This place was amazing. The onion rings and fried fish were absolutely stand out. The tartar sauce for the fish was also great. The pimento cheese made for an amazing burger as well. Service was top notch, quick and efficient. The only part I hated was being too stuffed to get one of the awesome looking desserts. read more

Best and freshest breakfast. Staff always attentive and welcoming. Also, surprisingly today was a day where someone paid our bill without our awareness. That's a pay it forward gesture. Thank you. To whomever did that today, may Gods blessings increase upon you. read more

Since we discovered The Purple Onion during a stay in Calabash back in 2014 we have tried to have breakfast there at least twice on each trip to the area. We made it twice on our recent stay on Oak Island last week, the second time on our way back to Atlanta. The service is always friendly and the food is great. My favorite is the purple onion omelet with home fries (the potatoes are especially tasty). [[HIGHLIGHT]]The dining area is very bright and attractive.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] An added treat is the pastries and desserts that are available for take away on the way out. It's always a pleasant experience from entering the door to leaving with a bag full of baked goods (I'm having one of their cherry turnovers with my morning coffee as I write this review in front of my fireplace in suburban Atlanta). read more

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I've passed by the PO many times and read the reviews and finally got to stop in and have lunch. Everyone's plates were over flowing with food and our lunch was delish. I heard several patrons chatting about how much they loved their sides - onion rings and fry's specifically. We ordered chef salads and asked for a few tweaks which they gladly accommodated. I ordered the avocado ranch dressing and it was creamy and flavorful. The salad was piled high with ham, turkey and cheese and the salad items were all fresh. Lunch came with a nice looking roll too but I'm not eating bread these days. I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch here and will be back. And if you want to sample the bakery items the cake and cookies looked ridiculous. read more

The Purple Onion Cafe - Chef Salad - Cafes Near Me - Shallotte, North Carolina

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Made the short trek from Sunset Beach to nab some blueberry biscuits for the sleeping teenagers. The hubs and I enjoyed a tasty, quiet, adult breakfast! Win win! Home fries are chef's kiss! It's a tradition to visit. Just go! read more

The Purple Onion Cafe - Delicious blueberry biscuits! - Cafes Near Me - Shallotte, North Carolina

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Just on a search for a lunch spot. The Purple Onion came up and boy it's a winner. Such a nice surprise to find a place that you can get in and out of in just a snap! Sandwiches are like something that I would make up at home. read more

The Purple Onion Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Shallotte, North Carolina

We had a pancake well done, which it was not and was a bit smaller than we remembered. I had a Cheddar Cheese Omelette, hash browns and toast. All good but you could tell this was done at the end of the breakfast service (10:45). [[HIGHLIGHT]]Was also nice to see the place cleaned up and new tables.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Looks like the tourist crowd is back. Busy[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]. read more

The Purple Onion Cafe - Cheddar cheese Omelette. - Cafes Near Me - Shallotte, North Carolina

The food was very good today. I ordered the 1/2 sandwich with a side salad. I chose the Purple Onion Club on grilled sourdough bread, and a side salad with homemade poppyseed dressing. The sandwich was so thick, I could hardly get it in my mouth. The place was full and our order took quite a long time to come out, and then all four of us did not get our food at the same time. Service was average. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant was noisy and it was hard to carry on a conversation at our table.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] On the way out, we bought one of their delicious desserts. My favorite is the two oatmeal raisin cookies with cream in the center... Always delicious!!! read more

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Great service and food. Always a wait for breakfast. A bit pricey but the best breakfast in town. Great bakery.

Yummy! I had the cantaloupe chicken salad and couldn't have enjoyed it more! I really enjoyed the melding of flavors in this dish and was very pleasantly surprised in the food here. I must say service was a bit off and our waitress wasn't the friendliest in the world, but the food did make up for it. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Ambience is very casual and easy which is what we were looking for for a quick lunch.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I would recommend the purple onion to anyone in the area for a no-frills decent meal. read more

The Purple Onion Cafe - Cantaloupe Chicken Salad - Cafes Near Me - Shallotte, North Carolina

