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Categories: Beer, Wine & Spirits, Restaurants [Edit]
14559 Woodinville-Redmond Rd NEWe now have two different 3 course menu options for $25 and $35 available every night of the week with optional $15 wine pairing.
Tue-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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We really enjoyed the dining at the Purple Wine Cafe. The first time we went my wife had the Pre-Fix which she really enjoyed. She really enjoys her wine.
The second time we went the Pre-Fix was removed from the menu and it seemed the food wasn't as good. I had the same meal as the first time and didn't seem to be as good as I remembered.
I like that they indoor and outdoor dining. We ate outside the first time we went because it was very warm the night we went.
The staff was really nice and helpful.
I was back in Seattle last week with limited time, and hit the original Purple Cafe again for lunch. They never disappoint.
There are some new additions to the menu and I tried a new salad foregoing my all-time favorite chopped salad. The Roasted Peach and Prosciutto was incredible and has a very good "summer feel". In other words, after you eat the salad, you still feel like you can go to the beach. But, you're in Seattle, get a grip!
Great service and wonderful food! I'll be back!
This great bistro has incredible food! Their salad is so good that when they opened, I was able to… Read more »
Scene: Hot, and I mean hot, sunny day in Seattle. Afternoon running around and shopping. Time to stop for late lunch/early dinner. Too hot to want anything heavy. There across the road? Purple Cafe and Wine Bar.
Forward two hours later: Two happy girls who have had a nice flight of wine (four small glasses under the cool and crisp category) and have enjoyed the meze plate (four spreads with assorted crackers and flat bread) with a smile on their faces and ready to face the heat again.
My first time here, but my friend swore by the place. Small, but nice with both indoor and outdoor seating (like you need to ask where we were, hello, air conditioning). Nice menu, nice wine selection, and no one to hurry us up. Great way to sit back and enjoy the afternoon.
We will be back!
Came here after a long day of babysitting my 18 month-old niece, last year. My guy and I enjoyed flights of red, and ended up buying a bottle of one of the blends... some Bryan Carter blend that was so smooth! We didn't eat food... just drank. The server was knowledgeable not only of local wines but wine in general, and was pleasant and conversational without being an intrusion. Next time I go back to visit my brother and his family, I'd like to eat here.
My favorite of the Purple chain (Bellevue, Kirkland & Seattle). Nice flight offerings, I am a mac & cheese junkie and it is quite good. Specials change quite a bit and don't disappoint, good selection of desserts and large wine selection with knowledgeable staff.
We have going to this original Purple in Woodinville since it opened. I remember celebrating my Friend Jay's B-day there, and there was barely enough room for 6 of us. I am so proud of how this place has blossomed . Always great service, excellent food and a ton of wines by the glass. Love the lobster mac and cheese, tomato soup, and all the pizza's are wonderful. Everything is good. Well done Purple.
Had a great dinner for my wife's birthday. We each had the 3 course prefix with the wine pairing flight. The price was great and the food was amazing. Good crowd for a Thursday night and service was awesome.
We enjoyed our anniversary dinner at Purple (Woodinville) before catching a show down the street at Chateau St. Michelle. Do not judge a book by its cover. For me, the "cover" was its location in a rural strip mall and how large and crowded it was. These factors belie the rewarding wining and dining experience waiting for you and your guests. We're already planning our return trip. Our server (and I'm sorry I can't remember her name, because she deserves major props) was a walking encyclopedia of wine and she was a true professional, everything you want in a waitperson.
One thing that was a small issue for me, but arguably a great problem to have, was the amount of menu items. They could offer a third of the choices and it would still be enough variety to please a wide range of palettes.
Restaurants like Purple Cafe really need to be located closer to where we all live.
