The Purple Yam Reviews

The proprietors of Purple Yam have been serving up wonderful Filipino dishes for decades, first at Cendrillon in SoHo and for the past couple of years now in Brooklyn. Eating at Purple Yam is to sample an evolving version of the cuisine that's a result of comprehensive scholarship and joyful curiosity. But you don't have to think about this till later, when you relive your experience. Just eat and enjoy the flavors and the casual but generous hospitality. My favorites: Ukoy, fluffy crispy fritters filled with shrimp and julienned vegetables; bibingka, a rice cake that is the epitome of umami, garnished as it is with sugar, salted egg, and cheese; lechon kawali or deep-fried pork belly. And don't leave without trying the home-made ice cream.

simpatic place good food. good and different soups and good dishes. ambient very clean and nice. differents tastes.

We were 6 people enjoying a lot of shared dishes family style. We had great starters including pork on a bun and kimchee. Waitstaff seemed spread a little bit thin. We were there on a Sunday evening and the place was packed and VERY noisy. Acoustics are tough! Food, however, was very good! We thought that the variety of the menu made it a great experience. Two dishes came out of the kitchen not as described on menu. In one case a substitution based on better fresh ingredients. The other case was a goof-up which they fixed right away.

We dined here as a party of 5 and it is very good Filipino food. Everyone enjoyed their food and pricing was quite reasonable for the NYC area.

Unusual, innovative, Asian fusion menu that includes some time-honored favorites as well as some more unusual dishes. Service was a bit slow, but the ambiance was lively and unpretentious, and every dish we ordered was delicious, including desserts.

Service was wonderful and unassuming. Food was surprisingly delicious. Had lamb dumplings for an app and it was heavenly. mussels from china town brought in by a guy who knows a guy where the biggest I've ever seen. Try the Sisig and you will not be disappointed.

This small restaurant was a big surprise. I wouldn't have ordinarily have ventured in but my family had raved about it. It is, indeed, excellent food. It is also unusual food for me but with guidance from the veterans we ordered 3 entrees and 2 appetizers and shared them. We ate ever bit. We will definitely return here.

We come to this cute little spot whenever I visit my family in Brooklyn. I have had some fantastic meals. Some of my favorites are the Jap chai, which is glass noodles in a very flavorful soupy sauce, the duck batutu, which has a delicious sauce, and the mussels. About 4 years ago, I would say that every thing we tasted was outstanding. The last year or so, it's gotten to be a little less consistent. Still fantastic, but now we're branching out and trying other great places nearby. The service is a bit snooty, I find, and the food can be very slow to come out. But, this is really a very unusual and super delicious little restaurant, and I'm glad it's doing well.

I was just recently in Brooklyn for my cousin's engagement party this weekend and they decided to have it at Purple Yam! Defintiely located in a great area and not to far from the train station. This ecletic cafe takes traditional Filipino food and ads an American twist to it. Once you walk in the decor is very calming and the service is outstanding! I would definitely recommend this place and the dishes I would recommend is the pancit, tocino, and the lechon kawali.

I should say that this might appear to be a biased review given that I am a Filipino and I do tend to look for familiar flavors and food wherever I go. However, I do look for good, memorable food and Purple Yam is definitely in that category. This is one of my must-stops whenever I am in New York (and yes, even with the irregular Q train schedules and the long ride to Brooklyn). Banish all notions of brown sauce, MSG-laden, greasy food that Asian cuisines have come to be (unfairly) known when you come here. They are setting the bar high and you will never be disappointed. From the adobo (which Sam Sifton of the NYT has raved about), the exquisite dumplings, the maddeningly addictive lechon kawali, the goat curry, tocino, pancit luglug - I can actually go on and on with all my favorite things in their menu. And please - save room for dessert! Their buko tart with its flaky pastry is just a piece of sweet heaven. Or try Chef Romy's inventive and fun ice cream and sorbet flavors. On any given day you can find the owners - Amy and Romy - going around the restaurant and mingling with the guests. Now that's the kind of cheery, homey welcome you will always get at Purple Yam.

