Restaurant Iris

All of the food here is amazing. It’s almost too good to be true.

My review comes as a self-​identified foodie, a purveyor of quality, local ingredients in dishes at restaurants across the U.S. I have no formal training as a chef, but much experience as an eater with attention to taste, texture, and freshness.
The atmosphere is pretty nice – cozy little rooms, simple but pleasing décor, thick curtains for protection from drafts, subtle background music. The staff were superb – generally attentive, nice, authentic, and responsive to requests.
The atmosphere exceeded the food. I was excited to eat at Restaurant Iris and was disappointed that the dishes seemed to overly rely on salt, butter, and sugar. Some parts of dishes were cooked in a way that really complemented other flavors (e.g., brussel sprouts slightly charred to offset sherry vinegar in the dish). However, many times, the quality of the product (or perhaps lack thereof) was hidden under a smearing of too much butter (rather than lightly flavored canola + butter, perhaps), or excessive use of salty products like bacon (on sprouts) or capers (on fish). I was surprised when the dish described as «most popular» –a large steak with fried oysters and Hollandaise – came out looking like something from Del Rancho’s fast food chain. It was an obscene hunk of meat, sloppily covered in yellow and brown, without a single other item to complement it, visually or in taste. The meat was almost indiscernible from the sauces and friedness. The same was for dessert, but with sugar. I had ice cream and cookies – neither were anything to write home about because they were so overly sweet, I could barely taste any of the actual ingredients, like nuts, apricots, or flavor. One great component was the texture of the ice cream – somehow grainy, a welcomed texture in otherwise smooth, somewhat boring ice cream.
This may be in line with the Southern Style of cooking. To me, the food did not compensate for the prices or the atmosphere. I wouldn’t return.

My husband brought me for my birthday December 15. We had the best time! Everything was perfect! Lovely valet, beautiful restaurant, wonderful server, excellent drinks, extra tasty food, romantic atmosphere and the list could go on. Did I say that our server was fabulous??? Because she was! She suggested just what we wanted and she was most pleasant!!! We will be back!

Summary: This is one of the best meals I have ever had, accompanied by truly fabulous drinks. This is an awesome brunch place, and I only wish that I had the chance to try dinner here as well.
I love the set up of this restaurant. Because the building used to be a house, the rooms are small, which makes the experience intimate and unique. The meal was perfectly paced, giving us plenty of time to savor the flavors. The service is also excellent, and I loved our waiter. He was knowledgeable, attentive, and fun. The chef, Kelly English, also came out and greeted all the diners, which demonstrated southern hospitality at its finest.
We came for brunch on Christmas eve, so there were a lot of brunch cocktails. The mimosas are perfectly balanced, the bloody marys are spicy and strong, and the foggy brunch drink I had was delicious. To be honest, my sister and I both got a bit drunk during this brunch.
To start, we had the knuckle sandwich (DO NOT leave this restaurant without trying it!). As my entrée, I chose the raviolo, which was in the world’s greatest sauce and my sister had the redfish, which totally blew her mind. I was concerned that one raviolo would not be enough, but it was huge and chock full of meat.
The dessert. I cannot say enough about the dessert. I had the bread pudding, which made me melt it was so good. Unfortunately, I was so full by that point, I wasn’t able to finish. This is something that I will regret for the rest of my life. OMG, if you are in Memphis do not miss out.

I’ve been in Memphis for over five years and finally just went here for the first time. I’ve heard lots of people say great things about Restaurant Iris, and now we will be those people too! Haha!
It was our anniversary and we both did the 5 course meal — my husband did the wine pairing too. (This is so much food. Maybe don’t eat that entire day before you go.) My favorite items that we got are: Lobster Knuckle Sandwich, Brussel Sprouts, Shrimp & Grits and the Surf and Turf. Oh and the bread pudding– just amazing!
Since this restaurant was once a house, I love how the rooms of the home make more a intimate dining experience, instead of just a big room with tons of crowded tables. You can have a conversation with the person your dining with easily.
Go here!

Amazing portions on the 5 course wine pairing. Food is delicious and wine pourings are generous. Definitely recommend trying it.