From its humble perch near the back of a strip mall, you wouldn't think much of the place, but step inside the cozy, yet spacious wine bar and restaurant and you'll find yourself trying to get seated as quickly as possible. While I imagine the ambiance is even better in the evenings over a bottle of wine and a nice fire, our group lunch on Saturday was wonderful. Many of us ordered a half sandwich, half soup. I ordered the BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato) sandwich and was impressed with the thick slab bacon and delicious ciabatta style bread. I wish I was hungrier because I would have ordered the lobster mac and cheese. I did steal a couple of forkfuls from my friend and lusted heavily after the dish each time someone took a bite from it.
This location can't be beat if you're out wine tasting for the day. Several wineries are virtually within a stone throw's distance from Purple Cafe so it would be perfect for a lunch before wine tasting or a luxurious dinner after a long day spent sipping slurping grape juice in the garden variety of tasting rooms that dot this hamlet.
Had lunch here: The tomato basil soup was uninspired and I would have thought it was Campbell's best except the ingredients tasted quite fresh (and the fresh basil saved it). The chicken and mozzarella with avocado pizza was tasty and was made with quality ingredients, but the crust lacked crispiness and was unusally doughy for being so thin.
Reasonable prices for an upscale eatery.
There are a few Purple locations and in my experience this one is not the best. Sure I don't have to pay for parking, but when there is nowhere to park it takes away from that perk.
The service was off. It took the waitress nearly 20 minutes to get me my first glass of wine and longer to take our order. Granted it was the first date I've had with my wife since our son was born 3 months ago, so I didn't mind being out of the house and getting a chance to actually talk.
The food was ok - nothing stellar. My pork was a little tough and my panna cotta had clearly been sitting in the fridge for a little while, it had ice crystals on it.
Overall its a good place to take in a sip of good wine with friends, but if you're a foodie you may be disappointed.
Purple Cafe is my guilty pleasure...why? Well, I'm a student...I can't afford this kind of food!! But...it's such great food...I can never stay away for long!
The one I'm talking about in particular is the one in Woodinville by Chateau St. Michelle. The only other location I've been to is the one in Kirkland (which was certainly below expectations), and this one far outshines it.
It's a nice modern-yet-cozy kind of place, set aglow with gently flickering tealights adorning the walls and tables, creating a relaxing, intimate ambience and setting the perfect tone for your meal.
And what a meal! I tend to order a lot of cheese, a lot of different appetizers, either the meatloaf or the chicken marsala (or any particularly intriguing specials), with one of the fabulous seasonal desserts. What makes the food stand out is the dedication to the food itself. It is expertly prepared...I mean whoever puts the menu together is a genius, the ingredients are the best and freshest available so the flavor really comes through. If I had to choose between having a boyfriend and eating this food, I would choose the food. This IS my romantic life.
Many parts of the menu change often depending on the season and availability, so it's difficult to make a recommendation--but trust me, you will be in good hands no matter what you decide on. The servers are very knowledgeable so I will often ask them what they think I should order--they know a lot about the cheese and wine and they know what they are talking about.
The only thing that strains my relationship with Purple is how popular the place is! MAKE A RESERVATION. I always get so frustrated with myself when I don't and I can't get in. I'm glad that they everyone agrees they are delicious, but let's not crowd the loft too much!
By the way, that's my favorite part--the loft. Go up there for your after-dinner drinks and desserts for sure, and relax in the comfy chairs.
I am taking one star off because I wish the sister locations would follow the Woodinville example.
I made the mistake of going to the Kirkland location which I will never make again. Not only was the service abysmal (the server seemed like she was deliberately avoiding us the entire two hours we were there), they served us wine that had definitely already been opened and sitting out...gross! The ambiance was totally different also...well, I suppose there's no place like home.
So, congrats! Woodinville Purple, my heart belongs to you and with you it shall stay! I shall never roam to Kirkland again...such a fool I was!
Bacon wrapped scallops served in a huckleberry port sauce make me drool.
The artisan cheese flight is what dreams are made of.
I used to go to this place back when it was just a sandwich cafe. They underwent a remodel and brought in a wall-0-wine a few years ago.
