Purple Parrot Cafe

I would actually give this place 3.5 stars if I could. Like many of St. Johns’ restaurants, this one is marred by rich dishes that aren’t very well-​balanced. While the flavors are often excellent, many things could use just a bit of tweaking in order to be truly outstanding.
To start, we had a tomato gazpacho and a lobster gnocchi in brown butter. This combination worked well, as the acid in the cool gazpacho offered a nice contrast to the sweet and rich gnocchi, lobster, and corn. Although the gnocchi could have used some acid in its own right, this course was delicious, the strongest of the night.
For mains, Frank had seared scallops in a champagne cream with spring-​vegetable ravioli, while I had a small fillet with a mushroom Bordelaise. Both of these dishes were very good but very rich, and the scallops in particular also needed a little acid for balance. When I make Bordelaise at home, I don’t use quite so much butter as it really is not necessary.
We were both full but decided to share a dessert, what was described as a mousse (not pictured). What arrived was a dense piece of damn-​near flourless chocolate cake, another example of the chef’s apparent inability to choose and execute a light option so long as something richer is available.
All in all, it was a good to very good meal, and we’ll be back sometime. I’m hoping that some more summery options appear on the menu soon. I should say the servers and kitchen were very cool about honoring my low-​sodium requests. I’m wishing you all a delicious summer wherever you dine!

The Purple Parrot was recommended by an acquaintance that is a lover of good food, so I was expecting an excellent meal. All else not withstanding, most of my meal was such. In fact, delicious enough to warrant another stop on my way back through the area the following week.
I highly recommend the lunch menu’s Greek Chicken. Well-​seasoned with perfectly cooked baby spinach, sun-​dried tomatoes, mushrooms and other delightful ingredients atop mashed potatoes that Grandma would aspire to. The focaccia bread was some of the best I’ve ever tasted – very moist with a substantial texture that’s usually a homemade phenomena.
Sadly, the gumbo that I was really looking forward to was a complete disappointment. It was barely beige – not remotely dark brown, as good gumbo should be – and tasted of doughy, uncooked flour with a hefty dose of black pepper. Somebody rushed the roux. Shame on them. A restaurant of this repute shouldn’t be outdone by a Ralph and Kacoo’s, let’s say.
I was their first customer that day, and even seated in the far back corner, could not help but become an unwilling, passive participant in the very loud conversation that three or four of the staff were having at the host/​hostess stand. I said something to my waitress, who told the manager, who came out and redirected the staff, which included a mention of previous recent complaints about the loud chatter.
Lastly, and the reason I decided to post this after my second visit, is the issue of purse/​coat hooks in the women’s restroom. Nobody, repeat, nobody, who carries a purse or a coat) wants to set it down on a bathroom floor or on a toilet lid. Period. No room for any discussion there. Go ahead, take a straw poll. I pointed it out to the manager – a purseless man – who assured me that it was being looked into and that previous hooks had been stolen. He didn’t respond when I mentioned not seeing any sign of previous hooks on the backs of the doors. Maybe they were on the wall. I suggested that no one would either care or notice whether the hooks were the $ 2.79 Walmart variety or the $ 24.99 selection from Restoration Hardware and that the likelihood of the former being stolen was nil. What women WILL notice is the complete absence of hooks. The bottom line is that a week later, upon my return visit, there were still no hooks. You’d think that a restaurant with a 3 or 4 star rating could come up with 1 or 2 damned purse/​coat hooks.
The Greek Chicken on my return visit was just as wonderful as it was on my first, as was the bread. The consideration for the comfort of their female (Can’t speak to the presence or absence of anything in the men’s room) customers was just as lacking.

This place is not as great as the staff thinks it is. Snobby atmosphere and outdated menu. Meal was ok. Service was mediocre at best. Nothing special. Ceiling tiles are badly stained and need replaced. In the restaurant industry the details are what matters. Clearly management needs a reality check on what’s important when running and «upscale» dining experience. I’ll not be returning.

I had the pleasure of dining here today for a business lunch! I tried the fried oyster Caesar salad and it was excellent!
The restaurant offers a lovely atmosphere that was perfect for discussing ideas with a client! I appreciated the white linen tablecloths and the non-​intrusive server!
I will certainly go there again when I am in town.

So now that menu has changed, I need to update my review to reflect that. I get what they’re trying to do, but it’s just not working. Minimal selections with repetitive ingredients and nothing that really stands out. The pork belly stands out, but not in a good way… super disappointing dish. It sucks because PP was our go-​to restaurant for out of town visitors. Still worth a visit for the ambiance, but the menu is meh.