One of the biggest things I look for in a restaurant is consistency, and Purple Onion is consistently good. Have never had a meal here that wasn't delicious, and the service is with a smile, which is always appreciated! Love the handmade chips (especially with a side of ranch), fried green tomatoes, haddock wrap, breakfast dishes, desserts, etc. Definitely a place you can count on for a good meal. My only complaint is during peak hours it gets rather noisy and the parking lot is a little hard to get out of. But totally worth it for the overall great experience! read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]It's a small town dinner and a bit chilly when I went in. Servers had pants on and a jacket. So they don't have the HVAC system set up right[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]. Food was the worst I've had yet in theb8 months in the Calabash area. Didn't finish my plate even. The potatoes had to be left overs and deep fried again to heat them up. The flavor of old oil is all you get and dried out. Toast was dry and you have to butter it yourself. Sausage and bacon deep friend in the same old oil. Just nasty. read more

The Purple Onion Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Shallotte, North Carolina

Ayden was the best server I've had in a long time. Service was excellent. Food was great. [[HIGHLIGHT]]It was a cute diner setup with a nice bakery.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I did buy 2 pastries to try later. Great job read more

The Purple Onion Cafe - Biscuit with sausage gravy (extra). - Cafes Near Me - Shallotte, North Carolina

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Good food! I had the Southern BLT $8.25 Fried green tomatoes, crisp bacon and lettuce on sourdough w avocado+ ($1.75)! My son got the Breakfast Burrito $11.75 ! They have enough menu pictures for y'all to check out on this site. Coffee was strong and hot! Melissa was really sweet and took our order fast. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Bathroom is clean.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Decent morning crowd for a Tuesday.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Place can comfortably seat 60+ and not feel crowded.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

The Purple Onion Cafe - Waiting on his food and too early to talk to me so I'm honored to annoy him! - Cafes Near Me - Shallotte, North Carolina

met some friends (who are locals) for lunch. the place was packed! service was fast and friendly. i had the largest chicken club sandwich ive ever had. waitress was great with recommendations. prices are very reasonable. open another location in oak island please! read more

Great breakfast and delicious cakes the only down that I see is the server do not carry a tray so the put the drinks and food not like that at all read more

Wow, 2nd time there. Both times were a great lunch experience. Mo was our waitress both times and she is on the ball! I had the Purple Onion Club and added grilled jalapeños. Great choice! Along with the sweet potato fries ... great lunch! read more

I was driving home from MB to Wilmington and had heard about this family restaurant in Shallotte for years. Pulling in off of the busy street was kind of hard and parking can also be alittle tricky. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Inside I was greeted by a large array of cakes and cookies.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Employees definitely showed their southern hospitality. My server could not have been any sweeter and more helpful. The menu was very large. I was wanting breakfast but I got there 15 minutes to late it stops at 1045 I saw all of the food going to other tables and noticed the huge portions. I didn't want anything that big so I ordered a 1/2 sandwich and soup. I chose the turkey avocado bacon on sourdough and a cup of chili. I cut the half into another half and enjoyed the sandwich. I didn't like the chili at all. Server offered to switch it but it wasn't their fault so I didn't. This is a nice spot for a Asian family breakfast or lunch. Locals just having conversations around food. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Bathrooms could have been cleaner but the restaurant is a charmer.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

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Stopped by here for a late lunch before they closed. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The atmosphere is nothing fancy, it's a diner.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] My wife ordered a cup of broccoli soup and I ordered a pimiento grilled cheese & home chips. Both were good. I was not pleased with paying $10 for a very simple grilled cheese. It really was nothing special. I also do not remember our waitress checking back with us. Been here, done it. read more

Excellent food and fast service. This place is always a must try when you are in the area. read more

The Purple Onion Cafe - Purple Onion Cafe Salad with crab cake. - Cafes Near Me - Shallotte, North Carolina

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Tasty food and super service. Special care taken by staff to address a food allergy issue in our party. Well done! Will definitely be back and recommend. read more

Breakfast ends at 10:45 am. Food looked delicious though. I think that this is a good lunch spot but was in the mood for breakfast. Thanks yelp for pulling this one up for breakfast. read more

Good eats, good and efficient service. I live an hour away and I occasionally drive to Shalotte to go.