Thoroughly enjoyed taking my wife here for our anniversary. The staff was amazing, and these were the best oysters I’ve ever had.
We were treated warmly and attended to quickly. Our food was prepared perfectly across all 3 courses. My only complaint is that, on the surf and turf, the blue cheese sauce was a little overpowering. This is a great place for special occassions.

Special occasion and date night must! Love the ambiance. Love the servers! Love most of the food!
Lobster Knuckle sandwich-​my best dream come true!
Brussels sprouts – Restaurant Iris changed my life with this dish. I’m a fan of this veggie for life now.
Redfish – so good
Shrimp and grits — Great, too
Oysters – not a fan, but everyone else enjoyed
Dessert – okay

We made a reservation for our party of 10. When we arrived we were informed that our table had been accidentally given to someone else. We understand that mistakes happen. The one star that I am giving the restaurant is not because of that, it is because of the fact that one of the female employees did not handle the situation appropriately. She kept talking to the other servers about it in front of our party and when we offered to sit outside she took her frustrations out on us instead of thanking us for offering to sit outside. The service also turned out to be VERY slow. We appreciated the free dessert and the food itself was good but not worth it to go back.

This place is the dog’s bollocks!
Loved it.
Our server, Valencia, knew her stuff and made our evening memorable.
Thank you!!!

So. Much. Amazing.
We somehow were the luckiest people on earth and got a Saturday night reservation just two hours in advance. And, even when we arrived a little late we were still seated with that Southern hospitality I have grown to love.
Restaurant Iris is located in a restored vintage bungalow, and walking in I was taken by the elegant charm. The dining area is split between various rooms, resulting in a feeling that is both open and intimate.
Our waitress was definitely a highlight of our experience. She was, in a word, adorable. Attentive and informative without being invasive, she helped make our evening even more enjoyable.
Everything on the menu looked good, and we chose:
— Lobster knuckle sandwich — an interpretation of an open-​faced ‘sandwich’ featuring a generous pile of lobster, this was a favorite.
— BBQ shrimp — one of the appetizer specials of the evening — the sauce was delicious with the shrimp, and even better with bread. I did not lick the plate, but really wanted to.
— Surf and turf — a decadent combination of NY steak stuffed with fried oysters and topped with blue cheese. It was huge. We should have split it, but…
— Shrimp & grits — I couldn’t visit the South without trying this and didn’t regret it.
After all of this there was no thought of being able to try dessert. Until we saw a table next to us with a combination of gelato and vodka. It wasn’t on the menu — they had requested it specifically because it is a favorite where they live. Sounds weird, I know, but we had to try it too. Who doesn’t love a restaurant that lets guests invent their own desserts?
An outstanding experience in every way.

Request a reservation ahead of time and forget about it during any major event, like the NBA playoffs. Even Tony Parker from the Spurs couldn’t get a short-​notice reservation here when the Spurs were visiting. The reputation is justified. The food is unique and of high quality. There is an excellent wine selection and the service is first-​rate. The venue is small but European in style. When my colleague and I went on a Monday evening, we decided to to both go for the chef’s five-​course menu with matching wine for each course. In this case, each of us had a different item for each course with a corresponding wine picked by the chef or sommelier. Compared to prices for similar chef’s menus in other cities, this is a bargain, although the price is going to be demanding for most people. Here is a sample menu that is pretty close to what we considered before letting the chef do the picking:
It’s a once or twice a year special place.

Everything about the experience here was fabulous: amazing food, romantic and intimate atmosphere, and attentive and friendly servers. Best dinner we had in Memphis during our four night stay.

You know at first I was surprised that I have never written a review of this place… but then it dawned on me that every professional critic in the world has basically reviewed this place so who am I to judge… but here I am anyway. We eat here all the time and the food is always great.

After several meals here I’m going to go three stars as some meals have been great and some have been «lazy». I usually order the shrimp and grits which are usually great. The last time we ate here it was just not that good. Fish was fishy, things weren’t hot and fresh. Seemed like the dinner was just shoved out and not really paid attention to. I would say try it as it can be really good but it should be good every time.

