Food is always delicious, I get the pimento cheese every time. If i get food to go, the pimento cheese portion is very tiny. like a tablespoon. for the price i wish they gave a bit more. vibe inside is super nice, great date night spot. read more

We expected better, based on the reviews we saw. First, Saluda is a very pretty, quaint little old town. Neat, clean and tidy. Friendly. And we were looking forward to our visit to the Purple Onion. Not a busy day, not a busy time of year. But our service was very very slow! There were 4 of us. I ordered a reuban sandwich - very mediocre. Not much meat. Wife had the trout bagette - smelled old, fishy, and was tough. My friend had a burger and the ground beef was tough, he had to cut it (GROUND BEEF) sith a knife and fork. The forth person had a burger but said nothing about her meal. Overall, disapointed, we won't be back. Seems very overrated. Cute, very little town. Worth a visit but the entire town can be seen in 15 minutes. No train history left. Not worth a long ride, we came from Hendersonville. Tried The Purple Onion because we had read that it was the best - not so... Sorry... read more

At first glance, this restaurant is ideal for dining out. Cute outdoor patio. Decent looking menu. We were seated outside which was nice and served water in a pitcher which helped set the mood for the meal we thought we were going to have. Our table ordered 2 burgers, 1 sandwich, and a wrap. Unfortunately, the sides were limited and to our dismay the tortilla chips served were definitely from a bag with maybe a tablespoon of salsa. The burgers were standard medium cook according to the waitress, but both came out bleeding. All of our meals were served on paper plates which was very odd. We had no complaints about the sandwiches but they were not anything special. The staff was good but the food was really sub par. read more

If you are ever in Saluda, NC or in the surrounding area you must stop at the Purple Onion. We came to NC for vacation and this was my favorite restaurant out of all the places we tried. Our meals were prepared beautifully and with perfect flavor. One of the things I enjoyed the most was the back patio. We were surrounded by flowers, and well shaded. There was a big butterfly garden literally ten steps away from our table which my daughter absolutely loved and enjoyed. Probably the most gorgeous butterfly garden I've ever seen. My husband and I had wine and deserts which were delectable. What a sweet little place! read more

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One of our favorite places! We stop here before heading to Asheville. We had flat breads, chicken club and salad. Everything is wonderful. Service is great, outdoor covered patio is nice. read more

Service was great from hostess to server, ambiance was nice too, cute outdoor seating. Food not so great. We got a charcuterie board that barely had anything on it, that was for one person only for $17 bucks! We were 3 people and ordered 3 individual pizzas. Please don't lie to people and call it like it is, flat bread with toppings. They were more like baked naan bread than pizza. My husband ordered the Sicilian pizza, this is usually a thick, chewy dough, but not here, just flat brea with more toppings. Sorry but we will never return for food, maybe just a drink. read more

We went for dinner after a hike. The inside looked a little sparse (tables are spaced out generously- due to covid I assume) which was good. The outdoor seating was relaxed. I enjoyed the pretty flower baskets, pebble footing, an adjacent brick building with climbing vines and cozy lighting over the tables. On the down side, we got a cocktail each, 1 whiskey sour- which my husband said had neither; I had a mojito, which would have been ok if it had some sugarcane, mint, rum and seltzer...it was cloudy in appearance, and wasn't tasty. About $10 a piece, would pass in the future.. on the positive side, dinner was yum! We had a Gorgonzola and pear salad and a 10 inch classic pizza- delish! So some bad, some good.. I only report this so the restaurant knows how it went for us. The service was great. read more

Great little place on the main drag in town. I've been wanting to check this place out as I've seen listings for some great music acts hosted here. They are having a show next month that I'd like to see so we stopped in to check it out and have lunch. Great place. Can't wait to see the show and have another bite to eat. Go Purple! read more

Great spot for lunch -- and probably other meals ;-) My family (husband, Mom, & two kids under 15) popped in here for a lunch on our Saluda arrival day - the beginning of a celebratory getaway weekend for my 4th decade of life. My mom and son got the 10" cheese pizza, regular crust and gluten-free respectively. Both were served up hot and delicious. The classic crust was a had tossed thickness, crunchy on the outside soft on the inside so, basically, perfection. The gluten free crust was not as good as the regular - a bit chewy but it was quality as far as GF crusts go - it held together and my son was able to enjoy his pizza. My daughter ordered the half toasted cheese, soup of the day and small Caesar salad. All three were amazing - toasted cheese offers choice of bread and cheese, soup was red wine chicken and rice, Caesar salad had capers and a hard boiled egg! My husband chose the Reuben - for which people travel from miles away, at least that's what the server told us! After a bite I believe her! It tasted like provolone or some other smoky type cheese and took the already delicious sandwich to another level. I got the special which was pork shank pot pie with herb crust. PHENOMENAL and perfect for the rainy weather we've been experiencing. ***Do not skip this place*** read more

