter.
This was the Ragu D'agnello with fresh pappardelle, slow cooked lamb ragu and grana padano. We ordered it because Dr L loves his lamb. This was a very well executed dish, the portions were adequate, the pasta was made softer than al dente and there was a generous amount of very tender lamb on top. We really enjoyed this dish.
Our other pasta dish was the Ravioli All'anatra E Funghi Porcini comprising of Duck Ravioli, burnt butter and sage, garlic, white wine, porcini and porcini dust. As huge fan of mushrooms, the porcini was delightful and meaty. Although there wasn't too many pieces of ravioli in the dish to share, we all had at least 2-3 pieces each and the delicate flavours provided a good foil to the bold ragu dish.
As usual, we had two pizzas, a red and a white. The red one was the Parma which came topped with Tomato Sugo, Mozarella, Prosciutto di Parma, Rocket and whipped ricotta. The base was quite thin but not particularly fluffy compared to other pizzerias, I liked the combination of sugo, prosciutto and ricotta, which balanced the strong flavours well. I suspect it would have been more enjoyable with bocconcini instead of ricotta though
Our white pizza was none other than the Tartufata, topped with Mozarella, truffle and thyme roasted mushrooms, asiago, porcini dust. I was expecting quite a truffle hit, but after the wagyu dish, this was quite mild. There was a generous amount of mushrooms on the pizza but without the hit of truffle, it was somewhat lacking in excitement.
Whilst we definitely had an enjoyable time at Popolo, the prices for mains were considerably high and given that Julius is not too far away, I know which one I'd choose next time.
Taste: 7.5/10
Value: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 8/10
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