Haven't eaten here... but GREAT Friday nights for old school hip hop lovers. :-)

Love peace and SOULLLLLLLLLLL (food)... a nice place to get strong drinks and great southern style comfort food with a touch of elegance. I personally love the meatloaf and the fried chicken. Although I don't frequent this spot as much as I used to I still love this place and the food. read more

Totally dug it and will be back. The make their own ginger and jalapeño syrups in house for their cocktails. Really good on their own, didn't get to try them in every drink. If I wasn't from another state I would be there tonight. No windows inside, L-shaped room with side room ad outdoor seating. Good place to meet up with friends read more

Nope never again. I had a bad experience about 5 years ago, tried it again the other day, nope never ever again. The first time we were kicked out for being too Loud, really? There were 2 if us and it was just us ??? Who's complaining? Then I went in to buy 3 breakfasts to go and had a mimosa. She had to make a point that I wasn't driving, which I wasn't but really? I could be your mother and I'm not dumb enough to drink and drive. I appreciate the concern but nope will not ever be back. read more

This is a very nice, cozy, and small pub. They have a really wide variety of whiskey and scotch which is why I went. The staff were very friendly and attentive, and the food is pretty good. I tried the quesadillas and the brussels sprouts and they were both great. The prices are average, not too high, not too low. It's definitely a nice place to go with friends if you want to talk and hang, socialize and not have to shout over the music. There are plenty of parking spots outside as there is a dedicated parking lot on each side of the pub, as well as ample street parking. The area is pretty low-key which fits the ambience of the pub greatly. I'm definitely going to come back soon. read more

My wife and I love this place. Their Sunday brunch is just amazing!!!! The dining experience that comes along with it rocks. The servers are awesome and very hospitable. There is a new hostess that kind of needs an attitude adjustment but I'm sure she will get it sooner or later. Other than that this place is absolutely a locals cafe. And it rocks!! read more

I love this place, especially the shrimp and grits and the friend chicken and greens. Best kept secret in Costa Mesa!

Meh. that's how I would describe my experience here. First of all the service was so-so, but what made it worse was that it was freezing cold out and they had all their doors open. Only 2 tables were occupied, not always a good sign. The cornbread was horrible! I don't know if it was stale or something, but it was tasteless and kept falling apart into grains of cornmeal or something, haha. I had the gumbo since I wanted something cheap, and their menu isn't all that affordable. It came cold and I had to ask them to reheat it. The cheese on my friend's meatloaf wasn't even melted; it looked like nuclear plastic. Not worth it, don't think we'll go back...but definitely a place for the scenesters. Duh, it's near the Lab. Home of the Scenesters. read more

i've never done memphis for food, but apparently it's good. this restaurant turns into a bar/club at night. no cover, ok dj's, and no dress code. the smoking patio out back has lots of seats and heat lamps. drinks are reasonable and the wait for a drink is usually only a few minutes. read more

If you haven't tried them already, these are absolute musts on the menu: the Gumbo, the Jumbalaya and the Fried Catfish Sandwich. Not to mention their supply of freshly made cornbread, which is always a perfect compliment to their Southern-style cooking. Mmmm for Memphis!!! read more

Great food, great atmosphere, complimentary DELICIOUS cornbread w/every meal (upon request). Everything I've had at this place is EXCELLENT and everything is moderately priced as well ($7-12 for breakfast). I usually order the Memphis egg breakfast with chicken apple sausage and brioche ($6.95). This is definitely one of my favorite places to eat breakfast/brunch! Sometimes they also have 2 for 1 mimosas for brunch...yum! read more

Yes, this place is small but I go here almost every other weekend to get my usual Red Hook on tap. Why not? I only live three blocks away. I usually go on a Friday night and I'm never let down by the music - hip hop that is. One night they played Tribe Called Quest followed by a track on the Emanon album, The Waiting Room, followed by a track on the DJ Jazzy Jeff Album, The Magnificent.... nice. Good people, good music. read more

phiLL's suggestions: happy hour, corn bread, gumbo, meatloaf I always recommend this place b/c i think the food, atmosphere, and drinks are fantastic. i suggest their happy hour which I tried my first time there. Their small plates i believe are all half off and their drinks are discounted. My friend and I shared a couple of small plates and it is more than enough. Their complimentary corn bread with bits of corn is delicious. Their small plate gumbo is very hearty. And I always have to try a restaurants meatloaf and their's is very good and filling. The atmosphere is more cozy casual hip. The drinks are pretty stiff as well. However, the place is small with a back patio which adds to the coziness factor. read more

Get the pulled pork sandwich with gumbo. It's amazing. Great atmosphere too.

small and cozy place here. mixed crowd tonight. the music played was everything from electro, funk, hip hop, and some mashups. celebrated a friend's dirty 30 bday here. good times, decent priced drinks, good music and good company. read more