Great Filipino-Korean restaurant in the heart of Ditmas Park's burgeoning restaurant scene. Creative, fun, and spicy cuisine served up in a welcoming atmosphere. The entire experience is memorable.

If you're looking for excellent Filipino food with the authentic flavors from the Philippines, Purple Yam in Brooklyn is the best place in NYC. Owners Amy Besa and Chef Romy Dorotan know their craft and their cuisine. Food is always fresh, creatively prepared, sourced from natural ingredients which Chef Romy himself buys daily. Best to reserve on weekends. Prices are reasonable for NYC and for the good quality. Owners previously owned Cendrillon in SoHo. They've also just opened a Purple Yam in their Manila. This is the only Philippine restaurant in NYC that's Michelin-rated.

Don't go there expecting traditional Filipino food. Expect Chef Romy's incredible modern version of many Filipino classics. (Disclosure: I am a friend of Romy and Amy, the chef owners) I can attest to the fact that I personally love the food there. My favorite is the lechon, chicken adobo and bagong fried rice. But just about everything Romy created is delicious. One evening he created this bacalao cake that's like a quenelle served on a bed of taro leaves with coconut milk and it was to die for. Anf of course never start the meal without a buko martini!

Found this place quite by accident, we went for a walk and stumbled on it. The food was excellent and the service was exquisite the waitress brought the owner/chef out to meet us because we were from Ireland and he genuinely took time to welcome us on a busy evening. Well worth a visit if you are in Brooklyn

My wife said the restaurant serves food from the Phillipines, the menu seems to be very Korean, either way what we had was delicious, what other people had made me want to come back and try theirs. It is a small restaurant and patience with the staff is required, but the food is worth the wait, as are the teas, and (by observation only) the alcoholic drinks. Unless you have eaten there, or somewhere else that Philipino/Korean food is served, much of what is offered is new and different, but we had a wonderful meal, reasonably priced, and a great vibe too.

So I finally made the time to go down to Brooklyn and try Purple Yam and I'll say the trip from Harlem to Brooklyn was well worth it. I ordered tocino with eggs and I was satisfied expect for the eggs but I'll get to that later. The tocino was grilled which was a good twist from the way it's usually prepared since it added a subtle change to the flavor but still authentic. It wasn't too sweet which was also a good thing. They serve it with rice and something that I would describe as pickled carrots and zucchini and it added a good texture to the whole dish. For dessert I ordered the buko (coconut) pie topped with macapuno ice cream and it was a very delicious way to end my brunch. Now to the eggs, I ordered my eggs over medium and the server asked me to describe what over medium was just in case the cooks didn't know the term. Well they sure didn't know what over medium was since my eggs came and it was fully cooked which really isn't a deal breaker but still I had to knock out a star for what I should think all cooks should know how to do. The restaurant itself was not too big but simply decorated and clean. The servers were friendly so overall a very good experience and I will make this journey many more times in the future.

Fascinating home-style Filipino food of all varieties. Heavy on meat, but delicious. Chef/Owner Rico comes to your table to help you choose his specialties and evaluate your opinion. Carefully sourced food to add authentic flavor.

We had a reservation for Friday night and were promptly seated in this brightly lit restaurant. Four of us (one vegetarian, one gluten-free, etc.) shared three appetizers, two dinners, a couple of smaller plates, and two desserts. Everything, we all agreed, was delicious. Freshly prepared, unusual combinations, very fresh and nicely-cooked veggies, the sea bass was delish. And the desserts - we just about licked the plates! We actually considered going back the next night just for dessert but time did not permit it. The service was attentive and helpful when we asked for guidance in ordering. We found the staff listened to our desires and guided us correctly. I noticed they have a small courtyard out back where I imagine they seat people in nice weather. I would go out of my way to return to the Purple Yam. More like purple yum.

