The Corked Carrot

I think they put a final cork in it?
I tried to check this place out for dinner/​drinks one Thursday evening in November. We showed up and it was closed. Ever since then, I’ve noticed that the lights are out whenever I drive by.
Just now, I checked their website and their facebook page — both down.
So um… yeah. My recommendation is don’t go or call ahead to see if they’re open before you get there.

I’m very stuck between two stars and three. Ultimately, every time I’ve thought about this experience since we had it, I am less impressed, so I am landing at 2 stars even though I kind of feel bad about it. I’d like for this place to do well — it’s a beautiful location in a part of downtown (South Main) that is trying desperately to grow up.
Let’s start with what’s good: someone has clearly spent a ton of money on the facility, which has wood floors, a large hanging glass panel projection screen, and a front-​stoop sidewalk embedded with glass lit from beneath. It is a SNAZZY place.
My husband and I wandered in around 10, expecting a dessert/​wine bar, and instead found a restaurant about to close. Close-​to-​closing was the reason we were told they were out of the sole cupcake (red velvet) on the menu. We also couldn’t be sold the lemon cake because apparently it was too dry. I suppose it’s good they didn’t sell us something not up to par, but it was disappointing nonetheless.
We ended up with chocolate financiers and the strawberry cobbler. The financiers consisted of 3 brownie-​bite balls sitting in a puddle of chocolate sauce with another, equal-​sized ball of peanut butter mousse to eat them with. The flavor of the financiers was pretty sweet, not a deep rich chocolate. The presentation left something to be desired as well — they were sitting on a giant white plate, which made the portion look small and messy. The strawberry cobbler was the better of the two desserts, though also suffered from a structural problem as the ball of gelato on top was taller than the ramekin containing the actual cobbler. We took off the gelato and enjoyed the warm fruit and crunchy nut topping of the cobbler. My husband and I both agreed that we could have made either dessert at home with a very little bit of effort.
All of this considered, the restaurant may still have been a three-​star experience, except that the service was just so weird. We walked in, weren’t sure if we were supposed to seat ourselves or not, wandered halfway to the back and found two servers (?) talking to each other. One of them said, «In a place this size, you can basically just seat yourself and we’ll notice you.» It just wasn’t that welcoming. Then our server didn’t know what a financier was, and talked with us for several minutes about how the business has changed concept from the cupcake bar to a restaurant, made sure we knew how metropolitan the owner is, treated us to an indictment of Unilocal (I didn’t mention how much I LOVE Unilocal!), and just overall made us feel like we had to navigate his personality a bit more than we’d hoped to on a rare date night.
I might come back if it were up to me, but my husband says he will never come back, so I guess it’d have to be on a ladies’ night.
**An interesting proposition: this place is opening for «second Sunday» brunch, which will presumably happen on the second Sunday of each month, though in September it was on the 15^th, which was the third Sunday of the month — but the menu looked good and it’s prix-​fixe at $ 12? That might be something to try…
Good luck to this place, but Friday night just didn’t do it for us.

My first impressed of this place as I walked in was… hmm it is so cute, small, and quaint. I was meeting my sister-​in-​law for a drink and we had the best time. I fell in love with the wine on tap, the $ 5 glass of champagne (that tasted fabulous) and the happy hour prices! And don’t even get me started on the Champagne Mojito… I have fallen in LOVE with this refreshing cocktail. I have to watch myself with this one because it goes down way too fast! I just keep wanting more!
The meat and cheese plate is to die for. The server matched the meat and cheese plate selection to the wines that we were tasting perfectly. I have been back many times to try the different selections.
I look forward to always going back to this place for a happy hour drink and appetizer!

I finally got to try this adorable place! The first time we tried to stop in was at the June trolley night. We waited and waited and waited at the bar and never got any service, it was packed. We just decided to try again another time.
At the July trolley night we finally got a table. The service was a little on the slow side, we constantly were having to ask for another drink, food, and silverware. I ordered the cheesecake and it was wonderful! It was so light, yet rich and delightful. It was a little pricey, but its definitely a cute place to stop in for dessert! It’d be a great place to go on a first date!

