When you read about the Purple Pig, with it’s focus on small plates of housemade charcuterie, cheeses and classics from the Mediterranean, you might think you are going to a small, neighborhood spot where a heavily accented waiter will serve you rich red wine and hopefully whisk you off to Italy.

Instead, the rustic wine bar, an open kitchen looking out onto high-top, wooden communal tables and Spanish-style tiles framing the walls, finds its home on Magnificent Mile, and by mid-afternoon it’s full of the busy, worked men and women of downtown, desperate for a glass of Sangiovese and a plate of fried sardines.

The menu is alluring and tempting, full of antipasti, cured meats, cheeses, and smears – everything is here from pork liver pate to roasted bone marrow. A section devoted to “fried things” is reason enough to come, with options like manchego – the earthy, musky cheese covered in ground panko crumbs and fried to a warmed state, served alongside sweet quince jam-  and fried pig’s ears with pickled cherry peppers. Tiny, crisp arancini are filled with sweet mashed peas, placed on top of smooth, creamy fresh ricotta and bright, lemony mint pesto – the perfect combination of textures, crunch and creamy, and flavors, salty and sweet.

A la plancha offers hearty lamb leg with fava beans and jamon serrano served with a fried egg and grilled bread, alongside lighter dishes like sepia with snap peas or skewered scallops layered with bay leaf and served with a chickpea aioli. The sepia is lightly grilled, and toasted with darkly roasted almonds and bright, crunchy snap peas, in a warm, tangy vinaigrette. It’s the perfect summer afternoon dish. Antipasti includes staple marinated olives, classic beets with goat cheese and pistachio vinaigrette, and playful olive oil-poached tuna with Greek lima beans.

While the menu is enticing, the food itself is a bit unbalanced in its preparation, leaning too heavily on vinegar or lacking seasoning. Artichokes served with potatoes and salami are soaked in a stringent mustard vinaigrette, the potatoes are unevenly cooked- some are soft while others are too firm- and the flavor from the Tuscan salami is lost in the vinegar. Grilled lamb leg is on the edge of being over seasoned as well, and the accompanying fava beans are mushy and overpowered by the tart, salty Kalamata olives they are served with.

But don’t fret, dolci includes a piping hot, golden brioche donut. Filled with fresh ricotta and chocolate chips, it’s sweet, crispy, and delicious- not to be missed.The butterscotch budino is not as satisfying, the pudding slightly overcooked and lumpy, the flavor off.

Whether it’s after a long day at work or during a shopping break, The Purple Pig offers a nice wine menu, a wonderful selection of cheeses, and several options for nibbles. Go early to avoid the evening crowds, the food and service is better without the clatter of the full restaurant, and you’ll miss having to wait for a table.