I've been to memphis several times for dinner and the food is very good although it's a little pricey. I've only tried the fried chicken and the meat loaf, both were tasty. The fried chicken is probably my favorite. The second to last time I came the fried chicken was drenched in cumin and I didn't like it anymore, but my last visit I tried it again and it came out perfect. The drinks here are pretty good, and they have a nice selection of beers, belgium's, wine, and mixed drinks. The place becomes a bar/lounge after 10 or 11 on friday and saturday nights. I haven't really checked it out but it's pretty chill. The food is good, and I'll probably come back here whenever I'm craving fried chicken and collard greens. read more

I wish I could rate this place higher. I love the decor and ambiance and how cozy it is inside. However, I really wasn't impressed by the service. I went out with a bunch of friends, and we started at the bar (bartender was great). We moved to a table, and it took 20+ minutes for someone to come over to our table. It was also really hot - no AC? Food was pretty good, I ordered a trio of Cajun appetizers. Also, this was a Wednesday, I was surprised by how slow the service was. The restaurant itself is very small, probably can't accommodate over 30. read more

wish i could give it no stars. my review applies only to the dj and the manager. The dj was beyond rude!!! I told the manager about how poorly the dj treated my friend and I and he had nothing to say but sorry! I didn't think it was too much to ask for to let the dj know we don't treat paying customers bad. So my group of friends and I closed out our tab and left to a much better environment, Mesa. Thank god that Mesa was just down the street. I really did not want to spend my bday at Memphis and give them anymore business! In fact my sister's bf noticed how we were the only people buying drinks. Everybody else was dancing or standing around with no drinks in there hands! Besides the fact that it's a very small place to dance, we were the only latin and white crew there and the music was so so we would have stayed if the customer service wasn't so shitty. read more

I give props to the owner, David Hastie, for contacting me right away about my not-so-enjoyable 1st experience there. He asked that I give it another try with a generous "dinner for two" gift certificate. I took him on his offer since he seemed genuinely concerned and wanted to make up for it. My friend (same one) and I came here again last night. We sat outside. It was nice sitting under the heated lamps. The setting kind of reminded us of PA. We missed happy hour, but with our gift certificate, it didn't really matter, right? We ordered the potato pancakes & clams and mussels to share as appetizers. Both items were surprisingly better than I thought it was going to be. I especially loved their clams and mussels dish. The broth was almost like a soup in itself with the veggies and sausage. I highly recommend anyone to try it. For our entrees, he got a half baby spinach salad and burger for his meal. I ordered the meatloaf stack. My friend really enjoyed the salad. He kept on wanting me to try a bite, but I was already getting full from the appetizers. The burger came with a whole stack of shoe string fries. I took a bite of his burger and to me, it was a burger.... nothing really exciting about it. And, the fries were not the best shoe string fries I've had. It was almost like eating fried potato chips in stick form. After all of the good reviews and recommendation from the waiter to get the meatloaf stack, I was kind of disappointed with the taste in the end. Presentation was cute though. I liked how it was stacked with a piece of meatloaf on the bottom and top with mash potatoes and green beans in the middle. But, quite frankly, I cook better meatloaf. There was something off about the one I had there. It tasted... hmmm... like the meat was kind of like eating mush... you can usually feel the texture of ground chuck, but it seemed like there was too much breading used in the recipe, maybe. However, I did end up eating most of it since I was hungry. It was my first meal of the day. Last, but not least, we decided to get a dessert. (Hey! Our gift certificate did read "Dinner for Two".) We tried the bread pudding. It was DELICIOUS! I think I would come back here again just to have this again. Overall, our dinner experience was A LOT better. The food was very good! We would like to come back again, but we think the difference between this meal and the last, was that we ordered from the happy hour menu the last time. In my opinion, the regular menu is kind of pricey and not worthy of it. In the end, the bill came out to a bit more than $70. However..... unfortunately, on the way bottom of the gift certificate, in small print, it read something like "good for 2 half salads and entrees.... or 1 appetizer and 2 entrees... blah blah blah". So, what we thought was a "dinner for two" on the owner, we ended up paying about $40 w/ tip still. read more

I thought this place was cool, but felt the prices were a bit overpriced for the food. The menu is just ok.