Skip the pizza. Enjoy the good wine list and salads. The Gorgonzola, walnut, apple, balsamic salad was good. The bacon pizza was a disappointment. Actually none of the pizzas would have been good on the crust which was like chewing show leather. Try something else off the menu, maybe? Service and atmosphere were good and they have live music on certain nights. Cute place. read more

If you're are going there with the expectation of having great food after taking in the great views consider another option. The service was fine but the food is bloated in price as well as seemingly random ingredients that do not complement one another. Cold deli style chicken on the salad and enough basil and feta on a single pizza to stock a supermarket shelf. Also steer clear of the pimento cheese starter not worth the money considering the two tablespoons of pimento cheese you receive and the 6 rock hard pieces of bread to go along with it. read more

The Purple Onion is one of my favorite restaurants in Saluda. They have incredible service and a great menu. A lot of the food is locally sourced, including the meat, so you're in for a real treat. They have many GF substitutes available, including a DELICIOUS GF crust for their pizzas. The desserts are heavenly, and I really enjoy the flourless chocolate cake. They often have live music, so make sure you get there early to get a table on those nights because they music is awesome too!! read more

While visiting North Carolina for the first time, we decide to pull off the road in the historic town of Saluda for some authentic down home Southern Cooking for lunch. It would be our first meal in the Carolinas. Guess what, it was like we never left San Francisco. People told us it was the best place in town and "rather expensive". As you can see from the menu, there isn't anything down home and Southern on the menu. http://www.purpleonionsaluda.com/menu.htm That said, the atmosphere was great and the food was really good. We sat outside on the patio. The weather was nice and there was a gentle breeze. The restaurant has lots of sandwiches, pizzas and salads. I had a 1/2 Sandwich and 1/2 Salad with a really good BLT and a Caesar Salad. My wife had the 1/2 Greek Pita and 1/2 Pear Salad. I think my wife got the better tasting and looking salad. If we're ever in the area, I would go back. If you're driving up Highway 26, it's worth pulling off the road for a bite. read more

Purple Onion - Purple Onion Patio - New American Near Me - Saluda, North Carolina

great food and loved loved the outside patio. staff super friendly

Since moving down to Greenville SC from Ohio, this has quickly become my favorite place to spend an evening. Between Greenville, Asheville, and Hendersonville, there is a plethora of really good options to spend our dinning money but I am constantly drawn back to this little cafe in the sleepy little town of Saluda NC. FOOD: It's cuisine is Mediterranean which isn't what you would expect in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, but they pull it off. Their menu promotes itself as farm to table with descriptions that include the local farms from which the ingredients are sourced. I won't get into the specifics of the all the dishes we have had because we have been there four times, but everything we have had there has had a perfect balance of flavors. Everything has been cooked to perfection from the proteins to the vegetables, from the pizzas to the seafood stews. Some of my favorites are the tabouli salad, and the smoked trout appetizer with the amazing pickled onions. The best entree I have had was probably the blackened Red Snapper that I had tonight. The fish was done to perfection. Leave room for desert because their tiramisu is the best this side of Italy. SERVICE: If you are the kind of person who puts a premium on your food arriving fast, than you may have an issue with this place. This place has a small kitchen and they take the time to prepare the food right, so it can take a bit of time to get your food, especially on a weekend. If you go in knowing this and just relax and enjoy the wonderful environment you won't have a problem. We have seen almost the exact same wait staff every time we go. They are always friendly and professional, even when it gets really crazy in there on a Saturday night. ENVIRONMENT: It is located in an old historic building on main street. The brick walls inside are decorated with the art work of local artist. Most of the paintings are landscapes of the surrounding mountains. It has a bar in the front and a small stage in the back. There is patio seating in the courtyard between the restaurant and the historic police station next door. They have live music on the weekend. Often it has been and old gent sitting at the upright piano, playing classics and sipping on his beer. They also have bluegrass, folk and blues bands in. There is no cover charge, but they do not accept reservations on the nights that they have bands playing. The crowd seems largely to be made up of locals and regulars. It has a very laid back and casual atmosphere, and it does my soul good every time we can steal away to the Purple Onion for an evening. read more

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Just Wow! A wonderful restaurant located in a beautiful town - Saluda. We came in here on our way to Ceaser's Head. There was a wait time of around 20 mins - which is OK considering it was a Saturday and we were a group of 6. Once we got our spot, we ordered the Chicken Pizza and Mediterranean Pizza along with some sandwiches. The food came out a bit late but was worth the wait! In the end we had some coffee and locally made desserts. The whole experience was amazing - food, service, ambiance. Once must come in when they have some live music on. We are definitely visiting again soon! read more

