I've been there, I'm Catholic.
I wasn't offended by the Pope Table and its decor. The restaurant is trying to have an old-world Italian look, and its hard to imagine Italy without the Pope and Catholicism, now isn't it? Yes it's a chain restaurant, everything is a little mass-market. I really don't think John Paul II (God rest his soul) would be angry over the Pope Table. I would have been more surprised had they not removed the bust. I hope they replace it with the next Pope. <shrug>
As for the food, I suppose I must have a rather blue-collar dietary preference in comparison to the sophisticated and cosmopolitan palettes resident here, but I found the food pretty good. Not homemade "authentic" Italian, mind you, but quite good.