The Blue Plate Cafe has been a popular stop on Poplar Avenue in Memphis for decades. The tiny lot is almost always packed, there's usually a bit of a line, and it's all worth it. Within its bright yellow and white rooms, diners enjoy good home cooking at reasonable. prices on blue gingham topped tables, packed in tight. It's not uncommon for parties to be sat together at a big table when there are far more diners than tables.
Offering up a heavy dose of southern hospitality, Blue Plate serves up comfort food with a smile, and above average, well-seasoned, juicy fried chicken. The comings and goings that I observed indicated that other diners were equally pleased with their meals, too.
Nice Folks and Good Food
We had a very nice breakfast at the downtown Memphis location. Our server and the other staff couldn’t have been more friendly and inviting. The food was solid and delicious. It wasn’t quite 5 star stuff but it was very good.
Crystal Hollywood-Rodriguez
+3.5
We had a wonderful breakfast. We had read reviews on this place and decided to try it out. The biscuits were very good but the gravy is not worth it! Pancakes were fluffy and really good. I would go back.
Service was okay. Not super but not terrible.
The restaurant itself used to be a house decades ago. It has an upstairs as well as a basement. The upstairs is just additional seating and downstairs is not open to the public. The menus resemble newspapers with the entrees posted inside with quotes and the restaurant's history on the outside.
The food itself is fine but it isn't mind blowing either. I got the western omelet and it came with biscuits and gravy. The gravy was fine as it wasn't super thick and the biscuits were nice and soft. The omelet was a nice size but the bacon wasn't really cut up inside so it was a bit chewy at times.
Pretty good for what it is: a cafe serving classic breakfast foods. Checkered table coverings, hardwood floors, etc. The food was good but won't blow you away with creativity. But if you're looking to be fed (and possibly a nap later) this is a good spot with quality food. The Cinnamon Raisin Pecan pancakes are an excellent exception to an otherwise traditional menu.
Good breakfast except for the gravy. It was a mix. Everything else delicious. Good value, good service. Cute place with cheerful yellow walls.
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I bookmarked the Blue Plate Cafe because of the good reviews on Zomato, and I wanted a good place to eat breakfast while in Memphis. I was there for my family reunion, and really didn't have time to eat breakfast because of planned events for the reunion. I had the opportunity to eat breakfast on my last morning in Memphis, July, 26,2015. There was so much to choose from, it was hard to decide. I finally decided on the two eggs any style with your choice of sausage, ham or bacon, this is served with biscuits and sawmill gravy and your choice of grits, home style hash browns, or three buttermilk pancakes. I'm thinking I have to try the biscuits, and I did with honey instead of the sawmill gravy. I had the eggs over medium, bacon and three buttermilk pancakes. The biscuits weren't too heavy and with the honey it was on point! The eggs were cooked exactly as I wanted them, the bacon was crispy and those fluffy pancakes with warm syrup, yum!!! The Blue Plate Cafe will be a stop on my next visit to Memphis, make sure that you stop by too!@
Get the FRENCH TOAST! I went with a few friends who love to eat, so there were a lot of plates on the table, and pleased people after those plates were empty. I loved the french toast. Our waitress was so helpful and sweet (because we basically made our own plates with random items from the menu). The building is so cute and on a very pretty square that's good for photographs with your friends, if that's your thing. The menu is in the form of an old newspaper. I recommend this restaurant if you visit or live in Memphis!
Eggs Benidict. The country ham instead of Canadian bacon was great!
-----25 May, 2015-----
Great Breakfast. Looked up "best breakfast in Menphis" and this was in the top 3. The other two were closed on Monday, so it was an easy choice. Glad we came! Food was delicious with big portions. Ruby Ann, our server, was a "rock star !" We'll be back!
Ah-mazing!. Everything was so good. We had Eggs Benedict and a Western Omelet. They came with a mountain of crazy good biscuits and a bowl of perfect gravy on the side. Hash browns with the eggs and I had pancakes as my side. There were 3 giant fluffy pancakes.....as a side!!
Sweet people and cute atmosphere with blue checkered tablecloths, white bead board and a newspaper for a menu.
Great experience! !! Eat here.
