ARNOLD’S BBQ & GRILL — Restaurant in Memphis

Great dine-in experience. To-go experience is lacking. See separate reviews below.

8/6/21- Ok so out of the shoot - we were traveling on our way from Kansas City through Memphis staying at the La Quinta right across the street. Arnold’s BBQ and Grill hit the spot!!! Being from Kansas City we have a plethora of BBQ to choose from. Everyone has different taste requirements. For us, the sweet and tangy sauce at Arnold’s downtown Memphis was perfect with our chopped brisket sandwich (tender and flavorful smokiness) with onion rings (perfectly battered and fried) and half slab of melt in your mouth ribs. The two beautiful ladies that waited on us were utterly delightful! We DEFINITELY recommend a stop at Arnold’s! We liked the sauce so well we bought a to-go bottle to share with our family back home. Oh, and the High Cotton IPA is worth a try too. We apologize for no food photos as we cleaned our plates before we thought to take a picture. It was THAT good!

8/13/21- Update: We liked our last meal so much, we decided to get it again on our way back through Memphis, but got it to-go this time. We advise people not to get to-go from them until they improve their packaging and containers. The beans were not in an enclosed container but loose in the standard styrofoam clamshell. Even though we tried to keep the container level, the beans spilled out an ended up all over the bag. We asked for lots of sauce and we got two extremely tiny containers (maybe two Tbs each). We wished for the quarter or half cup containers most restaurants use. We ordered the same High Cotton IPA and got another beer all together. While the food tasted just as good as before, the issues listed above (coupled with the fact that they were out of onion rings), left us fairly dissatisfied, which exacerbated the fact that the portions of meat are very small for the price. Our dine-in experience was so pleasurable, the cost was worth it. The to-go was not. We hope Arnold’s ups their to-go hospitality game to match the dine-in experience in the future. For this reason I took a star off my original...

Being from KC I can say I have had lots of BBQ so I feel I can speak well. First I like the style of my ribs with sauce on the side. Most places put so much sauce it overpowers the rib. Having it on the side is nice. These ribs were just a bit tough and dry in a few spots. I would go 3.7 to 4 only because of that. My fiance went with brisket since I did ribs so we can share and try different things. Sadly the brisket is chopped instead of sliced then topped with bbq sauce. Sliced is always better and this tasted more like a dry roast beef. Blame it on us for not asking but wished the menu reflected it. Roll was good, coleslaw while very small was good. Fiance loved the beans. I had seasoned fries and I really didn't taste much of the seasoning. We also had a peach cobbler alamode and it was good.

Now for the important stuff. It took our server 3 tries to bring me an unsweet tea. I am ok with one time but 3 is just silly. Next and it is visible on the menu so we knew and understood you will be charged 20% gratuity just for ordering. It looks like it is for dine in or take out but cannot confirm. I won't deduct a star for this because it is clearly labeled but I did not get 20% gratuity service so maybe I should deduct but again I won't. My receipt also showed a $3.50 dine in charge??? You are given 3 side options of fries, coleslaw, or beans. You can sub for an upcharge and it is clearly stated. What gets me is a regular side of fries was 3.49 and the season fries was 3.99 (which I felt seasoning hardly noticeable) which is 50 cents more. If you sub it in your meal you are charged a dollar more. Frustrates me to no end when restaurants do this. I feel it is shady and price gouging. Our meal ended up being over $77 for 2 people. It was nowhere near worth that cost. Their maybe better options in Memphis but we went by the ratings and 4.7 is not an accurate rating. I would give somewhere else a look...

Part of the fun in eating at Arnold’s is finding Arnold’s. Located in Floyd alley between Monroe Avenue and Madison Avenue, Arnold’s is a hidden gem in the middle of downtown Memphis. The easiest way to access the alley at its eastern end, off North Danny Thomas Blvd. There is pay parking lot adjacent to the business on Madison Avenue.

We visited Arnold’s on a Friday evening. The owner often hosts event nights on Fridays, so the menu is somewhat limited. The bonus is that there was a blues group performing, and as it turned out they were pretty good. So was the food.

The interior was spacious with booths and tables and the service was friendly and attentive. I ordered the ribs, which, as with all Memphis restaurants we visited, were baby backs. The difference was that these resembled ribs and were cooked as ribs should be, tender with a good chew but no tug. Frankly every time I see a review with “fall off the bone tender” in it I want to scream. The ribs had a nice bark, good smoke flavor and ring, and a nice clean pork taste. However, pork tends to be bland and if there was rub I could not taste it. The accompanying sauce had a nice tangy/sweet flavor and somewhat offset the lack of a rub. My order was accompanied by French fries; nothing special there.

My wife ordered the fried catfish. I hate catfish so I am in no position to judge. My wife hates fried food but enjoyed the corn meal coating. Her meal was accompanied by hush puppies and slaw; she especially enjoyed the puppies describing them as light with a crispy crust.

We violated our rule about no dessert and had a piece of the home-made cheese cake. Really, they forced us. Alright they asked us. It was rich with a hint of vanilla. Do it.

I have yet to find a 5 star rib but Arnold's came close. I recommend the food...