Great place! Unique foods and great wine. Put this place in Chicago or New York and you’re easily paying twice as much per glass/​plate. Relaxed atmosphere with progressive food, perfect for date night or before a show.

I really love the Corked Carrot. I was a bit turned off after hearing some negative and otherwise iffy reviews from patrons, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. Plus, I heard that they recently brought in new management and revamped the menu. From what I can tell, this was a fantastic business move that very likely saved the establishment.
First of all, the ambiance is outstanding. You can watch the chef work his magic in the kitchen, as it’s only separated from the rest of the restaurant by a glass panel. This glass panel also doubles as a projector screen, so they can play movies and sports games. The décor was very modern. We sat at the bar, and the bartender was very courteous and attentive. He went out of his way to explain different wines and dishes to us.
The wine list is decently extensive and on the higher side of reasonable in terms of price. My friend and I didn’t order regular menu items, but I do know that they steered from their initial cupcake theme and have more traditional small plates. We ordered a chocolate peanut butter dessert (the name escapes me), which was a perfect light portion and delicious.

went this past weekend with a group. the service was spotty and irritable. it seemed as though they were understaffed. and it was hard to tell what was what. there are no longer cupcakes, we were told. and the wine was overpriced.
if it lasts, i may try it again on a less busy evening — but my first impression is that i’d rather go across the street to s.o.b. where the service and the food are consistently outstanding.

I have mixed feelings on this establishment. Memphis needed an upscale wine bar. The décor is nice. The dessert and wine was good and the service was okay. One of the servers didn’t have the best personality, but she was tolerable. The bartender was on point. The only problem with this place is that the atmosphere was so sterile. I tried hard to figure out why there was a not a good spirit in this place. I recently was in a similar establishment in New York and the atmosphere was festive and you felt connected. I didn’t feel it here. My wife had the same observation.

I stopped in @cravethecarrot Friday night with a few friends after the South Main Trolley night. We only had drinks and desserts but the ambience is out of this world. I kept thinking, are we really in downtown Memphis? Actually, I couldn’t believe we were in Memphis at all.
The drinks were a little on the expensive side as were the desserts but I’m happy pay for it with an atmosphere like this. I need to spend more time here, but so far so good!

No more cupcakes :(

I thought the noise level was loud and the restaurant was about ¹⁄₃ full. No sound absorbing materials. Cupcakes were small and dry. They were priced for size, though. Keg wine was fine. Nice list of wines. I wouldn’t go back. I would have rather eaten a Hostess cupcake.

There’s a new wine bar (I think Memphis’s only) in downtown Memphis.
It’s more than a wine bar, though. It’s wine AND cupcakes. I thought you paired wine with cheese, but this pairing goes just as well.
One thing I noticed about the menu is that you can get a small pour of wine, a glass, or a bottle. I am interested in going back and trying several wines, especially the more expensive ones that I have always wanted to try but never wanted to order a bottle.
They also have kegged wines, which are $ 2.50 off during happy hour, which is Monday — Friday from 4pm — 8pm.
They had live music on Friday, when I went. It’s a nice chic atmosphere.
You can spend as much or as little really.
They have sweet and savory cupcakes. I didn’t try a savory cupcake yet; I will next time. I’m not sure how big the savory ones are. I wonder if they’re filling enough for a meal.
I ordered the carrot cake cupcake. They are very flavorful. They are also not too big. I’m actually a fan of mini desserts. I rarely want a huge piece of cake.
They have a display case, and on the other side, you can watch the chef at work.
I went during zombie walk. Every year in downtown there’s a zombie march. I’m not sure if they’re marching for rights or brains.
We also had very attentive service. So… who wants to go with me for a savory cupcake?

I really like the concept of The Corked Carrot. I’ve had both the sweet and savory cupcakes and they were all good, but for the amount you get it’s a little overpriced. Hopefully, they’ll make some adjustments with the prices. The space is great, the location is nice.

