Memphis Eats
All the spots I’ve liked or still want to try in Memphis!
Key:
🥡 - haven’t tried
👌 - would go back
👎 - not worth visiting
70 Places • 16 Saves • ago
Free
Top Picks

do
👌 Cozy Corner Restaurant
Excellent!!! The ribs, sliced pork sandwich and Cornish hen are all great. Sauce is spicy and not too sweet (get it “hot”). Good banana pudding. Friendly staff. Founder is the first African American woman inducted into the bbq hall of game.
Details

do
👌 Little Bettie
Good! Set inside the large, new facility for Wiseacre Brewifing, which is Memphis’s biggest craft beer label. They serve New Haven style pizza. It’s good! West and I had the Whoa, It’s Todd and the potato one. It’s a touch saltier and greasier than I’d like but eating in person might be better and they’re new! So cutting them a bit of slack. Would definitely eat here again.
Details

do
👌 Payne's Bar-B-Que
Good! Fun atmosphere (veeeery old school; you can smell the cigarette smoke baked into the walls).
Meat was great but heavy handed on the sauce and slaw. Next time I’d order sauce on the side and build my own sando. Ribs were better than the sandwich. Again, I’d get SoS and I’d ask for the “hot” sauce which is slightly less sweet.
Details

do
👌 Edge Alley | Restaurant
Super good! Fun cocktail list, good starters, and great mains. Limited menu in the good way - everything is executed well. In a cool part of town - Edge District - and right next to High Cotton Brewery. Date night spot at night. Craft cocktails, nice menu. They also have daytime options, including a coffee shop.
Apps are possibly the best part of the menu. Good dishes: Fish, shrimp and grits
Less good dishes: gnocchi and burger
Details

do
👌 Hazel's Lucky Dice Deli
Excellent! Get the pastrami. Corned beef is less good. Need to try the bagels and lox. Hours are tricky tho - 11a-2p weekdays only.
Details

do
👌 Eight and Sand
The bar inside the Central Station hotel. vibey.
Details

eat
👌 City Silo Table & Pantry
Vegan, healthy food. Solid grain bowls and veggie sandwiches. I had the tahini grain bowl and it was good!
Details

eat
The Beauty Shop
One of our favorites. Great food and drinks. Went this winter just for drinks and sat at the bar, and it was great for that, too! Order heavily from the apps and treat it as a small plate spot. Don't miss the oysters!
Details
Other Good Spots

drink
👌 Beck & Call
Rooftop bar at the Hyatt downtown - great views but overpriced, blah drinks. Burger and fries smelled amazing but we didn’t try any food when we were there.
Details

cafe
👌 Vice & Virtue Coffee
Hipstery coffee. Have only tried the drip, but it was great. They have pastries and a few toast options. Classic Parisian ham and butter baguette is also great (served W-Sun).
Details

eat
👌 Emilio's Grocery
Latin market with carniceria and lots of good ingredients/spices/masa etc. there’s a small taco shop to the right when you walk in. They have tamales on the weekends - they were excellent! They come in a hot case and when they sell out, they’re out.
Details

do
The Cove
Vaguely nautical themed dive bar. They do karaoke occasionally.
Details

do
🥡 Vietnam Restaurant
This place was pretty good!
Details

do
👌 Saltwater Crab
Good! Tried a number of rolls and things and everything was good. Seaweed salad was excellent and large portion.
Mackerel nigiri was good. Would def go back.
Details

do
👌 Tamboli's Pasta & Pizza
Started by a classmate of Wests from HS.
It was good! Sausage pie was the best we tried (margherita was underwhelming - felt like it needed to be rolled out thinner and had more balance w the ingredients). Good sauce.
Good marinated olives and surprisingly well-balanced Dijon molasses vinaigrette for the salad.
Outdoor seating on their patio and in their covered patio to sit and eat your meal.
Heavy pours on the wine. Canned beer only.
Details
Want to Go

eat
🥡 Chile Verde Taco Truck
At the BP gas station. Open 10a-10p. Closed Sundays. Cash and card.
Haven't been yet.
Details

eat
🥡 Krab Head Seafood
pickup or delivery. Seafood boil. Would be fun to get crawfish from here!
Details

eat
🥡 Dave's Bagels
Not 100% sure but worth trying. Look too bulky/bready
Details