I don't really get the concrete tables but the lighting and linen napkins soften it all up.
The menu does not disappoint. A lovely place to have dinner.
Great food and service every time. They also allow will waive the corkage fee on 1 bottle of wine.
My review may be a little biased because I was super sick when I came here...at a point where nothing could really stay down.
That being said, I loved the decor of the restaurant with the wine everywhere and the cool settings of the tables.
I ended up having some kind of salad with chicken, nuts and cranberries, I believe. It was pretty good...considering I couldn't even think about stomaching food at the time.
I wish I had been able to taste some of the wines because they seemed to have a great selection!
I would definitely like to try another location of this restaurant while not morning-sickness like. (No, I wasn't pregnant...although I felt like it).
A good bottle of a Spanish red for $12? Heck yes. If you go on a Sunday, all the wine that is $50 and under is half off. Awesome. After doing some wine tasting and not eating all day, (oops) we were starving. So we headed here after some nice pours from Brian Carter Cellars.
We started out with a meze plate that was tasty, perhaps a tad too salty. But the flank steak philly? Fo get about it. So awesome. I had it before at the Kirkland location and was glad I got it again. We didn't finish the bottle of wine so they corked it and brown bagged it to take home. YES! It was a great meal, good service and I will come back on Sundays faithfully for good wine and food after a lazy Sunday wine tasting.
The purple cafe is one of my regular haunts. We tend to go here when we want a nice meal, but don't want to spend a lot. I think they try really hard to be upscale, but they really are a casual dinning restaurant.
I really have enjoyed just about every item on the menu. You must try the sweet potato fries. The wine list is solid and there is a great selection of brews as well. Very local.
You must get the boucheron Goat cheese. It is a baked goat cheese with a champagne caramel sauce that is the best combination of sweet and savory.
I have had a lot of friends have kids lately and I like to bring a meal for the new parents. I have been getting the meatloaf and bringing it. Great comfort food!
Just so you are aware... Seating can be difficult.
My least favorite of the three Purple restaurants that I've been to. Why, you ask? Hell, even if you didn't ask, here's why:
Strip mall.
Food is good and the wine selection is, obviously, great. The thing that stops me from going back is that there are great views of wineries and farmland all around this strip mall. The unfortunate layout of the restaurant leaves much to be desired, as does the dearth of windows/natural light/views.
I have eaten at the Seattle and Woodinville restaurants. I enjoyed them both. The menu in Woodinville has fewer small plates than Seattle but the food quality is similar. I like that they are a wine friendly restaurant and there were no issues with bringing our own bottles on either occasion.
The service at both spots was very attentive and friendly. Jamie at the Woodinville location provided some of the best service I have ever had at a restaurant anywhere.
Skip their pizzas. Have a cheese plate. Have the lobster mac and cheese. Have any of the other interesting small plate offerings they have.
After spending all afternoon wine tasting we decided what better way to end the afternoon than a bite to eat and more wine at Purple. We were seated up stairs over looking the restaurant and the seating/table set up is the same as downtown, the table and 100 lb chairs are the same as downtown, along with the napkin rings and bread basket, etc... even the ladies room were similar.
Anyways we started with the bucheron goat cheese how anyone could come here and not want to start with this I have no idea it's pure yummy-ness. I decided on the blackened prawn salad, it sounded wonderful with romaine hearts, avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onion, corn, cotija cheese and a creamy poblano dressing and let me tell you it was, it hit the spot. There was also a Caesar salad ordered and enjoyed along with a margherita pizza, we were all happy wine drinking girls. Oh and the wine how could I forget the wine we went with the Bulletin Place shiraz and for $20 a bottle it was delicious steal or maybe we were too buzzed to realize anything different. Anyways it was a lovely way to end our afternoon of wine tasting and filled our tummies with more yummy wine.
I forgot to add that the patio outside is extremely dog friendly, while walking through the tables I think I past three cuties tied to their owners chairs enjoying Purple as well.