Disappointing. We have wanted to dine here for some time. We finally did.
It started at the very beginning and only got worse. Online reservations indicated no tables available at 6pm. I happened to call to be told no problem. We arrived to find only two other tables occupied!
The waitress «assumed» we would not want wine and removed the wine list. Judgemental!
For starters we all three choose a different soup or gumbo. All three of us were sadly disappointed.
The entrees, again all different, we’re all bland. It was really frustrating that it took ten minutes to get some lemon to help doctor up my fish. Remember there were two other tables occupied, glad there weren’t more or I might never gotten service.
Yes, we should have been finished. We did. Yes, ordered dessert. The white bread pudding was served warm, and I must say, was tasty. The second dessert was not what we ordered and it took another ten minutes to deliver the correct dessert. The third dessert was so bland, I don’t remember what I had.
Did we dare order coffee? Well, it was not offered. Took forever to flag down a waiter or waitress, any one would have done. After forever, coffee finally made it. I guess when it takes that long you just have to accept cold coffee, the way it was served.
We waited a long time to get to try this restaurant. It will be a very long time before I go back.

Food was okay, but not particularly exciting. Service was excellent, but the prices were a bit high for what we were getting.

We were hoping to give them another chance. This use to be one of our favorite places. We moved from the New Orleans are and found this place to actually have really good food for special occasions and great service which was rare in the Hattiesburg area. It was unique. Our last 2 visits were disappointing. They use to offer great bread service with a variety of choices but this has switched to a plain ciabatta bread. They also took the filet off the menu which was our go to choice for a good steak.
Well tonight was a complete disappointment. We were excited to hear their menu changed but unfortunately it was not for the better. Their menu lacked any options so I was stuck with the chicken and my husband the pork shoulder. I literally received half of a whole baked chicken that lacked flavor and was extremely dry. Poor taste, portion, and presentation. I would have been happier with a much cheaper rotisserie chicken from Corner Market. The sweet potatoes were the only good thing I had ordered. My husbands pork shoulder was ok. My daughter’s order was something we could have gotten next door from Crescent City, so nothing special there.
This will be our last time going here. This is the only restaurant that has continuously gotten worse with their food in the 5 years we have lived here.
Server was very apologetic but it wasn’t her fault. She provided great service.

Great place. I love local, well crafted food in small towns like this one. Easily in the top 5 – 10 joints I’ve tried in Mississippi.

The best of Hattiesburg. This is the only place you can go in town and get true fine dining. The food is consistently great, wine selection is exceptional, cocktails couldn’t be any better, and Dusty is a world class gift to Hattiesburg and the restaurant industry.

I really enjoyed my two hour, four course lunch here today. My server, Rachel, was very good. She was knowledgeable, friendly, patient and attentive. Her service was perfect to be honest. The hostess was very nice as well. I had the corn and crab bisque, the duck spring rolls, andouille crusted redfish and the ginger infused crème brûlée, along with a couple of glasses of Pinot noir and a delicious cup of coffee. All of the food was perfectly seasoned and prepared. I would have the redfish over and over again! This is the type of place that there are no salt and pepper shakers to be seen, because you don’t need them. Oh, and the bread and butter were divine! The bar and lounge area looked like a very comfortable, fun and trendy place to have a drink and app after work. I will be back when I am in the area.

What a wonderful dining experience! We were in town and stopped in for lunch one day. We were greeted very warmly upon our arrival. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu and their amazing beer list (he was also a lot of fun). We had the fried green tomato appetizer. OMG! It was amazing. A unique presentation with lump crab meat & shitake mushrooms. I had the risotto which was perfectly cooked! My husband had the andouille crusted redfish and he loved it. They really do have an amazing beer list and we enjoyed everything we had. Can’t wait to go back to the Purple Carrot Café next time I’m in the area.

Quiet and upscale, this was a delight. Interesting dishes that were not heavily seasoned. Unique mixes of veggies and greens. The corn and crab bisque is a must. Duck spring rolls may not be on the menu, ask for them anyway. Topped it all off with coffee and a sweet potato blondie with praline sauce. Staff was very attentive and helpful.