do
🥡 117 Prime
Steakhouse with small plates. Good vibe.
Details

eat
🥡 Pontotoc Lounge
Cool lookin restaurant downtown. Date night type spot. Would like to dine in when possible.
Details

do
🥡 Bar Hustle
This is the bar in the Arrive hotel. Open thurs thru Sunday. Related pizza place open thurs thru sat 4-10p. Brunch open 11-5
Details

drink
🥡 Hu Hotel Rooftop
Rooftop where you can watch the mighty lights on the I-40 bridge.
Details

eat
🥡 Panaderia San Juan
Owned by the same family for 20 years
Details

do
🥡 Momma's
Best chicken sando in town? The firebird.
Details

do
🥡 Blue's City Donuts
Only black-owned donut shop in mem!
Details

do
🥡 Maciel's
Original location of Maciels. Haven’t been to this location yet. Midtown one is sorta meh but fine if you need a mex fix.
Details

do
🥡 Noodles Asian Bistro
Dim sum??
Details

do
Hattie B’s Hot Chicken
Kinda meh. Famous Nashville chain. It was pretty good but also a touch greasy. Don’t go higher than “hot” on the scale - west couldn’t take it and he loves spicy
Details

do
🥡 Aldo's Pizza Pies - Midtown
No idea if it’s good but it looks cute! Multiple locations. I’m expecting tambolis to be better.
Details

do
🥡 Hammer & Ale
Bourbon, beer. Drove by and looked cool
Details

do
🥡 The Bar-B-Q Shop
Zach’s dads fave - need to try.
Details

do
🥡 India Palace
Good Indian, per West
Details

do
🥡 Qahwa
Single origin coffees from MS
Details

do
🥡 17 Berkshire
Cutesy coffee shop. Stump town and macarons.
Details

do
🥡 French Truck Coffee
NOLA coffee chain.
Details

do
🥡 Belltower Coffee & Studio
Coffee shop and pottery studio
Details

do
🥡 Levee Coffee & Creamery
Still would like to go here. Summer I guess!
Details

do
🥡 Muggin Coffeehouse
Black owned coffee shop
Details

do
🥡 Voodoo Cafe
Maybe the best local coffee
Details

do
🥡 Cool Beans Coffee Shop
In the Cordova international farmers market. Latino owned.
Details

eat
🥡 Casa Perez # 1
Carne, tortillas, TAMALES
Details

do
🥡 Sabor Caribe
Venezuelan and Caribbean food. Very much went to try this spot!
Details

do
👎 Saito 2
Miming is the owner and Sushi Jimmy moved here from his place downtown. It’s decent and the best food close to our house. Nothing to write home about tho. Service is bad and inconsistent.
Details

do
🥡 Hen House Wine Bar
Verrry girly girls wine night vibe. Not really my style. Walked in but vibe wasn’t right so didn’t stay to eat or drink so can’t comment. Pretty expensive.
Details

do
🥡 New Manila Restaurant
Local authentic Filipino. Excited to try!
Details

do
Maciel's Tortas & Tacos
This was fine but kinda white people mex. would come back for the tamales on Friday’s and saturdays at least to try them. We went to the new location in midtown but that didn’t make me want to rush to the one downtown. Their carnitas were okay but not traditional.
Details

eat
🥡 Sweet Grass
Good sit down date night kind of place. Recd by Becky. Oysters on the half shell
Details

do
🥡 Cafe 1912
Becky and mark recommendation - also date nighty
Details

eat
🥡 Dory
New fancy farm to table restaurant with a tasting menu (I think around $60 pp). Haven’t been yet but the photos look good.
Details

do
🥡 BallHoggerz BBQ
Ribs
Details

do
👎 Tom's Barbecue Memphis
Disappointing, middle of the road. Pulled pork sando was sort of bland. Rib tips were dry and oregano heavy. Rec from Reddit. Famous for their rib tips. Diners, drive ins and dives recd.
Details

eat
🥡 Kwik Chek
Deli run by a Korean family. Bibimbop bowls available! Also bibimbop burger. Must go. also Greek items in menu from owners ex. Mandy look good.
Details

do
🥡 Sam's Deli
Indian inflected deli, by ex husband of the Kwik Chef owner. Get the Sub 65 sando.
Details

