Cobblestone streets, the Mississippi River bluff, Beale Street's blues clubs and the loft-and-bar South Main district. The visitor heart of the city.
Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman's downtown Memphis room pairs Tuscan and Sicilian grandmother cooking with Southern ingredients in the Chisca on Main building.
Signature: House-made pastas, Wood-roasted plates
Order: Whatever pasta they are rolling that night, plus the wood-roasted whole fish.
Tip: Booth seats in the bar mean walk-in dinner on most weeknights; the dining room books two weeks out on Resy.
Charlie Vergos's basement Memphis BBQ room off Second Street has served charcoal-broiled dry-rub ribs since 1948. The signature rub is sold by the bag.
Signature: Charcoal-broiled dry-rub pork ribs, Cheese and sausage plate
Order: Full slab of ribs, dry, with the cheese and sausage plate and a pitcher.
Tip: Enter through the alley off Monroe; closed Sunday and Monday. They cook ribs over charcoal, not in a smoker; dry-rub purists call it grilled.
Central BBQ Downtown in Memphis runs the city's most reliable dry-rub ribs and pulled pork from a casual counter across from the National Civil Rights Museum.
Signature: Dry-rub pork ribs, Pulled pork sandwich
Order: Half slab of dry ribs with a smoked turkey sandwich on the side.
Tip: Lines from noon to 14:00; order online and pick up at the express counter to skip the queue.
The Memphis flagship of Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken on South Front Street downtown runs spicy crisp birds from a tin-roof shack, the chain's 2001 original.
Signature: Spicy fried chicken, Fried pickles
Order: Three-piece dark meat plate with fried pickles and slaw.
Tip: Counter service, no reservations. Lunch line moves; dinner can run an hour during weekends.
Itta Bena is a hidden upstairs Memphis dining room above B.B. King's on Beale Street, named for the Mississippi town King was born in. Southern, white tablecloths.
Signature: Shrimp and grits, Catfish
Order: Mississippi catfish with shrimp and grits.
Tip: Enter through the unmarked Second Street door or a private hall inside B.B. King's. Reservations open on OpenTable.
Tug's Casual Grill anchors the Harbor Town neighbourhood on Mud Island in Memphis with a wide riverside patio, burgers and Mississippi catfish dinners.
Signature: Catfish dinner, Burgers
Order: Catfish dinner with hush puppies; sit on the patio at sunset.
Tip: Wednesday is half-price burger night. The walk from downtown across the Auction Avenue bridge takes 15 minutes.
Curfew is Fabio Viviani's Union Avenue Memphis room on the ground floor of Canopy Downtown, with wood-fired steaks and house pastas served until late.
Signature: Wood-fired steaks, House pastas
Order: Wood-fired bone-in ribeye with whatever pasta is on the daily list.
Tip: Kitchen runs late by Memphis standards (until 23:00 Fri-Sat). The bar takes walk-ins; the dining room books on OpenTable.
Sunrise Memphis on Jefferson Avenue downtown is a colourful quick-serve diner running Southern breakfast and lunch with a full bar daily 07:00 to 14:00.
Signature drink: Drip coffee with biscuits
Tip: The shotgun building fills fast at 09:00. The breakfast Po' Boy is the dark-horse order.
Trolley Stop Market on Madison downtown Memphis runs farm-to-table breakfast, sandwiches and an in-house bakery selling pies, cinnamon rolls and cobblers.
Tip: Cash and card both fine. The patio seats face the trolley line and a small green space.
Worth the queue: Cinnamon roll
Makeda's Homemade Butter Cookies on Jefferson Avenue downtown Memphis is the family bakery famous for the cookies Young Dolph was buying when he was killed in 2021.
Tip: Two Memphis locations (Jefferson Avenue and Airways). The sweet potato pie sells out fastest.
Worth the queue: Butter cookies
Chez Philippe inside the Peabody Hotel in Memphis runs a French-classics-led wine list, Champagne flights and a formal pre-dinner pour program at the bar.