I enjoy spice in my food, but one of the dishes that my friends had made my eyes water. Also some of the meat I ordered had a bit too much "un-edited" fat on it. However, if you are up for a "challenge" it is an interesting try!

We finally made it to the Purple Yam, a restaurant I had been looking forward to eating at for a few years, after hearing about it from friends. The dishes and drinks are creative and surprising, made and served with love! Thank you Chef Romy and staff.

We are lucky because we live nearby and eat often at The Purple Yam. The menu is creative with dishes not available in other restaurants and the food is well prepared. Some of our favorites are the whole fish with spicy citrus sauce, a charred eggplant appetizer, the market green vegetables and the bimbi bop. The restaurant is a short walk from the "Q" train or, if you drive, there is plenty of street parking available.

My son and his fiancee recommended the Purple Yam for unique dishes, friendly service, and reasonable prices. We were not disappointed. We shared interesting salads with ingredients ranging from eggplant to pineapple to jicama. An appetizer of pork belly rolls pleased everyone at the table. We found ourselves tasting each others' main dishes because we were pleased with all of them: mussels in a coconut milk sauce, shrimp tamarind, crabs on a bed of vegetables and rice, and goat curry. Dessert offerings ranged from solid standards to unique Philippine delights. The wine list contains a variety of reasonably priced wines from around the world.

this restaurant was suggested by our son's girlfriend; her parents are from the philippines. we are familiar with asian food, but filipino traditional recipes had so far escaped us. the four of us went, three by subway and one driving. the trip from union square took around 45 minutes. the restaurant is but a short walk from the subway. it is small and intimate, but we had ample room at our booth-style table. the menu is interesting, with good variety, including some items of a more generally 'asian' genre, and some pure filipino. there is a good drinks list, with alcoholic and soft cocktails, a good range of beers, and wines. the youngsters had cocktails based on green coconut, one soft, one with alcohol. we stuck to beer, one laotian dark beer [yummy] and one filipino st miguel. we ordered family style, and had lumpia [spring rolls], pancit bihon [noodles] goat curry, lechon kawali and chicken adobo, together with fried rice with kimchi, and bagoon fried rice. all the food was beautifully presented, hot and tasty. a large dish of steamed rice was also provided. the snag came when discussing desert. we were given menus, and the waiter hovered expectantly. 'can you give us a moment?' asked my son. 'the kitchen is closing' came the surly reply. he turned on his heel. another server took his place. 'you need to order. the kitchen is closing'. we ordered, but felt rushed. i ordered champorrado, which was a sea of thin chocolate milk with a few grains of rice topped with melting coffee ice cream. it was served in a wide soup plate, with a tiny teaspoon. i felt a cup would have been more appropriate. i struggled to capture enough to taste, on my tiny spoon. i really felt disappointed with this ending to what had been a lovely meal, and was left wondering what my desert was supposed to be like. looking it up on google, i found it should have been a chocolate-flavoured rice pudding, not left over steamed rice covered in chocolate milk... on enquiry, we found the owners, praised so highly by other reviewers, were away. perhaps that explains the indecent haste to get rid of us, on the part of the staff... i loved the savoury courses, but the deserts left a sour taste, and i wish we had encountered the 'gracious hosts' mentioned by other reviewers.

My wife and I were staying in NYC from upstate. I thought I'd surpise my wife who is a Filipina with a visit to this cute spot in Brooklyn. The website looked so friendly and inviting. Instead, we got a waiter with an attitude. At 5 pm the restaurant was EMPTY and he wanted to know if we had reservations. He put us in a cramped table by the window near the bar. We saw him wave in some regulars to sit wherever they wanted. Maybe we looked to provincial or hetero to be treated well. The food was OK, but I've been in native homes where the food was much better. My advice, get rid of the snotty white guys and get some PINOYS. Maybe it's changed since April.