Just as perfect as the Kirkland location.
I have never had to wait here - and I find it to be a great place to stop for an after work glass of wine.
Its fun to go with one person or with a big group!
The food is excellent and made with fresh ingredients.
This Cafe is located "Kitty-corner" from the Hollywood Schoolhouse, and directed across the street from the Woodinville location of "Stupid Prices".
If you blink when you pass it, you might miss it!
This is one of our favorite date night places if we ever get a date again. Definitely make reservations if you can and yes parking can be tight but try the lobster mac & cheese and you'll forget all about that.
And despite the confusing (and conflicting) information on the website and http://opentable.com, this location DOES take reservations for any time for any number of people.
This is a great place. There are now 3 Purple restaurants, in Kirkland, Woodinville and Seattle. I have never been to the new Seattle location, but Woodinville is superb and Kirkland is inconsistent. We live 1/2 mile from the Kirkland location and often drive to Woodinville for the consistently great food.
The ambiance is fantastic, and the outdoor seating is really lovely. The service is great. Parking is usually not a problem.
So what to order? We love the melted goat cheese & cherry appetizer (melted cheese on a cracker... mmm...), the apple, walnut & stilton salad, and all sorts of entrees. The food is really great here, with a wonderfully inventive menu. Lobster mac & cheese? Excellent and maybe not quite what you'd expect.
Note I'll do a separate review for Kirkland which will only get 4 stars.
Color me shocked: A yummy place on the Eastside. Probably one of the better mid-to-high-end places I've eaten at in the Seattle area, period.
First off: Ambiance. Casual, but trendy. It is a wine bar, so trendy is assumed. But not crazy-loud, which I appreciated. It was full on a Sunday, but we did have a reservation.
Second: Value. Very surprised by this. Pretty much every higher-end place we've been to in the Seattle area has been REALLY pricey. And even still, the food's mediocre. Last night, any bottle of wine under $50 was half-off. And that's a damned good deal, although my favorite wines were regrettably over $50.
Also, the prix fixe menu is excellent. I got three courses with wine pairings for $40.
Food: I got the mixed green salad with walnuts and stilton cheese. Very tasty. For my entree, I got the scallop and shrimp skewers with the polenta cake and braised spinach. This was pretty good. The fish could have used a little somethin' somethin' in the sauce department. Particularly the shrimp -- it was a little dry. The scallops were great, though -- it's so easy to !@#$ up scallops. And the polenta cake was great.
Dessert: If you read my previous posts you'll see that I'm a pain in the ass about dessert. But I'll go back to Purple on that basis alone: I got the peanut fudge torte...sublime. I nearly wept. Dense, chocolatey in a pool of caramel sauce. I'm getting teary just thinking about it.
Wine: I was pretty happy with the pairings. They went with whites, which was refreshing and complemented the dishes. They didn't skimp, either. However, the madeira they served with the torte was not that great. Way too sweet.
All in all, though -- pleasantly surprised. Will definitely be back to sample more from their extensive menu.
We got a couple of Purple gift cards as wedding presents and last night seemed the perfect night to use them. And it so was because every Sunday the have 1/2 off any bottle $50.00 or under!!!
So we got a really nice Bordeaux and some eats. I had the Scallop and Prawn skewers, the scallops were YUMMY, but the prawns were a little over cooked. My husband had the Lobster Mac 'n' Cheese which he loved but couldn't finish because we both had gorged on the real gem of the evening the Flank Steak skewer, it was cooked well, had just the right amount of seasoning and totally satisfied my red meat fix.
As a bonus our waitress was awesome, friendly, funny and fast! I may be there every Sunday evening from now on.
Used to be better - Now it has gone waaaaaaaaay downhill. The wine is ok, but really marked up (I used to be in the biz so I know) - you expect a 200% markup, not more than that. Anyway, the food used to be great and now for some reason they are changing offerings and recipe's - even on their pizza. The Margarita Pizza we ordered as an appetizer didn't have fresh tomatoes, nor fresh basil. If I want canned I can buy a CPK frozen pizza, stay home and have some Zin Alley Zinfandel. Hard to recommend it.
