Memphis Bar Guide
30+ bars across Memphis's drinking neighbourhoods, curated by editors who know the city.
Memphis bars are loud, soulful, and old. The blues-and-soul music tradition shapes every drinking room in the city. Beale Street has been a live-music drinking district since the 1860s. Cooper-Young's craft-cocktail wave built a polished new layer on top. The drinks are cheap and the bands are real.
Five neighbourhoods cluster the action. Beale Street is the heritage live-music spine. Cooper-Young runs the cocktail-and-creative quarter. Overton Square is the dressed-up restaurant-bar district. Downtown holds the polished hotel rooftops. Midtown covers the indie residential bars.
Cocktails run $10 to $13. Pints $4 to $6. Cheap. Tipping is 20 percent. Most bars run to 3am. Reserve Mollie Fontaine Lounge for the live-music nights.
Browse by occasion
Cocktail Bars in Memphis
World-class cocktail rooms
Rooftop Bars in Memphis
Skyline drinks
Date Night in Memphis
Romantic spots
After Work in Memphis
Apéro-hour bars
Live Music in Memphis
Bands and DJs
Craft Beer in Memphis
Microbreweries and taprooms
Hidden Gems in Memphis
Unmarked doors
Sports Bars in Memphis
Watch parties
Top Picks This Week
Earnestine & Hazel's
Heritage juke joint from 1955. Reportedly haunted. Soul Burgers and cheap pours upstairs, an old-Memphis bar room downstairs. Cash only. The most authentic Memphis-feeling room in the city.
The Peabody Lobby Bar
Heritage hotel bar inside the Peabody Hotel. Polished marble interior, the duck march at 11am and 5pm, and a Southern-spirit-leaning cocktail menu.
Bar DKDC
Cocktail-and-international-food bar from chef Karen Carrier. Tight rotating menu, neighbourhood-feel crowd, and the Cooper-Young cocktail-industry's regular spot.
Hu. Roof
Hotel rooftop with sunset views over the Mississippi. Long bar, classic-cocktail menu, and a polished after-work crowd. Best at 6pm.
Mollie Fontaine Lounge
Cocktail-and-piano bar inside an 1886 Victorian mansion. Live music Wednesday to Saturday. Long bar, candle-lit interior, and the most photogenic Memphis room.
Wild Bill's
Heritage juke joint in a strip mall. Soul-blues bands every weekend. Cheap pours, soul food, and the most authentic blues-bar experience in America.
Neighbourhood Guide
Beale Street
The heritage live-music spine. Cobblestone street, 200-year history, and the densest blues-and-soul drinking district in the world.
Cooper-Young
The craft-cocktail-and-creative quarter east of downtown. Speakeasies, restaurant-bars, and a thirty-something local crowd. Walk between everything.
Overton Square
The dressed-up restaurant-bar district. Hotel rooftops, polished cocktail rooms, and a quieter weekend pace.
Downtown
The Mississippi-side central district. Hotel rooftops, post-Grizzlies-game crowds, and the polished after-work scene.
Midtown
The indie residential district. Heritage dive bars, neighbourhood pubs, and a younger creative-class crowd.
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