photograph by samuel x. cicci
Single- or double-patty cheeseburgers come with the Dunhams’ special sauce.
Editor’s Note: For our Top 10 New Restaurants list, published in full in the February 2022 issue, our editorial team selected (you guessed it) ten of the places we think represent the best of our city’s culinary future. We'll be spotlighting each of the restaurants online over the next several days. Please note that this is not a ranked list; we love what each of the ten featured restaurants bring to the table. Bon appétit!
Magnolia & May
photograph by samuel x. cicci
Owners Chip and Amanda Dunham opened Magnolia & May in the summer of 2020.
Southern meets French at Magnolia & May. And sure, there are plenty of other international influences on the menu. But that’s no problem for Chip and Amanda Dunham, who used all their experience from time at the Grove Grill when they opened their own restaurant during the early days of the pandemic. The brasserie can accommodate diners looking for both casual and upscale options with a wide variety of fusion dishes.
Chip told me soon after they opened, “It’s just about showing that chef-driven dishes and high-quality food can be affordable.”
photograph by samuel x. cicci
The buffalo broccoli snack is one of the restaurant’s most popular appetizers.
If you haven’t tried it yet, start with the buffalo broccoli appetizer. Breaded and deep-fried florets are tossed with buffalo sauce (and blue cheese or buttermilk) to create smooth and spicy vegetable magic. But the perfect synthesis of Memphis and cosmopolitan Europe is the Bluff City Fungi mushroom pasta. The first iteration of this dish, in a gnocchi style, was whipped up “almost like a mushroom beurre blanc,” according to Amanda. “Chip puts so much flavor in there with the mushrooms, and adds in so much more with the vegetables he uses. It’ll knock your socks off.”
The restaurant boasts a very laid-back and casual atmosphere, with one wall composed of repurposed bourbon barrels. And the bar is a throwback to bygone Memphis, utilizing lane wood from the old Imperial Lanes bowling alley. The building itself is a tribute to the Dunham family legacy, with Chip moving the restaurant into his grandfather’s old law office on Mt. Moriah.
So kick back and enjoy some great food — alongside cocktails infused with Disney magic: Moana’s margarita with frozen coconut and lime; the Queen Elsa with sparkling wine, cardamom, Peychaud's bitters, and elderflower; or Olaf’s peppermint hot chocolate.
The Dunhams want Magnolia & May to be a relaxing place for Memphians to eat without breaking the bank. Chip told me soon after they opened, “It’s just about showing that chef-driven dishes and high-quality food can be affordable.”
