photograph courtesy southall café
The bluff omelette with mushrooms.
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!
Southall Café
photograph courtesy southall café
Breakfast tacos with house-made masa tortillas and chorizo verde.
If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then Southall Café in East Memphis must be a very important restaurant; it sure has some dang good early-morning eats. Owners Scott Tilton, Larry Whitty, and Mitchell Spurlock oversee a space where chefs would be free to pursue their most creative culinary ideas.
New executive chef and L’École Culinaire graduate Tom Hughes — who joined the team last November, and has experience leading kitchens at Chickasaw Country Club and Southwind Country Club — has plenty of tricks up his sleeve as well.
photograph courtesy southall café
Caramelized banana with peanut butter frosting pancake special.
Southall prides itself on constantly sourcing all of its ingredients from locals or Mid-South neighbors, trumpeting partnerships with sources like Bluff City Fungi, Grit Girl Grits, and Old World Farms that ensure diners get the freshest breakfast ingredients on their tables every morning. When I first popped into Southall, former general manager Zachary Bryant described it as having a chef-driven menu, with regular items and specials alike both bearing the signature touch of each chef that passes through their doors.
Fortunately, that still holds true. Some Latin-tinged classics remain from when Jesus Ramon had the reins, such as the breakfast tacos — three house-made tortillas stuffed with chorizo verde, eggs, sweet potatoes, crema, queso fresco, and cilantro. But new executive chef and L’École Culinaire graduate Tom Hughes — who joined the team last November, and has experience leading kitchens at Chickasaw Country Club and Southwind Country Club — has plenty of tricks up his sleeve as well.
The tater tots have always been a sleeper hit at Southall, and Hughes kicks them up to the next level with his loaded brunch tots, topping the deep-fried potato bites with two eggs, house-smoked bacon, queso fresco, chives, guajillo salsa, and made-in-house chipotle aioli. Don’t miss his Southern eggs benedict either, with poached eggs, pulled pork, and hollandaise sauce atop a buttermilk biscuit and served alongside roasted garlic-citrus dressed greens.
Southall is open every day for breakfast and lunch, and also boasts a full bar if you need a little more kick with your eggs. Stick with a traditional bloody Mary or mimosa, or get an espresso fix with the spiked affogato.
Editor's Note: This section has been updated slightly from our print edition to reflect new information.