what a disappointment... 2 stars instead of the 1 it deserves because the happy hour specials are pretty good and the happy hour meatloaf sandwich was pretty good. the presentation of their food also far exceeds the expected taste of the dishes. not sure if it was cause it was labor day weekend and the head chef was on vaca, but this was probably THE worst meal i have ever had. and trust me, anyone who knows me, knows, that grubbing is what i do. the mashed potato pancakes was the nastiest dish i have ever tried. it was cold, dry, and downright unpallatable. dont let the waitress convince you that they are similar to large tater tots. the mac and cheese tasted like leftovers from the night before just zapped in the microwave. the crispy toppings were hard and dry as well. nearly choked myself and scratched up my throat trying to swallow the breaded topping on the mac and cheese. i shouldve known better than to order the pizza, but i still did, and it was pretty bad, but i had adjusted expectations for it to begin with. on the plus, the wifey and another wifey in our party ordered the happy hour mussels dish and they both thought it was pretty good. really, this was honestly THE worst meal i ever had. my stylist and his crew always rave about this place, but i am going to let them have it next time i get my haircut. i seriously dunno how they can eat this crap every day like he claims to. the happy hour drinks were made stiff. oh, btw, the cornbread comes out cold?!?! WTF?!?! if this is soul food, then ill take popeyes any day. read more

the french toast blows my mind! whats better than yummy cinnamon apples, powdered sugar covered in crème anglaise?? nothing :) read more

I have been here a couple of times and the food has been tasty overall. They have a great daily happy hour menu. The last time we were here we had their crab cakes, pork sliders, zuni frybread, gumbo, steamed clams/mussels, and bread pudding. I like the food here! read more

This place is amazing. I've been twice and I still love the food. I order the fried catfish, hush puppies, rice, loaded potatoes. The atmosphere is nice and so is the service. You will fall in love with their corn bread they serve while waiting. I so would love to take a bottle of Moscato the next time I go. I stumbled upon this hidden gem after a photo shoot right next door which played out perfectly. read more

Memphis cafe resides in the culinary sweet spot of Costa Mesa, along with Old Vine Cafe (excellent), Taco Asylum (expensive meh), the Rooster Cafe (haven't had the pleasure yet), and Milk and Honey (yummy!). Parking was at a premium Friday night. The place was crowded. My wife had the strongest Manhattan known to man. We ordered the pop corn shrimp app because they were out of the fried okra. Just ok. Nice corn meal crust. I had the fried chicken and she had the bison burger. Good burger. Fried chicken just ok. Had real high expectations. Dry meat. Ok crust. Not out standing. Mashed Tatars ok. Greens good. Sweet. But very chewy. Good service. Best thing of the evening was the bread pudding in a pool of creme englais. Just ok for me. read more

LOVE this place. Fun environment. I like the patio for lunch. Live Music at night sometimes too. I recommend their famous meatloaf (If u just want to try, get the happy hour sandwich with a smaller portion.) The fried chicken is a MUST try. I like to share the brie quesadilla for an app too. House salad dressing is amazing and toppings are super unique and refreshing! read more

it's dangerous. i'm a woman obsessed. i was staying with my aunt in fountain valley for the weekend with my mother while my dad and uncle took the kids camping. it was about noon- we were all hungry and since my mom knows i'm a pretty decent foodie and trusts my judgment, she had me yelp some stuff in the area. i saw memphis, went to the website and nearly passed out with excitement when reading the menu. that was it. this was the place. so we get there and i'm noticing it's in the lab aka costa mesa's anti-mall, super cool orange county kid hangout spot. automatically i'm thinking, great we're going to be eating with a bunch of young douchebags and my mom and aunt are going to hate me. to my surprise, we walk into the small and dimly lit restaurant and there is a very and i mean VERY eclectic crowd. old, young, middle-aged, black, white, purple, orange. the place had a great vibe. we sit in the patio 'cos it's a gorgeous day and order drinks, (the happy hour drink menu is fab!) the flatbread, hush puppies and popcorn shrimp. (it was happy hour, so all of the appetizers were $5) the cornmeal flatbread was to die for. orgasm in mouth. forever. the hush puppies were a gift from god. the popcorn shrimp "was wonderful, very light" (according to my moms) for lunch i ordered the veggie burger. which was seriously the best damn veggie burger i have ever had in my friggin life. seriously. no, really. juicy, with crisp lettuce, fresh whole wheat bun, delicious tomatoes, melty cheese and amazing sauce. my aunt and mom shared the fried chicken and couldn't stand how fabulous it was. on top of all of this we ended with the bread pudding. too much. by this point i couldn't handle it anymore. the amazingness was overwhelming. too much perfectness in one short span of lunch time. i can't even explain. ooey gooey cinnamon goodness, vanilla ice cream, explosion of everything you'd ever want going on in your mouth. prior to this day i had never experienced hush puppies or bread pudding. now, i am a changed woman. if only i could either have an abnormally fast metabolism and eat this every day, or allow myself to screw social norms and be extremely obese and live alone with animals and memphis for the rest of my days. el fin. read more

Came here for brunch with a couple close girlfriends. $11 for BOTTOMLESS mimosas!!!!! Yup, that sealed the deal with us! Ok ok, their food is deeelicious too. I ordered the Portobello Sandwich with the house salad. Portions are a good size. Service was quick and accomdating. The location is small so the seating arrangement is closely aligned to your neighbors' table. The restaurant is dimly lit so if it's a nice day out, I suggest the outdoor seating. read more

Sorry Memphis, your crowd, your scene and your food is just not for me. I've tried you several times but we don't seem to click.