I went after work with some coworkers for a girls night. We brought our own wine since they didn’t have a liquor license yet. The savory cupcakes were regular sized and come with a salad. I had the very and goat cheese one. There was no cake or bread to it at all so I was a little confused bit tasted great though. They wrapped the sliced beet into the cupcake mold to make it hold the shape. We also had some sweet cup cakes. They were bite size and some were good others were a bit dry and dense. Maybe we came at a slow time. The Peanut butter and jelly and the Elvis were great cupcakes though.

Last night a couple friends gave me their impression of the Corked Carrot, I could not believe it could be as bad as they said so we grabbed a table on the street and ordered a couple cupcakes and espresso. The espresso was beyond tepid because my buddy, after feeling his cup just put his finger in the cup. Our waitress said «it was the machine». OK, they have adjustments. The cupcakes were tiny, expensive and actually bad. We were comped for everything and given 3 glasses of wine on the house. I would not even return for free wine.
What a waste of a location.

Awesome tiny cupcakes made out of a dense cake. They are small but heavy so a few are probably all you need. PB&J (sweet) and Croque Madame (savory) were both excellent. The peanut butter frosting on the PB&J was insane. The Croque Madame really isn’t a cupcake at all– it’s more like a extra tall, narrow eggs benedict but it was excellent.
As for the wine, the quality is excellent but the prices seem a little high for Downtown Memphis. The issue is not that the wine they carry should be priced much lower than it is. The issue is that when you’re looking at the young crowd that lives downtown, they’d probably get more foot traffic if they carried some solid ‘budget’ wines as well. We’ll be back, but we’d go more often if we could afford the wine on a regular basis.
Also, very cool atmosphere.

Memphis now has a place that serves both cupcakes and wine. It’s called the Corked Carrot, and it’s about time someone had an idea like this.
The space is lovely. It’s sleek and modern, and it looks way more like a lounge than a bakery. The kitchen is glass-​walled, so you can see the bakers at work, and the glass wall also serves as a projection screen so they can show basketball games.
While Corked Carrot doesn’t have any traditional dinner items, they do have savory cupcakes. Corndog and pulled pork cupcakes sound a little weird (and I haven’t tried them yet), but the pictures I’ve seen of them make them look more like stuffed popovers than traditional iced cupakes.
The dessert cupcakes are really good, though. They’re moist and they’ve got a great icing-​to-​cake ratio. I tried the carrot cake, which came topped with a cute baby carrot and a shard of green sugar «glass».
I’m also glad to see a Memphis bakery selling macarons. The almond flour sandwich cookies are insanely difficult to make (at least, I had a hard time), but the Corked Carrot’s are airy and crunchy. I recommend the rose and the lemon.
The only issue I had was the price — the cupcakes and macarons are all priced around $ 2. That wouldn’t be a big deal, especially for high quality desserts like these, if the desserts were just a little bigger. The cupcakes are all mini-​cupcakes (for comparison, about half the size of a Muddy’s cupcake) and the macarons are about an inch and a half in diameter.
That said, I hope the Corked Carrot does well. It’s a great addition to South Main, and it’s a cool alternative to a typical downtown bar.
The Corked Carrot is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. You could probably take kids there during the day (it’s non-​smoking), but I wouldn’t recommend it at night.

Weve walked by this place all week and finally found it with its doors open. We tried the vanilla that had just come out of the oven– warm, fluffy, and moist with a delicious vanilla flavor. the carrot looked appetizing too– decorated splendidly with glass candy and a baby carrot, but was a little drier than I would have liked. Nice friendly staff and an open area that doesn’t cramp. Seems like they’ve just opened so I’ll give em some cushion to get comfortable (no to-​go coffee cups or plastic bags for take out) They also have a macarons! They dyed their lemon blue for the grizzlies in the playoffs. The rose was super sweet, but texture was crisp on the first bite and rich in taste. Not sure when I’ll be back again, but I’ll be tasting that vanilla cupcake again in my dreams.