A warm, inviting welcome greets you at Ciao. The atmosphere is elegant New England comfort. Booth, bar or table seating available. Nice open views of this historic township. Delicious food and friendly waitstaff. House salad was fresh and delightful. Half size or full. The menu offers a nice variety of starters, sides and entries. A nice place for date night, drinks with friends or family time. A lovely place to dine!! read more

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We enjoyed our experience at Ciao Popolo. We dined at the outdoor seating area in back overlooking the falls. We enjoyed Spaghetti in Checca Sauce and Farfalle with Spicy Lemon Cream Sauce. Both of which were delicious! Welcoming environment with friendly service! read more

Love the atmosphere. We enjoy sitting at bar and enjoying tasty craft cocktails, good conversations and good food. Roasted Brussels sprouts, flatbreads, soups and varied choice of entrees. - read more

Everything on the menu is delicious! Had Salmon Florentine last night. Delicious. Ahi Tuna was amazing. I always get the Cesar Salad. Best anywhere! read more

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Love this place in the heart of beautiful bellows falls! Good food, friendly staff and owner, try it!

Terrible. It started ok but it's clear they are understaffed. Drinks came - beer basically room temperature. Vodka Martini was basically straight vodka. They never came back if we wanted another drink order. Tuna app was ok but entrees were putrid. Chicken was very rubbery and felt on the border of under cooked. Looked like the salmon had been substituted out for a cheaper fish on the salad. No one ever checked on our meal. I understand they look understaffed but it was very disappointing. The price versus the product really underwhelming. I know we will never be going back. read more

The most disgusting chicken parm ever. Served with potato wedges and ketchup. Who does that. Waited over an hour for meal and food was cold and not at all what was described. Will never go back. Rated 0 stars! read more

One of our favorite places in Vermont. They get busy sometimes and we've had to wait a bit, but ambiance is perfect. That staff is stellar and the bar is perfect. Great menu choices. read more

My partner and I have been coming here for years. It's our sweet date restaurant and I love their food and their drink "the shrub" Five stars for food and service! ******* the adjustment for a living wage DOES NOT INCLUDE the wait staff. They still get paid 5.36$/hr plus tips. The adjustment is ONLY for the kitchen staff. ******* The language in their poster and the displays on each table omit this fact but can easily seem implied and I am left feeling mislead. It was a huge disappointment to discover this. The gap between starting at 10$/hr for kitchen staff is easily filled. I want to see this "living wage adjustment" for all of their staff read more

A vibrant, scenic view of the Connecticut River and rolling hills await you on the porch of this delightful restaurant. Generous portions of carefully prepared, quality ingredients at very reasonable costs seem to be the norm. Inventive and classic cocktails are a great addition. The serving staff are friendly, efficient, and accommodating. The bartender was pulled all the way from Key West, FL to ensure that their drink menu is top class with a modern flair all her own. To top off the outstanding service, the friendly owner personally came out of the kitchen to check on us and ensure that we had a perfect experience. If you want a five star dining experience with the option of great live music or unique events, look no further than Ciao Popolo! read more

The food and staff were excellent. Great atmosphere. We had a wonderful time. Will definitely be back.

This was our fourth visit and we really wanted to like this place but we remain deeply disappointed. At this price point you would expect good food but you will not find it here. First, the arugula salad arrived with slimy pieces and some yellowed leaves. The dressing was way too lemony even for lemon loving person like myself. The grade of oil used dressing very poor. I sent it back for a replacement which arrived fresh making me wonder why fresh arrugula is not used in the first place. Is this restaurant trying to kill itself? The mushroom cavatappi pasta with chicken was disappointing with overcooked chunks of chicken. One positive, our server was excellent the ambience was nice. read more

The parlor room with the fireplace is lovely, and we were looking forward to finding a new favorite, but the food was mediocre at best- my wife's haddock was not fresh and the chicken Marsala was served with what tasted like the cheapest store brand spaghetti, and the Parmesan we requested was clearly from a can, not freshly grated. It wasn't terrible but not worth the $28 a plate. The real kicker was that after we were given the bill and gave them our credit card, they added an extra $5 for using a card without informing us. It was already clear this place needs to improve a lot to justify their high prices but slipping in an extra fee after presenting the check is unacceptable. I'm giving stars based on the space and service alone read more

Great food, kind friendly service, beautiful building. Totally recommend. Even fun for our kids 9,11 y.o. They felt special and respected.