do
🥡 Ecco on Overton Park
Make and Becky recommended
Details

do
🥡 Bounty on Broad
Mark and Becky recommended
Details

eat
🥡 The Liquor Store
Cool looking. Mark and Becky recd
Details

eat
👌 Taqueria Mexico Express
Best Mexican in memphis, also the best taco truck.
Carne asada is the best but they have a good diversity of meats. Al pasto is pretty good, Birria and barbacoa are even better. $9 for 5 tacos .
Good for a veggie burrito also.
Details

do
👎 Emerald Thai Restaurant
Pad Kee mao was good! But mostly meh.
Details

eat
🥡 Tsunami
Salmon looks good. Would be curious to see how it stacks.
Details

do
🥡 Pho Binh
Someone’s favorite Vietnamese on Reddit
Details

do
🥡 Abyssinia
Ethiopian!!! Haven’t tried it yet.
Details

do
🥡 Bala's Bistro
African stews and other dishes! Looks v delish
Details

do
Antojitos
House made tortillas. Worth a try.
Details

do
🤷🏻♀️ El Mero Taco
Has all the trappings to be good but sadly it’s just not that great. Cocktails are actively bad. Some of the tacos ar stood but they are inconsistent and often come out cold-ish. Best tacos are the fried chicken, brisket quesadilla, and habanero shrimp.
Details

do
The Wing Guru Bartlett
Best honey gold wings according to some
Details

do
👌 Salt|Soy
Pretty good, but requires careful ordering. Skip anything fried or a little too “fusion.” Think of this place more as a small plates stop and less as a sushi spot.
Best dishes were seaweed salad, braised soy beans, and salmon crudo. Also good: spinach and tofu, tuna roll. We didn’t try the noodles, but a few starters then noodle mains could be a good move.
Cocktails are good.
Patio seating is ample and well spaced; they have heat lamps.
Details

do
🥡 fam
Baylor, sushi, rice bowls, noodles
Details

do
Iris
Fave of our server at gray canary. Currently closed and moving to east memphis in 2022.
Details

eat
SOB Downtown
Zakka bowl is supposed to be good! Haven’t been here yet but fun looking menu.
Details

do
Primas Bakery + Boutique
Has coffee
Details
Send A Tip
Send Abby West some gratitude.
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Memphis Eats
All the spots I’ve liked or still want to try in Memphis!
Key:
🥡 - haven’t tried
👌 - would go back
👎 - not worth visiting
70 Places • 16 Saves • ago
Free

Top Picks

do
👌 Cozy Corner Restaurant
Excellent!!! The ribs, sliced pork sandwich and Cornish hen are all great. Sauce is spicy and not too sweet (get it “hot”). Good banana pudding. Friendly staff. Founder is the first African American woman inducted into the bbq hall of game.
Details

do
👌 Little Bettie
Good! Set inside the large, new facility for Wiseacre Brewifing, which is Memphis’s biggest craft beer label. They serve New Haven style pizza. It’s good! West and I had the Whoa, It’s Todd and the potato one. It’s a touch saltier and greasier than I’d like but eating in person might be better and they’re new! So cutting them a bit of slack. Would definitely eat here again.
Details

do
👌 Payne's Bar-B-Que
Good! Fun atmosphere (veeeery old school; you can smell the cigarette smoke baked into the walls).
Meat was great but heavy handed on the sauce and slaw. Next time I’d order sauce on the side and build my own sando. Ribs were better than the sandwich. Again, I’d get SoS and I’d ask for the “hot” sauce which is slightly less sweet.
Details

do
👌 Edge Alley | Restaurant
Super good! Fun cocktail list, good starters, and great mains. Limited menu in the good way - everything is executed well. In a cool part of town - Edge District - and right next to High Cotton Brewery. Date night spot at night. Craft cocktails, nice menu. They also have daytime options, including a coffee shop.
Apps are possibly the best part of the menu. Good dishes: Fish, shrimp and grits
Less good dishes: gnocchi and burger
Details

do
👌 Hazel's Lucky Dice Deli
Excellent! Get the pastrami. Corned beef is less good. Need to try the bagels and lox. Hours are tricky tho - 11a-2p weekdays only.
Details

do
👌 Eight and Sand
The bar inside the Central Station hotel. vibey.
Details

eat
👌 City Silo Table & Pantry
Vegan, healthy food. Solid grain bowls and veggie sandwiches. I had the tahini grain bowl and it was good!
Details