Great food and service from Romy and his staff. We were so relaxed and full! Our fav?...everything but especially the chicken adobo!! Oh and his special ice cream...including the banana and chocolate!

Earlier tonight, my son and I had dinner at the Purple Yam in Brooklyn, NYC. My son included it in our vacation itinerary because he has read many raves about it. We had grilled fish with herbs and veggies, lumpiang shanghai and pork loin. The chef and owner, Romy, gave us two complimentary desserts: calamansi meringue with guava sorbet and apple tart with macapuno ice cream. All the entrees we ordered were scrumptious and the desserts gave a fitting finish to the dinner.The guava sorbet is to die for. It is the most delicious sorbet I have ever tasted. Purple Yam didn't disappoint. I highly recommend it to friends visiting NYC.

This upscale, tiny restaurant in a nicer neighborhood could be the place to introduce your friend/boyfriend/girlfriend to many pan-asian dishes: many Filipino based food with Chinese and Malay dishes also available. Pancit bihon (Rice noodle with pork, chicken) is a Filipino dish but I wish they put more meat over fresh vegetable. I also tried "famous Filipino" dish called chicken adobo. That dish contains three large chicken pieces but a bit too much vinegar for me. Vinegar killed flavor and taste of other ingredients like thyme leaves. As I happened to have more delicious chicken, pork adobo at my Filipino friend's house, I did expect a lot here. I think chicken+pork combo dish will make Filipino food more distinctive as there are a few dishes around the world using more than one meat in a single dish (only exception I can think of is our American recipe "Turducken" using turkey+duck+chicken!) This place is suitable for -- younger crowd seeking food from different culture. This place also has a nice cocktail area (rare for Asian restaurants where they primarily sell food) and waiter/waitress also speak English. Owner created an excellent website (again, rare for Asian restaurants). This place may not be suitable for -- hardcore Asian foodies looking for Authentic regional food with budget price.

The beef dumplings were delicious, as was the pancit. The adobo chicken was a bit sweet as if they used too much vinegar. The cocktails were overpriced for the amount of alcohol in them (tasted like none was included). I'd eat here again though.

On a quiet mid-week night in October, we ate at the Purple Yam on the recommendation of our daughter, who lives in the neighborhood and whose food opinion we respect. When we walked in, a little early for Brooklyn (the place was empty), the chef/owner was taking a picture of quinces that he had just gotten in. A chef who knows, understands, and loves quince must be a great chef, in our opinion. After chatting with him for a while, and seeing some of his drawings of various fruits, we were extremely eager to try the food. The reality exceeded our high expectations by far. We started by splitting a pomelo, green mango, and jicama salad. It was delicious. The three main ingredients were in perfect balance. I ordered the goat curry with rice pancakes and mango chutney. My wife had Pancit Bihon, which is philippine rice noodles with chicken, pork & veggies. Both dishes were delightful, both comfort food in the sense of making us happy to eat them, but made with ingredients and combinations that were new to us and absolutely delicious. My wife had the mango sorbet for dessert, and I had a special of sweet rice with a plum sauce ice cream. Both were wonderful. The ice creams and sorbets seem to be made in-house, and seem to get the same high level of attention as the rest of the menu items. All in all, this was one of the best meals we've had in New York, at what seems to us a very reasonable price. I bet we'll be back tomorrow, and probably every other time we're in New York, too.

We finally made it to the Purple Yam, a restaurant I had been looking forward to eating at for a few years, after hearing about it from friends. The dishes and drinks are creative and surprising, made and served with love! Thank you Chef Romy and staff.

I have lived in PHL all my life, and I was so surprised to experience this kind of Filipino food from Purple Yam. Everything we tried was Filipino, but they took it to another level fit for the international scene.

Delicious food. Unique and tasty selections. We went because we were seeing a show at Kings Theatre. It was a 10 minute walk and so worth it. The service was warm and friendly. Luckily we had reservations. I highly recommend the Purple Yam. I hope to go back in warmer weather to sit outside. The portions were larger than expected.

