6. Ronnie Grisanti & Sons

wow
Probably my overall favorite restaurant in Memphis. Yes, it's Italian, and you'll see some of the traditional fare, but that's not what folks go to Ronnie G's for. Ronnie and both of his sons are certified Chefs, as is their Pastry Chef. Four true Chefs on staff is almost unheard of in Memphis. Plus, both sons make annual treks to Italy to study and learn new trends and recipes. They do everything right. Things as simple as the calamari appetizer will be the most tender you've ever had. The wine list is great. And the daily special entrees are culinary masterpieces. My dilemma is always what to order. The seafood is flown in fresh daily, and is to die for. The steaks are at least as good as the "steak restaurants" in town. (I could eat the Veal Porterhouse daily!!) The atmosphere is fun, warm and inviting. Ronnie is always ready to greet visitors and chat, in fact he often can be seen working the hostess desk, because he likes to be out there with the customers. He learned many good things from his late uncle, Big John Grisanti. Truly an outstanding restaurant in every sense. Go there soon, and go there often!!

The food is rather good, and the over all service isn't too bad either, considering our wait was about 30 (there is a bar to sit and have a drink while you wait) minutes on a Saturday night. They put us in the back corner with a server that was not assigned to our section.,so it took a little longer than we would expect to get drink refills and such, also our server failed to tell about the specials. A little bit of a disappointment since we enjoy trying new and "special" things. We took back a star on that account. Or we would have scored it with about a 4.

Excellent Food, and great atmosphere.