The people are nice, wine selection is good, having music is a plus but the food is not good. They really need to improve the menu and get a better chefb read more

We chose this restaurant as it didn't have any wait or reservation requirement. When we were told by a local shop owner that it was "inconsistent" we figured everyone has a bad day so we will try it anyway. The staff is welcoming, beautiful setting. We were seated in the 2nd room, which had a beautiful fireplace, was bright and the live entertainment was setting up. Excited to find a place that offers live entertainment (they were very good). We ordered cocktails, which were good. We ordered 2 appetizers, the brusssel sprouts and meatballs. Sprouts were good however the meatballs were not so much. The dish they arrived in was hot, the sauce was hot, but the meatballs were barely room temperature. The cheese on the top had melted and become solid again. They were palatable but should have been hot. We were told of the specials and chose to order one special (beef tips) and scallops. The scallops tasted good, but only received 5 smallish ones. The side was garlic mashed potatoes that had no garlic flavor and reminded us of reheated potatoes - very dry, barely room temperature on the outside, cool in the middle and side vegetable was carrots (the waitress indicated any vegetable could be ordered but when the meal was ordered, it wasn't offered until asked about again). The steak tips were a disaster. The first two tasted and chewed easily. The rest of the pile was unchewable and with each try, it was removed and placed on the plate. Potatoes were same as above, room temperature on the outside and cool in the middle (reheated obviously). The side of asparagus was perfect. When the waitress how the first few bites were we said good - they were. After that it just went downhill. Trying to be gracious and chew beef that wasn't able to be chewed (or swallowed without choking). When the waitress came back and asked how everything was - looking at my plate with 3/4 of the steak tips in a chewed up pile - I told her they were terrible and couldn't be chewed. She asked if I wanted something else and I said no. Didn't ask to be compensated for it though the waitress indicated she would speak to the manager to see if they could do anything. She came back and said "they said they couldn't do anything". Again, didn't ask to be compensated but with all the meat that was returned - obviously chewed, removed and in a pile - one would assume that at least a free app or 10%. We are in that area maybe once a year so can't say we would go back. Disappointing for $135 unfortunately. Whoever is cooking their food or prepping it, should not be. read more

Went to Popolo when I was taking a class in the area. I like the fact that they pay their staff a living wage . Our waitress was very prompt and made us feel right at home . I understand the living wage but the wine that we ordered was marked up 3 times what you could purchase it for. My vodka & tonic was pricy but very skimpy and I couldn't even taste it:( Our pasta dishes were 28.00 and contained about 1 1/2 cup of pasta.None of them were anything special.Salad was extra. Not worth the price at all . I don't mind paying 35.00 for pasta and a salad but I'd like to feel like I actually ate a meal when I leave . Won't rush back..... read more

Started with mozzarella fritters stuffed with mozz. and ricotta cheese. Lightly coated with, I think corn meal, and some smokey spice. Second course was hanger steak with greens and house made gnocchi. Nice char on the steak and gnocchi done to perfection. Bambolini for dessert = fried dough goodness with custard inside. read more

OMG! A gem that we just stumbled upon. Popolo's menu, cocktails, staff and professionalism all stellar. All I have to say is, brunch! Steak & eggs with a gin old fashioned. (Sorry there's no photo, I literally dove into my plate upon arrival.) read more

I had a nice and light Friday night salad and wine dinner. It was good to sit at the bar, enjoy the scene, and have time to get to the movies. I love Bellows Falls. A hidden treasure. read more

Good eats, used to work here as well (that's another story). Food is A1 though and servers are great. Curious when it will open again and who the current chef is though! read more

This was a very enjoyable dining experience. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was great. Wait staff was very professional and were always on top of the ball. Would definitely dine here again. read more

Ciao Popolo - Italian Near Me - Bellows Falls, Vermont

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This is hands down the best place I've eaten at in Vermont! The cocktails were fantastic, and I had five of them so I'm qualified to say that! The food was also great. I highly suggest the tuna appetizer! Also had one of the specials, a super yummy pizza. I'm also really proud of the philosophy they have there. Too many restaurants overwork and underpay so it's nice to see a joint like this try to establish a healthy community with their living wage. read more

OMG!! Love this place! Went here with friends while visiting and the food was Fabulous and the Waitstaff were awesome! I had the Atlantic Cod dish, fish comes on a fried potato cake of sorts with a nice sauce. OMG! I would go back just for that dish! The fish was cooked to perfection and the presentation was beautiful. My husband had the Bolognese and he loved that. Food was so good, definitely will be going back next time we are in the area. For dessert we had the Zeppoli with chocolate sauce, yum! The Staff were great and courteous and they make you feel right at home. Great place, love it and look forward to going back soon! read more

