We were looking for a quick place for lunch and dropped in here. We used to come here in the evenings, and didn't know that they serve dim sum here as well. They have the typical dim sum dishes and they are about the same as most dim sum places around.
Food? Great! Service? Meh!. The décor is sort of 80's and they have big fish tanks filled with live edible fish and lobsters. They also have a bar!
I have no problems with the portion sizes of the prices at Purple Dot Café. The food is pretty darn good and I like that they didn't waste my time with a whole lot of filler onions and celery with my Pepper Chicken dish.
The BBQ duck noodle soup was really good. I loved the broth and the noodles but the duck could have been de-boned. The custard pies were a nice touch but, I probably wouldn't have got them if I knew how much the cost.
The service could have been friendlier.
No "hello" or "thank you" but I've encountered that before in Asian restaurants I've been in.
(Pictures are posted of my visit to Purple Dot Café.)
Chowing down at the Purple Dot!. Well I figure I would squeeze in a few more Yelps before leaving for a wedding in Minnesota in a few days. Many new adventures, hopefully all positive will await us!
After spending a lengthy amount of time at the nearby Seattle Pinball Museum, Steve and I were hungry!
The other places we had bookmarked were closed or not picking up their phone so we picked the Purple Dot Cafe.
We were a little suspicious with their review average but we were glad we went ahead and gave them a try!
I ordered Vegetable Chow Mien. Oh wow, was that good! Everything tasted fresh and the crispy chow mien was simply outstanding!
Steve got a kind of spicy tofu dish with pepper, it too was delicious!
We were getting too full to finish everything so we took in home to enjoy the next day.
Mmmmm! We really enjoyed our meal here!
Perfect after belltown club hopping 2am dinner. The coconut shrimp are great! Has a children's birthday party in the90's vibe to it...
Very Fun Experience. I've got to get back to this place with my camera, because it's just a fun, colorful place. I'm almost 40 and this was my first "proper" dim sum. A co-worker brought me a group for lunch and we tried a little bit of everything on the cart. She had very high expectations and seemed to know the staff well, so she specifically asked for fresh green beans, and ordered a couple of items that weren't on the carts. I'm definitely going back and trying more stuff. Delicious!
Great Dim Sum. Really tasty dim sum. lots of variety and delicious.
I like it, but I have to say that I kinda feel be cheated by the menu sometime.
50/50. I've had two satisfying meals and two absolutely terrible meals here. Tonight's meal was just icky. I wouldn't suggest the kung pao chicken . . . .even diners who are not seasoned Chinese cuisine eaters would know that the dish served up at Purple Dot is not what kung pao is supposed to taste like.
Hong Kong Style. Have you been to Hong Kong? If not, this restaurant is a good place to have Hong Kong food.
The food is good and the price is reasonable. Ice tea and the fried rice noodle with pork are my favorite.
Christmas Day dim sum! This place was jam packed which was probably why the service was super super slow with items coming out one at a time.
Food was decent... ordered dim sum along with a few dishes from the menu. Did not take pictures of everything.
Nice interior and spacious tables for seating. Staff nice but just overwhelmingly busy today.
I love the egg yolk buns! Very yummy. I also tried the steamed chicken buns, which were equally delicious.
My husband loves the deep fried shrimp dumplings.
The prices are good and we like the tea too.
Needed something to eat after getting out of the airport. Discovered this place on my way back to the hotel. Was surprised to see how busy it was even at midnight. The menu was huge and the food was delicious! Definitely comparable to the local eateries in Brooklyn. I was pleasantly surprised.
We stopped in for Sunday morning dimsum, and overall had a pretty good experience. Some of the dishes were very good, but others disappointed. I'm sure after another visit and working through the menu, it would be easy to know what to order for the best experience, but it's a shame some of my favorite items didn't make the cut on the first time around. The short ribs were delicious, the steamed pork buns were excellent, and they have the best chicken feet I've had to date. The shrimp rice rolls had way too much roll, and not enough shrimp, and the fried shrimp stuffed eggplant was bland and mushy. We had several other items, and they all followed the same pattern. If you are willing to give it a couple of tries, you'll have a decent spot to show up and have good food and, from what I've seen, not have the wait times of other options in the area. I'd definitely be willing to go back, it just wouldn't be my first choice given the other options nearby.
My Husband and had our anniversary dinner late in the evening. Delicious, Hot and fresh food! Made for an extra special anniversary dinner, great customer service too.
During high traffic times on weekends, the wait for a table was pretty fast. We only waited a few moments.
The shumai was not conventional, but was still tasty. They had a plethora of other classic dimsum options like pheonix claws, rice rolls and turnip cake.
Great affordable dim sum spot! Came here before a baseball game and was pleasantly surprised at the value and quality of the dim sum.
If you’re looking for an authentic Cantonese dim sum experience, this place has it. The only thing that they are missing is the dim sum push carts. It’s a pretty big dining room with pretty slow service. If you’re in a hurry, this is not the place for you. This place is also very cost effective compared to the other dim sum restaurants near by.
I judge a dim sum place based on tea, haw gao (shrimp dumpling), pan fried eggplant with shrimp, and steamed beef noodles. It’s a mix of entry level items, hard to find items and skill. The tea was pretty standard with standard items, but you can mix 2 teas. I usually get the chrysanthemum tea mixed with pu eru. Not every place allows you to do this.
The haw gao skin is thicker than I would like. A really good dim sum place would have their haw gao with very thin skin but won’t break when steamed. The eggplant is pretty well fried, but I prefer mine to be a bit saucier. The beef noodle has too much noodle to beef ratio, but this is the only place that uses the correct soy sauce. Most places just water down regular soy sauce, which is wrong. The correct soy sauce is a watered down sweet soy sauce. They also give yu choi which is a nice mix and balance.
Overall this place is a pretty safe choice for an authentic Cantonese dim sum and experience.
Even though they are busy. The food comes out perfectly cooked and fast. Perfect spot for an after-hours meal.
Outside looks dated, inside is clean and well maintained. The service was fast and dim sum was delicious. Ordered Pork & shrimp shui mai, Sticky rice in lotus wrap, Five spice taro dumpling, Pan fried radish cake, Deep fried shrimp dumpling, Pan fried shrimp bun with chives, and Malaysia sponge cake.
This has been my husband and I’s favorite place over the last three years since we’ve been together. Great service, awesome quality and open till 2am which is amazing if you have just watched a Seahawks game! They have a huge selection of food and deserts and they are so quick on getting it out on the table! Shout out to Louis who is the most hard working guy at the front desk and has been working with the restaurant for many years! This man is so good at getting everyone seated and always ready to take an order:) very deserving of a raise! Will be coming back even if we live outside of Seattle now 👍
We ordered three dishes and 5 pack of dim sum. The food quantity and quality is excellent and tasty. I do want to give them five stars because the food came out pretty fast. However, the service is not like some Chinese restaurant nearby. I have to ask them to refill the water every time. It is not a big deal, but this is something that the server should notice.
Everything we try here exceeds our expectations. We went in blind and did not regret a thing. The wonton noodle soup was great, beef chow-fun was great (a little bit oily), sui mai (a must get) was awesome, shrimp hakaws were great, salted egg custard were not too sweet. Would highly recommend, especially at 10pm since the restaurant opens until 1am
I have been going here for what seems like forever, but is probably the better part of 18 yrs. This is hands down one of the best in the area. Food is always the star here with everything from Dim Sum to fresh seafood, and American Chinese dishes . Price is very fair for what you you get, and for the downtown Seattle area .
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