So far the best place I have eaten in Memphis.
Trust the chef, he is doing it right. Taste the whole menu and you will not be disappointed.

This place is really difficult to get a spot in, so consider making a reservation a few weeks in advanced. It is located near Second Line, and they have valet parking (not sure how much). I’ve found parking to be quite a difficulty in Overton Square lately, especially on a Saturday night. We actually ended up parking at Fresh Market and walked over. It’s a pretty short walk, and there are many parking spaces.
Food:
The appetizers all sounded excellent. We order two starters:
Knuckle Lobster Sandwich — this was very tasty, and I would highly recommend ordering this when you are there. It is one open face sandwich, a little bit larger than a fist in size, with butter dipped claw meat on top.
Bone Marrow — this was ok tasting. The marrow seemed a bit over season and took away from the flavor a bit. The brioche bread was delicious, though. This would be good for two to share.
Main course was average:
Surf and Turf — all you could taste was blue cheese… I would ask to skip on that if I were you… the steak seemed like it would have tasted good? But literally, all you could taste was blue cheese.
Alaskan Halibut — this dish was good, but I didn’t think that fish could taste soggy… and that was how I felt about this. The flavors were good, though.
Dessert:
Berry Pot Pie with vanilla ice cream — this was also average. The pie piece was really rough and not flakey fall apart good at all. I was a bit disappointed with it. It probably would have been better off as a crumble. I wish I order something else.
Overall, the experience was neat and the service was nice, but I don’t think I would come back. The food was average and the price was high.

We have been traveling and eating all over the Southeast and parts of the Midwest for the last year and a half and no place has been built up more than Iris. We have had reservations since March, so we were super excited to finally experience Iris. The space is beautiful, elegant and sophisticated with a welcoming charm.
We started with the foie gras served with onion and figs that was absolutely delicious. For our mains we chose the trout and the surf and turf. Unfortunately, we were both underwhelmed with our selections. The trout was covered in the amandine of almonds that didn’t do much for us. For a fish dish, it seemed really heavy and it was overly greasy. They surf and turf was a huge cut of NY strip covered with fried oysters and gouda (normally comes with blue cheese). The steak was a bit tough (ordered medium rare) and the fried oysters were really soggy, not crispy. And with the cheese sauce poured on top, it was a collage of flavors and textures that didn’t complement each other well and was a slight disappointment. The potatoes tasted like they had been sitting around since dinner prep and were way overcooked. For dessert, we ordered the berry pot pie. I enjoyed the flavor of the pie, but it was a lot more soupy than we imagined and a mess to try to get out of the small dish.
The front yard of the place is gorgeous and filled with flowers and overall, the staff was friendly and helpful. Besides the food when you go to a fine dining establishment, we look forward to the service and service fell flat here. Our waitress seemed a bit scripted, robotic and not personable, which was disappointing. There was also a long wait between the starter and entrée. We are glad we tried the famous Restaurant Iris, but it failed to meet our expectations. There are better dining experiences in the city.