Great Southern breakfast!. Recently went and tried it with my boyfriend after living down the street for years. Cozy little place. I ordered the scrambled eggs and hashbrowns with cheese which comes with a basket of biscuits and a bowl of sawmill gravy. Those have had to be some of the best biscuits and gravy that i have ever put im in my mouth! The eggs were cooked to perfection and the hashbrowns were also delicious! You could tell the cook knew what they were doing! Defiantly a must try!:)
Dont believe the negative reviews. Had a great breakfast. Dont miss the biscuits, could have od'd on those along. Had the sausage pepperjack cheese omlet, very good. Service was friendley and quick
Breakfast. Not too shabby.
Great biscuits. Very generous portions and friendly service.
Yummy. Came to visit Memphis with some friends and it is our first visit. Had a couple of meals at so so places so we asked the front desk at our hotel what they recommended (where they go) and hands down was the Blue Plate and have the blueberry pancakes. Tons of food, tasted great and the service was great. No complaints and we are going back again tomorrow!
If you are looking for a traditional
Southern breakfast in Downtown Memphis,,,look no further than Blue Plate. Its always more than you can finish cooked perfectly. Service and atmosphere seems almost a life long behavior of the staff! Bravo Blue Plate!!
This place has a great breakfast. I overdid it a bit last time and thought they would have to get me out the door with a forklift. Fortunately the walk back to my hotel helped but I didn't need lunch for a LOOOOOOONG time. The service can be a bit iffy depending on when you arrive and who your server is but I've been several times over the past couple of years and left satisfied every time.
Nice atmosphere. Service was good, but not great. Food was ok, but not wonderful. I will go back.
3.9 stars. Food: 4
Ambiance: 4
Service: 3.5
Saved the trip!. Second time eating here in last year as we travel through town. After a couple of lousy experiences at other restaurants this weekend, we had breakfast at Blue plate on the way out of town Saturday morning. Staff was friendly and accomodating and the food was just as great as last time. All 3 of our meals were fantastic. Thank you Blue Plate for saving our visit!
The pancakes are awesome! I was having reservations about the quality & taste of my breakfast until I tried some of my wife's pancakes. They are great! Go eat the pancakes & enjoy.
Yummy! Huge portions and great coffee. The biscuits and homemade gravy was great way to start breakfast. The country ham and cheese omelet with pancakes was big enough for two to share. Great place...especially when all other places stop serving breakfast at 1030am...Blue Plate serves it until 2pm.
My sister came to see my condo downtown for the first time and this place is right around the corner. It was amazing!! The eggs benedict with hashbrowns is just like mom used to make..and the service was great!!
This was worth the driving around to find. After calling for the directions and getting my food I was very impressed. The food was great and the customer service was outstanding. I will return. Mitch was my waiter and stayed on top of thing the entire time.
Egg-celent!. The omelet there is awesome! And you get so much food for the price! I got a ham and cheese omelet and that came with a stack of delectable, fluffy pancakes and their biscuit and gravy. Just the pancake and biscuit and gravy is enough to have me hooked!
The line gets a little long during lunch, but if it is that busy, the food must be good. Definitely try this place out.
Amazing breakfast! Everything we had was good. Lovely art and decor but the food is so good you don't want to look up
The service was great omlet was light and fluffy.
Went for breakfast, had the banana pancakes with peanut butter syrup, sausage patties, and hashbrowns. The pancakes and syrup was phenomenal!! The hashbrowns were mediocre(would have been better if crisp). The biscuits and gravy were very delicious. Would recommend and DEFINITELY come back
Biscuits were flaky and flavorful. "diner" fare with homey atmosphere. Sausage in Mex roll ups was a little dense and lackluster, but beans were tasty, as were the crisp potato hashbrowns (flattened new potatoes). Good service Mitch.
A Great Weekend Breakfast. I always loved the original Blue Plate on Poplar, so I was really happy to find out that the downtown version was just as good. It can be a challenge to find legal parking on South Court, but it's worth it even it you have to walk to get there. The service is excellent, the biscuits are hot and fresh and the cook is fast. I've never had to wait very long; even though the place stays busy, the crowds don't seem to overwhelm the staff as it seems to at the two other downtown breakfast restaurants the Arcade or Cock-a-doos (I know I'm leaving out Denny's across from the Peabody).
Every time in Memphis. When we first started dating my fiancee and I made a trip to Memphis for a Blues Festival. Upon leaving our hotel we asked the valet where we could find the best breakfast in downtown. He suggested the Blue Plate Cafe. As in most cases the valet driver was correct!! Across from a small but beautiful park with fountain is the Blue Plate Cafe. Every time we now return to Memphis we make this a must stop for breakfast. Prices are very reasonable, food quality is superb and portions are generous. The atmosphere is quaint and eclectic, and we have always received first class service. I am looking forward to have having breakfast there with my beautiful fiancee when we drive through the day after tomorrow!