THURSDAY their special was 1/2 off the fried chicken! and it was juicy and flavorful. The crabcakes were good too. My friend had a salmon salad which was soso. And the corn bread was disappointingly dry. Really small cozy place, dim lighting. A cute date place or good to meet with friends for drinks read more

First time there. Heard good things and sure enough what I ordered was delicious. I was feeling a hearty meal and the meatloaf was soooo good! The cheese and wine sauce was perfect and tasty. Huge portion. I got so full, My hubby doesn't even think to order meatloaf and I shared some bites with him and he agreed it was delicious. My hubby ordered the bbq brisket and he really enjoyed it. Also huge portion. We were not disappointed at all. read more

On Tuesdays and Thursdays they have half-off specials. Tuesday = Meatloaf, and Thursday = Fried Chicken. But... not on take-out. I don't have a problem with that, but it would be really nice if that was stated ANYWHERE - which it isn't. Not on the website, the menu, or the chalk board when you enter on (in this case) thursday night. If I hadn't looked at my reciept, I wouldn't have known. I ordered 2 fried chicken dinners @ 40+ dollars, not including the indifference and oh-well attitude of the bartender (which is where you have to order to-go items during happy hour - good times). Anyway, I get it home and it's literally enough food for 1 nice plate and a second plated of not much. Little blobs of food in cardboard boxes - mini corn muffins that look like they were recycled from a bread basket. However, the little food (minus the dry, abused corn muffins) we received was really tasty - I have to admit. When I told my husband about the lack of warm fuzzy service, he said just what I was thinking - you're too old to get good service there. Yup- and I felt it. All the 'girls' at the bar had no problem getting the bartenders attention - me, I was just some 'Mom" picking up some take-out. read more

I came here for their happy hour, and they had a pretty good selection. We got the crab cakes, gumbo, and mussels. The crab cakes were the best of the three. The gumbo was disappointing and on the bland side. The mussels were good but not particularly memorable. I'll probably come here again, but only during their happy hour. read more

Came here after a run in with the world's shittiest greeter at Habana at the lab. Our server was great, the food was awesome. The pulled pork sliders were the best sliders I've ever had. Mussels with sausages were great too. I've been to the Memphis in downtown santa ana and the food here is way better. Chill/downtempo house music was nice too. read more

Just my second visit. Lunch was excellent. Had the half poh boy & gumbo. Just enough food that you can finish the work day w/o falling asleep. Our server was super. Wish I grabbed her name for props. read more

i love love love this place! My bf and I went here awhile back and had an early lunch. It was amazing!!! The only downside is that they're always insanely crowded. We had to smash ourselves into the bar to get sat...but i would've eaten it in my car for all I care. Just be forwarned that it's not quiet or roomy. If that's what you're looking for, go somewhere else. But good luck, cuz that somewhere else doesn't have super tasty down-home style cooking. read more

I was looking for a new late night happy hour spot other than those chain owned spots. I heard of Memphis Cafe by word of mouth before...actually I had an old roommate who would always go there sunday evenings to get drunk of their mimosas. Anyways I usually go to commisary on Thursday nights and I always see this spot and I wanted to give it a try. I ended up ordering the gumbo cheese fries, it was different pretty good. The 1/3 lb. soul burger was actually better and semi filling. (Please note I am a man) I ordered the fresh squeezed grapefruit vodka and it was pretty good. Definitely adding that to my arsenal. It wasnt girly strong more like a 3/4 man strong drink. My roommate ordered the Vodka daisy, and for it being a girl drink was pretty strong wont lie, I keep it real everyday but Tuesdays. Well the burger was moist, good choice on the mustard and cheese, accompanied by fresh produce. This spot is semi intimate if you wanted to know. Candle lights and sh*t. You are probably wondering would I go back? The answer is definitely yes. read more

Memphis Cafe - Vodka daisy, vodka grapefruit, gumbo cheese fries, soul burger - Southern Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

We are there every Sunday for Chicken and Waffles with endless mimossas and 2 for 1 bloody marys. Great service, friendly staff and comfort food. read more

Fresh OJ and delicious mimosas... bottomless. Food is flavorful and yummy. Came here for brunch and was pleased 100%.

The fried chicken was amazing. As well as the kids chicken tenders. The collard greens aren't the best I've had though. If it hadn't taken 30 minutes to get a beer and another 30 minutes to get my check, I'd give 5 stars. read more