Great southern breakfast, delicious homemade cakes, and danishes. courteous staff. Take out available

My go to sandwich is their fried green tomato BLT but I've never had anything I didn't enjoy. Honestly made chips come with most orders and are delicious. They also bake the most incredible cakes which are available at $4 per slice. I especially like death by chocolate, 4 layers of rich cake with fudged frosting! OMG! read more

Stopped in here for the first time today, before my Dr visit. Every employee greeted me with a smile and hello. I went with the eggs Benny. Nice thick ham. Service was great, and my waitress was very sweet. Iced tea was good. I did burp up an oil taste from the home fries for a couple hours, hence the three stars. All in all my visit was pleasant. Probably skip the potatoes next time. read more

The Purple Onion Cafe - Traditional Eggs Benedict - Cafes Near Me - Shallotte, North Carolina

Stopped for two cranberry nut muffins to go. The name should be changed to nut muffins with almost no cranberries. They were also not completely baked. The pastry chef might have had an off day. read more

Did we order unwisely? Recommend by various locals, solid Yelp reviews but yet.... The crab cake sandwich was fishy and the bread was hard. The fish in the fish and chips was cooked thoroughly, but had an odd watery texture. The fries in both cases were solid. Maybe we should avoid the fryer section next time. read more

* Omelet was runny. Undercooked. * Potatoes were cold and distasteful. * Coffee tasted terrible. I've been to the Purple Onion several times. Always had a decent breakfast. Seems to have gone down hill. read more

Amazing menu with fantastic baked goods to boot! Super reasonable prices and great service. Breakfast and lunch only. Definitely a must go to in Shallotte. read more

Order BLT was supposed to come with fried green tomato on it. It was not on it. There was no mayonnaise dressing or extremely dry. Taste was horrible. ordered an egg plate with fries done toast came out. I don't even think it barely hit the toaster. It was horrible. So waitress took the order. Another woman brought out the food I thought she was the soup Nazi from Seinfeld. a young lady when we left told us thank you and have a good day. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Best thing about the restaurant, Paper towel dispenser in the restroom is awesome[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Service was good but disappointed w the pancake (no fluff and dry) and grainy grits...not sure we'd go back...seems to be a very popular location. Find breakfast costs have not come down since the egg shortage is over.. read more

Breakfast order was served cold. Best sweet tea ever. Chili's was delicious and BLT was good.

Had a great lunch! Staff were very friendly! Fried green tomatoes were awesome! Huge portions.

We came here with a group of four on a Saturday morning for breakfast. We had high hopes but this food was extremely underwhelming. Everything lacked flavor and the coffee was not good. The staff was very nice and the food was reasonably priced but the lack of any flavor made it not worth it. Disappointing breakfast overall. read more

Ordered from here twice. The food was great each time, though we were missing a couple things the second order. It seems as though they were extra busy. The staff were kind and helpful. We will definitely be returning! Cute little place read more

The Purple Onion is one of my favorite restaurants, even though I don't get by there very often. 300 miles is a long way for a salad, but I'm telling you, it's worth it! The Purple Onion Cafe Salad with their house dressing is one of the best dishes I've ever had in my life! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Service is exceptional and tables clean.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Can't beat it! read more

Just discovered this restaurant. The food was very good. The only thing I didn't like was that I ordered a sandwich and the waitress asked what side I'd like so I assumed it came with it but I was charged for the side. Had I known it was not included I wouldn't have ordered. I should have asked I guess read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Small cafe style restaurant located right on Main Street.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Crowds make conversation almost impossible. Noise level is a bit much.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Tables around us-seated after us, (same waitress) were served their food before we ever were. Ordered classic cheeseburger, sweet potato fries, Mac and cheese bites and side of slaw. Sweet potato fries and cheese bites were cold. Sweet potato fries appeared to be the bottom of the batch...mostly hard end pieces. Turkey bacon avocado wrap, bacon was extremely hard. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restroom was HORRIBLE![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]I'd hate to think the staff use these same restrooms and then work in the kitchen or wait tables- DO BETTER! Not acceptable. Waste can overflowing, sink area disgusting, NO tissue![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Great hole in the wall breakfast option! Our food was delicious, and our service was even better! We will happily return