I love the food at Purple Yam but the waitstaff needs better training. A waiter spilled my drink on me and didn't replace it. I asked him to replace it and he said sure, but nothing. The food is not cheap and is worth the price but that quality of the food doesn't compare with the service.

The heart and soul of any establishment is/are the owner(s) of the place. Purple Yam's owners seem to be in the restaurant every evening (and the married couple operates their lunch service alone). And what a difference it makes. Really personalizes the dining experience. Had dinner at Purple Yam last night. Place was fully booked so we ate on the bar; great perspective of the place. Food was good, creative and fresh ... a great "waker-upper" to every palette. Awesome ingredients blending perfectly to North American tastes. Make sure to try the local Philippine dish ... "Bikol Express". Loved it!!!! Make sure to leave space in your tummy for the dessert choices. An awesome addition to Metropolitan New York's list of restaurant possibilities.

We dined here tonight as a party of 5. They have a large number of different Filipino dishes and deserts. Everything we tried was good and all the dishes were quite large servings. We could have easily shared them and we ended up with take out bags. The deserts are also large and can easily be shared.

Went to Purple Yam (Pilipino/Korean fusion) on a Thursday at 5:30, which is when they open. The place has a cool, easy ambiance with both booths and regular tables available. The bar is not visible but they do have a full bar. The service was very pleasant. The server knew all dishes and specials and recommended good wine and beer. We ordered Jap Chae with Beef ($15), which was delicious. Beef was tender, sweet potato (glass noodles) noodles and mushrooms were full of taste without overpowering the beef. You can share this dish. We also had Pa jun (shrimp fried pancake)($12), which was flavorsome and properly fried without it being drenched in oil; the half cut shrimp inside the pancake were excellent (dish is cut into 6-7 pieces – can share). Then we tasted the Beef tapa salad ($12), with greens and mango. The salad satisfied my husband’s love for leaves and desire for good slices of red meat. Daily dumplings ($8), which came in 6 fried pieces with sauce were also very good. For desert we had leche flan ($6), which I would not recommend if you LIKE leche, because leche taste was non-detectable. Flan was ok; and a Buko pie ($7), which was very good and delicate (also good for sharing); I would recommend coffee or espresso with that.

This is the holy grail of Filipino food for foodies in New York that has proven itself many times due to its pioneering work to present this most misunderstood Asian cuisine to the global stage. I've been coming here for years. But today, they just resurrected a Fresh Lumpia recipe with purple yam and Ominio flour crepe filled with water chestnuts and winter bamboo shoots in garlic caramel sauce. The Sinovision English Channel with Christie Clements just finished filming today when we arrived, and we just missed it. But we made sure that we tried the fresh lumpia. It was perfection: the crepe, the crunchy vegetables and the fragrant sweet savory sauce. I was not reminiscing home, it was better than home. Our visit is not complete without ordering their crispy Ukoy ( shrimp fritters ) as light as tempura and Cua Pao ( open faced siopao with pork belly ), and lechon kawali. Their fried rice featured dikit and 2 other artisanal rice from Cordillera Mt. in the Philippines. In celebration of the Year of the Rooster, Romy Dorotan, the chef, suggested the Chinese Tikoy ( Chinese New Year Cake ) topped with champoy ice cream and dripping with Yacon syrup served with guava and other tropical fruits. That was unforgettable.