Quite possibly the worst service I have experienced in several years.
I have been to Hattiesburg several times to visit my mother and I have been very interested in Sunday Brunch at Purple Parrot. We called early morning to make a reservation. The number listed on the website did not connect me to anyone so we waited until the restaurant opened and headed in. The hostess asked if we had a reservation and I explained to her that I wasn’t able to make one. She disputed my phone number mishap ensuring that the number was correct. She then called her manager, Robert who again told me that there were no seats available and that the number listed on the website was valid after hours… even though I know it wasn’t available when I called. He sent us next door where he said there was seating. We went next door to Crescent city Grill where Robert again showed up just to make sure he reminded me that the number listed on the website connected to the restaurant. He obviously didn’t understand my point. Instead of offering any kind of positive solution to our irritating visit… he suggested we visit his restaurant on another day… after we left stunned, unhappy and still hungry he followed us out into the parking lot where all of a sudden there was a table available for a now comped meal at Purple Parrot. Sorry Robert… much too little too late.

A great place to dine! Staff is attentive and polite. The music is perfect for the atmosphere. The watermelon amuse bouche starts the evening and opens the palate. This restaurant is a hidden jewel.

This place doesn’t have any regular vegetarian options.
They have a nice wine list and knowledgable staff that can recommend something for your taste.
The pineapple vodka tastes like it is soaked in taaka. Aside from this their specialty drinks are always perfectly mixed!
The starter bread basket includes various types of breads. I am not a bread person but I always enjoy the special treats here. We cut each piece into smaller pieces so everyone can have a taste of each bread.
The menu is ever evolving and each time I go I hope to see a vegetarian option but am disappointed. The past 3 years I have eaten a Christmas dinner here with my roommates from college. Each year I special order a vegetarian dish. It’s nice that they will make something for me. However, the past 4 years I have had a vegetarian risotto. I’m surprised that through all of Robert St. Johns travels he hasn’t decided to share the rest of the worlds vegetarian like ways with south ms.
The risotto is perfectly creamy and is topped withe crisp and fresh vegetables. I do enjoy this dish but would like a change up.
You can never go wrong here with the dessert. We each order a different dessert and share. I usually end up loving something I usually would never order. If the place wasn’t so fancy I might lick the bread pudding bowl. :)

I admit to having approached dining in Hattiesburg with no small amount of derision, given the overwhelming abundance of generic chains and fast food joints perpetually packed with giant pickups and SUVs stuffed with lumbering land-​beasts waddling off toward that day’s food trough. But the first step to overcoming prejudice is to admit that it exists. So I admit it, and having eaten at Purple Parrot I concede that I was wrong. There is good food in Hattiesburg.
My lunch of snapper filet on a succotash of fresh butter beans, corn and house-​smoked tasso was light and fresh with a straight forward presentation. You could see that the corn had just been cut from the cob and the beans tasted as if they had never even heard of a freezer — a great hat-​tip to the abundance of fine local Mississippi produce available (and makes you wonder why other places don’t take similar advantage). Fine work.
The waiter was well-​trained and professional. The meal could not even be spoiled by the gentleman telling the racist joke at the table next to ours («I bees what I bees! Guffaw guffaw!» Seriously, guy? Jim Crow wants his sense of humor back. You make my wife sitting 5 feet away from you very happy not to be white.) Anyway, I’m pleased that Purple Parrot freed me of my own prejudice against dining in Hattiesburg — we’ll surely be back during our next visit. 3.5 stars rounded up.

There is nothing but great things going on with this place.
I feel like everything from the Corn and Crab Bisque, Sea Scallops & Veal Tenderloin to the White Chocolate Bread Pudding made me want more and more!
If I could eat here every night I would.

I’ve only been here for brunch — frankly because that’s what we could afford! LOL. This place is pricey — but worth every penny!
I went to 206 the day before for brunch, and left completely underwhelmed and overcharged.
We went here the day after for brunch and was blown away!
First, they bring out a basket of the most delectable biscuits I’ve tasted. Some were traditional, some were spiced cajun style, and there were even a couple mini sweet potato muffins.
We ordered fried green tomatoes as a starter — and it was divine! Covered in crab meat and mushrooms and a sauce that was to die for!
I ordered the eggs benedict again, and it was cooked to perfecton! The right amount of hollandaise, and to boot it came with yummy cheese grits and fresh fruit. YUMMMM!!!
I highly reccommend this place if you’re looking for good brunch in Hattiesburg. There really isn’t any other great places to speak of in the area.
I love all things Robert St John, basically! He is a genius!

One of the few upscale places in Hattiesburg. We used to go here for the Sunday brunch. Loved the Eggs Benedict. They have unlimited mimosas with brunch. Ain’t nothing like a cool mimosa in the sweltering Mississippi heat.
Reservations recommended during holiday season and for dinner.