Chattanooga is a fantastic city to visit in southern Tennessee. It has its fair share of great restaurants, but it is very important to check out some of the restaurants outside of downtown. Located in the St. Elmo neighborhood of Chattanooga, the Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe is a local spot serving some great barbecue.
I was excited by the reviews of the restaurant and the fact that locals enjoy going there. Also, I remember going to another, unrelated restaurant back in 2016 with a purple exterior – the Purple Pie Place in Custer, SD. As I really enjoyed the food there, I was anxious to try the food at another restaurant with a purple theme to it.
There are about a couple rooms with dining areas, and I was able to get a nice spot by the window. I originally had intentions of getting a barbecue sandwich, but my stomach felt empty. As a result, I ordered a full meat plate of pulled chicken with a side of baked beans and some coleslaw aka the “Scottman Classic” as I like to say in my YouTube videos. The plate also came with free Texas toast.
I only had to wait about 5-10 minutes after ordering before my food was ready. The portions were quite generous as it was enough to fill me up. Before digging into the pulled chicken, I decided to try the side items. The Texas toast was toasted very well as it was not burnt and it had a good amount of butter for that flavorful taste. The coleslaw was also quite tasty; it had a generous amount of dressing in it. The baked beans were nice, hot, and sweet. The sides were a great way to start the meal. Last but not least, it was time for me to indulge into the chicken. The pulled chicken was cooked very well, but it was lacking flavor. I had been to other barbecue restaurants where the pulled chicken or pork had a lot more seasoning in it, so I was a little disappointed. However, on each table are three different barbecue sauces: original, sweet, and hot. When I blended in some of the original barbecue sauce with the pulled chicken, the sauce made the chicken taste much better. The barbecue sauce had a very great flavor to it, and it had liven up the meat.
When eating at the Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe, parking is available at the restaurant. Although I had no problem parking in the parking lot, I have read in the reviews that the parking lot can fill up at its busiest times. If for any reason the parking lot is full, there is an option to park nearby at the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, however, it is a paid lot. As the restaurant is a few miles from downtown, you will need to drive or use Uber to get to the restaurant.
Overall, I had a very good experience at the Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe, and I would definitely go back again. Although the pulled chicken lacked some flavor on its own, it was pretty good with some barbecue sauce. The sides were absolutely fantastic, but I was surprised not to see macaroni and cheese as an available side which I typically see at barbecue restaurants. Thankfully, the coleslaw and baked beans were quite impressive. The service was very good inside, and the prices were very generous given the portion size. When you are in the Chattanooga area, make sure to check out the Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe! It is very close to the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, so it makes a great place for lunch before taking the incline railway up to Lookout Mountain!
Check out my video review on the Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe on my YouTube channel!
Scottman895 Travel 