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Categories: American (New), Wine Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: DowntownReceive 1/2 off any bottle of wine that is on our glass pour list OR available on our rotating wine list with a $25 minimum food purchase.
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
"Their steaks could cause a FOOD ORGASM! Oh My God - By far the best steak I have ever tasted! Totally Seattle - Only in Seattle will people…" read more »
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We went back to Purple for probably the 400th time. I'm amazed they STILL have one of the best wine lists, great cheeses, and a phenomenal tasting menu. I think I first ate at Purple in Woodinville about 10 years ago, and they've grown and managed to maintain, and improve, their quality over this time.
Apparently, they opened a new location in Bellevue. I look forward to trying this one!
I'm sentimental about the original Purple and hitting it the first week they were open, so I was… Read more »
Two words: FOOD. POISONING. I we t here a few years ago but now that I've discovered yelp I feel the need to share my experience.
My husband and I went with a group of people when we were visiting Seattle to go to a seahawks game. The restaurant had just opened and I'm pretty sure we only got a res because we were going with a food critic.
I had a steak, I remember it being just fine. We had wine of course which I believe was good as well. My husband got the seared ahi... Bad idea. Exactly 8 hours later he was in a world of hurt and I had to leave our maid at the hotel an extra tip due to the "damage" to the bathroom. Needless to say we had to miss the game and drive back to Pullman that morning as he was way too sick to do anything else.
The kicker: I called and left a message Monday morning regarding the incident and they never called me back! About 6 months later, talking about the incident with our food critic friend, she asked how we had enjoyed the bottle of wine they sent us to apologize. Um... What bottle of wine? They had just called up the critic and lied to her and didn't even bother to call me back! So overall the food is probably not bad and their wine selection looks excellent but I can't give a place that nearly killed my husband and ruined our weekend anything more than 1 star.
Purple Café still has my vote for 4.5 stars...
Came here to celebrate a girlfriend's birthday with her and another girlfriend.
Luckily, all three of us are all into getting many appetizers & sharing for dinner. Which is what we ended up doing.
Can't remember the exact line up, but I think we all agreed the:
gorgonzola stuffed dates, pine nuts and saba
dungeness crab salad, avocado and lemon aioli
baked brie
grilled hanger steak
and
crab cakes
Were all good to get.. YUM!!!
Another great thing was they provided a smaller desert with a candle for my girlfriend's birthday. Don't know if it's the same every night, or for that fact, for every table, but what they served her was a warm syrah brownie, which we all thought was delicious!!!
Thanks again for another great night of good service, food, wine and other alcoholic beverages!!!
Been here a few times and went again the other night...
Like the atmosphere, layout / design. The…
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The food is good - mac n cheese that tastes like an impending trip to the gym (delicious), and salads the way you would like a salad to be, with fresh, vibrant flavors.
It's a toss up whether it's appropriately priced, but the wine display is impressive, and we luckily stumbled in on Monday for 1/2 price bottles of any wine sold by the glass.
This restaurant came to my friends and I with lots of praise and we were quite happy with our entire meal. I really loved the playful menu rubber bands - (I know, totally random) check it on your next visit.
IMHO, the outstanding dish was the Halibut entree. The portion for this plate was huge and perfectly delicious. My second favorite item from our meal was the baked brie - Yum!
This place has a great look. The circular tower of wine in the center is great. We started out at the bar upstairs while we waited for the rest of our party to join us. I tried the Spanish wine flight. It was good with a nice spice. The bartender recomended some excellent cheese choices to compliment the wine.
The wine list is long and detailed. There are a lot of categories. There is a wine for every person.
I had a artisan meat pizza for my entree. It was very good. There are several other items I look forward to trying on the menu. The casesar salad was ok. There are a lot of small plate appetizer options as well.
After driving 3.5 hours from Vancouver (BC), checking in at my hotel at 830pm on a Saturday night and being told the parking garage was full and then having to spend 45 minutes driving around trying to find parking, the last thing I wanted to do was look for a restaurant to fill my empty stomach and calm my flustered nerves. I looked down the street from my parking spot, pointed and said "That's where we're eating! I don't care how much it costs or what kind of food it!" Luckily for me, Purple was where I landed.