Purple Onion - New American Near Me - Saluda, North Carolina

I have been to the Purple Onion many times while visiting Saluda. The servers are great and the food is delicious, but the hostess at the front (who is one of the owners) is always rude, curt, and, frankly, unwelcoming. We encountered her on another visit to Saluda this past summer at her other restaurant, and it was the exact same attitude, so this was not just a bad day. We could feel her anger so much when we walked in and waited to be seated on this latest visit that it was enough to make us want to just walk back out the door. If you choose to work in the service industry, or own a restaurant, and if you don't have the personality to make people feel welcome, then perhaps you should stay in the back and tend to the books. Kindness goes a long way - please try it. read more

Great food ,excellent staff, nice ambience, a great place to go when you want to spend time with your family and relax.

This was such a lovely, fun place. The atmosphere is fabulous and the pizza was great. They have a wonderful variety of refreshing beverages. The service was also great. read more

Purple Onion - New American Near Me - Saluda, North Carolina

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Great place for local music! Its like three different places on one. There s the dining side with an adjacent outdoor patio, and a pub side with tables and live music. The bar serves beer including many local craft beers and wine. Near the entrance is a dessert glass display case with some really fantastic looking sugary confections, and a coffee/espresso machines. The menu is quite diverse. The night we came, it was to listen to some music,so we only had a couple of the appetizers. The flash fried oysters were perfect. A nice crunchy breading but the oyster was still moist and tender. We also had the marinated olives. Really different and went perfect with the Two Hearted Ale. But looking about at other peoples orders, everything from the pizzas to the salads, burgers and some really good smelling soups looked really tasty. They even offer a flight of wines for $9. You get 3 different wines of about a quarter of a normal amount that comes on a rack that the glasses hang onto. The beer selection is pretty good with an across the board variety of pales, stouts, IPA's and bottled beers. Great place to eat and listen to local music. Try to make it on a Friday night when the piano player is there. Entertainment at its best. read more

Purple Onion - New American Near Me - Saluda, North Carolina

This restaurant is absolutely amazing. We sat in the lovely outdoor seating area and the waiters were all wearing masks and put on gloves to take our plates. I got the BLT and broccoli cheddar soup, and I was very impressed by both. You can just tell how fresh and high quality their ingredients are, it tasted just so good. And then for dessert, we got a slice of their lemon cheesecake, and of course that was incredible as well. We did have to wait about 40 minutes on a Thursday afternoon for a table, but it's understandable, maybe just call ahead and make a reservation instead of going there first. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone! read more

Cute restaurant with a nice outdoor space. Gourmet twist - mountain trout burger and pear Gorgonzola salad. Great service, delicious food in a lovely, quaint town. read more

The food is really good, but service not great. We called ahead for a party of 8 and was told they'd hold a table for us. We drive there, park, and they tell us they don't have a table and everything was reserved. Didn't offer us ability to make a reservation though... funny. Wouldn't give us a wait time either and were very flippant. Went in three times to see if they could do anything and no effort was made. Very disappointed. read more

Nice people. Clean, everyone wearing a mask. Lots of room to sit outside.

The food was very good. I had the grill cheese sandwich with a side of quinoa salad. My husband had the turkey flu which was also very good. Good service. read more

Had lunch on Saturday. The place is very consistent, thats why I give them four stars instead of three. And the reason is the service was not at its best this time. To start, the entrance is very narrow and the waiting area is cramped. So to avoid the people breathing all over you due the the current concern with Covid, my wife and I decided to wait at the bar. While at the bar we were asked if we wanted a drink while we waited and we declined. At that point we were told we cannot stay in the bar area as it does not comply with the 6 foot rule between the bar and the bar staff. (no customers were at the bar). I found this a bit of a double standar, because they would allow you to stay at the bar if you ordered a drink but not if you were just waiting for a table?? In any case, food was good. Had the pimento cheese and the crab and cheese dip. The dip was flavorfull but too runny and no crab in sight. Not worth the $11. Shared the mediterranean salad with the wife to which we added shrimp. This was a great dish, large enough to share. All the ingredients tasted fresh and homemade. Towards the end, service again was a bit lacking. Our server brought the check and disappear behind the bar, making drinks and stacking glasses. After 15 minutes of waiting for her to come back, had to flag down a different waiter to get pay the check. We will return and will be paying close attention to improvement in service. read more

Went there for the first time this past Friday. Had a great experience. It was frigid cold in Saluda but the Purple Onion was perfectly warm. Conner was our server and she did an excellent job. Made great suggestions for our meal and dessert. Conner was running the bar and serving which kept her very busy but she kept up well. We appreciate her hard work and the kitchen for making such great food. Our table ordered the soup special(African beef), Reuben, trout BLT wrap, turkey club, and campfire cake. Thank for an excellent experience and we will return soon! read more

