Must-Eat Restaurants in Midtown Memphis

Where to eat in the Cooper-Young Historic District?

Cooper-Young is one of Memphis's most walkable dining neighborhood, a tree-lined stretch of South Cooper Street packed with locally owned restaurants, music shops, and art galleries. It's a go-to for both weekend brunch and weeknight dinners.

The Beauty Shop

Cuisine: American | Best for: Brunch, date night | Price: $$

Once you get over the interior, a preserved 1960s beauty salon with Belvedere hair dryers over the seats and where Priscilla Presley was a regular, let the menu take over. Punchy flavor combos like chicken wings and watermelon in sweet chile lime sauce are par for the course. Whether you go for lunch, dinner, or Sunday brunch, never skip dessert: daily offerings, including a rainbow of gelati flavors, are scrawled on the mirror near Priscilla's spot. This spot lives up to its "Look Good. Eat Good" motto. The Beauty Shop has one of the most beautiful patios, hidden in the back, that is not to be missed either.

Bain Barbecue

Cuisine: Texas-style BBQ | Best for: Lunch, casual dinner | Price: $$ 993 S. Cooper St.

Bryant Bain started with a food truck and quickly earned a devoted following before opening this brick-and-mortar in Cooper-Young. The focus is Texas-style smoked meats like prime brisket, spare ribs and housemade sausage with a Memphis sensibility. Don't miss the "Texas Twinkie," a smoked jalapeño stuffed with cream cheese and brisket or their smashburger which earns local praise as one of the best.

Fawn Memphis

Cuisine: American small plates | Best for: Date night, special occasions | Price: $$$ 937 Cooper St. | Dinner Tue–Sat

Farm-to-table meets quiet woodland elegance at this tapas-style dinner spot in the heart of Cooper-Young. Chef Theresa Schuenke crafts a thoughtful, ever-evolving menu of small plates built around locally sourced ingredients. The cuisine is American but decidedly experimental with confit duck, rabbit agnolotti, miso deviled eggs and french onion tartine. The intimate dining room is designed for lingering. Reservations recommended.

Kitchen Laurel

Cuisine: Breakfast & brunch | Best for: Breakfast, brunch, families | Price: $$ 800 S. Cooper St. | Wed–Sat 7am–2pm, Sun 10am–2pm

Chef Kevin Sullivan, a longtime lead chef at the celebrated Tsunami, channeled his signature Asian-influenced flair into this beloved breakfast and brunch spot. The sweet potato waffles and biscuits and gravy are perennial favorites, and the menu changes with the seasons. Come-as-you-are, family-friendly, and consistently one of the most talked-about morning spots in all of Midtown.  For the adventurous eaters, try the breakfast sushi roll dipped in pancake batter.

Soul Fish Cafe

Cuisine: Soul food, Southern seafood | Best for: Lunch, families | Price: $\text{–}$–$

You can't leave Memphis without a soul-food meal, and this Cooper-Young staple is one of the best places to have it. Order the fried catfish, the batter is light, or the fresh vegetable plate loaded with black-eyed peas, fried okra, and macaroni and cheese. Save room for the house-made lemon pie. Walk it off afterward browsing Cooper-Young's music and art shops.

Where to eat in Overton Square?

Overton Square is Memphis's performing arts and entertainment hub, home to Playhouse on the Square, Circuit Playhouse and Hattiloo Theatre, with Overton Park just down the street. The surrounding blocks are home to restaurants that range from Overton Square's premier steakhouse to late-night cocktail bars making it one of the best areas in Memphis for a full evening out.

Porch & Parlor

Cuisine: Southern steakhouse | Best for: Date night, special occasions | Price: $$$$ 2125 Madison Ave. | Dinner nightly, complimentary valet

Housed in a stunning circa-1908 building, Porch & Parlor is Overton Square's premier steakhouse, with an atmosphere that evokes turn-of-the-century Southern elegance with leather booths, gas lights and bookshelves throughout. The menu centers on prime steaks and chops with a Southern twist: the Wagyu filet arrives alongside fried green tomatoes and collard greens. Before your steak, order the Butcher's Bacon Rack (sure to impress the table!) with thick strips of glazed bacon hang from a tabletop rack, dressed in bourbon jalapeño, pecan praline, aged white balsamic and red chile flake. You snip them off as you go. It's the kind of only-in-Memphis dining moment worth coming for on its own. Dinner only.

Petals of a Peony

Cuisine: Authentic Sichuan | Best for: Groups, adventurous eaters | Price: $$ 2110 Madison Ave.

Authentic Chengdu-style Sichuan cuisine, and it does not hold back on the heat or the flavor. The MICHELIN Guide named Petals of a Peony a Recommended restaurant in its inaugural American South guide (2025), describing it as "ground zero for fiery, tongue-numbing, chili-laden Sichuan cuisine." The menu spans savory dumplings, hand-pulled noodles, bold soups, and a wide array of meat and tofu dishes with strong options for vegetarians like their speciality eggplant. Don't miss the boiling fish.

