Rafferty’s Restaurant

My mom and I came In for lunch we were seated right away and our waitress took our drink orders And came back took our food orders everything was going well until I got ready to use my silverware once I took it out of the napkin there was food still on the fork I had to send the silverware back and get a new one but it was great service and the food was good.

Rafferty’s used to be so good!
I’ve seen the rise and fall of Rafferty’s restaurants in Memphis and I always had higher regard for the Poplar/​Perkins location. Now, sadly, I feel that it, too, has declined.
The sweet, warm croissants that used to melt in my mouth and put an ear-​to-​ear smile on my face were served to me cold. The chef salad that used to be huge & packed with meats and greens –now lacks luster. In fact, on a previous visit, my French Dip sandwich was cold in the middle (not room temp –but COLD!)
I do sincerely appreciate the nice, hard-​working staff that attended to us (and other large groups on Sunday.)
PLEASE IMPROVE, RAFFERTY’S! PLEASE!

Had a great experience for my first to this restaurant. Jamie, our waitress on the lunch shift, was amazing. She got our order correct, and everything came out perfect. She was very attentive, and made sure our needs were met. The fried mushrooms were amazing, with the horseradish sauce, which was out of this world!!! I’m still craving them. Our burgers were perfect. I will definitely visit this restaurant again, and I’m very happy it is right across from where I work. A+++++

… the lack of words. Dry, tasteless tough… just nasty. I found myself attempting to choke it down. It wasn’t disgusting but just seemed as if a novice was preparing the food. The smell emanating from the restaurant was tempting and mouth watering. It was like a mind trick. You were expecting something delectable but received garbage. The server kept forgetting things and took an extremely long time to give us a check, refill drinks, etc. DONT DO IT. Skip this place. There are multiple other restaurants… if you are starving, the food may taste slightly edible however the wait will slay you.

I’ve had decent service and burgers at this location. Good burger for a hangover. The burgers are super greasy and some of the other food has been subpar. Normally sit at the bar and have a quick dinner.

Customer service is terrible here. I there were at least 20 people waiting and at least 6 open tables. The food lacked due to being cold. Very disappointed

Had the fries for an app! Good! The house special salad dressing honey hot bacon… Sounds gross but is life changing good. The service however, NOT good. Waited 45min before we were sat down. There was 10 empty tables. Food and service is not worth the wait.

Our group has gone to this Rafferty’s for many years. However, the decline in Customer Service has been seen for some time now. When our group of 13 walked in, the Hostess quickly pointed out that they «do not push tables together to accommodate larger groups» (of paying customers). However, the restaurant was noticably empty for noon on Sunday right after church — directly across the street from our church. We used to have to wait for a seat. (Could there be a connection?) My wife and I ordered the «Chicken Finger Salad»; the salad did taste good. I had the large, she had the small. Unfortunately, the small $ 7 salad she received was only slightly more than a standard Side Salad — not worth the money. It is truly sad that this store has gone down. They used to be more concerned about the customer and less about themselves. Our group will think twice — or maybe 3 times — before we return to this store. «Buyer beware».

The cheese fries at raffertys are my #1 guilty pleasure, Huey’s has nothing on them. I’m also a huge fan of the chicken tender salad — try the hot bacon dressing.
This place is always super crowded but kept pretty clean. I’ve never had bad service but its never been wow either, I just go in and get what I want. During week time lunch the to go will take 15 to 20 minutes so calling your order in is a must.
I’m taking a star off because it does cost a little more than casual chain restaurants.

I had lunch today with my family at Rafferty’s. I have not eaten there in years and this experience reminded me why. I had the Chicken Alfredo and added Broccoli. I had to ask our server for additional Alfredo sauce to make it more edible. The highlights of my dining experience was our server Nicole who was extraordinary and handle our group of 10 with ease and her experience in working with large groups was quite evident.

I was not impressed with the food. It was not bad, just nothing special. Service was good and fast, though.