Love this place. We ate breakfast here before a Memphis hoops game last year and I probably gained 10 pounds, but it was so worth it. You will not leave this place hungry. Just go for a jog later in the day to burn off some of the calories if you're feeling guilty.
I'm goin off the rails on a GRAVY train!. Fairly cheap, very awesome breakfast spot.
menues are like little newsletters. oh my!, what's this? FREE BISCUITS AND GRAVY?
thank you sir, may i have another? no? okay, i'll have the banana pancakes with peanut butter syrup. and eggs florentime for my life partner.
yum, yum, yum.
it was excellent, no complaints, sir.
what's that?
oh, i'm sorry, i thought you said something.
goodbye.
Breakfast. Pretty good pancakes. Quick service. I was surprised. Will go there again.
Comfort Food. This is a great place to get some comfort food. The breakfast is also very good in my opinion. We usually stay at one of the hotels across the park when visiting Memphis and tried this place, it did not disappoint. It also has a very cool southern dining setting.
I give it 3.5 stars. Waffles are a liitle soggy. Nice ambiance!
Great lunch specials. Not a big fan of their breakfast menu. Service is often quick and friendly.
Blue Plate - Blue Ribbon. We like our breakfast, no doubt about that, so we like to hit Blue Plate while the bums are just waking up in Court Square. There is always a parking spot nearby if you are good at parallel parking....negatives out of the way first, there breakfast potatoes that they call hash browns are NOT GOOD...everything else, biscuits, eggs, omlets, pancakes, waffles.... all delicious! They don't have a good selection of teas, not many places do, and that would help. The service is great, we never have to wait long for service or for the good food. The place is CLEAN! Not a lot of that! Thanks Blue Plate!
We ate here for breakfast it was good. I would recommend the omelet and buttermilk pancakes. I would skip the butter pecan waffle and souther style hashbrowns. The hashbrowns were cold and over salted in places with season salt. The service was okay but it took over 30 minutes to get our breakfast and it wasn't busy.
I cannot believe that I have been to Blue Plate Cafe about three times this year, and I have yet to write about it. I finally realized this when meeting my dad and sister for breakfast while they were in town this past week. Blue Plate Cafe is one of my favorite places to grab breakfast. The food is consistently some of the best down-home, Southern comfort goodness in Memphis. You immediately realize this when first sitting down at your table. The menus are newspapers. The history of the restaurant is on the front, along with some motivational material. On the inside is their complete menu. I always have a hard time deciding what to get when I eat here. The omelets are great. I have an obsession with pancakes, and they have a lot of choices. Butter pecan waffles? Okay, maybe. Guaranteed though, we always order biscuits and gravy to start. The biscuits at Blue Plate Cafe are soft, buttery, and perfect . They always come out hot and fresh. Most times, I don't like to smother them in grav
Going in I thought its breakfast, how much different can it be than every other place, but man was I wrong. The portions are large, so make sure you come hungry, but they don't sacrifice quality for quantity.
I got a ham and cheese omelet with pecan pancakes . The omelet was cooked perfectly with lots of cheese and large chunks of ham. The pancakes were large, the flavor was great, and the syrup was warm and delicious. My wife had the eggs Benedict and said it was eggsellent as well
Stopped in for breakfast on our way out of town, and we will be filled up for the rest of the day! The pancakes are certainly fluffy and delicious. I had the huevos rancheros and liked it. The atmosphere is cute, once you can find a parking place to get inside!
My husband and I visited this great establishment. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table. It was worth the wait. The food was great and I enjoyed the warm & friendly atmosphere. We had an awesome waiter, Katrina, great customer service. The food was really great. It made you feel as if you was having breakfast at your grandmother's house in the county. My husband and I truly enjoyed our visit here. We thanked the hotel clerk for suggesting this restaurant to us. It was a rainy day, but the visit was worth the walk and wait. Thank you Blue Plate Cafe for making our experience a great one. GOD bless this establishment and the employees always. Excellent place to visit!