Swamp Bar

Cuisine: Creole-Asian fusion, craft cocktails | Best for: Late night, happy hour | Price: $$ 2144 Monroe Ave. | Wed–Sun, happy hour 5–8pm, late-night menu until midnight

Set inside an old house just off the main Overton Square strip, Swamp Bar by Chef Kelly English brings an eclectic Creole-meets-Asian menu and serious craft cocktails to the neighborhood. A generous appy hour runs 5–8 p.m. every night they're open, and the bar regularly hosts DJ nights that push the energy well past dinner. The kitchen stays open late — food until 10 p.m., late-night menu until midnight — making it one of the best all-in-one spots in Midtown for a drink, a meal, and a night out. A newer sister spot, Swamp Lounge, has opened next door in the former Second Line space.

Bari Ristorante

Cuisine: Southern Italian | Best for: Date night, wine lovers | Price: $$$

A stylish wine bar and restaurant just a short walk from Memphis's theater district, serving regional Puglian cuisine the way Chef Jason Severs' grandmother taught him. The menu moves through courses the traditional Southern Italian way: start with selections from a cheese list of over 50 Italian varieties, move into homemade pasta — the carbonara and crab orzo are standouts — then land on something from the sea, like pan-seared scallops with caramelized fennel or rustic slow-cooked fava bean purée with chicory. The homemade bread and desserts (try the torta di cioccolato) are reasons alone to linger. The all-Italian wine list is extensive and expertly chosen but they are also celebrated for having some of the best cocktails in the city.

Bar-B-Q Shop

Cuisine: Memphis barbecue | Best for: Casual lunch or dinner | Price: $$

Memphis packs over 100 barbecue joints and every local has a favorite. At The Bar-B-Q Shop, the signature is the half-and-half ribs: half dry-rubbed with award-winning seasoning, half mopped with an award-winning sauce — a zingy blend of mustard and tomato. But the dish that sets this place apart from every other barbecue joint in Memphis is the BBQ spaghetti, a true Memphis original. Spaghetti noodles are stirred directly into a rich, smoky sauce made from the restaurant's own barbecue blend and loaded with tender pulled pork. The recipe traces back to Brady Vincent, who invented the dish at his restaurant Brady & Lil's, and The Bar-B-Q Shop has been serving it ever since. No-frills, no pretense. Closed Sunday.

Where to eat on Broad Avenue Arts District?

Broad Avenue is one of Memphis's most dynamic and walkable dining corridors, stretching through Midtown and connecting to the Hampline trail. The strip ranges from a family-owned pizzeria that's been here since 1977 to newly opened craft beer taprooms and dessert spots that have become local obsessions.

Broadway Pizza

Cuisine: Pizza, Italian-American | Best for: Casual dinner, groups | Price: $\text{–}$–$ 2581 Broad Ave. | Open daily, late on weekends

A Broad Avenue institution since 1977. The menu features around 40 pizza varieties; regulars swear by the Broadway Special loaded with sausage, beef, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, olives, bell peppers and onions. Family-owned, generous and completely unpretentious: everything a neighborhood pizza place should be.

Wiseacre Brewing Co. + Panuzzo King

Cuisine: Craft beer, Italian sandwiches | Best for: Casual drinks and bites | Price: $$ 2783 Broad Ave. | Panuzzo King open Thu–Sun

Memphis's celebrated craft brewery, known for award-winning beers like Sky Dog lager Tiny Bomb pilsner,  now has a full-time kitchen to match. Panuzzo King, which opened inside the Wiseacre taproom in late 2025, serves panuzzos: Italian sandwiches made by baking pizza dough into a thin, crispy loaf and stuffing it with creative combinations. Try the Philly's Phinest (roasted pork, mustard greens, provolone) or the Ric & Morty (mortadella, ricotta, pistachio pesto).

Uncle Red's Turkey Legs

Cuisine: BBQ, turkey | Best for: Casual lunch or dinner, sharing | Price: $\text{–}$–$ 2583 Broad Ave. | Open daily

Massive, fall-off-the-bone turkey legs seasoned with family recipes that easily is a meal for two. Co-founders Christopher "FreeSol" Anderson and Tony Westmoreland named the business in honor of FreeSol's late uncle, and the place carries that personal, neighborhood warmth. A Broad Avenue original that's quickly become a local favorite.

Hampline Brewing Company

Cuisine: Craft beer, wood-fired pizza | Best for: Casual, cyclists, groups | Price: $$ 584 Tillman St. (on the Hampline trail) | Tue–Sun

Just off Broad Avenue along the Hampline bike and pedestrian trail, the two-mile greenway connecting Overton Park to Shelby Farms, Hampline Brewing added a Forno Piombo wood-fired pizza oven that produces pies in about 90 seconds. The Big Sur pizza (brie, mozzarella, figs, pears, and prosciutto, finished with arugula and balsamic) is the one to order. Whether you're cycling through or exploring the neighborhood on foot, it's a natural stop. If you love sours and Hazy IPAs, this is the brewery for you!

Sweet Treats on Broad

Broad Avenue has two dessert destinations worth saving room for. Muddy's Bake Shop (2497 Broad Ave) has been a Memphis institution for nearly two decades, baking everything from scratch — cupcakes, seasonal scones, cookies, and pot pies — with no chemical preservatives. A few blocks down, Sugar Ghost (2615 Broad Ave) serves homemade small-batch ice cream and bubble tea in flavors you won't find anywhere else: Nanner Puddin, Lavender Honey and the Memphis-proud Mud Island (chocolate, pretzels, more chocolate). Both spots are beloved by locals and easy to walk past — don't.