Lobster Pizza is wonderful. Get that, a green salad and a Switchback IPA and there's not a lot more one could ask for. Alternately, their calamari is sourced as local as you can -- from Rhode Island -- and is always great. Popolo pays everyone who works there a living wage of $15/hour; takes serving local food seriously, and is delicious, fun and even has great music playlists. Definitely worth visiting the cool, funky town of Bellows Falls. read more

O.K., food is really good and we have been there a number of times as we are local. HOWEVWE the 6% living wage is insane......we pay 20 percent at food establishments and tis seems to be fine by every other restaurant inn the world. I have never herd of this "living wage" before and we travel extensively arounf d the world. What this means is that the restaurant is under paying their staff and wants us to make up the difference. I say dine elsewhere. I really do wish this liberal policy would go away so we could return. Thanks read more

We ate at popolo last Saturday night and I would really like to rate the place higher but I just can't Overall food was great but our friendly but terribly un professional waitress just brought the meal experience down She asked us what wine we would like to order we chose and she said the owner thought that it was a great choice. A few minutes later she came back and said they didn't have that wine, fair enough. So I asked if any of the other whites were available by the glass and she said yes and could give us a small taste of two other choices, great We chose one and she comes back to the table with an opened bottle and says this was just opened at the bar (for our test) and asks us to accept the already opened elsewhere bottle. Now this just isn't done, if they offer this by the glass than this is the bar bottle not ours. For $38 they can bring a bottle to the table and open it up. I said OK this is bellows falls not nyc. .. But then she just plunks the bottle on the table and walks away. Not serving a drop.... I mean come on ..do the owners train these people? Good food and lousy service..... Will i go back, yes, but if the service is the same then shame on the owners..... read more

I'm a fan - let's start with that! Pros: convenient location, thoughtful decor and hip atmosphere, delicious locally-focused food made with great finesse, creative cocktails, generally great service and appropriately priced. Cons: beer/wine selections tend not to thrill me and occasionally the service is a bit lackluster. Overall, I highly recommend giving it a try. read more

We've gone to the old movies at the BF Opera House and have been intrigued by seeing Popolo across the street. Tonight we finally stopped in and are happy we did. The menu is much more extensive than the usual (basically a whole page of antipasti, plus appetizers, entrees, etc.) and very reasonably priced. Expect entrees to be $12-20, with the obligatory $10 burger hiding in there as well. I had the burger, which was very tasty and came with excellent fries. She had the pomodoro and I was a bit jealous, since it smelled so deliciously garlicky. One last thing I loved about the place was that the sink in the bathroom was at the perfect height. Call me weird but I really love it when restaurants think about this--nice not to have to stoop or bend down to wash hands. read more

Wow. Great great service. I have been here a number of times always good but never a exceptional as tonight. Friendly inviting staff and great food and drink. We will be coming back more often. Great bar tender. read more

While BF needs a decent downtown restaurant, Popolos doesn't cut it yet. The staff, especially the front end, is unhelpful and unwelcoming. The air of pretension doesn't fit the town. While we have had a decent lunch here, dinner is so so and takes far too long to arrive. Communal tables are ridiculous and a waste of space. Let's hope they grow up a bit! read more

We went out to Popolo last night for dinner. The restaurant was full, but no one was waiting. Our Waiter was relaxed and helpful. Some people have commented that the place is noisy but we did not find it so. The dining area was open and airy, but not cold and it was a miserable Vermont night. We had the Calamari and Mussels for apps. Both were good. The Calamari was tender and tasty and the broth for the Mussels a delicious spicy tomato base. We shared a Gorgonzola salad. It tasted good but the presentation was uninspired. For dinner -- the special steak with a red wine reduction. I am not a hunk of steak fan generally, but this was cooked well, tender and the reduction was delicious. The Green Mountain Burger which my son says is as good as any he has had in Vermont and I would agree. The fries were also very good. The Pollo Saltimbocca -- I liked to pairing of flavors on the dish; swiss chard, gnocchi cakes and the chicken and prosciutto all worked well together. The selection of beers on tap is small but they are all winners. Our takeaway is that Popolo and Bellows Falls are well worth visit. read more

I had the Eggs Florentine and it was delicious, the eggs were perfectly cooked and the spinach was fresh, the perfect amount of creamy hollandaise. The Bloody Mary was good too. Great space, attentive service. read more

