Violet: User Reviews

never again!!
By Suz from wicker park, May 22, 2008

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just the most horrible service i have ever received in a restaurant.. the salmon i ordered was very fishy and clearly was beginning to spoil. i let the waiter know very politely, and sent it back, but he didn't remove it from the bill, forcing me to ask him to remove it from the bill. he then sent over the chef, who proceeded to argue with me that "the salmon was fine when he received to 2 days ago and all the staff had tasted it". he finally grudgingly removed it from the the bill- after embarrassing me and the whole table. i eat fish and salmon all the time and know when a piece is beginning to spoil. why does the chef feel a need to argue with a customer over a $6 item?? the restaurant should be ashamed.

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Best Brunch on Southport Corridor ...
By nvg from nvg, March 29, 2008

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The restaurant never disappoints ... and staff is always friendly. My husband made a bold declaration today insisting that VIOLET was superior to our other Southport favorites - Julius Meinl and Southport Grocery. A must visit spot; never a line, never any attitude ... just good food at great prices.

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Great experience
By Chicago from Lakeview, March 24, 2008

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I have been in Violet several times now, and I will continue going back. The food is exceptional and very reasonably priced. Its healthy and I never go home hungry. The service has been very good, and the one time there was a mix up with my order, wrong kind of toast, they were extremely appologetic and brought out the correct toast immediately. I have been in on a weeknight to enjoy the free wireless internet, and the staff was very friendly and accomodating as I sat for hours drinking coffee. Violet is a great addition to the neighborhood!

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Food Average, Zero Service - not again
By Boyo from Roscoe Village, March 17, 2008

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I had some high hopes, and tried a couple of times. The caveat for the below is that I have only gone for breakfast.

The chef is making an effort, but I just found the food "average" and, though he's trying, really uninspired, and hit or miss on execution: the first time, I enjoyed the mediterranean omellette, but wasn't markedly "wowed" and found it on a par with any number of places providing "designed" omelettes for less; the next time, cold cappuccino, lukewarm omelette (a different one), thin and overcooked (caramelized crust, hard egg "patty" - a mark of diner fare, to me, and not a place charging $$ for an omelette) - an ignored orphan, in the pan and under the heat lamp, felt like to me, and with 4 people in the place, I was left wondering why.

Overall, in terms of food, I regret to say, overpriced for the quality obtained. To be fair, I haven't obviously tried other offerings, due to the fact I've only been twice. But I consider the execution of basics a telling mark of a chef's hand...perhaps my personal bent, but here I think Violet is missing the page here.

The decor is sterile, uninviting, and uncomfortable, but this is again just my personal preference for "warmth:" over "glass and steel, clean lines."

But I can, more or less, live with both problems - it's breakfast.

The service, however, on the two occasions I tried, was very poor - unattentive, at best, and flatly churlish, at worst. The last time I went it was myself, allone, and the only other guests were a table of 3 across the floor, check down, chatting. Once my plate was down, I never saw the waiter again, nor did I see him on the floor at anytime until I flagged someone for the check. A particular gripe as well: staff apparently feel free to openly kvetch/swear in plain earview of dining patrons, which happened on my last visit. Add to this something I found truly bizarre - the "hostess," though seeing me come in, and seeing me leave, ignored me entirely (not a word, and nothing but a cold stare, before returning to reading her paper at the front "greeting" station), both on entry and on exiting.

ICoupled with what I found to be the relatively poor valiue, I just felt mine was more an intrusin than a patronage. I hate to say it - I really do, as I know how tough the business is - but I won't be back.

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Bad
By chales from West Lakeview, March 16, 2008

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Let's see, service that forgets the contents of an omelet, argues about whether you (the customer) are actually the one incorrect, then proceeds to burn the omelet, bring cold potatoes and burnt, cold and stiff toast. Other than the service and the food this place is great! Looking for an alternative to Uncommon Ground as a change of pace but unfortunately Violet was horrible.

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Great addition to the neighborhood
By Bob from lakeview, March 10, 2008

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I recently enjoyed a wonderful brunch at Violet over the previous weekend. All of the members of my party thoroughly enjoyed their meals, and the waitstaff was friendly and courteous. I highly reccomend the toffee pancakes, eggs benedict, and french toast. And the quiche du jour and soup du jour were equally fantastic. I would have given five stars across the board had it not been for the barista. She was the only glitch in the sysem as she was quite rude and unwelcoming. Despite her negative attitude, however, I will happily return in the future. One bad grape doesn't spoil the bunch.

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Nice Alternative in Busy Breakfast Corridor
By KJ from West Lakeview, March 10, 2008

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We were happy to see yet another breakfast/lunch venue open in this neighborhood, after waiting hours at nearby Meinl and Southport Grocery, tiring of the limited DeLeece menu, and not being able to wait until 9am for Uncommon Ground to open. Violet has good food, but you have to choose wisely. As a previous reviewer wrote, their fritatta is salty and zucchini inside tastes horrible. Omelets are hit or miss, but usually overcooked. However, their quiche (while very flavorful) is usually undercooked. Flavor combinations in their quiches are always spot-on, but just ask them to reheat it. Also delicious are the french toast, yogurt parfait, oatmeal and pancakes. Lunch is also good, including their green chili (when they have it) and turkey/avacado sandwich. Coffee is fantastic - as good as Meinl's. Service has never been a problem for us, but we're there EVERY weekend, so I think they know us pretty well by now. Also extremely kid friendly (except for the lack of a changing table in the bathroom - big problem!). Shouldn't offer a kids' menu and have highchairs, but then forget the changing table. We go for the decent food, friendly service and lack of wait before 9am. Wouldn't wait for a table later in the day (up to 1 hr).

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YES YUM YUM IN MY TUM TUM
By jnelly22 from wrigleyville, March 8, 2008

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THIS place was so good and very delicious....get the quiche

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Ew Ick and Yuck
By thereseo from thereseo, March 2, 2008

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Very disappointed. Went to try out Violet and had the most salty and unimaginative frittata of my life. Husband had Mediterranean omlette which made him sick. Prices high. Food portions small. Too much salt. Eggs done to rubbery consistency. Potatoes cold and tasteless. The only good thing was the coffee. And that, our server only filed up after we'd finished eating. They weren't even busy. Went at 1:30pm on a Saturday afternoon. For my money I'd rather go somewhere that I know is good. Chef needs to turn down the heat, the seasoning and staff need to up the service.

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