The Purple Pig cafe

Took my mum here for Mother’s Day and had a great time! Very welcoming, accommodating staff who agreed to do a full English breakfast at 2pm! Fabulous menu and large satisfying portions at a fair price! Big thumbs up for the purple pig!!!

I’m reguarly zooming past this café in my car, so today I stopped by for a wee spot of lunch with my Mum.
The interior is white as a daisy, but a little too clinical for me. Somehow it needs a little soul as it seems to have left it’s purplenish outside.
But other than that the spring onion and cheese quiche was delish and a good slice of it too, served with a small salad and coleslaw, I’m thinking it’s homemade for both slaw and quiche. This ticks a box in my book. Mum enjoyed her butternut squash thai soup too and that can with some crusty bread.
Pretty good value as both dishes came to a total of under a tenner.

I had walked past here many times; this weekend was my first venture inside. Maybe it’s the dull hue of the paint used on the sign outside, but I was thoroughly taken aback by its pleasant and light interior. Not what I was expecting at all. It’s quite kooky, as well, with a clock decorated with brightly-​coloured cutlery, and a lovely piece of art on the wall that reminded me of something Dr Seuss might have created if given the brief «stringy lake of afternoon tea».
The Purple Pig is very nice, though nothing extraordinary; it wins the fourth star for its pricing, though, with a pot of tea costing what I expect a pot of tea to cost (less than £2), some very nice cakes and a reasonably-​priced and delicious-​looking breakfast menu which I’m keen to go back and try.
I’m pretty happy about finding this place, because I’ve been hoping to discover a nice, simple, everyday kind of café in Tollcross for a while. This is now it!
Also… it cannot go unmentioned that the teacups are covered with roses. TWING! Fourth star is firmly in place.

Absolutly adore this little café! I fell in love with it when I met up with a friend for a well deserved catch up and althought there isn’t very much on the menu everything I have sampled has been absolutely delishious. (Comforting mac and chees is my favourite). Since my first visit I have been on quite a few occasions and every time the staff have peen terrific, always so polite and friendly! The only reason it is a 4 out of 5 is because of the limited menu but that will not stop me from returning :)

I admit I was once completely obsessed with pigs. Completely. So the name is so adorable to me! I headed here last Sunday around 1 o clock to get some work done away from my flat/​office.
Overall it’s nice. I liked the breezy feel to the place. Large windows (but not too large), plenty of leg room (important for that fella I drag around with me) and it’s not cluttered. The tables are well spaced so you’re not earwigging on anyone’s conversation and no one’s earwigging on yours. There were quite a few kids in, perfectly catered for by a massive box of toys, which is always a nice touch. The staff were lovely and friendly.
I had a tea and it came served in a dainty cup with a strainer, no bags is a thumbs up from me. I didn’t have any food so I can’t comment, though the menu does look appetising. Limited, but appetising. The coffee across from was apparently up to scratch.
I’ve gone for three stars because as much as I liked the place there wasn’t a whole lot of ‘soul’, it seems friendly but generically so. Edinburgh has such a wealth of coffee shops and cafes that are quirky and homely. The Purple Pig café is on it’s way there but maybe they’ve taken the ‘uncluttered’ angle too far. That said, I want to give the food a go, so watch this space!

The Purple Pig — adorable. What a lovely wee name for a lovely new café in the Tollcross area. I remember walking past here a few months ago when they were having their private launch night for family and friends. It seemed friendly and cute.
So when having a good, long coffee-​catchup with a friend I thought this would be a lovely spot to try out. The café is open and airy, with big windows and mirrors. The staff are really friendly and lovely, props.
I remember thinking the menu was a little limited, but also that they’re new and perhaps it’ll grow with time? For a big café space, the deli and cake counter was quite small and only half full. There’s something about a fridge over-​flowing with fresh ingredients and bakes that is enticing.
The food menu offered one bagel, a sandwich, and a Greek platter option with also a quiche and soup. We both went for the Greek platter: falafel, pitta, tzatiki and salad. I was a little disappointed there was no houmous.
Now I hate to be a negative Nancy, but the falafel was a little dry. Not terrible. I’m just sayin’. But I actually really would love this place to do well, so I’m hoping they might perhaps expand their menu and work on getting a slightly moister falafel? If it’s the centre piece of the platter, you’d hope it would be a bit more tasty.
The caramel shortcake, however, was decadent and YUM. The base was quite unusual — a bit chewy itself — compared to the regular caramel shortcake you can get. I helped my friend finish her slice off, and it was very indulgent.
They had a few unusual teas too, like the orange blossom one that I had. Quite lovely.
It’s a lovely café, with really friendly staff and I can see does have potential, but I think if they were to expand their menu and have some memorable items that you can only get there, it’ll be a real draw.

I visited the purple Pig for a colleague’s farewell meal. There were 12 of us, and we picked the venue having heard good quality food, and inexpensive, given the no corkage charge byob.
The menu was simple, 3 choices each for starter main and desert, and I would have happily eaten anything. I went for the goulash which was tasty although slightly spicer than I would have expected. The Eton Mess was delicious though and made up for the extra kick.
Our group spent several hours in the venue, which was quiet apart from our party but wasn’t lacking it atmosphere.
I would like to see the Purple Pig continue to build business, as I feel this venue has changed many times over the years.
Definitely a welcome addition to Tolcross, and very handy for a pre theatre I shpuld imagine.

I noticed The Purple Pig was popping up a couple weeks ago, and recently went to visit the newest addition to the Tollcross café scene.
I came with high hopes, and found myself to be very disappointed. There are very many great things about The Purple Pig. It’s clean, new, and the staff seem friendly enough.
However when I approached the café, I wondered if it was even open with the lack of light inside. This left me in the dark (haha), are they already trying to save their electricity bills? It was a grey day, and even with the white walls, a little extra artificial light might have helped. My friend and I even noticed they had no lights on their ceiling?
We were quickly approached by a semi-​awkward waitress whom said something along the lines of «waddaya want?». It was more difficult than expected to acquire a menu to browse our choices. When we insisted we needed to see it to make our decision she was reluctant to give it to us.
Once we received our coffees (flat white and cappuccino) they were very disappointing. I had the cappuccino and it reminded me of the coffees from the machine at my uni. I don’t like to be wasteful but I didn’t drink more than half.
At this time, we didn’t want to test our luck on the (dark) desserts.
Overall, i wont be returning soon, the coffees are quite rubbish compared to many other cafes nearby!