This is my new favorite restaurant. I love wine and I love tasting it. My group was very happy to learn about the Sunday 1/2 priced bottles. We sampled a flight of sweet white wine and enjoyed them all. Their food is not to be overlooked, however. The meze starter is a great choice, as are the salads, pizzas and seafood. We ordered the peanut butter chocolate mousse for dessert and it was so freaking good I wanted to lick the dish. Our waitress was very nice, attentive and didn't hover. The dining room is warm and inviting. I really like the huge garage doors that open up to the patio. I also adore the long, rustic bar and the comfy loft space upstairs. This restaurant makes me want to throw a party, for no particular reason at all.
I ate here about a month ago. The food is pricey and so is the wine, but that didn't bother me. I decided to try their special that night which was a halibut dish that promised an orange bechamel sauce. The fish was cooked to perfection and the veggies were done well and crisp. However there was nary a flavor of orange in the sauce. Still, the meal was good and the wine recommended for my dining partner was a good pairing. The wine I chose for my meal was better. They did serve healthy portions of both wine and food.
My wife and I wend here for Sunday lunch. After the reviews we had great expectations. The menu looked a bit pricey, but we decided to try it for lunch anyway. We had to make pizzas a bit later, so we didn't come here for wine, only food.
I had the Grilled Chicken Sandwich and my wife had the Cranberry Chicken salad. The Grilled Chicken Sandwich came with side mixed greens with herb vinaigrette. the greens were fresh and tasty. The Sandwich was made with a Sourdough French bread, which was good, but other than that, the McDonalds grilled chicken club is a tastier sandwich. The red onion, smear of avocado, provolone and roasted garlic chive aioli did not really add much to it. OK, the Sandwich was 1/3 larger and their bacon was better than McDonalds, but the sandwich was a bit on the dry side, and at 11 dollars I expected a bit more. It filled me up, and I admit that the ambiance was better than McDs, but at that price something should be.
My wifes full salad was tasty and it filled her up. She enjoyed it, with the grilled chicken, bacon, celery, scallions, almonds, apples, dried cranberries, parmesan with a cranberry dijon vinaigrette, though she commented that the cranberries were a bit too sweet. The comment I had on it was there was a lot of apple and celery at the expense of the chicken, bacon and almonds. The chicken seemed grilled without any spices or flavorings, which is probably better in our case as my wife is a bit sensitive to salt.
All in all, OK, but the food was not up to our expectations. The staff, on the other hand, were friendly and helpful. That is the reason they get 3 stars, overall - the staff should get a solid 5 stars.
One of my all time favorite restaurants in Seattle. So they are a little posh, I can dig posh because I am posh. And I drink my posh Dry Soda, while I eat my posh bread. Every dish here is cooked almost perfectly, I am never disappointed and I usually end up chatting away the night with my boyfriend by candlelight.
Everything but the main course was outstanding (the ahi - bleh!). Excellent cheese course and the peanut butter mousse... Damn, can I swim in the stuff??? I'm going back just for two desserts.
Great place for a small get together. Great apps, and good wine choices. I like the Woodinville one the best of all. Try the cheese and wine flight!!! That is good stuff!!
Once a nice place to stop by they have lost their quality control. The kitchen has issues getting orders out on time and what they produce is simply mediocre crap. When the best you can say is the cheese sandwiches and tomato soup is a nice starter you know you're in trouble. It used to be a great close by neighborhood location with some decent wine events - now it's a mess.
I loved my dinner and service at purple tonight. My boyfriend and I went there for a casual anniversary dinner and it was perfect. the halibut entree was amazing. My compliments to the chef.
Following a recommendation from a local spa in the area, my husband and I had lunch at this Purple Cafe & Wine Bar location about 2 years ago. We started with the cheese plate and it was fantastic. I tried the crab cakes with a simple salad that was dressed to perfection. The crab cakes were the best I've ever had and I've never had any as good ever since.
