The Purple Pig

Lovely restaurant with delicious food. I loved how each item in the menu had a recommended wine pairing guideline. The Crispy Pigs Ear is an absolute must. The kale was perfectly flaky and crispy. **tip: ask for less salt as it was slightly on the saltier side** Mushrooms 3 Ways was amazing too. If you love mushrooms, this dish will not disappoint!! However, the Pork Shoulder was quite disappointing. I think the first two dishes definitely increased our expectations but the pork shoulder just missed the mark all together. We got a pork dish because of the name of the restaurant… but it was just underwhelming. The meat was very salty and it wasn’t warm for every bite. But other than that, we had a lovely time and the other two dishes really made up for it.

Very delicious restaurant. We sat at the kitchen counter and saw the cooks which was a fun experience. The staff was knowledgeable and helpful. We ordered mussels, pork ribs, and a goat cheese salad. Every item was delicious in it's own way. If recommend everyone getting some of those ribs! We will definitely make sure to come back here in the near future!

This was an excellent choice for a coworker and I. We would completely come again to try more things on the menu. Excellent by glass wine menu. Bone marrow is well executed. Beets as the salad dish complemented well by the pistachios and goat cheese foam. The octopus with grilled vegetables was very well done. Foodies will be very at home here. We got chef bar seating and were fascinated what the cooks were making.

We were on a day trip in Chicago and at the last minute decided to attempt a visit to The Purple Pig. Open seating was sparse at the tables but the bar had room. The two bartenders were excellent. They didn't miss a thing. Dirty dishes vanished and drinks stayed full. The cocktails were also made well but the menu options were a tad uninspiring. The menu seemed a bit sporadic at time, but everything we ordered was amazing. We tried the bone marrow spread, Spanish Octopus, pork belly, and the chocolate espresso cheesecake. The entire meal was amazing, but the pork belly was on a different level. The pork and carrots were tossed in a ginger glaze that the Greek gods day dream of. The pork melted in your mouth. This dish should have poems and songs written about it. Overall, the experience was amazing. I felt like the value of the meal and quality of service was worth the price. For once, all of the hype about a restaurant was well deserved.

The reviews on this place were great and we have always wanted to try it when in town. We finally tried it for lunch and it was really good. They serve small sharable plates and everything we had was good. We especially liked the whipped Feta with toast and the Halibut was amazing. We also tried the sardines and some mozzarella item that was good. I don’t have a single complaint about this place and I’m looking forward to going back. There were three of us for lunch and two of us had a hard cider. It was not a cheap lunch, that’s for sure. The bill for three of us was $116 not including the tip.

So many friends recommended this place so here we are. We were warned that the dishes could be a little bit too salty so we asked for less salt. It turned out great! My favorite is the half duck. Cut it and put it in the slider with the yogurt - tastes amazing. The duck meat is very tender. My second favorite is the mussels soaked in rich tomato soup. Love this place and will come again.

Coming to Chicago for a conference, there are two must try places I kept getting recommend: The Purple Pig and Girl and the Goat. Thankfully I got to try both an the accolades are well deserved. I came at lunch time and Booked a same day reservation online. Started off with the butternut squash and mushroom three ways appetizer. Both really highlighted the means sake of their dish with interesting textures and flavors. My absolute favorite was the pig ears though. As daunting as it sounds, it's kind of like a chicharron. They cut up the pickier and fry them so they're crispy like a chip. The pig ears are also served with crispy kale and something pickled. That tied with a creaminess of the fried egg really balanced out everything. The pastas we got were like one large ravioli each. I felt like the apps were more worth it. Bread pudding was very memorable. It's hard to find a great bread pudding nowadays but this one was perfectly custard yet fluffy. It was paired with a delicious apple sauce and a great way to end the meal even though I was absolutely stuffed at this point.

Food Share one entree with 2 people. Entree size is huge. The appetizer we ordered, pig's ear, was not good at all. But the duck and beef entree was good. Drinks are pretty good too. Atmosphere/Service Atmosphere was great, service was moderately fast. I told them that it was my partner's birthday and they gave us a free dessert with candles on. I appreciate that. Parking was a problem until I figured out that there are paid parking on the street below.

I was blown away by my experience here. How can a dish under the "Vegetables" section titled something as simple as, "Salt Roasted Beets" be my favorite menu item? It was FANTASTIC. I will never forget how perfectly the whipped goat cheese went with the beets and how the pistachio butter somehow made the perfect complement to the meal. For this dish alone i would fly back to Chicago. If that weren't enough, the pasta was also fantastic. Such a hearty serving of the fresh house made pasta too! I couldn't finish it because of course i had to try a dessert to really embrace the full experience. I paired both of my courses with a wine recommended by the bartender and it all went together perfectly. Will definitely be back in the future!

My friend has been recommending this place for years. He finally came to town and we got to enjoy the experience together. He loved the bone marrow appetizer. I was not a fan. I did love my scrumptious pasta. We both thought the chocolate tiramisu was out of this world. The service was spectacular- shout out to Penny and Troy.