Pop’s Garage

The atmosphere is pleasant and the food — fresh. I’m not a Mexican or Southwestern food fan, however, my teenager wanted to try it. She really loved it, and, I suspect my husband will as well. The server was helpful and nie.

Had been meaning to check this place out for ages, but it’s easy to miss and forget about, hidden away as it is. Seems, though, I’ve been missing a lot. Had a fantastic lunch here, from beginning to end. Guac, chips, and salsa were all top notch. Then came the chicken enchiladas. Superb. Unlike so many Mexican restaurants, the meat wasn’t processed beyond recognition. Asked the waiter which mole to go with – I loves my mole – and he suggested I try the house, which was indeed some of the best I’ve ever had. Even the rice and beans, which are normally so pathetic at most places as to be ignored, were wonderfully flavorful. A little pricey, but I would come here again in an instant.

I wanted to take my friend to lunch so we went to Pop’s. Totally cute décor both inside and out. Looked like a small, hip place so was excited to try the food. What a disappointment! I have never had such a bland meal in my life. I ordered the fajitas and could not taste any flavor whatsoever! No spice, no flavor, NADA. Total waste of money. Would never try again! Also the cute place turned nasty when I used the restroom and walked by the kitchen. A curtain separated the area and what I could see of the kitchen was not appealing to say the least!

This was the worst meal I have eaten in years.
I was told to go here by a friend (whom I will no longer call a friend)
We started with the fresh salsa and chips.
It was actually salsa from a jar.
As we were dining Pop’s received a deliver and on top of the delivery were a few cases of Ortega salsa. Very disappointing. But that should have been out first sign.
I ordered the vegetable empanadas, they were a puffed pastry with a slice of carrot, a broccoli floret and Velveeta cheese inside. Completely tasteless and nothing Mexican about it. I also ordered a salad. It was mixed greens with pineapple, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, Peppers from a jar and caramelized onions. Yuk!!!
I commented to my friend that I thought the actual chef was bound up in the back and the two unfriendly employees were actually robbers that were pretending to be waiter and cook until they could make their getaway.
One word Disgusting.
Cute décor.

Great atmosphere! Great service! Was having a hard day with the kiddies and the staff jumped through hoops to make the experience great! Would definitely eat here again!

02/​20/​2012: decided to stop by Pop’s Garage today with the family. Prior to our stop I looked up the reviews, which most were under 3 start, and felt we would still give them a shot. Boy was I wrong, first our waiter seemed miserable to be there, second once we sat down and looked at the confusing menu, some of our choices were not available. Really, guacamole not available in a so called Mexican joint. Once we received our food, it was bland with no flavor whatsoever. Sorry, no more Pop’s for us.

Awesome cole slaw — has a nice kick to it! I got the burrito, and it was weird. It had olives which seems out of place, but ok, but it wasn’t consistently spicy/​flavorful all throughout. It was only the jalapeños that had any spice, the rest was very bland. Overpriced for the size. Probably won’t return. Cute atmosphere though.

If you want authentic Mexican food, tasty, ambiance and great service then this is the place. Their menu seemed light but the choices varied from an amazing appetizer of sweet plantain with ground meat to the burritos with tasty steak. Their homemade chips and salsa complemented everything we had. Ronnie our waiter was so personable. Churros crème filled was a perfect ending to our meal. Although far from home, we are already planning our next visit.

Awesome night and awesome food. It got too loud being outside and the bar next door being a little too loud. We got quesadillas, the langosta enchiladas and some tacos and it was all really great. …especially the lobster! I would definitely recommend trying this place out!

Just had lunch at Pop’s garage. Loved everything including the décor. I shared a chicken enchilada and lobster fajitas. Black beans were homemade and very tasty. My enchiladas were stuffed with fresh chicken. Plenty of food! I took leftovers home to enjoy later. Also, enjoyed the mole sauce (mother’s) without peanuts that accompanied my enchiladas. Both entrees were delicious and fresh. I look forward to returning to try other dishes, especially, the guacamole and salsa.

What happened? The food was good last summer but it seems like the quality and taste went downhill. The server who was waiting on us was very attentive for the wrong reasons; he seemed to have forgotten what we ordered or screwed up the orders that he didn’t forget so he kept coming back. I don’t remember the carne asada looking like carnitas before but this time all the meats looked the same and shredded with no taste whatsoever. Utterly disappointing.

Pop’s Garage is a great, local restaurant with a hippie feel. It has great décor, comfortable and relaxed seating and great staff. Also, great vibe when the weather is nice they literally open the «garage» and there is no wall; completely open to the outside.
May have to get up to pay your own bill because they’re so relaxed but the food is worth it. Empanadas, empanadas and empanadas.