Fantastic. Before I’ll even get to the food, I would be remiss if I didn’t focus on the style. I stepped out of my Über into one of the most well designed restaurants I have ever been to. It has that rare combination of good art on good walls. The beautiful light green walls make the space feel so open. You find comfort in the creaking wood floors that downplay the elegance of the establishment just the right amount to make you feel as though you were eating at the home of a relative despite eating on white tablecloth.
The amuse bouche was delightful. It was a little bit of goat cheese that was fried and served with a jalapeño and lime aoli. I love goat cheese, so I am a little biased in how much I liked this dish but it was light and crisp and definitely the perfect amuse in that it was that one dish that gave you the desire to have more food.
I went for the tasting menu and the best way I can describe it is using Michael Jackson’s discography.
Off The Wall: The Knuckle
The knuckle is an open face sandwich that lands itself in between po’boy and lobster roll. The lobster itself was fresh and tender, and like MJ’s first album this plate jumped out at you and said ok this guys got talent. The dish did have it’s downsides though. Kind of like Off The Wall lacked authenticity. I’m going to say something very unpopular here. Yes «She’s Out of My Life» is a great song, but honestly who thinks that he was singing about a love loss. You can hear pain in his voice but you can detect something there is not right. In much the same way, this sandwich lacked a little bit in the way of texture. You needed a bit of a crisp element that was suspiciously absent. The bread was toasted but you’re left with soft bread against soft lobster with tasty aoili and nothing to provide a true balance in texture. Still it was a fantastic dish that tasted fresh from the ocean.
Thriller: BBQ Shrimp
The dish that you can’t say anything bad about. This shrimp was done in a New Orleans style sauce that was absolute perfection. Upon my first bite I had to fight the urge to dive right in and put my face in the plate and act as though I was in a pie eating competition. It’s like from the moment you hear «Wanna Be Startin’ Something», you don’t just hear the music you want to dance and feel and be one with the music. Everything about this dish was great. Perfectly cooked tender shrimp a sauce that had a depth of flavor deeper than any ocean. It was thick and luscious without being overwhelming and I really wish they could bottle it up and take it home with me. The parsley on the toast ads a bit of brightness (I wish the dish would come with one more piece of choice).
Bad: Bone Marrow
The so called meat butter is rich. I’m talking Bill Gates rich. It was fantastic, it just didn’t need certain elements, kind of like how MJ didn’t need Stevie Wonder on that one song on Bad. Like the addition of that song, the brioche was a bad choice in bread. You already had richness from the marrow, and the bacon, you didn’t also need a rich eggy super soft bread that basically doesn’t stand up to the marrow as much as you want it to. Still all things considered a good dish.
Dangerous: Lamb and Gouda Gratin
The gratin in this dish was perfectly executed. Great knife cuts, awesome cheesey texture and was fantastic. The problem with the dish overall was the lamb itself. It was cooked well but somehow managed to be overseasoned and underseasoned at the same time. To much with the herbs and not enough salt. This kind of mimicked that time in MJ’s career where you’re like that is a great album, but dude you just got accused of sexually assualting a child. How do you come to terms with that.
HIStory: Bread Pudding
This was a definite throwback to a great dish that you loved from way back. On one disc you get straight to the point all the great MJ hits with not a raisin to be found in the bunch. Combine that with the addition of the caramel sauce and candied pecans give it that new feel that is the second disc on this album.
I would be remiss not to mention the cocktails I enjoyed as well. One of them was so obvious I wish I would have thought about it. Imagine your classic Mojito, sub out whiskey for rum, ginger beer for soda water and add in a bit of mango juice. It’s sweet but well balanced and probably one of the best sweet cocktails I’ve had and will be trying to replicate this summer.

Congratulations! You’re researching the finest restaurant in Memphis! Not only that, but consistently one of the top 100 restaurants in all of these United States of America. Make your reservation well in advance, as weekends book up 6 – 8 weeks ahead.
You cannot go wrong here. There is no wrong order. Trust the menu exactly as it is written. Every tiny nuance, drop of aioli, or microgreen is absolutely intentional and deliberate to complement the food on your plate. The four or five dining rooms are small, as the building was formerly a residence (before it began its career as a fine dining restaurant, 20something years ago). Ask for the copper room, for a warmer, sexier dining experience.
Anniversaries and birthdays are celebrated with a rose and curled ribbon on your table, and menus rolled up and tied to take home as mementos. (Let’s take an ADD break here to remind everyone the difference between a memento– something to remember your experience, and a «momento” — the Spanish word for moment.) I’ve been to Restaurant Iris three or four times now, and each time I covet what someone else has. The good news is, the portions of rich foods such as foie gras are size-​controlled, so you can’t eat too much of it. I typically have the duck, which has never disappointed me here. Moulard duck is a hybrid of a Muscovy and Peking duck. It looks something like Ping, and tastes like heaven.
Also noteworthy is the stuffed steak with fried oysters and melty blue cheese hollandaise. Nom nommy! The desserts are fine, nothing spectacular yet, aside from a great bread pudding. I’d rather have another cocktail or glass of wine instead.
Caveat: If Applebee’s is your idea of the bee’s knees, skip Iris and go to Bar Louie or Bosco’s Squared.