Signature pour: Vintage Champagne by the glass
Wine focus: French classics, Champagne
Food: Tasting menu plates
Tip: The lobby Peabody Bar is the easy seat for a Champagne flight before dinner upstairs.
Bardog Tavern on Monroe Avenue downtown Memphis is a long, dark dive with red-brick walls, sliders and subs, and downtown's earliest weekday breakfast at 07:30.
Signature drink: Bardog sliders and a beer
Food: Italian sandwiches, sliders
Tip: Late kitchen until 02:00 most nights. The Tuesday night $5 Soup of the Day is a Memphis classic.
Hu. Roof sits on the 17th floor of the Hu. Hotel on Madison Avenue downtown Memphis with panoramic Mississippi River views and the city's only all-season rooftop.
Signature drink: Whiskey and ginger
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Sunset views west of the Mississippi River are the draw. Reserve a window seat in advance.
B.B. King's Blues Club at 143 Beale Street in Memphis is the flagship of the B.B. King chain, with the Beale Street Allstars in residence and a full Southern menu.
Signature drink: Beer and pulled-pork sandwich
Food: Southern menu
Tip: Cover charge after 19:00 most nights. Sit upstairs for an easier view of the bandstand.
Rum Boogie Cafe on Beale Street in Memphis has run live blues seven nights a week since 1985, with over 200 autographed guitars hanging from the ceiling.
Signature drink: Beer and ribs
Food: Cajun-Southern
Tip: Live blues from 19:00 nightly. The Beale Street Flippers usually take a stage break at 22:00.
Mr. Handy's Blues Hall on Beale Street in Memphis is the only original juke joint left on the strip, a tiny no-frills room with live blues and Beale's rawest sound.
Signature drink: Beer
Food: None
Tip: Tipping the band keeps the music going. The room holds maybe 40 people. Get there early.
Old Dominick Distillery on South Front Street downtown Memphis runs tours, cocktails and a tasting room from a restored 50,000-square-foot industrial space.
Signature drink: Memphis Toddy
Food: Light bar plates
Tip: Book the tour and tasting on the website; walk-ins welcome at the cocktail bar.
Maciel's Tortas and Tacos on South Main downtown Memphis runs handmade tortas with telera bread, tacos al pastor and house aguas frescas from a counter-service room.
Try: Tacos and tortas
Tip: Closed Sundays. The Midtown branch at 820 Cooper runs the same menu and the same lines.
The Rendezvous downtown Memphis serves a cheese and sausage starter that locals order before the dry-rub ribs. Crackers, smoked sausage rounds and sharp cheddar.
Try: Cheese and sausage plate
Tip: Order it as a pre-meal snack at the bar while you wait for a table downstairs.
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken on South Front Street is the city's defining counter-service fried chicken, a Mason-born spice-crusted bird on butcher paper.
Try: Spicy fried chicken plate
Tip: Lunch line moves; dinner can be an hour on weekends. Three-piece dark plate is the order.
Wiseacre Brewing's downtown Memphis flagship on BB King Boulevard is a 40,000-square-foot brewery with 30 beers on tap and the in-house Little Bettie pizza kitchen.
Tip: Cash-free taproom; card only. Take the Tiny Bomb pilsner to the patio first.
Memphis Made Brewing Co. moved from Cooper-Young to a downtown Edge District taproom in 2024, with the city's longest-running indie lager program from 2013.
Tip: The main entrance is at 16 Lauderdale; the Madison address is the brewery side.
Ghost River Brewing's Beale Street outpost in Memphis runs the brewery's full beer list with a kitchen, outdoor beer garden and live music nights right on Beale.
Tip: The patio beer garden runs live music most weekends. Open later than the South Main brewery.
Miss Cordelia's in Harbor Town on Mud Island in downtown Memphis is the neighbourhood grocer, with local produce, sandwiches and a small wine and beer selection.