This place is above and beyond amazing! Hands down, my favorite place to get a glass of wine with dinner, followed by a gourmet and unique desert. Menu changes often (daily?) and I have yet to be disappointed by their selection. Desert Menu, Wine By the Glass and Special change, allowing the place to stay fresh and always have something new to offer their guests! It's golden. Gourmet food and wines at an affordable price.
We tried to eat at this cafe and we were told that there was a 45-60 minute wait. So.... if you ever manage to get there when the wait's not too long, maybe the food will be good.
I met 6 friends here on a Sunday for brunch and we all had incredible breakfast omelets filled with herbs and different types of cheese and meats (vegetarian options available too). Too early for wine but Memosas all around for everyone!
First, an anecdote: One of our party was intelligent enough to call our name in ahead of us and was told we wouldn't be seated until 8:30 (this was around 7:30)... oh well...
However, we were miraculously seated immediately upon our arrival at about 7:50! Bonus! Even with only 3 out of our party of 4! Who knows if this was just a fluke, but we were happy campers at that point.
At any rate, I've only been twice, once for lunch and then last night for dinner, but I've been pretty impressed on each occasion.
Lunch was their soup and/or sandwich and/or salad combo; I got a BLTA and some kind of yummy chicken and artichoke soup... drool... and just for kicks, a flight of wine... lots of fun!
For dinner I got a little bolder and went with the chicken marsala... they maybe could have deleted about a quarter of the salt, but I still ate the whole thing. Definitely comfort food with plenty of mushroom-y sauce, some sour cream-topped mashed potatoes, and a neat mix of different colored french beans.
Tittarelli Malbec, Argentina, was also lovely and not ridiculously expensive at $25 for the bottle. (was kicking myself, though, because Sundays are 1/2 price bottles!)
My companions were all happy with their sandwiches, which come with a nice looking salad or tempura-minus-the-breading-reminiscent sweet potato fries for $3 more.
For some reason I also love the fact that our server could pour beverages while speaking, and didn't drip water/wine all over the table... better than I can do!
We all joined the clean plate club at this place! Highly recommended.
I took a date here last Friday night and we both had a wonderful time. I made a reservation and though we arrived on time our table wasn't quite ready yet. The couple sitting there were sipping their wine veeeeerrrrry slllloooowwwwly. But you know what? That's what a place like this should be about! There wasn't much of a waiting area, so that was a little uncomfortable. But the people at the host counter treated us well, offered us a glass of wine and told jokes. Such as "I can go over to that table and drop a wine glass, that might get them to leave!" Of course, they were joking. It definitely made us laugh.
We shared the "Crisp and Light" wine flight which was $15. It gives you 4 2.5 ounce tastes of 4 different wines. All were very tasty.
My date had the Chicken Marsala which included a side of mashed potatoes. She said it was really good, though I didn't get to try it. She didn't offer. :(
But my food was excellent, so I forgave her. I ordered off the appetizer menu, basically because it was exactly what I wanted (even if my date though it was weird). I had the Grilled Cheese Crostini. It was about 8 little grilled crostini sandwiches (I believe with a mix of jack cheese and cheddar in the middle?) served with a cup of tomato basil soup. Perfect for dipping! That with the wine, it was like a fancy version of comfort food.
On a nice day, the outdoor seeting looks inviting, except that it basically just looks out into the parking lot. A shame really, as there are some really beautiful views in Woodinville.
I would definitely recomend this place. I'll be going back.
*Daily $5.00 Happy Hour…
Neighborhood: Wedgwood/View Ridge
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Bothell, WA
Woodinville, WA
Category: American (New)
Woodinville, WA
Category: Restaurants
Kirkland, WA
Category: Restaurants
Woodinville, WA
Category: Hotels
Kirkland, WA
Category: Wine Bars
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