Ambiance is a huge part of any dining experience and Purple does a fantastic job of setting the mood. From the floor to second-story-ceiling windows, to the primarily candlelit room and the amazing spiral wine cellar centerpiece, one feels like their entering into a special place.
Our waiter was great. He was friendly, knowledgeable and quick to take care of us. He brought out a glass bottle of water to the table so we could refill our glasses whenever we needed to. (I always love this little accent in a restaurant because I drink a lot of water and hate having to constantly bug someone to get me a refill!)
The menu is really fun, with many tapas, wine flights and other things to share. We wanted something substantial, but also not too heavy. My mom and I decided to share a pizza and a salad. At our waiter's recommendation we got the Cranberry Chicken salad and the Artisan Cured Meat pizza.
Oh my goodness... The Cranberry Chicken salad is sooooo good! I'm in love with it. I wish I could eat it every day. It was so simple, so fresh, but just an amazing combination of yummy things!! The pizza was pretty good too as far as pizzas go, but the salad stole the show. We ate it all and I wish I could have asked for more!
I really loved Purple. The next time I'm in Seattle, I'm definitely going to hit it up and look forward to trying some of their other menu items, along with my cranberry chicken salad of course! :)
Lobster Mac and Cheese is a must try!
Also get the veggie potato chips... soo gooood.
This place does really well, if you show up on a sat evening good luck finding a place to sit. Every time I have been there it has been busy and its tough to find space to sit and chill with a group. However, the service has always been spot on.
I like to sit up on the 2nd level. It provides a good vantage point for people watching in the rest of the bar, and you get to watch the chefs make stuff at their stations.
I have been trying to figure out if the chandeliers are the kerosene candles seen in the rest of the area or if they are just lights. If they are the candles, how do they light them every night?
Well, Purple, we're moving up.
So last time I went here with the boyfriend, we both wound up with some serious GI issues. It took us a long time to gather up the courage to return but we finally got there.
This time, we were told right off the bat that they'd need the table back in two hours. Now, this isn't a problem and I get that coordinating tables with reservations is a serious job and I have total sympathies, but being more or less greeted with that was kind of a downer.
Anyhow, neither of us were terribly hungry and so we decided to split the beef carpaccio with truffle oil and then we each had two half salads - the Mediterranean (him) and the Caesar (me).
Beef carpaccio - really good, really delicate, really late, perfect texture. Truffle oil tends to overpower EVERYTHING for me (personal preference) so I wasn't a huge fan of that, but it wasn't horrible by any means. A good small plate to split.
Can't speak for his salad, but
Caesar salad - kind of weak. I recognized the fact that the dressing WAS fresh made and not bottled (you could taste it) and I also recognized that it was seriously lacking in garlic. As in, it tasted like there was NO garlic whatsoever.
Even worse, the lettuce was wilted and tasted less than fresh. This was a huge disappointment to me - I'd expect so much more out of a salad from this place.
We ordered dessert - basil ice cream with blackberry compote (him) and ricotta creme brulee with raspberry (me). We both opted to add the suggested dessert wine pairing, which was smart. The winner here is the ricotta creme brulee - not overly sweet like some creme brulees and a nice, thick texture with an underlying...cheesiness. In a good way.
SO...we're moving up. Maybe next time it'll be a four star.
The wine bar is neat to look at, the upstairs looks cushy, and it's very trendy in appearance.… Read more »
Good timing. So Purple just turned over their Fall Menu this week.
For an appetizer we ordered the decadent Lobster Mac and Cheese (A+). Probably hands down the best mac and cheese I have EVER eaten. And I am a connoisseur. The perfect match to mac and cheese of course are crab cakes. Which are served with fresh fennel frawns and the thousand island'ish' dressing.
I had a week full of carnivorous slabs, so I wanted and needed something different. I decided to try the cozy sounding Provençal fish stew. It was a great bowl of mussels, clams, and large chunks of white fish in a red pepper rouille. Very generous portion. I truly enjoyed every bit of it, other than it could have been warmer. On a cool night, your soup/stew can never be too warm.
My wife ordered a filet which was tempered perfectly at rare, served with brussels sprouts and a espresso-chestnut butter.
I finished 'er off with a glass of Glenmorangie "Quinta Ruban" scotch and the pumpkin cheesecake. Wife choosing the sweet little coconut bonbons.