I come to this restaurant at least once a month every month. I do not live in NY but come to NY for business all the time and this is one of my favorite restaurants although it is in Brooklyn. This restaurant used to be in SOHO but the rent went up so much that they moved to Brooklyn. I have to completely disagree with the recent reviewer from December 31st. He wrote that the restaurant was empty at 5 PM. Yeah..... they open for dinner at 5:30 PM!!!, they are not opened for lunch because this is a residental area and no one is around then. It is empty at 5 PM but you cannot get a table after 6:30 even on a weekday. It is full every day of the week. The waiter asked if they have reservations because a lot of the tables are reserved for 6 PM and later, most people stay for dinner more than an hour. This is a very small place and they cannot give a reserved table away. So yeah, regulars came in and got good tables because they reserved them. If you do not have a reservation, you will get what is available. But by the way, this guy wrote that they got a table by the bar. This table is also right by the window and is considered one of the best seats because you can watch the whole street and everyone going by. Pretty much any table here is by the bar, it's a tiny place. Now let's get on to the food. I am not a Fillipino food freak, but the food here is outstanding, everything is delicious and they have new specials every day that are outstanding. There is usually 1 fish, meat, appetizer and desert special and they change almost every day. The server will tell you about it. Besides the food being excellent, it is also pretty cheap and you have to get a desert, the deserts are great. They also have very good soju drinks. The staff is very friendly so I don't know what the other reviewer was talking about. They will help you out, explain every dish to you if you like. The owner is always there and comes to everyones table to see if everything is alright. This restaurant had excellent reviews when they were in SOHO and excellent reviews on other sites from diners. This is not a fancy place, it is cosy, and very clean which is important for me. I would not be coming here all the time if it wouldn't be great. Also, compared to restaurants in the city - this place is a steal. Also great in the summer, they have outdoor dining in the back when it's warm. This restaurant had excellent reviews from the NY Times, NY Magazine and Time Out NY

I went to the Purple Yam with two other adults and two children, ages 3 and 8. We called ahead to make sure there was room for 5 since it was a Saturday evening around 6pm. There was and we went. As we sat waiting for our food the restaurant did fill up. Our appetizers came within a reasonable time and were delicious-dumplings, spring rolls. Then we sat and sat and sat. Normally I might not be perturbed by a wait but we had two kids who were hungry. After approximately 15-20 minutes, our entrees were served. I should say 4/5 of our entrees since one adult entree did not arrive till approximately 10 minutes after the rest of ours. Sorry to say the food, while good, was not good enough to overcome the discomfort of eating while one person was waiting. We of course shared our food but this was still poor planning. When we finished our food, one of the kids wanted another serving of spring rolls. It took another 15 minutes to get this serving. Overall, while the food served is good and fresh, there appears to be no one supervising the kitchen as to service. Poor service overcomes good food all the time.

This restaurant is not to be missed! Romy, the chef owner is a culinary mastermind. You must order everything from appetizers to dessert and don't forget to try a Sorbet Martini, the best drink ever!

New flavors! Wow. I wasn’t expecting the variety of flavors in the dishes here: fish, pork, spices, herbs, etc. Get the fresh lumpia. Get the oxtail with the peanut sauce and shrimp paste. Order the pork belly. Get the leche flan and halo halo. Now I understand why Filipino food is getting the attention in the culinary scene. All the foodies out there should visit Purple Yam and try out the dishes. Kudos to the chef! Definitely worth a return trip!

The Purple Yam has been in this now gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood for a long time after being chased out of Manhattan by high rents. It was one of the first high concept restaurants on this strip of Cortelyou Road. The Filipino cuisine is true, and delicious. Prices are moderate, the setting is very comfortable, and the service is friendly.

When we stopped by The Purple Yam for a late Saturday lunch, the restaurant was busy with a mixed crowd of couples, families and a few singles at the bar. We were given a table by the window which allowed us to watch the comings and goings on Cortelyou Road. The food is a blend of Asian favorites as well as some innovative new dishes that demonstrate the skill of the chefs in the visible kitchen near the back. There is something for everyone on the menu, each dish served with a custom spice level. Overall the food is excellent and the prices what you would expect to pay for food of this quality. If you're in the mood, my date ordered the special Mango Martini from the bar (the sorbet was home made) and enjoyed it very much.