eat
The Beauty Shop
One of our favorites. Great food and drinks. Went this winter just for drinks and sat at the bar, and it was great for that, too! Order heavily from the apps and treat it as a small plate spot. Don't miss the oysters!
Details
Other Good Spots

drink
👌 Beck & Call
Rooftop bar at the Hyatt downtown - great views but overpriced, blah drinks. Burger and fries smelled amazing but we didn’t try any food when we were there.
Details

cafe
👌 Vice & Virtue Coffee
Hipstery coffee. Have only tried the drip, but it was great. They have pastries and a few toast options. Classic Parisian ham and butter baguette is also great (served W-Sun).
Details

eat
👌 Emilio's Grocery
Latin market with carniceria and lots of good ingredients/spices/masa etc. there’s a small taco shop to the right when you walk in. They have tamales on the weekends - they were excellent! They come in a hot case and when they sell out, they’re out.
Details

do
The Cove
Vaguely nautical themed dive bar. They do karaoke occasionally.
Details

do
🥡 Vietnam Restaurant
This place was pretty good!
Details

do
👌 Saltwater Crab
Good! Tried a number of rolls and things and everything was good. Seaweed salad was excellent and large portion.
Mackerel nigiri was good. Would def go back.
Details

do
👌 Tamboli's Pasta & Pizza
Started by a classmate of Wests from HS.
It was good! Sausage pie was the best we tried (margherita was underwhelming - felt like it needed to be rolled out thinner and had more balance w the ingredients). Good sauce.
Good marinated olives and surprisingly well-balanced Dijon molasses vinaigrette for the salad.
Outdoor seating on their patio and in their covered patio to sit and eat your meal.
Heavy pours on the wine. Canned beer only.
Details
Want to Go

eat
🥡 Chile Verde Taco Truck
At the BP gas station. Open 10a-10p. Closed Sundays. Cash and card.
Haven't been yet.
Details

eat
🥡 Krab Head Seafood
pickup or delivery. Seafood boil. Would be fun to get crawfish from here!
Details

eat
🥡 Dave's Bagels
Not 100% sure but worth trying. Look too bulky/bready
Details

do
🥡 117 Prime
Steakhouse with small plates. Good vibe.
Details

eat
🥡 Pontotoc Lounge
Cool lookin restaurant downtown. Date night type spot. Would like to dine in when possible.
Details

do
🥡 Bar Hustle
This is the bar in the Arrive hotel. Open thurs thru Sunday. Related pizza place open thurs thru sat 4-10p. Brunch open 11-5
Details

drink
🥡 Hu Hotel Rooftop
Rooftop where you can watch the mighty lights on the I-40 bridge.
Details

eat
🥡 Panaderia San Juan
Owned by the same family for 20 years
Details

do
🥡 Momma's
Best chicken sando in town? The firebird.
Details

do
🥡 Blue's City Donuts
Only black-owned donut shop in mem!
Details

do
🥡 Maciel's
Original location of Maciels. Haven’t been to this location yet. Midtown one is sorta meh but fine if you need a mex fix.
Details

do
🥡 Noodles Asian Bistro
Dim sum??
Details

do
Hattie B’s Hot Chicken
Kinda meh. Famous Nashville chain. It was pretty good but also a touch greasy. Don’t go higher than “hot” on the scale - west couldn’t take it and he loves spicy
Details

do
🥡 Aldo's Pizza Pies - Midtown
No idea if it’s good but it looks cute! Multiple locations. I’m expecting tambolis to be better.
Details

do
🥡 Hammer & Ale
Bourbon, beer. Drove by and looked cool
Details

do
🥡 The Bar-B-Q Shop
Zach’s dads fave - need to try.
Details

do
🥡 India Palace
Good Indian, per West
Details

do
🥡 Qahwa
Single origin coffees from MS
Details

do
🥡 17 Berkshire
Cutesy coffee shop. Stump town and macarons.
Details

do
🥡 French Truck Coffee
NOLA coffee chain.
Details

do
🥡 Belltower Coffee & Studio
Coffee shop and pottery studio
Details

do
🥡 Levee Coffee & Creamery
Still would like to go here. Summer I guess!
Details

do
🥡 Muggin Coffeehouse
Black owned coffee shop
Details

do
🥡 Voodoo Cafe
Maybe the best local coffee
Details

do
🥡 Cool Beans Coffee Shop
In the Cordova international farmers market. Latino owned.
Details

