Cooper-Young Restaurants: Where to Eat and Drink Right Now

Cooper-Young restaurants are packed into a few blocks of Midtown Memphis: South Cooper Street, Young Avenue, and the stretch of Central Avenue just east of Cooper, all ZIP 38104. You can walk from Texas brisket to Pacific Rim seafood to a ramen bowl in ten minutes, and most of the bars on the strip run a real kitchen. You'll know you've arrived when you pass under the trestle with the houses on top.

We checked every restaurant below at its own website in October 2026, reading the street address rather than trusting a directory, and hours appear only where the restaurant prints them. Mondays are the trap here: several of the best kitchens close, so the FAQ lists who's open. For the rest of the neighborhood, see our Memphis neighborhoods guide, and a few blocks north, our Midtown Memphis restaurants and Overton Square restaurants guides pick up where this one stops. — Josh

Date night in Cooper-Young

Four rooms worth booking ahead, all within two blocks of the Cooper and Young intersection. Three of the four close Sunday or Monday, so check the day before you plan around them.

• The Beauty Shop966 S Cooper St

  Karen Blockman Carrier's restaurant in the former Atkins Beauty Salon, where Priscilla Presley had her hair done, open since 2002 cooking big Southern and international flavors. Lunch Mon–Fri 11am–2pm; dinner Mon–Thu 5–10pm and Fri–Sat 5–11pm; brunch Saturday 11am–2pm and Sunday 10am–3pm.

• Fawn937 S Cooper St

  A dinner room from the team behind Cameo, No Comment, and Mary's BOTE, with private dining, an events calendar, and a bar that keeps the kitchen's hours. Tue–Thu 5–9pm, Fri–Sat 5–10pm; closed Sunday and Monday.

• No Comment2155 Central Ave

  Italian classics cooked with Indian spices: house-made pastas and local proteins, with wine flights and house-made wine coolers on the drinks list. Tue–Thu 5–11pm, Fri–Sat 5pm–midnight; closed Sunday and Monday.

Cooper-Young barbecue, catfish, and pizza

The neighborhood's everyday anchors: two barbecue styles a few blocks apart, a catfish counter, and two pizza rooms on Cooper. Good for a group that can't agree on dinner.

• Central BBQ2249 Central Ave

  Central BBQ on the avenue it's named for. Order the smoked hot wings (wet, dry, jerked, or honey gold) or the BBQ nachos with pulled pork, brisket, or no meat at all. Online ordering for pickup on its site.

• Bain Barbecue993 S Cooper St

  Texas-style barbecue in a pork town: USDA Prime brisket and house-made sausage, smoked over a wood fire. Tue–Sat 11am–8pm, Sun 11am–4pm, closed Mondays.

• Soul Fish Cafe862 S Cooper St

  Southern classics, po' boys, and tacos, with beer and wine, smack in the middle of Cooper-Young. Open daily 11am–9pm, one of the few kitchens on the strip with no day off.

• Aldo's Pizza Pies752 S Cooper St

  Pizza pies at the north end of the strip, with a rooftop. Wednesday brings live music on the roof at 6pm, and weekend brunch runs 11am–2pm. Sun–Thu 11am–10pm, Fri–Sat to 11pm.

• Cooper House Project906 S Cooper St

  Neapolitan pizza, beer brewed in small batches, and coffee in one room, with local art on the taproom walls. Coffee from 7am Wed–Fri (8am weekends), pizza and pints into the evening; closed Monday and Tuesday.

Casual dinners: burgers, ramen, tacos, and vegan

Where Cooper-Young eats on a weeknight without a reservation. Two of these sit on Young Avenue next door to each other, and two more are on East Parkway at the neighborhood's east edge.

• Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint2197 Central Ave, Suite 101

  100% American Wagyu burgers, kept simple on purpose: don't ask for lettuce and tomato. A different burger special every day of the week, and cold beer. Sun–Thu 11am–midnight, Fri–Sat to 2am. (The citywide ranking: best burgers in Memphis.)

• Nagoya House2156 Young Ave

  Ramen and hibachi on Young Avenue: shio, shoyu, miso, and tonkotsu bowls, tsukemen, takoyaki, and a Monday ramen special. Mon 4–10:30pm, closed Tuesday, Wed–Sat 11:30am–10:30pm, Sun noon–10pm.