The restaurant is open and cozy with a large spiral wine case in the center of the room. Even a great place to grab a small bite and have a couple drinks.
Sat at the bar for lunch and had a great class of wine and snacked on cod and sour dough bread. What a tasty and fun lunch! The decor is mimimalist yet not cold, service was excellent. Prices very reasonable. I would return.
Endless recommendations brought us to the lovely Purple Cafe and Wine Bar. I trully think the name doesnt do it justice. There is nothing Cafe like about this restaurant. But wine bar, it SURE is!!!!
Upon arrival, a grand spiraling staircase around a mountain of wine welcomes you. "Well helloooooo there wine! One glass of each please?"
We were seated behind the staircase which is quite literally in the middle of the restaurant.
We had an excellent bottle of a Cabernet Sauvignon recomended to us by our easy going waiter. Bread and butter were good, which always sets the tone for the meal.
Tapas ordered:
1) syrah poached mission figs with prosciutto di parma $4
2)arancini, fennel roasted tomato sauce and parmigiano-reggiano $4
3) beef carpaccio, quail egg, arugula and truffle oil $6
4) A cheese platter $12 (depends on the cheeses you pick)
5)grilled hanger steak with fries $10
6) grilled sea scallops dried cherries, brown butter, hazelnuts and frisée $11
dried cherries, brown butter, hazelnuts and frisée $11
7) strawberry and prosciutto salad $9
All were extremely tasty. The scallops and skirt steak were our favorites.
Dessert:
1) sea-salt caramels $4 each
2)vanilla bean crème brulee $3.50
3) chocolate dipped vanilla gelato bar, pine nut toffee $4 each
4) saffron peach cobbler, orange-flower water whip $3.50
We ate a lot clearly, but can you believe we werent uncomfortably full.
I really wish they had one in LA. It was so perfect for us three girls. Great atmosphere. Virgin America has some great prices on airfare to Seattle, and this place might tempt me to fly out.
I've been to Purple 6 or 7 times now. Located one block away from Benaroya Hall, it's the perfect place to grab a drink after going to the symphony. Their wine list is extensive, and most are available by the glass, or a smaller 3 oz glass, which is ideal if you're interested in trying more than one glass. I highly recommend trying one of their wine flights - four 3 oz glasses of various wines. My husband and I went last Saturday and ordered the terrior-driven flight called 'Dirty Birds', which had some truly amazing wines.
Apart from their wines, Purple is a very hit-or-miss restaurant. I've had some fantastic food there, I've also had some mediocre food. Last weekend, all of our food was sub-par, especially the wine-poached figs with bacon, which were way too sweet. After trying one of the figs, I couldn't even taste anything other than sweetness for the rest of the evening.
If you enjoy wine, I highly recommend Purple.
When in Seattle, I always make it a point to hit this spot. And seemingly every time, the hostesses are friendly, yet the bartenders are ambivalent at best.
The wine flights are my favorite, paired with the interesting cheeses, and different, eclectic bread offerings. You get four samples of different, yet similar wines and can discover new favorites.
Again, the service can be hit or miss at the bar, but I'll continue to go back, as long as the wine and food's that good.
Okay, I admit the reason I was interested is silly - purple is my color. However, Yelpers seem to love it, so I was all over it.
Met a co-worker there who was also in town for our conference. The place is gorgeous, from the outside and as you walk in. Dark wood, muted lighting, nice ambiance - much more suited to a romantic evening than dinner with a co-worker! But I was eager to try it, so who cares?
We were seated at a table in the window, which was nice. There is a spectacular wine cellar in the center of the restaurant - it's a circular tower reaching to the ceiling, which is at least two stories high. It's gorgeous. You can see all the bottles from your seat, and there is a winding staircase all the way around it. I just wanted to play in there for a while. :)
The menu is very tantalizing - lots to choose from, and a wide variety of prices. I would love to spend a few leisurely hours there with my husband, starting with the tasting menu, taking our time and working our way back to an appetite so we could have entrees. That could b e a lovely afternoon... However, given my current constraints - we went straight to the entrees.
