2017 Memphis Magazine Readers’ Restaurant Poll Winners

It happens more times than you’d think. You enjoy a good meal as much as the next person, and you have a hankering for something new — let’s say you want to try Vietnamese food for the first time. So you ask a friend, or a neighbor, or perhaps a co-worker for a recommendation, and they name a place they like.

But when you go there, it’s not quite what you expected. Maybe the food isn’t what you hoped for, or the service isn’t up to par. And so you don’t have a good experience, and you blame that friend, or neighbor, or c0-worker who steered you wrong. The more you think about, you question other advice they have given you over the years. Tensions develop; fights erupt. You unfriend your pal; you move to a different part of town; you search for a new job.

All this stress can be avoided if you simply consult the winners of our 2017 Readers Restaurant Poll. With online voting and safeguards to prevent multiple entries, this can rightfully be considered our city’s most definitive and accurate dining poll. The winner in each category is listed in bold type, followed by other contenders in the order of votes received. To be declared a winner, that establishment had to receive at least 10 percent of the total votes. We’re happy to report that our readers still enjoyed many old favorites, as you’ll see, but we have noted that many new establishments made the list this year, proving that this city’s dining scene is very much alive and well.

Best Pizza

  1. Memphis Pizza Café
  2. Aldo’s Pizza Pies
  3. Hog & Hominy

Best Mexican

  1. Las Delicias
  2. Las Tortugas/Molly’s La Casita (TIE)
  3. El Mezcal

Best Italian

  1. Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen
  2. Pete & Sam’s / Strano Sicilian Kitchen (TIE)
  3. Frank Grisanti’s

Best Mediterranean

  1. Casablanca Restaurant
  2. Jim’s Place
  3. Taziki’s Mediterranean Café / Petra Café (TIE)

Best Chinese

  1. Wang’s Mandarin House
  2. Mulan
  3. A-Tan

Best Japanese

  1. Sekisui
  2. Sakura
  3. Osaka

Best Indian

  1. India Palace
  2. Golden India
  3. Bombay House

Best Vietnamese

  1. Pho Saigon
  2. Pho Binh
  3. Lotus Vietnamese Restaurant

Best Thai

  1. Bhan Thai
  2. Bangkok Alley
  3. Jasmine

Best Vegetarian / Vegan

  1. LYFE Kitchen
  2. Fuel Café
  3. Bounty on Broad

Best Food Truck

  1. Central BBQ
  2. Fuel Café
  3. Sushi Jimmi / Say Cheese (TIE)

Best Cajun / Creole

  1. Bayou Bar & Grill
  2. Owen Brennan’s
  3. The Second Line

Best Shared Plates

  1. Babalu
  2. Bounty on Broad
  3. McEwen’s / Alchemy (TIE)

Best Deli

  1. Elwood’s Shack
  2. Fino’s
  3. Bogie’s Delicatessen

Best Plate Lunch

  1. Soul Fish
  2. Cupboard Restaurant
  3. Patrick’s

Best Burger

  1. Huey’s
  2. Earnestine & Hazel’s
  3. Belmont Grill / Alex’s Tavern / Tops Bar-B-Q (TIE)

Best Steak

  1. Folk’s Folly
  2. Buckley’s grill
  3. Ruth’s Chris Steak House / the Capital Grille (TIE)

Best Seafood (non-fast food)

  1. Tsunami
  2. Bonefish Grill
  3. The Half Shell

Best Oysters

  1. Pearl’s Oyster House
  2. The Half Shell
  3. Flying Fish

Best Barbecue sandwich

  1. Central BBQ
  2. Germantown Commissary
  3. The Bar-B-Q Shop

Best Barbecue ribs

  1. Central BBQ
  2. charlie vergos’ rendezvous
  3. Corky’s / The Bar-B-Q Shop (tie)

Best Fried Chicken

  1. Gus’s World-Famous Fried Chicken
  2. Jack Pirtle’s
  3. Uncle Lou’s

Best Brunch

  1. Owen Brennan’s
  2. the Majestic Grille
  3. Café Eclectic / Paulette’s / The Beauty Shop (tie)

Best Breakfast

  1. Brother Juniper’s
  2. Bryant’s Breakfast
  3. Blue Plate Café

Best Coffeehouse (non-chain)

  1. Café Eclectic
  2. Muddy’s Coffee and Bake shop /
  3. Otherlands Coffee Bar (tie)

Best Dessert Shop

  1. Muddy’s Bake Shop
  2. Frost Bake Shop
  3. Cheesecake Corner

Best Frozen Treat

  1. Jerry’s Sno Cones
  2. Mempops
  3. La Michoacana

Best Chain Restaurant

  1. Houston’s
  2. Amerigo
  3. Bonefish Grill

Best Place for People-Watching

  1. The Peabody Lobby Bar
  2. Flying Saucer / Loflin Yard (TIE)
  3. Lafayette’s Music Room

Best Late-Night Dining

  1. Huey’s
  2. The Half Shell
  3. Bardog Tavern / Hog & Hominy (TIE)

Best Date-Night Restaurant

  1. Flight
  2. Restaurant Iris
  3. Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen / Erling Jensen the Restaurant (TIE)

Best Outdoor Dining

  1. Loflin Yard
  2. Bhan Thai / The Second Line (TIE)
  3. Felicia Suzanne’s / Celtic Crossing (TIE)

Worth the Drive

  1. City Grocery (Oxford, MS)
  2. Bozo’s hot pit Bar-B-Q (Mason, TN)
  3. Ajax Diner (Oxford, MS)

Best Place to Impress Out-of-Towners

  1. Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous
  2. Folk’s Folly
  3. Gus’s World-Famous Fried Chicken

Restaurant We Miss the Most

Anderton’s East

Jim’s Place East

Justine’s

Jarrett’s

Ronnie Grisanti’s / Midtown

John Grisanti’s

Steak and Ale

Café Expresso

Four Flames

Lulu Grille

Best New Restaurant (opened since November 2015)

Loflin Yard

Char Restaurant

Catherine & Mary’s

the Kitchen Bistro

Buntyn Corner Café

Fino’s East

Maximo’s on Broad

the Pasta maker restaurant

Dirty Crow Inn

Maciel’s Tortas & Tacos

Best Restaurant

  1. Restaurant Iris
  2. Folk’s Folly
  3. Erling Jensen the Restaurant / Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen (TIE)

Hippest Bar Setting

  1. Loflin Yard
  2. The Peabody Lobby Bar
  3. Bar DKDC / Bardog Tavern / Folk’s Folly / Mollie Fontaine’s (TIE)

Best Happy Hour

  1. Flying Saucer
  2. Huey’s
  3. The Peabody Lobby Bar

Best Place to Watch the Game

  1. Flying Saucer / Fox and Hound (TIE)
  2. Huey’s
  3.  Bayou Bar & Grill / Brookhaven Pub (TIE)

Best Craft Cocktails

  1. Alchemy
  2. The Peabody Lobby Bar
  3. Strano sicilian Kitchen

Best Dive Bar

  1. Earnestine & Hazel’s
  2. Alex’s Tavern
  3. The Cove

Best Wine List

  1. Flight
  2. Folk’s Folly /
  3. Erling Jensen the Restaurant 

Best Beer Selection

  1. Flying Saucer
  2. Young Avenue Deli
  3. Boscos Squared

Best Local Brewery

  1. Wiseacre
  2. Ghost River
  3. Memphis Made