Downtown Memphis Restaurants

Downtown Memphis dining runs from a rib basement that hasn't changed since 1948 to a chef's tasting room with a cheese cart — and the practical facts (who's open Monday, who takes reservations, who's dinner-only) are the difference between a great night and a locked door. Restaurants here move fast: one beloved room relocated to South Main last year, and a few longtime names have closed since the lists you may have read were written.

So here's the version with the load-bearing facts: 28 downtown restaurants re-verified at their own sites in August 2026, organized by sub-district, with hours, price signals, and how to actually get a table. Planning a full evening? Pair this with our downtown guide, the citywide things to do in Memphis list — and what's happening this week has tonight's calendar.

The Main Street core

Restaurants on and just off Main Street — the trolley line runs right past most of these, and nothing here is more than a block or two off it.

• Charlie Vergos' Rendezvousthe alley off Second

  Ribs in the basement since 1948 — small order $21.50, full slab for two $38, cheese-and-sausage plate to start. Closed Sun–Mon; Tue–Thu 11am–9pm, Fri–Sat till 10. No reservations; the line is part of it.

• Flight Restaurant & Wine Bar39 S Main

  Everything in threes: the Steak Flight ($39, Boursin-stuffed filet to elk tenderloin), fish flights, dessert flights. Dinner only, daily from 4:30pm. OpenTable; parties of 6+ should book ahead.

• The Majestic Grille145 S Main

  Dinner in a 1913 movie palace with silent films on the big screen — 21-day aged steaks, weekend brunch, and a dedicated Orpheum show-night schedule so you make your curtain. Resy.

• Chez PhilippeThe Peabody

  The grande dame's fine-dining room: a chef-driven menu that changes daily, dinner Thu–Sun from 5pm — and afternoon tea Wed–Sun if you'd rather do scones under the chandeliers. OpenTable.

• McEwen's120 Monroe

  Southern fine-casual that regulars guard jealously — pan-seared barramundi with lump crab, chicken-bacon-corn chowder. Lunch weekdays 11–2, dinner Mon–Sat from 5; closed Sundays.

• Bardog Tavern73 Monroe

  Downtown's neighborhood bar — and its earliest weekday breakfast, from 7:30am, with the kitchen running to 2am. The Amazing Island Club and the penne alla vodka are the staples. No reservations, ever.

• Aldo's Pizza Pies100 S Main

  Proper pies daily 11am–10pm — The Button Man is the order — and Monday Pint Night (from 7pm) upgrades any 12-inch to an 18-inch. Walk in. (Where it ranks citywide: our best pizza guide.)

• Sage94 S Main

  Fusion-soul, lunch and dinner Wed–Sat plus Sunday brunch; closed Mon–Tue, and reservations are by phone only — brunch is first come, first served.

• Huey's Downtown77 S 2nd

  The World Famous Huey Burger, toothpicks in the ceiling, kitchen open to 11pm (midnight weekends). Every out-of-towner's first burger; every local's fallback. Walk in. (The citywide patty map is in our best burgers guide.)

• Automatic Slim's83 S 2nd

  Caribbean-cowboy plates by day and night, plus the weekend brunch famous for $3 mimosas and the 100-oz mimosa tower. Open daily; brunch Sat–Sun 9am–3pm.

• Belle TavernBarboro Alley

  A proper hidden bar down an actual alley — oysters, a serious burger, and no crowds that didn't earn it. From 4pm Tue–Sat; closed Sun–Mon.

Beale Street & Peabody Place

• Itta Benaabove B.B. King's, 145 Beale

  Up the fire escape to a blue-lit Delta-Southern dining room hiding over Beale — the street's grown-up dinner. Nightly 5–10pm. OpenTable.

• Blues City Cafe138 Beale

  The neon forks. Ribs (half rack $27.49, full rack $36.49), the self-titled World's Best Tamales, and golden fried catfish, served to the late crowd right on the corner of Beale — open to 1am Sun–Thu, 3am Fri–Sat. Walk in or book through their site.

• Dyer's Burgers205 Beale

  Burgers deep-fried in century-old grease (that's the legend and the menu). Open daily from 11am "till" — their site's word — which on Beale weekends means late; it's the sanctioned late-night burger move.

• Silly Goose100 Peabody Pl

  Craft cocktails and wood-fired pizza in a lounge that runs late — till 2am weeknights, 3am Friday and Saturday — with happy hour Mon–Thu 5–7.

South Main

• Good Fortune Co361 S Main

  Handmade noodles and dumplings — Big City Ramen, coco curry — Wed–Sun 4–10pm, walk-in only, no takeout, no exceptions. The line moves; the noodles are why.