I started by choosing a flight of wines. Not an easy choice - they have some very interesting stuff to choose from. I got the french flight of reds. And as always when my husband is not around, I got the filet mignon (he dislikes beef, I try to honor that and get it rarely when I am with him, often when without him). My dinner companion ordered the NY strip and a diet coke - the poor thing is allergic to wine - the horror!
We spent some time checking out the restaurant in general and I gave her the scoop on Yelp (she had heard of it, but was not familiar - no Yelp AND no wine - so sad...). It really is a beautiful place. Huge interior, two floors of seating, really a place I would frequent if I lived here. Just gorgeous.
The flight arrived in an interesting wrought iron caddy. Pretty small pours, even for a flight, but interestingly, the more a place charges, the smaller the pours get. I have yet to figure that out, but it's standard. It had a small card so I would know which glass was which wine. All four were decent, but one in particular was fantastic - I would buy a bottle. That's why I love flights. :)
Anyway, the food arrived and was beautiful - as my husband loves to say, we eat with our eyes first. The NY strip was served on a long rectangular plate on top of roasted red potatoes. Mine was on a round bowl-ish plate with carrot slices. They were both just beautiful.
But the taste - I am in heaven just thinking about it. Delectable. Melt in your mouth delicious. Seriously - that filet was perfect. I could eat it daily. I want to go order another one right now. I ate as slowly as I reasonably could with someone else at the table so I could savor every bite. Unbelievable. If you like filet mignon and you are anywhere near the Purple Cafe - go. Go now. Do not hesitate. Just go. Immediately.
Oh - my friend enjoyed her dinner as well. Sorry, I was too enamored of my filet to get much detail about that.
So the dessert menu came and I passed - she ordered a brownie. But I did want to try the eiswein I saw shown with one of the desserts.
The brownie turned out to be good, but she said a little dry. She didn't even finish it - I can't fathom that, so there must have been real issues.
My eiswein was truly phenomenal, but the price was an issue. There was some confusion about how the price is shown on the menu, and I honestly would not have ordered it had I known what it cost. I don't mind paying for good wine, but I like to know what I'm paying, and I felt it was a little misleading. And overpriced. But - as I said - absolutely fantastic.
The waitress was great, had fabulous answers to all my questions. I have no complaints about anything other than the prices. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, and if i return to Seattle with my husband, we will be dining at the Purple Cafe for certain.
I would go to the Purple Cafe again without hesitation, but it is a bit overpriced. But - what great restaurant isn't these days?
I highly recommend it. And truly - the filet is fantastic.
I went here for a going away dinner with the girls. It was very busy for a Sunday night, so I would recommend always making a reservation.
There is a tasting menu which ranges from $3-$5, which is an absolute steal. The must tries is the Beef Carpaccio & Brie w/Roasted Grapes. The Goat Cheese & Red Pepper Spread had good flavor, but was very chalky and dry in texture.
For dinner, I chose the Lobster Mac & Cheese (the most popular item on the menu). Very creamy and delicious! A bit on the rich side so I had to box some of it up. What I liked most was there were large chunks of lobster throughout the entire dish. Our server even instructed us on the proper way to reheat the Lobster Mac so it would be just as enjoyable at home.
My friend and I took an over night stay to Seattle, WA. On the day we left we wanted a light lunch after our spa appointment. Our Hotel Concierge recommended we go to Purple Café and Wine bar. I loved the atmosphere. The building was a loft style with an industrial and rustic flare to it. Although as much as I loved wine I didn't sample any wines I was craving an ice tea. I had the pan-roasted chicken, loved every bite so much I almost licked the plate. My friend had the tomato soup and a small grilled chicken salad. They offered bite sized deserts; I love that idea, so clever. I had the red velvet with lavender cream cheese bite size cake and my friend had the vanilla bean crème brulee. I was comfortably full all was delicious. The next time I am in Seattle I will come back and have wine with my mea
I have been to Purple on a few occasions, usually Friday or Saturday evenings. It was always busy, but the service was always quick and friendly. Wine flights are wonderful. Small plates are usually delicious (ceviche, house veggie chips, hamachi crudo, feta walnut spread) but VERY small, about 1 bite. The cocktails are, in my opinion, well-made. I enjoyed the lobster mac-n-cheese (I think it's made with gruyere), although just about anything that cost $22 and came in a tiny bowl may have tasted awesome, you know, to make me feel better about spending the $22.
