I recently had the opportunity to visit Midtown Memphis! My husband’s employer invited me to be with him for a couple of days and tour their facilities. It was my first time spending more than just one night in Memphis.
We looked for an Airbnb and found a great deal on a duplex in Midtown. The ratings for the property were excellent so we booked it. I am not aware of any hotels in walking distance, and even if there were just book an Airbnb and really get a great feel of the area. If you have never used an Airbnb, check out my reasons I love staying with them.
Parking
Our first night in town we drove the 2 blocks to get to the area with all the restaurants/bars. There is a parking garage with free parking for a large portion of the day and a small charge for the evening hours. (You will need to pull your car in to the spot and NOT back in.) You will need to pay for your parking before leaving the parking garage, or they will happily mail you a ticket for more. The parking garage was clean and well lit… not what I usually think of when I hear parking garage. It is large and centrally located, so parking in Midtown isn’t an issue!
Second Line
We ate the first night at Second Line. The fried Oyster Po Boy with the tomato salad was exceptional. The margarita was perfect, and they also have beer and wine. We were there on a Sunday evening and it was rather quiet. We thought they may have been about to close, but then the people began pouring in. It was really busy for a Sunday night. So, its my guess if you plan to go here… you are going to need to arrive early to avoid the crowd. Second Line looks like a house and only offers street parking so at first
glance it may look closed, but go check to be sure! Second Line has a large outdoor seating area with a bar in the back of the building.
Cafe 1912
Our second night we decided to walk to dinner. We were close enough, so it made the most sense. We started our night at Cafe 1912. The restaurant had high ratings on yelp, so we wanted to try it. We decided to just do a night of appetizers so that we could enjoy more than one restaurant. I can’t remember what we ordered, but it was basically french fries. They were ok, but I wouldn’t go back for them… however, the drinks were a different story. I had the Bees Knees and it was so good! One of those drinks that makes you wish you could be a bartender so you can make one at home.
When we first arrived we were asked if we had reservations, which seemed odd as there was only one other table occupied. We weren’t there long before we were ready to head to our next appetizer dinner spot. As we were leaving a couple came in and had reservations. I am assuming the place was going to be busy later, so if you are planning to go you may want to get reservations, and of course drink a Bees Knees for me.
Lafayette’s Music Room
Next we went to Lafayette’s Music Room. There was a live band on the Monday night we were there, so check to see and maybe you can go on a night with a band. There was a $3 cover charge to get in. I haven’t paid a cover charge anywhere in years. Especially not to go and eat dinner. But, hey… when in Midtown… pay the cover!
We were looking forward to the music, and wouldn’t you know they were only doing a sound check and wouldn’t come back out until after we left… I guess thats the problem with going with an almost full tummy and no plans to stay out late.
We had the mini burgers and shrimp tacos. I highly recommend both! They were both so good I was sad that I didn’t go there first. The Strawberry margarita was a bit sweet for my taste, or maybe I had ruined my taste buds with the goodness of the bees knees… which was after all the bees knees.
Muddy’s Grind House
The next morning we went to Muddy’s Grind House for breakfast. We got scones to go, but didn’t even get a cup of coffee. Just so you know I am not normally a person that can walk into a coffee shop and not get a coffee. But I had already sufficiently caffeinated myself at the airbnb. The bacon and pimento scone was amazing. I had never had anything but sweet scones, so I was excited to try out something different. The bacon and pimento does NOT disappoint!
Midtown is a fun area. So many more restaurants. An area with a giant wind chime, a spot to play corn hole with a dozen of your closest friends, and scooters for rent. There are places to listen to live music, enjoy a lunch with the whole family while the kids play corn hole, have a night out bar hopping with friends, or a date night with your love.
The scooters look fun, but we had an important few days ahead and neither of us needed a broken arm for the festivities. To use the scooters you download the app on your phone, and use the app to find scooters, see how much battery they have on them, and most importantly pay for your scooter. There were lots of people riding around on them. In fact we would find one on the app and go toward it and someone would get on it and ride off. Its such a wonderful way of getting around. Ride it where you want and leave it when you are done.
Midtown Memphis has such a great atmosphere. Even the glasses store on the corner looks interesting and made me wish I could go in and buy some glasses that I don’t even need. There are several Yoga studios, a grocery store (two thumbs up on their customer service and fresh fruits), and a CVS. CVS is a great spot to go and buy a sewing kit with you have a wardrobe malfunction on your husband’s first day at his new job.
I was sad to leave Midtown, and do plan to go back there soon. In fact next time we visit my husband at work it is likely we will stay in the same Airbnb and try and visit with more of the restaurants that we didn’t get to sample on our first visit.
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