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.
Tip: The shotgun building fills fast at 09:00. The breakfast Po' Boy is the dark-horse order.
Address: 670 Jefferson Ave, Memphis, TN 38105
Brother Juniper's near the University of Memphis on Walker Avenue has run breakfasts in a tiny house behind a white picket fence for over 30 years. Lines form.
Signature drink: Drip coffee with omelettes
Tip: Tuesday to Sunday breakfast only; closes 13:00 weekdays, 12:30 Saturdays. Get there by 08:30.
Art Bar at Crosstown Arts in Memphis runs coffee by day and wine, beer and cocktails into the evening, doubling as a cafe and bar in the Crosstown Arts complex.
Signature drink: Espresso, wine by the glass
Tip: Closed Sundays. The afternoon switch from coffee to wine happens around 16:00.
Cxffeeblack in Memphis is Bartholomew Jones and Renata Henderson's coffee roaster and cafe with an Ethiopia-direct supply chain, serving single-origin pour-overs.
Signature drink: Ethiopia single-origin
Tip: The roastery doubles as the retail cafe; weekend hours are limited so check the site.
Vice and Virtue Coffee on South Main inside the Arrive Hotel in Memphis runs a micro-batch roaster, pour-over coffee and pastry from a sun-flooded lobby cafe.
Signature drink: Pour-over
Tip: Cooler and quieter on weekday afternoons; the long counter doubles as workspace.
Belltower Coffee's Cooper-Young Memphis branch on South Cooper runs the signature honey-lavender latte and pastries from a small bright storefront opened in 2023.
Signature drink: Iced honey lavender latte
Tip: Less crowded than the Highland flagship; a great between-meal stop in Cooper-Young.
Java Cabana on Young Avenue in Cooper-Young Memphis is the city's longest-running indie coffeehouse, open since 1992 with poetry slams, Elvis kitsch and big cups.
Signature drink: Espresso
Tip: Open until 22:00 most nights; the late-evening crowd is regulars and writers.