Tip: Sandwiches made to order. Cross the Mud Island bridge from downtown; takes 15 minutes.
Tastin' 'Round Town's Taste of Downtown Memphis tour walks visitors through five downtown stops over three hours, hitting BBQ, soul food and food history.
Tip: Two-person minimum to book. Most departures at 10:00 and 13:00 daily.
Tastin' 'Round Town's Memphis BBQ tour visits three classic BBQ rooms in three hours, covering dry-rub ribs, pulled pork and wet sauce with a pit-history guide.
Tip: Includes transit by van between joints; lunch is the meal. Two-person minimum.
Tastin' 'Round Town's Split Decision walking tour in Memphis covers both Beale Street's blues-era food and the South Main district restaurants over three hours.
Tip: All walking, no van. Wear comfortable shoes; sun on Beale runs hot from June to September.
Backbeat Tours' Memphis Mojo Music Bus Tour leaves from Alfred's on Beale and covers blues, rock and soul food history with a two-hour bus loop narrated live.
Tip: Most tours leave at 11:00. Vegetarian options on request; book a week ahead in peak season.
City Brew Tours runs an all-inclusive Memphis brewery tour covering Wiseacre, Crosstown and Ghost River over four hours, with transport, pours and food pairings.
Tip: Picks up at hotels downtown. Buy tickets at least 48 hours ahead. Includes 14 beers and food.
Tastin' 'Round Town's Rock and BBQ tour in Memphis pairs Sun Studio with two BBQ joints, combining the city's music and food stories in a four-hour van and walking tour.
Tip: The Sun Studio stop runs the standard public tour; lunch is at two BBQ joints.
Africa in April Cultural Awareness Festival in Memphis runs each April at Robert R Church Park downtown, with food vendors, a parade and music spotlighting an African nation.
Tip: Free admission. The food tent area gets busy by 13:00; arrive at 11:00 for first-out plates.
The Cooking Cottage in downtown Memphis is a private cooking school running themed Southern, knife-skills and date-night classes for 12 people in a converted house kitchen.
Tip: Book groups in advance; private parties take the whole kitchen for the night.
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken on South Front Street downtown Memphis runs the city's cheap fried chicken plate, three-piece dark with sides under $15.
Try: Three-piece dark meat plate
Order: Three-piece dark meat plate with fried pickles and slaw.
Tip: Lunch line moves fast; dinner can run an hour. No reservations.
Maciel's Tortas and Tacos on South Main downtown Memphis runs handmade tortas with telera bread and tacos al pastor under $13 from a quick counter-service room.
Try: Tacos and tortas
Order: Cubana torta and tacos al pastor with aguas frescas.
Tip: Closed Sundays. The Midtown branch at 820 Cooper runs the same menu.
Sunrise Memphis on Jefferson Avenue downtown is a quick-serve diner running Southern breakfast and a full bar daily 07:00 to 14:00. The local Memphis brunch standby.
Order: Breakfast Po' Boy with side of grits.
Tip: Lines from 09:00 on weekends. The breakfast Po' Boy is the regular order.
Trolley Stop Market on Madison Avenue downtown Memphis runs farm-to-table brunch with house-baked biscuits, breakfast sandwiches and a small grocery wall.
Order: Pesto eggs with house-baked biscuits.
Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays. The patio faces the trolley line.
Bardog Tavern on Monroe Avenue downtown Memphis runs sliders, Italian subs and beer until 03:00 daily, with downtown's most reliable late kitchen.
Try: Sliders and Italian subs
Order: Sliders and a cold beer at 01:00.
Tip: Kitchen runs late most nights to 02:00. Tuesday $5 soup of the day is a local rite.
Central BBQ Downtown on East Butler Avenue in Memphis runs late BBQ until 22:00 daily, with BBQ nachos and pulled pork after a Beale Street night.
Try: BBQ nachos
Order: BBQ nachos and a pulled pork sandwich.
Tip: Order at the counter. Last call kitchen at 21:30 most nights.