Anyway......I like the vibe of the place, dimly lit, loveseats upstairs at the bar, the "candle" chandelier, the beautiful tower of wine in the middle of the space. I have to admit, though, I have seen some of the hostesses exhibit some snooty-pretentious-look-you-up-and-down behavior. There are a lot of dressed up, made up, Mr. and Mrs. Fancy Pants patrons, so some might feel the pressure to dress up a little. But I've worn jeans every time I've been there (hello, it's Seattle!) and never felt out of place.
All in all, I think it's a great place to stop for a quick drink/bite before a big night out. I would NOT say it's a place I would be dying to bring an out-of-town friend who wants to see what Seattle is all about.
The wine tower is absolutely amazing - our lovely server offered us a tour of the setup, we walked up the spiral staircase and there's actually a little table for two inside the tower where the sommelier works.
Our table of five shared tasters and appetizers to start - really enjoyed the lemon lime hamachi crudo and the paper thing beef carpaccio. The syrah figs with proscuitto were nice too, but not enough proscuitto to offset the sweet figs. The baked brie was beautifully presented - almost like a baked alaska. My lobster mac n' cheese was great - gruyere based, nice chunks of lobster throughout.
By far the most fun we had was with the wine though - the flights are really a great way to experience and compare labels you've never heard of. Wine from Georgia, who knew? They provide you a little card with the wine flights that you can make notes on as well.
When you go to Purple, be sure you go with friends or family who like to share--because you will want to try many different items off the menu. Purple has a fantastic cheese selection and a great variety of small plates (I loved the house made andouille sausage and the gorgonzola stuffed dates.) The sweet potato fries were perfect--not too greasy or salty. And I can't pass up a restaurant that has salted caramels on the dessert menu.
Purple has a large wine selection, and on Mondays, select bottles are 1/2 price. The atmosphere is on the dark side, but it is comfortable seating. And I can only hope that all of the waitstaff at Purple is as great as our waiter Jon was. He knew the menu and the wine selection, gave honest answers when we asked him a question as to what he liked best on the menu, and was attentive--but not to the point where he was bugging us every 5 minutes to see if we needed anything. I will definitely go to Purple again.
I honestly don't have enough good things to say about Purple! The inside is gorgeous, the wine flights are amazing and ever-changing, and the service is fantastic.
I've been here a few times for date night, and haven't been disappointed. Last time I got the nerve to try a cheese plate, and it was amazing! I can't wait to go back and try some new and interesting cheeses.
The tasting menu is by far my favorite, although it takes quite a few to get me full. I love that it is always changing, and are always well thought out and put-together flavors.
Purple is great for groups or couples...but remember to get a reservation! It saves so much time and trouble. I know they have an online reservation system, but I've always had the best luck just calling the restaurant myself.
I came here for lunch and it was perfect. Awesome wine selection.
Very nice bartender. I like how you can get 1/2 glass of wine.
I did the soup and salad combo. Very good and perfect portion. The soup of the day was a cream potato. But not your typical heavy cream based soup. it was so light and tasty. the apple walnut salad was also very good, just didn't like eating from the square bowl for the salad.
this place was packed for a tuesday lunch. gets the business crowd.
This place is wonderful. It has a great wine list that you can order flights of (and they do good pours), small plates for as little as $4 and a dark and moody atmosphere that is fun for dates and nights out with friends. Everything I tried was delicious and the service was very friendly. I would give it 4.5 stars if possible.
There are both positives and negatives about this place...where I would love to give it a 3.5 but for obvious reasons cannot.
The positives: Beautiful....like everyone else has been saying - WINE bar incredible! Great place for group dining. The Wine Flights amazing concept where the presentation also fantastic. Most importantly the LOBSTER MAC and CHEESE.
Let me talk about the Lobster Mac & Cheese...if I had a place like Purple right aroudn the corner never again would I make mac & cheese. It is a sensational delight. I licked the bowl...yes you heard that right!
As for the Negatives:
Flights - Had two different ones..and the WINE just wasnt that impressive. I am a wine snob and thought they were just were not good. Especially in a city that is surrounded by winary's.
Scallops - first time i have ever left one sitting on the plate. It jsut wasnt good either!