Really enjoyed our early dinner meal at the purple yam! We got there about 6pm and it was nice and quiet so had our choice of seats. Nice beer selection including some favourites from south east Asia. The daily dumplings were amazing. My husband-a big dumpling fan, said they were the best he’s had!! Had the ribs and the noodles which were also very much enjoyed. Very fresh and tasty and felt quite authentic!

When I told a FOB Phillipino that I was introduced to a Phillipino place for brunch, he gave me the side eye. Followed by, 'what they have on the menu'. When I told him Torino and eggs, he went bright eyed. 'I haven't had real Phillipino food since getting to NYC. I came from brunch and had about half the menu. I will go back for the other half. Everything on the menu is fresh and you can taste it. Everything is made on the premises. So when you walk in, you are immediately transported out of Brooklyn and to Manila. App- had the vegetarian fritters. Fresh Lumpia. Huge (about the size of your palm) shredded veggies battered in a heavier than tempura batter, lighter than pakora batter coating with a dumb hot sauce. Pork and shrimp dumplings- tortellini sized pan fried dumplings over stuffed with meat. Food- spicy pork rice bowl with sweet and spicy thin pork slices over rice and eggs. And my friend had a huge bowl of steaming Vegetarian Bibimbap. And for dessert the young coconut pie. This made me want to add Manila to my list of places to go. Young shreds of coconut in a warm custard encased in a thick homemade flaky buttery crust. With ice cream. Drop the mike.

Group of 10 after tiring weekend film shoot: goal for good wine and good food in walking distance from film set. Recommended by team member--slight walk to enjoy a great Spring evening. Ordered crisp Portugese wine and sharing delightful appetizers, tasteful curry goat, braised ox tails, chicken...mussels....noodles....salads....vegetarian fishes. Very "satisfying" experience with more tasting and sharing of premise-prepared desserts . Met Owner/Chef and thanked him for wonderful after dinner ginger infused Sake! A great way to taste a newly "discovered" food street of a lovely Brooklyn neighborhood--16 minutes from Manhattan. Great Find! "Authentic Asian Cuisine Experience: better than Manhattan's bests! Alternative suggestion: 16 hours flight to Asia!"

What a little hidden gem! This place was great!!! There were 4 of us so we ordered a bunch of different plates and shared. The Pork sliders with kimchee was the best! I think we ordered 2 plates of those since we were warned they were wonderful and addicting. The duck was to die for! We got there early and sat on the patio which has plenty of shade since it was nice and hot out. By the time we left, the place was packed and there were people waiting outside the front door. It's a must do if you're in the Brooklyn area!

We went for dinner and had a wonderful experience. The menu has interesting choices and the food was fresh and delicious. The tastes were varied and we all enjoyed our food greatly.

A great little restaurant, Filipino inspired food. The food is very good and the portions are just right. The chicken adobo was great! Give it a try!

Purple yam is nothing to write home about. Food is ok and prices are too high. Service is good.

My friend and I visited The Purple Yam in March 2013. We both got special dishes that are not on the online menu. We had steamed dumplings with pull pork as starters. The fresh cilantro combined with pork meat and the soft, sweet, warm, fluffy steamed dumpling bread was so tasty. For my entree I had a bowl of lamb stew. There where whole okra pods in the stew, which I loved. The flavors and spices were so lovingly balanced. It was also a bit spicy. Easily the best lamb stew I have ever eaten! For dessert, I had the flan, which was wonderful as well. The wait staff were not intrusive, yet they were very attentive. The place gets noisy when crowded, as it was the Friday night I was there. But its probably just the excellent food getting everyone worked up into good conversations. The wine menu is limited. They didn't have any malbec, but cab franc we drank instead was very nice. If you're in Brooklyn, it's well worth the stop to experience Filipino cuisine at The Purple Yam.

Okay. I'm biased. They incredible staff know us by name and also pretty much know what we're gonna order. But the thing is. We go back so often because it's that good. It's not cheap but it is good. I recommend the shrimp and scallion pancake, the adobo (rib or chicken) and the wonderful Bi Bim Bap.