eat
🥡 Casa Perez # 1
Carne, tortillas, TAMALES
Details

do
🥡 Sabor Caribe
Venezuelan and Caribbean food. Very much went to try this spot!
Details

do
👎 Saito 2
Miming is the owner and Sushi Jimmy moved here from his place downtown. It’s decent and the best food close to our house. Nothing to write home about tho. Service is bad and inconsistent.
Details

do
🥡 Hen House Wine Bar
Verrry girly girls wine night vibe. Not really my style. Walked in but vibe wasn’t right so didn’t stay to eat or drink so can’t comment. Pretty expensive.
Details

do
🥡 New Manila Restaurant
Local authentic Filipino. Excited to try!
Details

do
Maciel's Tortas & Tacos
This was fine but kinda white people mex. would come back for the tamales on Friday’s and saturdays at least to try them. We went to the new location in midtown but that didn’t make me want to rush to the one downtown. Their carnitas were okay but not traditional.
Details

eat
🥡 Sweet Grass
Good sit down date night kind of place. Recd by Becky. Oysters on the half shell
Details

do
🥡 Cafe 1912
Becky and mark recommendation - also date nighty
Details

eat
🥡 Dory
New fancy farm to table restaurant with a tasting menu (I think around $60 pp). Haven’t been yet but the photos look good.
Details

do
🥡 BallHoggerz BBQ
Ribs
Details

do
👎 Tom's Barbecue Memphis
Disappointing, middle of the road. Pulled pork sando was sort of bland. Rib tips were dry and oregano heavy. Rec from Reddit. Famous for their rib tips. Diners, drive ins and dives recd.
Details

eat
🥡 Kwik Chek
Deli run by a Korean family. Bibimbop bowls available! Also bibimbop burger. Must go. also Greek items in menu from owners ex. Mandy look good.
Details

do
🥡 Sam's Deli
Indian inflected deli, by ex husband of the Kwik Chef owner. Get the Sub 65 sando.
Details

do
🥡 Ecco on Overton Park
Make and Becky recommended
Details

do
🥡 Bounty on Broad
Mark and Becky recommended
Details

eat
🥡 The Liquor Store
Cool looking. Mark and Becky recd
Details

eat
👌 Taqueria Mexico Express
Best Mexican in memphis, also the best taco truck.
Carne asada is the best but they have a good diversity of meats. Al pasto is pretty good, Birria and barbacoa are even better. $9 for 5 tacos .
Good for a veggie burrito also.
Details

do
👎 Emerald Thai Restaurant
Pad Kee mao was good! But mostly meh.
Details

eat
🥡 Tsunami
Salmon looks good. Would be curious to see how it stacks.
Details

do
🥡 Pho Binh
Someone’s favorite Vietnamese on Reddit
Details

do
🥡 Abyssinia
Ethiopian!!! Haven’t tried it yet.
Details

do
🥡 Bala's Bistro
African stews and other dishes! Looks v delish
Details

do
Antojitos
House made tortillas. Worth a try.
Details

do
🤷🏻♀️ El Mero Taco
Has all the trappings to be good but sadly it’s just not that great. Cocktails are actively bad. Some of the tacos ar stood but they are inconsistent and often come out cold-ish. Best tacos are the fried chicken, brisket quesadilla, and habanero shrimp.
Details

do
The Wing Guru Bartlett
Best honey gold wings according to some
Details

do
👌 Salt|Soy
Pretty good, but requires careful ordering. Skip anything fried or a little too “fusion.” Think of this place more as a small plates stop and less as a sushi spot.
Best dishes were seaweed salad, braised soy beans, and salmon crudo. Also good: spinach and tofu, tuna roll. We didn’t try the noodles, but a few starters then noodle mains could be a good move.
Cocktails are good.
Patio seating is ample and well spaced; they have heat lamps.
Details

do
🥡 fam
Baylor, sushi, rice bowls, noodles
Details

do
Iris
Fave of our server at gray canary. Currently closed and moving to east memphis in 2022.
Details

eat
SOB Downtown
Zakka bowl is supposed to be good! Haven’t been here yet but fun looking menu.
Details

do
Primas Bakery + Boutique
Has coffee
Details
Send A Tip
Send Abby West some gratitude.
Select your tip amount
$3
$5
$10
$20
Or type in other amount
$