The pizza I heard is ok...the hamburger was tasty and the cobb salad a disgrase.
Therefore my recommendation:
Mac and Cheese
Cheese Plate
Go with a large group for entertaining
Do not go if you are looking for the best wine or food of your life
This Dallasite came here with two local Seattleites who recommended Purple for a very savory meal and fun ambiance. One had specifically gone for a run just so he could indulge.
First impression, loved the floor to ceiling windows and design of the space. This ain't your mother's Cafe Nervosa.
Wrought iron, sconces, and roomy seating. The table and chairs are "big", or maybe I'm just "small", but it reminded me of a museum exhibit I attended where the table/chairs were out of proportion with the human body. Still, very roomy and spacious.
I had the half version of the Mediterranean salad. Quick note? Always appreciate tapas cafes that live up to the "tapas" name and give *you guessed it* tapas sized portion of salads. The last thing you want to be is the healthy heifer at the table gorging on a salad the size of your head while everyone else is eating bite sized delicacies. Back to the actual salad. Delicious. The sheep's feta cheese was creamy and tangy, and was generous in the salad. This fresh addition made the salad (rounded out with chickpeas, almonds, red onions, grape tomatoes) above par in my opinion.
My companions had scallops, lamb with couscous, fig and gorgonzola pizza, and some sort of mini frozen chocolate truffle dessert type thing. Reviews were as followed: Scallops looked so good I had to hide my fork so I wouldn't eat off my companions plate, and he said they were delicious. Lamb with couscous was "flavorful" and looked like it was melting off the bone it was so tender. Gorgonzola fig pizza looked questionable - but was reported to be very tasty with the contrast of sweet and salty elements. The dessert I couldn't even look at ( and ended up sitting on my hands) once these tiny morsels of sin were served . All the better, as my companion gave rave reviews.
As a side note, now that I know the desserts are so forgiving and ALSO tapas sized, I would definitely indulge in one or thirteen on a future visit to Seattle, but please don't tell my treadmill.
so I decided to write reviews on this lazy saturday afternoon....
Great risottos, Great caprese, Great lamb chops, Great Wine, Great cheese, Great truffles.. some of the stuff I tried at the Purple.
Love the ambience this place creats with all window walls, the cool looking wine staircase, the tables chairs and the linen holding thing that makes me think of..Lord and the Ring...LOL It can go any direction, with friends very casual, with lovers very romantic, I even brought my VP for a business lunch and he loved the place.
Maybe some music.. on the second level? and I think you will kick ass~! ;)
See or be seen...or SCENE, rather. And what a scene it was. (not really my scene, though)
We originally had a party of 10 for dinner...which grew to 13 and they were super accommodating, which was a plus. Very friendly staff, very helpful when it came to food & wine suggestions.
Naturally I started off w/ a giant glass of Woodward Canyon Cab. $12.50/glass. Hey, if I'm gonna go, I might as well go big, right?
Three of us split a bottle of malbec next, along w/ the following tapas:
Cheese plate (of course)
Goat cheese salad
Another tasty salad
Sauteed prawns
Mini steak frites
Mini cheesecakes
err...some other appetizers, but I can't remember what
Yeah, we ate a lot. And it was good. AND not that badly priced - for the three of us the bill came to $150.
It's a lovely space - dark wood, candles, super heavy iron chairs, and a giant wine case smack dab in the middle of the restaurant.
I would contemplate going back - maybe for happy hour.
What a wine bar! With the huge wine case and the stairs that wrap around it, pretty impressive! It definitely sets the tone that this is a serious wine bar. Serves small plates that will keep you wanting more. One thing is if you don't like your rack of lamb rare ask them to put it in the broiler for 2 more minutes. Try "La Planta" if you like syrahs or full bodied cabs. I just want to give a shout out to the Sommelier "Chris" and to 2 of the bartenders "Noel" & Jim that is now at the Bellevue location. They gave great suggestions to make my visit a good one. Thanks Again!
