Bellevue Purple: Opens Tomorrow

by Shona Milne on October 5, 2009

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a pre-opening dinner on Saturday at Purple in Bellevue. Purple Bellevue was doing an invitation only dinner before officially opening to the public tomorrow. I will say that it did go smoothly and that everything was very good. We received a glass of Pinot Noir to sip while looking over the menu choices. Our waiter, Ryan, was knowledgeable about food and wine pairings. I had the seared sea scallops with parsnips, edamames, and carrots. They were hot and cooked just right. My Mom had the Basil Pesto with Kalamata Olives which was also great. It got better from there with a warm Syrah Brownie and Salted Caramels. I think the Salted Caramels are my new favorite dessert at Purple.

We are pleased to announce that our Bellevue location is set to open on Tuesday, October 6th at 11:00am for lunch service in the new Bellevue Towers on the corner of 4th and 106th in downtown Bellevue. With seating for 175 plus diners, our fourth Purple Cafe location will embrace downtown Bellevue’s energetic, thriving scene.

Purple Bellevue will boast a vibe similar to the downtown Seattle flagship: Chic, bustling and industrial. In addition to our now customary wrought-iron furnishings, Purple Bellevue will feature two metal semi-private dining areas that will host parties of up to 14. Other unique dining options include a 22 seat wine bar, 15 seat lounge area with couches and a 10 seat tasting bar. In addition, a private room shared between Purple Cafe and our sister restaurant next door, Barrio, can accommodate seated parties of up to 80.

Bellevue’s answer to Seattle’s spiral wine tower is a set of similarly dramatic “wine libraries” with rows of floor-to-ceiling shelves with the ability to house some 15,000 bottles of wine.

As always, great food and wine are the driving force behind are restaurants. To that end, we have enlisted two industry heavyweights to oversee food and beverage operations at Bellevue: Mike Davis, Executive Chef and Dawn Smith, Wine Director. Mike is best recognized as the former Chef-Owner of Walla Walla’s highly acclaimed 26brix while Dawn is Seattle Magazine’s Sommelier of the year. In addition, Purple Bellevue Chef de Cuisine Casey Barnes hails from the Purple Seattle kitchen.

Purple Bellevue’s menu will feature the same classic American styles and seasonal Northwest ingredients as our other locations. Our chef team is excited to add unique additions to Purple’s eclectic, inventive menu with dishes such as an Autumn Vegetable Salad, Dungeness Crab Ravioli and Roasted Rack of Lamb with Spicy Lamb Sausage.

Purple Bellevue will feature Lunch and Dinner service 7 days a week. Hours will be…

Monday – Thursday, 11am to 11pm
Friday & Saturday, 11am to 12am
Sunday, 11am to 10pm

Purple Bellevue is located at 430 106th Avenue NE (Corner of 4th & 106th) in downtown Bellevue. For more information, please visit our website at thepurplecafe.com

{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Michael (Downtown Bellevue Network) 10.06.09 at 10:44 am

I went to Purple on Sunday, and think people will be very pleasantly surprised with the great layout of the restaurant. The space is very innovative and open, yet still intimate!

They seem to be able to reinvent each and every new restaurant they open.

We posted some pictures of the interior here:

http://www.downtownbellevue.com/2009/10/05/purple-cafe-wine-bar-now-open-in-downtown-bellevue/

Leave a Comment

You can use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>