This was one of the worst meals I’ve paid for in at least ten years.
The service was indifferent and our table was sticky.
Grilled corn with aioli and cotija with a dusting of chili powder: I got a cob of corn rolled in something resembling breadcrumbs and then maybe grilled. The aioli or cotija were not discernible — if they were even on the plate.
Look, it’s the winter. Lackluster corn is expected and acceptable but it wasn’t prepared as advertised or prepared so badly that I couldn’t tell. It really takes overwhelming indifference to screw up Mexican corn.
Queso fundido: It was a cast iron skillet filled with congealed jack cheese plus the remaining separated oil the server didn’t pour into the trash on her way to the table. (Yes, we saw that.) The tortilla chips at this place are really good but were useless in any efforts to eat the solidified dip.
Fish tacos: A couple of well-​fried pieces of fish covered with a big handful of shredded lettuce and a large spoonful of extremely watery salsa. This one also could have used a stop at the trash can to pour off the liquids on the plate.
It’s a nice room in a nice location and the prices would be fair if the food was even passable but it’s clear that nobody cares about their craft and that sort of behavior is allowed to persist. This place can probably hang on with the minivan crowd that’s scared to go over to Shrewsbury Ave. but you’re better off at any of the half-​dozen other Mexican places in town.

I agree with some of the older reviews that the prices are high because Pop’s is in the Grove West — Enough said — You’re at the Grove.
My service was good but it was dead when I went there. My iced tea didn’t taste as fresh as I would have hoped but that’s not the point.
My wife is from the Caribbean so she ordered pork. Gringo me orders some shrimp dish with the same name. This is where I think most of us go wrong — we order «off menu» items that are «American standards» but the real items are still there if you order them.
So I get my bland Shrimp with Diablo sauce which sounds very impressive but wasn’t and my wife got Pernil with red sauce which was to die for.
I’m going tomorrow.

Food is fresh but pricey I very much enjoyed my lunch, and I’ll be back very cool décor

The food was substantial but price is just way too high, which I blame on being in the Grove. I enjoyed the vision of the taste combinations in my Carne Asada Burrito but at the end of the day it’s just a beef burrito. My semi sweet side sauces were surprising but not really complimentary to the sundries tomato wrap. I’m holding out final judgement till I have the tacos.

Fun mexican byob place great lobster mac and cheese and this plantans with a choped meat stuffing o have never seen before is to die for the burrios blow away chipolies so big u can never eat the whole thing

Pops is kind of hit or miss, more hits in the 5 times I’ve been there than misses, but the consistency should be better.
I had the best cauliflower soup here about a year ago, which was the soup du jour. It was so good I felt the need to bring it to the attention of the other guests around me. One of the guests had also ordered the soup earlier and agreed with me. However, despite awesome dishes like this soup, some of their other dishes just aren’t nearly as good or fresh tasting.
The service here can also be inconsistent, with this time being bad more than it is good. There are times where there’s been just one waiter during peak lunch or dinner times. Although this place is pretty small, the waiter can get pretty busy and your drinks will remain unfilled, or you’ll have to wait to order.
Also, as a Mexican restaurant, chips and salsa should be free!
If it wasn’t for that cauliflower soup I’d give Pops three stars, but my hope is each time I go there they will be serving that soup or something equally as delicious, but the past few times they haven’t.

We really enjoyed this place for its atmosphere and friendly service. The food was fresh and nicely seasoned. Reggae music, colorful artwork and avante garde décor make you feel transported to another place.

Good food-​FILTHY restaurant! The food here is good. I’ve eaten here many times and frequent the owners other restaurants in Asbury. I’m always satisfied with the food but Omg Clean this place up, it’s disgusting! My girlfriend won’t drink her water there because she said the bathrooms are worse than port authority!
The tables were covered in crumbs and the one next to me had dried salsa all over it, and it was set with napkins and silverware ready to go. The plastic table tent that holds the specials was so dirty there was literally layers of food caked on it. The chairs are dirty, the floors are filthy and the bottoms of the tables are made of old car rotors which are cool but there is an entire meal of crumbs and debris in each one. My ice tea cup had dried gunk around the rim. When you run your hand over your table you will see what the prior customers ate. There is no excuse for this! Clean this place up and show some respect to your customers or lose them!
P. S. We got there at 11:50am and were the only ones in the restaurant until a few minutes before we left. So it’s not like they were too busy to clean. This mess obviously just stays day after day.