We went here for our 12th wedding anniversary. We decided to have tapas and a wine flight. We choice the crisp and clean, four 2.5oz glasses of wines. We also had pecorino and balaerina cheese, almonds, olives, fig jam platter. We tried two tappas plates: the shrimp cocktail and the roasted pork arugula rolls. We liked everything. The shrimp cocktail was not shrimp cocktail, it was just OK. The tappas were very small and at $6 each a little expensive. The cheese slices were a good size we even brought a wedge of cheese home. The wine flight $16 about the price of two glasses of wine. Very taste & interesting selections. It was an expensive snack but still overall a good experience.
Great food, great service, great ambiance, and they're open late on Sundays. What more could you want:, really? And my favorite color is purple, so that clinches it.
I had the apple, walnut and stilton cheese salad, with a glass of some French white wine suggested by the server. Both were excellent. And the salt caramels are to die for, as just about everyone else has already said.
My last experience at purple may have ruined it for me. This was my first visit to the downtown location, but I have been to the Kirkland Purple a handful of times.
We went in for an engagement party, where we had a semi large party and brought in a few of our own decorations for the table which was confirmed to be okay by the hostess who made our reservation.
Everything was going great until our server showed up, she seemed to hate her job. She was rude, provided minimal if any service, and bashed our decorations. We were floored! The restaruant itself is gorgeous, and from what I knew of the Kirkland location, they had better service than this.
The food was alright, but even though we all ordered at the same time our dishes arrived in 30 minute intervals, which was a tad awkward... perhaps our waitress did this to spite us since she seemed to despise the whole group!
Although I probably would return for dinner, I would not recommend coming in with a large party and expecting good service.
The wait on a Saturday night was insane. We called, and they told us it'd be a couple of hours, but we decided to walk in anyway and take our chances at the bar/lounge. There's an extended area upstairs with lounge seating and also a bar that looks right into the food prep area. We were lucky to score 4 seats up here, where the full menu is served. Plus, I love watching the knife skills and preparation in the kitchen.
The space is very modern and dimly lit, which makes it a bit hard to see your food, but I guess it contributes to the ambiance. We ordered a bottle of cabernet sauvignon - they have a huge wine selection, and if you bring a wine not offered on their list, the first bottle is free corkage! They also have some innovative wine cocktails.. it's been a while since I've seen a French75!
We started with some tastes - a red pepper goat cheese spread, which was not extraordinary. The figs and proscuitto was mostly figs. The salmon was a bit bitter and grilled, so it lacked the sear I like. The carpaccio was smoothed out nicely but it really was just a taste. The hamachi crudo was a bit fishy. The smoked salmon was good, and I really liked the pickled cucumber. Overall, the tastes were a bit underwhelming, but they range from $4-6, so you can try a nice variety.
For cheeses, the pecorino wasn't as sharp was I'd hoped, but the smoky blue was so good. It was perfect paired with the crackers and the sweet fig compote.
The gorgonzola and fig pizza had a nice thin and chewy crust, but the cheese flavor didn't come out strong enough.
The pork chop was perfectly tender. I didn't care too much for the accompanying vegetables, but the pork was flavored very well.
My favorite was the purple chopped salad. It was probably one of the best salads I've had in a long time. The chicken portion is super generous, the size to which they chopped the ingredients was perfect to mix all the flavors and textures. It was tossed well, and I didn't even need to add dressing to it. I could seriously eat this every day - with the blue cheese, avacado, bacon, and red peppers, I was in love with this salad and am still raving about it.
It's a very hip place, and even in the middle of the afternoon, it's filled up. Definitely try for some bar/lounge seating. I'd stick to the large plates and the salads. Go for some flights or tastes of wines to get the full experience of the wine bar.
I'd like to give a pat on the back to whoever designed this restaurant because the ambiance is amazing!! A giant column of wine bottles with a winding staircase soars to the 3-story lofted ceiling that looks like metal basket-weave.
That being said- great selection of wines and a great menu- especially the cheeses!
OH.MY.GOSH.
i cannot say enough about this place. I freakin loved it!! I doesnt get much better than this for me.. Huge Wine tower in the middle of the restaurant with a spiral staircase around it.. dim lights set "the mood" . A small novel of wines to choose from, list upon list of delicious food to drool over, and innovative dersert list to boot! Knowledgeable staff to help you make your selections.. i'd reccommend going with a variety of 3-4 different appys and 2 deserts between 2 people. I really enjoyed trying the different food and pairing it with yummy wine and i didnt break the bank!! All around great place, i wish we had one of these in vancouver!!