• Imagine Vegan Cafe2158 Young Ave

  An all-vegan menu, fish dinner included, from a mom-and-pop kitchen. Mon–Fri 11am–7pm, Sat–Sun 11am–9pm. (More plant-based options citywide: our vegan restaurants in Memphis guide.)

• Las Margaritas948 S Cooper St

  Mexican plates and margaritas in the middle of the Cooper strip, part of a family of Las Margaritas restaurants across Tennessee. Order pickup or delivery from its site.

• 711 Social711 E Parkway S

  Spicy malatang and Asian street-food snacks with cold drinks under neon, on East Parkway at the neighborhood's edge. Bar and food menus are on its site.

Breakfast, lunch, and something sweet

Cooper-Young mornings start at Kitchen Laurel or with a coffee at Cooper House Project. The Beauty Shop's weekend brunch is in the date-night list above, and the full metro roundup is our brunch in Memphis guide.

• Kitchen Laurel800 S Cooper St

  Chef Kevin Sullivan's small breakfast-and-lunch kitchen, where the Chicken Newport (a dish that came down from Harry's on Teur, Cooper Street 20/20, and Farm and Fig) lives on. Wed–Sat 7am–2pm, Sun 10am–2pm; closed Monday and Tuesday.

• Wild Beet Salad Co.2158 Central Ave

  Salads and wraps chopped and tossed to order, from the shop formerly known as Lettuce Eat. With kids in tow? Stomping Grounds, the family clubhouse next door at 2166 Central, will run a Wild Beet order over to your table.

• Stella's Ice Cream2197 Central Ave

  A new flavor every week, scooped in the same building as Jack Brown's, so dessert is a few steps from the burger. Order ahead on its site.

• Boba Boba Life709 E Parkway S

  Milk teas and fruit teas, with 20% off drinks on Tuesdays before noon. Mon–Thu 11am–7pm, Fri–Sat 11am–8pm; Sunday hours vary, so check its site.

Cooper-Young bars that serve real food

The bars on Cooper and Young cook. These six run a kitchen worth eating at, from pub fish and chips to global street food until late. For the citywide list, see the best bars in Memphis.

• Young Avenue Deli2119 Young Ave

  A Cooper-Young fixture for 20 years: deli sandwiches, wings, a fried Moonpie sundae, 36 draft beers, and live music on the calendar. Open 11am–1am, seven days a week.

• Celtic Crossing903 S Cooper St

  The Cooper-Young Irish pub, cooking traditional dishes with products sourced from Ireland. Happy hour Mon–Fri 3–6pm. Mon–Thu 11am–10pm, Fri–Sat to midnight, Sun 10:30am–10pm.

• Cooper's959 S Cooper St

  A neighborhood restaurant and bar with two stages and live entertainment every night, plus TVs for the game. Happy hour Mon–Fri 4–6pm. Mon–Thu 11am–midnight, Fri–Sat to 1am, Sun to midnight.

• Bar DKDC964 S Cooper St

  Karen Carrier's music club, steps from The Beauty Shop, serving small plates of international street food, a vintage photo booth, and live soul music. Open nightly 5pm–3am, the latest close on this list.

• Memphis Whistle2299 Young Ave

  Prohibition-style cocktails in a cozy room on Young, with a kitchen that closes before the bar. Sun 4–10pm (kitchen to 8), Mon–Thu 4–11pm (kitchen to 9), Fri–Sat 4pm–midnight (kitchen to 11).

• Hammer & Ale921 S Cooper St

  A craft beer bar with a patio and a short menu built for the taps: soft pretzels and panini. Tue–Thu 2–8pm, Fri–Sat noon–9pm, Sun 1–7pm; closed Mondays.

Coming soon, changed, or couldn't confirm

Big Bad Breakfast is coming to 2149 Young Avenue. As of October 13, 2026, its own site describes the Cooper-Young location as on the way, with breakfast and lunch daily once it opens. We'll add it when it serves. Tsunami has closed: its own site now carries a thank-you for 27 years and no longer posts hours. No Comment on Central has changed shape: it now calls itself an Indian-Italian fusion restaurant, with pasta at the center of the menu.

We couldn't confirm a few familiar Cooper-Young names at a website of their own this round, so they're left off for now: Maciel's Tortas & Tacos, Ashtar Garden, La Roche Lebanese Cuisine, Alchemy, Java Cabana, Bluff City Coffee, and the TACOnganas on Central. That doesn't mean they're closed. Call before you go, and we'll add them once we can verify them.