Such a cute spot in downtown Saluda. Love the local artwork hung up throughout the restaurant. Indoor and outdoor seating available. I had the trout BLT and my husband had a personalized pizza. Both were very good! We will definitely be back. read more

A solo traveler, I stopped at the restaurant and was seated promptly and then ignored for ten minutes. I had eaten here before and enjoyed it but there were three occupied tables (mine being one) and two servers and no one ever came to take my order, but had time to chat with the other diners and discuss football bowl games I was hungry and on a schedule so after being overlooked I decided to eat elsewhere. read more

"Find me someplace to eat that I cannot get back home." said my husband as we were looking for someplace to eat on our anniversary weekend. After taking a chance and stepping out of the comfort zone we were absolutely pleased with our choice! Food was awesome and our waiter Joseph was very knowledgeable of the menu. He made sure we were happy with our choices. We will be back! read more

Love the Mediterranean plate. Great place for pizza, great atmosphere Definitely one of the best places in Saluda! One of my favorites! And they have great music too! read more

Such a lovely location and place, we enjoyed our service very much :) waitresses were very sweet and provided everything we needed. Food was yummy, loved the crab dip from the appetizer! Gluten free buns and bread available! Desserts were all delicious! I wish my white chocolate bread pudding had a bit more sweetness to it, but other than that I highly recommend! read more

Purple Onion - Purple Onion burger! - New American Near Me - Saluda, North Carolina

The food and service was wonderful! The Atmosphere is Casual inside and on the porch. Either get there early for lunch or after 1pm. Otherwise you will have a wait. read more

Stopped in Saluda to see where my husband's family built a home in the 1970's. Decided we needed coffee and maybe a snack - we hit the jackpot! We are spoiled when it comes to coffee, because our hometown coffee shop was voted best in Florida, so when I took my first sip of heaven at the Purple Onion, there was shock. I ordered the breve (espresso with foamed 1/2 & 1/2 as I recall) and it was perfect! We also ordered avocado toast. The toast was equally shocking, coming on three toasted baguettes with arugula, tasty sliced cherry tomatoes and, of course, avocados, drizzled with olive oil and seeds. One serving would have been enough for both of us (we thought we just wanted a snack). In the end there was no toast left behind. Our waitress Connor was fantastic - attentive, funny, helpful. We sat outside and enjoyed watching the many doggie patrons dine. A hummingbird graced us in the plants to our left. read more

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Food was ok and server was great. We were disappointed because we made reservations over a week ahead of time, told them we were coming in from out of town and wanted to have dinner and enjoy the music for wine Wednesday and jazz night. I talked to them twice about our party of 10 coming for the music so when they sat us in the other room off the patio I was upset. We couldn't hear the music since they were on the other side of a brick wall. When I asked if we could be moved since I had told them over a week before about coming for the music they told me I should've asked to be inside. I said I'm from another state, never been here and didn't know you had an inside and outside! I reminded them I had told them a couple of times we were coming for the music! They didn't seem to care and we got stuck off the patio. We ate as fast as we could and left. They completely ruined our night we had been planning for weeks! Instead of a nice night of music and wine we got a 30 minute dinner of mediocre food and dessert in our car. We'll never go back. read more

We had the smoked trout flatbread, Purple Onion burger, and blackberry cobbler. The food was delicious. Fresh vegetables, burger cooked perfectly. The service was friendly and attentive. The historic downtown Saluda area is adorable - walkable and worth the stop. read more

Well worth it! We had the Reuben and the special, which was a southwestern wrap. Both were great, but the flavor profile of the wrap was awesome! Then, to top it off, we had the blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream - it was the best we'd ever had. Nice variety of local beers as well. Don't pass this place up - it's delicious! read more

The food is as fresh as it gets, the staff is great and are all in a great mood or they do a great job faking it. A must visit when in the area. Amazing live music couple nights a week Susan and her staff clearly put their heart and soul into the restaurant to ensure the best food and experience possible. read more

Ate there yesterday lunch...has been one of my favorite restaurants for years but has changed owners....vegan unfriendly(one of those places that will accomodate..badly)...corn chips as a side? Really? Dill pickle was food highlight..2 bad sandwiches and 2 ok glasses of chardonnay costs $40 not counting tip..not ever going back..so disappointing...oh..and had patio rezzies..exterior patio the most uncomfortable chairs you can imagine..iron,no cushions and a big gas tank for a view.. read more

This place hit the right spot. It was a super cute cafe on a cool little strip in saluda, NC. We sat outside and had a French 75 and an Irish coffee, both excellent. Then I ordered a green goddess salad which I definitely recommend if you like goat cheese and beets. After that we ordered the baconzola pizza and then a prime rib French dip on a baguette. Awesome all around. Great flavor-great place. Go! read more