I have been to the Purple Cafe and Wine Bar a few times and I have always had great service, great food, and best of all, great wine. I love the wine selection at Purple and I love how the wine is stored in the spiral wine case. If you are undecided on what to order, you must try the Lobster Mac & Cheese. I am a very picky eater but I knew once I saw that they had Mac & Cheese I knew I would love it. Sure enough, it was delicious. You can also pair your food with a flight of wine. There are tons to choose from. You can also order yummy appetizers. Purple is a great place for a date, for a small group, or for a get together with friends.
There are three good reasons to visit Purple:
1) The sweet potato fries that accompany their sandwiches. TIP: always opt out of the salad to replace with these fries.
2) The extensive wine list that can overwhelm but behold, the knowledgeable staff is there to help you choose one appropriate for your dish.
3) The versatility of the restaurant that makes it appropriate for celebrations, happy hours, get-togethers and even romantic nights.
NOTE: I said no cheese on my lamb burger last time, but alas, they piled it on anyway and I was left with messy pants and a stained shirt. So be it.
I went to Purple for lunch. Had a very nice Pinot Noir. Great wine selection. I went with a carrot ginger soup, which was really good, and the steak and potatoes for my main course. Overall, a good place for lunch or dinner. I wasn't blown away, but will definitely give it another chance.
Normally, the tasting menu is something that someone with food allergies has to forget about entirely. Stupid bottom-dwelling shellfish effing up everything. What I loved about Purple was that if you ordered the tasting menu they just paired a wine with each of your food choices. So few places do this and for that alone they are awesome.
The setup was really impressive with floor to ceiling wine racks and glass walls that look beautiful upon the approach of the building with the interior lights on, like a pretty purple lantern. Although the cavernous space left something to be desired in the way of intimacy. This same quality made it great for people-watching though so I'm torn. Bring a few friends here and have some small bites with wine perfectly paired to complement them.
this place has the best Lobster Mac and Cheese in the world
I can continue Hyping up the greatness of it and it still worth every bite!
the entrees are ok but the word on the street from my meateating friends says that the pork chop and the lamb chop is out of this world!
By far my favorite restaurant from my recent trip to Seattle. It was the only place we went to where each dish was consistently good. My loverman and I had planned on going all out here for dinner but we were completely stuffed from lunch and neither of us wanted to eat for a while.
At about 10, he finally got hungry so we figured we would get dressed up and go. Our hotel was only a block away so it was a quick walk. We called to make reservations and the lady who answered the phone told us they had "tons of room." That did not sound good since it was a Friday night. Haha.
We ordered four items from their tasting bar.
Bread & Butter: The butter is kind of gross and doesn't taste like much. Not worth the calories. Save the bread to soak up all the sauces that come with your dish. Mmm.
roasted garlic-white bean spread, crostini and herb pesto: There is A LOT of spread. This is where the extra bread comes in. Haha. It came with two crostinis. Pretty good.
dungeness crab salad, avocado and lemon aioli: The crab tasted really fresh. The salad was all in tower formation. Haha. It was light and delicious. Also good on bread. (Can you tell I love bread? Haha)
gorgonzola stuffed dates, pine nuts and saba: My loverman wanted this and it sounded gross to me. I couldn't remember if I hated dates or not but I came to the conclusion that it was figs that I hated and that I was confusing it with dates. It turns out dates were the thing that i didn't like but this dish was sooo good! It came with four stuffed dates. I couldn't taste the Gorgonzola but the dish overall was very sweet. We ended up treating it like a dessert dish.
peppadew peppers and smoked salmon mousse: I wanted this dish and my loverman didn't want it. Haha. The salmon mousse sounded pretty good to me. The dish was not what I was expecting. It was like a flavor explosion in my mouth. There were three little red peppers stuffed with the salmon mousse. I couldn't taste the salmon very well actually and it kind of tasted like pizza. It was amazing though! This was my favorite dish from the night. Please order it! You won't be disappointed.
Service was great but my loverman noted that it kind of seemed like we were in a gay bar. I didn't notice anything of that sort though. Haha.
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Neighborhood: Downtown
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Neighborhood: Downtown
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Category: American (New)
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