Chain restaurant but I like it…
Good salads, good burger, and actually good ribs! Sit at the bar and you will receive good service.

Arrived at 5:15 well before the dinner rush on a sleety cold night. Opened the door two ladies sitting in the waiting area. Told the hostess party of three, she said five minutes. Now we look through the window on to the main dinner room, one table of dinners, none in the bar area. Counted at least 5 waiters standing around looking for something to do. Watched the hostess and manager having a discussion about where to seat the few people waiting. After standing around for several minutes, no one had been seated and the discussion went on. We left figuring this was just the start of a dining train wreck. If you desire to see a case study in inefficiency and poor service this is the place for you.

It’s Friday night and the service is very slow. Very very slow
Food OK

Love, love, love the salads and the service is always nice. I’ve never had a bad experience at this location on Poplar. But, there will be a wait (15−45min) at peak times, so if you are really hungry stop a get a snicker first and wait because the food is always the same and the servers are cordial.

I have been eating at Rafferty’s for 20 years. In those 20 years, I have gone through phases of meals … as a child, I got chicken tenders with strip sauce. I moved on to the ever-​so-​tasty Bluegrass Chicken Sandwich. Then the club. Then salads. Then the burger. Then the wrap. Etc. Etc.
Now 20 years later, I am still eating these same foods. What can I say, I really do depend upon Rafferty’s for a consistently tasty meal.
I am from Jackson TN, and the Rafferty’s there is far superior to the Oak Court location in Memphis. Despite my returning over and over again, the service at the East Memphis location is consistently terrible. That being said, the food is always good. Burger is one of the best kept burger secrets of Memphis. Rafferty’s cooks their burgers over flames giving the eater the cooked-​in-​your-​backyard flavor.
Fries are either delicious (when freshly cooked) or sub-​standard (if either raw or soggy). I have sent back several orders of fries at Rafferty’s, only because I yearn for what I know those fries can taste like.
My kids love their chicken tenders and fries. My wife loves the garlic mashed potatoes. As mentioned above, I rotate between my years of tried and true favorites. Worth mentioning, the salads are good. I think the first honey mustard dressing I ate was at Rafferty’s in Jackson 15 – 20 years ago.
So I give this location 3 stars. The food is good. The service is decent.

Dirty cups
Slow service

I love the honey mustard bacon dressing! It’s sooooo good. Definitely try this place.

Had lunch with the family here today.
The place was packed and it looked like we would be in for a long wait which I hate, but we were seated in less than ten minutes.
Once seated we were taken care of immediately. Our server could not have been better. She was polite, very friendly and on top of her game.
I had a taste for fried catfish which I haven’t had in a while. I ordered it with fries and added a side of cole slaw.
My plate arrived and I was amazed at the huge portions.
Two large fillets, a pile of fries and the side of cole slaw equaled a small salad.
The catfish was cooked well but the breading was on the bland side and the meat had too much fat. You know those blue streaks of meat in catfish. That equates to fat and is not a good flavor. At least it wasn’t enough to ruin the fish. The fries were fresh hand cut and what «Five Guys» attempts to do but Rafferty’s cooks them properly. Something Five Guys needs to improve on.
Cole slaw was very fresh but different than what I expected. It had a sweet fruity taste.
My dining companions enjoyed their meals and overall it was pleasant experience.
When I picked up the tab, I was surprised at how reasonable the cost was.
I will go back but I will not order the Catfish again.

Only reason I came was because I received a $ 50 gif card. I came in biased — I believe this restaurant has very generic, inoffensive food.
The server couldn’t stop the upsell on drinks and sides. We were upsold on fancier side items like loaded potatoes on each dish we ordered. It’s kind of jarring, honestly. I can’t blame them too much, because so many entrees are cheaply priced.
My rare steak was super, super rare: still fleshy and cold in the middle. Had no problems getting it refired and it was edible. The cheesecake was also tasty.
Overall, it was okay.