Andrea and I have been coming here for the brunch from time to time recently. We'd been up once or twice last year and liked the food but had trouble enjoying the restaurant because of the noise--the elegant ceiling unfortunately was a really strong reflector for sound, so you could barely hear the person across the table from you. Fortunately sometime in the past year they put in some sound baffles on the ceiling. I wouldn't say that the problem is entirely cured, but it's a _lot_ better than it was. We've had two pleasant brunches here. Service has been impeccable. Andrea's gone for various lox options both times--they have a variety of gravlax that they make on the premises that is apparently very good (I haven't tried it, 'cuz I don't like fish). I've had the pancakes and scrambled eggs both times. These are very generous and filling and decadently yummy. The pancakes come with Vermont maple syrup (you'd think this was a given, but even in Vermont it's not). I had the hash browns on our most recent visit; these are actually threads of grated potato deep-fried in some kind of fixture so that they come out looking like birds' nests, with a soft potato center and crispy bits sticking out like straw. Pretty yummy. There's a lot of variety on the menu; next time I go I really need to try something other than pancakes. We also went here for dinner a couple of months ago and were seated in a room off the main room, which looked a little like a hotel lobby that had been converted into a dining room, complete with a fireplace. This was a really nice, intimate setting, a perfect date setting. If you can get seated in this room, it's very nice. read more

Terrific addition to dining in the BF-Walpole area. I usually order from the specials menu and everything I've had has been creative, well prepared, and very high quality. Can it get any better? Service is also good. Now I just need to go back for some drinks on the back patio! read more

What happened to Popolo? We fell in love with Popolo. Great food at great prices. We went at least six times and then this weekend something happened. It was really off. Food was nothing like the first six times. What a disappointment. Hope they get it together! read more

Maybe because it's been awhile since I've had truly fresh Italian food out, or that it was due to eating out with two close friends, but Popolo's proved a really fun, refreshing surprise! Situated in downtown Bellows Falls, it's arguably the classiest place in the whole town but not so much that it wards people off but rather invites you in. The simple yet crisp, modern wood décor and bright wall space certainly helps alongside a generous bar serving Trapp Family seasonal brews and other tasty regional beers and no small cocktail list. Then, there is the food! I don't think I've had calamari so tender, especially with a light picante taste with the most subtle chile flavor on the outside coating. Fresh, basil-seasoned olive oil with rye bread helped whet appetites until our main courses came, including a Parma pizza topped with mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, arugula pesto, San Marzano tomato sauce, and black olives. Strikingly crisp yet tender pizza dough worked its rounds, as we finished off the whole pie. Even the dessert stepped up a couple notches, with offerings of tiramisu, gelato, and my order of pannacotta which were subtly sweet in the best way without being overwhelming. Definitely worth a drop through should you come by Bellows Falls in the evening...:-) read more

It's really the only place to eat a decent meal in the town. The waitress was fantastic and she alerted us to the fact that the building actually had a train track underneath! That was super cool (I think more towns should invest in that). She also let us know a lot about the history of the building. The upstairs (an old hotel) the ballroom (still a lot like the original), it was super neat. I think they'd make a ton on tours of the upstairs as this piqued all of our interests to see it. The meal was okay, not hugely notable. Very limited menu. It was expensive for three people in a small town with no drinks at $100 Appetizers Fried artichoke hearts - (not crispy, just oily) Calamari - I didn't have this. Calamari has too many bad reports about it being pig anus. Can't do it. Dinners- Pork chop - bone in. Not a lot of meat for big eaters. Great for gluten free people. Wonder burger - I had this, no cheese, bacon added. It was a burger. It was prepared correctly so they get points. But nothing notable about it. Cast Iron Rib Eye-cooked a little to much but okay. The ambience of the restaurant is very low light romantic. It was good. I would go back. read more

We recently had a 40th anniversary celebration at Popolo. Everything was excellent, the room was lovely, the service was over the top magnificent! The staff was nothing short of amazing, professional, and elegant. There was much thoughtfulness to detail. The food was fresh, flavorful, and prepared to perfection. Thanks to Gary and his staff for making our anniversary celebration a most pleasant experience that we will never forget! read more

I wanted this to be a little bit better than it was for the prices they charged. Food was good. Quite good for BF. But they came to our table twice to tell us they were out of elements for dinners we ordered. The wait staff was friendly and helpful. Service a little slow. Super nice ambiance. I'd definitely go back but based on this first experience I was slightly underwhelmed. read more