Outstanding service! Prompt with orders, refills and our ticket. Even the tables were bussed immediately. Food was hot and delicious! Prices are reasonable too. Beautiful building design inside and across from a beautiful park. The air was comfortable and warm and the atmosphere was quiet with everyone working efficiently and being polite.
Our server Katrina whirlwinded her way between the tables while being pleasant and friendly. She is a gem! The food was great, and the portion-size to price ratio outstanding. Always a good experience at the Blue Plate Cafe!
Great place for breakfast. The biscuits were phenomenal and the hollandaise sauce for the Eggs Benedict is made in house. The portions are large, so make sure you bring your appetite!!
An awesome place to eat. The service was outstanding. Food was delicious! The portions of the food was also HUGE! I wanted to go back the next day but had to leave early and they don’t open until 7:00 am. Check this place out enjoy their food :)
Great spot for breakfast downtown. Service is spot on (Katrina is great!!)
If you leave here hungry - you did something wrong !!! Try the pancakes, biscuits, and eggs
We grabbed breakfast here on a Saturday morning. We waited about 15-20mins to be seated. Our service wasn't the greatest (not very attentive, had to try to get her attention to get maple syrup and ketchup for our food, she lost our check so we had to wait like 15 minutes for her to bring us a check to leave.) The food was absolutely delicious though, and made it all worth it. The man who bussed our table as we waited for our check was so friendly and kind. He brought us another cup of coffee as we waited since we had let him take everything thinking we'd leave quickly when waiting on our check. I'd come back if I lived in Memphis. Definitely worth trying while in town.
Great food and good service. Staff was friendly and food was quick. Within minutes of ordering my fried green tomatoes I had them. The waffles where crispy and a nice size and the price point was on point.
A quaint, clean and personable place to start your day. Located downtown Memphis at Court Square, this iconic restaurant serves up a variety of breakfast favourites. Don't forget their lunch menu and that they close mid-afternoon.
We had breakfast at this place and it was very delicious. After a wait of about 20 minutes we got a table and the food was served quickly . I had Egg Benedict and some Biskuits with Gravey. it was what I would call a typical American breakfast. I especially liked the biskuits, they seemed to be freshly baked!
the place itself is pretty cute and our waitress was so friendly and helpful!
Delicious Diner Food. We had the breakfast. The plates come with biscuits and gravy and grits, hash browns, or pancakes. The serving size are very generous. We left very full.
Solid breakfast place! Good, home cooked food. Biscuits taste like they were made from scratch, home fries were crispy and flavorful, and the portions are huge for the money. My partner had the huevos rancheros and was not impressed (didn’t taste bad, but not the best version he’s had); would recommend the pancakes or omelettes. $25 for a ton of food for two people (neither of us could finish!)
The staff was very friendly and appropriately attentive. We went at 0800 when they opened and the food came out within 10 minutes or so.
Great little stop for breakfast. I had the eggs florentine and it was wonderful. They're SUPER generous with the side pancakes- all of the egg dishes come with three large, fluffy pancakes. I appreciated that they served hot syrup too.
Crazy friendly place with warm food and warmer staff. Great spot for breakfast. The pancakes were very good... Not a typical diner that you would expect... Their coffee was good! And I was shown how to determine if a $100 dollar bill is real! Now where else can you go for that?
During my trip to Memphis, this cafe was recommended to me by a friend.
Food: Definitely excellent comfort food options featuring a variety of options for meals, but their breakfasts and pancake options were too good to resist.
Staff: Waitresses were incredibly attentive and kind! Definitely left an incredible impression.
Setting: Was a little cozy for a relatively large space, but that's not a bad thing! Decor made it feel like I was eating in a family home, and it definitely had a cute appeal.
We arrived to the cafe and ended up having to wait 30 minutes due to the establishment being incredibly popular. ( It was worth the wait )
If you ever find yourself craving breakfast food during a trip to Memphis, this place is high on my recommended list. ♥️🥰
Another solid choice for Memphis! This morning I went with the Country Ham with eggs and pancakes (elvis style). Country Ham was excellent, if you like salty foods. The scrambled eggs were light and fluffy. The Elvis Edition Pancakes... not my cup of tea... but wanted to try something different. The pancakes themselves were excellent, but the peanut butter and banana was a bit much for my taste. Great service and great food... I would return for another breakfast.
Very good cafe. The staff was very friendly and the food was incredible. Make sure you are hungry because the portions are very large. We had breakfast here and the biscuits were like grandma's. Highly recommend.
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