Cafe Eclectic is a family owned and operated coffee shop that’s been “serving the 901” (a localism inspired by the city’s 901 area code) since 2008. The coffee bar brews up the Italian Illy brand, and an all-day breakfast menu offers vegan pancakes, stuffed French toast, homemade waffles, and bread and pastries made fresh each day. The coffee selection includes cold brew, French press, Americano, and specialty drinks, Try the Star & Micey, named after a local music group: two shots of espresso, Monin white and dark chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. Choose from two locations, Midtown and Harbor Town.

Memphis chief Felicia Willett has owned and operated her eponymous fine dining establishment in Downtown for almost 20 years now. The menu showcases her own creative riffs on classics from across the South, along with dishes inspired by her childhood. That translates to a unique mashup of Gulf Coast seafood cooking, Creole cuisine, and Charleston low country traditions. Willett is also a familiar face at the Memphis Farmers Market, a result of her insistence on a farm-to-fork tradition in as much of her menu as possible  — a menu, by the way, that serves up such treats as crispy Gulf oysters with New Orleans BBQ sauce, chicken crepes, fried Carolina quail, shrimp and grits, roasted salmon, and duck and mushroom lasagna, to name a few favorites.

Even if people don’t realize it, the Four Way is exactly the kind of cozy diner they have in mind when they get a craving for the kind of soul food cuisine that Memphis does best. It’s a South Memphis institution at this point, having served staples like vegetable plates, hamburgers, and turkey and dressing to the community from the corner of Walker and Mississippi boulevard for more than 70 years. Civil rights luminaries of the ’60s frequented the restaurant, including Martin Luther King Jr. When A-listers passed through town — people like Al Green, Elvis Presley, Ike and Tina Turner, and so many others over the years, more often than not they made a beeline here. Celebrities still hit the Four Way, which should tell you something about why this venerable Memphis eatery is a can’t-miss on your next visit to the Bluff City. 

Muggin Coffee House offers all the delights you’d expect from a coffee house, including espresso drinks, nitro coffee, and excellent baked goods. One of the Memphis-themed standouts worth trying is the Zippin Pippin (the name of Elvis’s favorite roller coaster at the now-closed Libertyland amusement park). A blend of steamed milk, espresso, and white mocha is topped with whipped cream and caramel drizzle. Speaking of Elvis, this coffee shop is just as noteworthy for its location — off Elvis Presley Boulevard, in Whitehaven, making this the first locally owned coffee shop in one of Memphis’s majority Black neighborhoods (a neighborhood where you’ll also find Graceland). While you’re checking out the coffee shop, you can also order pound bags of coffee, including roasts with names like “Hard Out Here for a Drip,” which is, of course, a nod to the Oscar-winning song “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from the Memphis hip hop group Three 6 Mafia.

With his Stickem food truck as well as his restaurant of the same name in Midtown, Ermyias Shiberou has brought a taste of his birthplace in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Memphis. His truck has been a staple of the Memphis scene for years, offering kebabs that are perfect to enjoy on the go. His menu includes steak, shrimp, and marinated chicken kebabs seasoned with turmeric and garlic and served with a pile of fresh fries. At the restaurant, you’ll find an expanded selection of entrees, such as braised leg of lamb and roasted whole red snapper, with sides like salads and mixed vegetables. 

Housed in a space that was once an actual beauty shop frequented by Priscilla Presley, this eatery from celebrated Memphis restaurateur Karen Carrier is suffused with aesthetic details you just won’t find at another Memphis restaurant. Booths are tucked into former salon stations, with seating beneath hooded Belvedere hair dryers. But the best part is, of course, the food. “Watermelon and wings” is a good example of the type of eclectic dish you’ll find here: chicken wings dipped in white Sichuan pepper and sweet chile lime juice, dusted with sugar, and then deep-fried, served with a side of fresh watermelon and sprinkled with toasted cashews.

If you’re looking for a place that offers the right mix of a decent price point, comfort food, and a pleasant atmosphere, Soul Fish is definitely worth putting on your list. You’ve got three locations spread out across the metro area to choose from. The original Soul Fish stands in the Midtown neighborhood of Cooper-Young, and two more are in the eastern part of the metro area — one near the sprawling Wolfchase Galleria mall and another in the suburb of Germantown. As the name implies, fish is the signature offering here, including fried and baked versions; a catfish basket is one of the more popular items. But there are plenty of additional tasty choices if you’re after something other than fish, including po’ boys, tacos, salads, vegetable plates, and more.

If you have a sweet tooth and pass up the opportunity to visit this mainstay of the Broad Avenue Arts District, you’re doing it wrong. Ten out of 10 Memphians you meet will swear to you that this is a must-visit if you’re passing through the city, and that’s thanks to the treats with memorable names (like the chocolate “Prozac” cupcakes and the Strawberry Fields Forever cake). Muddy’s is a bakery with a commercial kitchen in the Broad Avenue neighborhood with an attached retail storefront component, and the vibe inside is that of a neighborhood bake sale — with an assortment of cupcakes, cookies, pies, and other sweet treats on offer.

Michaela Hugoboom-Dockery was inspired by her native California to open Hen House in East Memphis last year. Her vision was of an unpretentious wine and cocktail bar that’s also the kind of sophisticated watering hole not found much in Memphis. The vibe here is meant to be a kind of extension of the owner’s living room — which applies not only to the bar’s homey aesthetic in the physical space itself, but also the approachable, playful drink selection. In addition to menu choices like duck, rainbow trout, and shrimp and grits, check out the creative cocktails: The Memphis-themed Hound Dog (a nod to Elvis, it should go without saying) is made with amaro Nonino, dry Curacao, bitters, and Blue Note Juke Joint (a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey crafted in Memphis).

Magnolia & May is the Memphis version of a country brasserie, as the owners like to describe it. Diners here are served dishes from around the world prepared with a French technique and using seasonal and local ingredients where possible — all in a casual, small setting around a 17-seat bar, a dining room that seats less than 50, and a large brick outdoor patio. In addition to the wine, beer, and cocktail offerings, the dinner menu at Magnolia & May includes dishes like a smoked half chicken, low country shrimp and grits, grilled rib-eye, and mushroom potato gnocchi.

As of the time of this writing, Dory in East Memphis offers the first and only tasting menu experience in Memphis, with primarily locally sourced options for a menu that leans seasonal New American. Chef Dave Krog prepares a six-course tasting menu Thursday through Saturday, and then a four-course menu on Mondays, with optional wine pairings for both. In terms of the cuisine, you can expect dishes like redfish served on a braised leek with a flurry of dusts, emulsions, and dressings that highlight the taste of spring onions; or a port-braised short rib with steamed long turnip and garlic scapes. The menu changes each month, or more frequently depending on what’s in season at the market. 

There’s a law-and-order theme to Da Guilty Vegan, one of Memphis’s newest food trucks, that extends from the logo to the menu — and it makes perfect sense for this particular food truck. The truck’s logo is blind lady justice herself, and the menu is organized into two categories: “innocent” and “guilty.” The innocent side includes lighter fare like wraps, a club salad, and buffalo tempeh salad. For guilty pleasures, there are even more veganized twists on classic Southern cooking. The truck’s speciality, from chef and owner Derek Richardson, is the Jail Bird, a Southern-style fried crispy chicken sandwich. Other specialties include the Memphis BBQ chicken and Nashville hot chicken sandwiches. The truck stays generally in East Memphis neighborhoods, in and around the likes of Collierville, Germantown, and Cordova.