POP Champagne Bar & Restaurant

Reviews 4

TI

Tim C

I first heard about POP Champagne is when an acquaintance declared that she is going to have her birthday celebration here. She also declared that I am forbidden to do the same since our birthdates are very close to each other. Fast forward a couple of years to Fall 2014. After a concert event at Cal Tech for the MUSE/IQUE we really needed some sort of dessert. A quick search on the GoGoBot, we find many options. Someone shouts out that we should come here. Of course, we had to call ahead to be sure there is a table available or if we had to wait. We were very lucky to get a table for six. As soon as I looked over the menu, my eyes spot the "Irish Car Bomb". Is it a drink? Is it a dessert? Lets try it! Everyone else put their orders in while we all check-in, chit chat, wait for our drink orders and dessert orders. Its been a while but you can certainly look at a friends review as it is more detailed to what everyone ordered. I was more focused on what was right in front of me. I do recall trying the crème brûlée and a cake thing that was very patriotic in color presentation. The crepe was ok but back to my Irish Car Bomb. It was in a two parts, a wine goblet and a shot glass. The cake and fruit was in the wine goblet and the ice cream topped the shot glass, now was I supposed to drop the shot glass into the bigger glass and try to consume it all? I usually like to savor it so I took my time finishing it off. Fast forward again to February 2015, another Monday Funday or was it a Twisted Tuesday? Either day, we still stopped here and this time it was the Chocolate Peanut Butter Crème Brûlée on my mind. The Black Velvet was a great choice too. Of course, those at our table have been here or knows people here. So here comes the Coconut Macaron with Chocolate Anglaise Soufflé…"would you like for me to pour the chocolate into the soufflé for you?" Someone was quick on the draw and responded, "YES!". It was like a photo shoot at this table. Sharing other desserts and dishes at the table is always welcoming when there is something called Chocolate Decadence across from you. I slide my crème brûlée ever so slightly to hint a trade. You should have seen this transaction happen really fast like someone playing 3 card monte. The Black Velvet is Guinness and champagne which is a great combo with all the desserts at the table. Seems like each visit gets better and better. What will I order on my next visit?

J

J B

POP goes Janugie! Just when we thought we were full,  we realized we hadnt yet had dessert... And there was a bit of room to fill out our stretchy pants & move onto the next belt hole!  So, Yelp to the rescue in locating a nearby dessert destination! An inviting, intimate place full of bubbles (literally in the glasses and mirrored ones on the back wall), providing an extensive list of champagne and wines. Dinner menu had quite a few tempting options,  but we banned together and stayed strong,  refocusing our attention to the desserts. Luckily,  Caroline, the hostess, and John, our server... Helped us out!  We passed on the soufflé du jour, it was Animal Cookies (you know the ones,  pink & white with sprinkles) - sounded interesting though.  However, they both suggested the homemade browned-butter, "cookies & cream". Cookies are baked to order and are sinfully delicious,  if youre a choco chip lover!  *ahem* ;)  It comes with three cookies - way too much (for some) but perfect for sharing, like we did!  And the creme brulee trio, you must try!  Being picky about creme brulee,  I was hesitant to try it,  but it knocked my socks off (well, if I had been wearing some, for sure). Vanilla was good and pretty typical,  but the choco caramel and especially, the lavender... Id go back just for those!! Theyre great at suggesting champagne pairings based on your order btw. Caroline knew it was our first visit, so she gave us the lowdown on all their offerings... Happy Hour, live music, etc.  They mainly have live jazz, but their house-favorite singer,  Inbar, apparently takes requests and sings/plays anything from jazz faves to Alanis Morissette. Miguel, not sure if he was a server or what exactly,  came to our table to check on us and even helped us with a gratuitous photo shoot! He was incredibly sweet and really added to our experience, making for a perfect Saturday night! Lovely ambiance, wonderful service, amazing desserts & bubbly... Take it all in - POP!

A

A Private User

Cute concept, horrible delivery. The first thing we all noticed when when we walked in was the presence of a strong odor which smelled like a mix of the ejaculate of a wet dog and elmers glue. From reading many of the other reviews, it seems many others noticed the pungent odor as well. First off, they didnt have enough menus for us, which was surprising because the place was only half full. They offered to photo copy more menus for us. The decor was shoddy. It was as if the owners couldnt decide if they wanted a bar or a restaurant. They served us food without providing utensils, and set the table for only half our party. Our server had a dumbfounded look and made unnecessary comments when the remainder of our party showed. The waitress didnt seem to know much about what she was serving, which made selection difficult because the average foodie like myself doesnt know much about champagne. The water smelled and tasted odd, the portions were tiny, the music selection was horribly inappropriate for the type of mood they were shooting for. The playlist sounded as if it was ripped off of a inner city kids walkman. It took far too long for the server to return with 2 flights of champagne and a beer. It took 10-15 minutes to return with the paid bill, and to top it off, she dropped a full glass of something on a lady at the next table, breaking the glass and creating a huge mess in the process. Did I mention that it was ridiculously overpriced? I will not return or look in its general direction. Id advise you do the same.

JR

JR C

Eats (rated from delish to bleh): Maple Bacon Ice Cream, Pork Belly skewers, Jalapeno Tuna Tartare, chocolate covered strawberries, POPcorn chicken Events: Pasadena Happy Hour Week Final night of Pasadena Happy Hour Week and it ends with a bang. I rolled in with a group of 11 which we called in earlier to reserve. By 7pm, most of the tables were taken with just a sprinkling of chairs available at the bar. The occupancy of the tables were maxed, but the ambiance was still not that of a packed bar. For foods sake, the Maple Bacon Ice cream was pretty bomb. I said the most disgusting thing about this ice cream to a friend, "Mmmm...bacon fat....," yet I could not stop eating it. Dee-freaking-licious. On the other side of the spectrum is the namesake POPcorn chicken. It was a plentiful serving, much like how one would buy fries to fill the last corners of your tummy, but I could not get over how bland tasting they were. Usually the dipping sauce would remediate this, but the sauce was neither tangy nor savory, and definitely not fulfilling. I ended up munching on plain POPcorn chicken, hoping that fried anything could rescue my appetite, but unfortunately it didnt. Stopping at the food, this place gets a solid 3 stars, but the attentive service that we received made a party as huge as mine feel taken care of. Before I had an empty glass, itd always be filled. Before I had an empty beer, Id always be offered another one. Dirty plates would also be promptly cleared from the table. 3 stars food + 5 stars service.