• Catherine & Mary'sthe Chisca, 272 S Main

  Tuscan-by-way-of-Memphis from the Hog & Hominy team — dinner nightly from 4:30, with free valet Mon–Sat. Book through their site.

• The Lobbyistthe Chisca, 272 S Main

  Chef Jimmy Gentry (a James Beard semifinalist) cooking vegetable-forward modern American. Tue–Sat evenings; closed Sun–Mon.

• Felicia Suzanne'sNOW at 383 S Main

  Flo's Creole-Southern institution moved from Monroe to South Main — a 1926 building, a MICHELIN Guide 2025 nod, and the hot-sauce oysters made the trip. Tue–Sat evenings; Resy.

• The Arcade540 S Main

  Memphis's oldest café, since 1919 — daily 7am–3pm, sweet potato pancakes, Eggs Redneck, and a room that's played itself in half the movies shot here. Resy or walk in.

• Central BBQ147 E Butler

  The downtown outpost of the hometown favorite — ribs marinated overnight, pulled pork by the tray — daily 11am–9pm, two blocks from the Civil Rights Museum. Counter service.

• Green Beetle325 S Main

  Memphis's oldest tavern, pouring since 1939 — burgers and beer daily 11am–10pm (later Fri–Sat). Walk in like everyone has for 87 years.

• Hustle & Dough477 S Main

  Sourdough-bakery-café daily 7am–4pm — breads and pastries worth the walk — with sister spot Bar Hustle pouring across the ARRIVE lobby Wed–Sat evenings.

• Loflin Yard7 W Carolina

  Two acres of backyard with a kitchen — Old Bridge Burger, smokehouse nachos, dogs on leashes welcome. Closed Mon–Tue; open late Fri–Sat.

• Amelia Gene'sSouth Main district

  The fine-dining ticket downtown — seasonal tasting menus, a cheese cart people plan evenings around, complimentary valet. Dinner Tue–Sat. OpenTable.

The Pinch, the Pyramid & the edges

• Alcenia's317 N Main

  BJ's soul food and the sweet potato cobbler, with a welcome you'll remember. Tue–Fri 11am–5pm, Sat 9am–3pm; closed Sun–Mon. Walk in. (The whole tradition is in our soul food guide.)

• The Lookout at the Pyramid1 Bass Pro Dr

  Dinner 28 stories up the Pyramid with a glass-floor balcony over the river — Mon–Sat 11am–9pm, Sun to 7. Resy; sunset slots go first.

• Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken310 S Front

  The spicy fried chicken that launched a national chain, still frying at the Front Street original daily from 11am. Walk in; worth whatever the wait is. (The whole story — Mason, 1953 — is on our best fried chicken guide.)

• Sunrise Memphis670 Jefferson, the Edge

  The all-day breakfast anchor on downtown's eastern edge — King Biscuit, daily 7am–2pm, counter service. Full details in our brunch guide.

Staying at a downtown hotel? Start here

Memphis Riverline Hotel (formerly the Sheraton), 250 N Main: you're in the Pinch, at the quiet north end. The closest table worth crossing a street for is Alcenia's, one block up at 317 N Main — go for the fried chicken and the welcome. The Lookout at the Pyramid is three or four blocks northwest for the 28th-floor dinner view. Everything on the Main Street core list is a 10-minute walk or one trolley hop south — Bardog, McEwen's, and Sage are the near end of it.

The Peabody, 149 Union: you're sleeping above one of the restaurants — Chez Philippe does its French-Asian dinner Thu–Sun right off the lobby — and Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous is literally across the alley. Flight and the Majestic Grille are two blocks down Main.

Central Station, ARRIVE, and the South Main hotels: the best-fed corner of downtown. The Arcade is across from Central Station, Good Fortune Co's ramen line forms a block north, Hustle & Dough bakes inside ARRIVE's building, and Catherine & Mary's and The Lobbyist share the Chisca. The Hyatt Centric on Beale puts you between Itta Bena, Blues City, and Gus's — none more than a five-minute walk.

What changed downtown — and what's coming

The dated facts worth knowing: Felicia Suzanne's now lives at 383 S Main (the Monroe address closed with the move). Bishop, the Central Station brasserie, closed back in 2024, and 117 Prime wound down the same spring — Belle Tavern, tucked behind its old space, carries on. The Little Tea Shop, the century-old Monroe Avenue lunch institution, is permanently closed — its own Facebook page confirms it never reopened after March 2020, whatever old listings imply. And there's a big one coming: Walt & Ricky's Seafood Kitchen — raw bar, oyster towers, river views — is building out at 1 Dr. MLK Jr. Ave; their own site still says 'coming soon' with no date, while local reporting points at fall 2026. We'll cover it in the newsletter the week it opens.

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