Docks Off 5th — Restaurant in Memphis

Where do I begin? My reservation was at 5pm for my birthday dinner. I arrived and immediately noticed the temperature. My party was seated and I pulled the server to the side and asked if their air was working. He said there was no air, and that he could get me a glass of water for the inconvenience. Yes, you read that right. One of my guests was 7 months pregnant and could not bear the temperature. She stated she had entered through the other side and that it was cooler on that side. I asked to be moved to that side and was told that they could not accommodate my large party on the other side, but they said my pregnant friend and her husband could go over there. I later found out they sat her and her huge pregnant belly at the bar. I then asked why the other table had a tower fan and if another one was available, I was told that it was the only tower fan for the entire room and I could have it once they left. My boyfriend and the waiter proceeded to move the entire table under the fan that was posted on one of the corners of the wall so that we could at least feel a breeze. Drinks were underwhelming, and watered down. Several people in my party said their food was cold, and I was served cold food as well. When they brought my food out the second time and I tried it, I immediately recognized it as a Tyson frozen chicken patty that they had simply covered in hot honey sauce. The waiter admitted that's what it was. Not sure if they ran out of fresh chicken breasts or what.

This whole time the manager was extremely rude and not accommodating at all. I told him he should have told the people that had reservations that the air was out. He said "at the end of the day, we're all in the same situation." HOT! The only difference is that he chooses to come and work in those conditions. He didn't give me the opportunity because he didn't disclose that information prior to my visit. I later found out from a waitress that the air has not worked since they've been open. Having no air in Memphis is unacceptable, and having piss poor management and a lack of care will run you out of Memphis soon. The young waiter with the blonde locs did his best under those conditions, but I hope he finds somewhere else to work soon.

Poor management, sub par food and drinks, dark with no air.... it's a no for...

Docks off 5th has done an excellent job of promoting their location because this has been on my date night list for a while now. My husband and I went on a couple date night, and we were both initially almost going to turn around because we thought that we’d have to pay to get on Beale Street to get there. However, Josh let the way and got us in through the Docks entrance.

Once we get in, we were impressed by the unique design, and the vibey ambience. There are several bars, with one looking like it’s designed for small parties, the restaurant area, which has a bar and seating, the patio bar, and then the upstairs bars, which just opened this weekend. During my first visit, Tequila was so kind to show us around the upstairs before it opened and to let us know about space.

The second time I went was yesterday for girls night, which is why I am writing this post. I experienced excellent service from the people at the door who were all smiles and ready to help, to Kendall, the bartender, who made sure we enjoyed our drinks and brought us water without us asking for it. The patio area was quite nice, and there wasn’t much of a crowd when we went, but it was also on a Sunday.

Both of my experiences, the drinks and food were excellent. They were a little pricier, but that is expected downtown. I really enjoyed the dessert carousel, the wings, and those ribs boy oh boy, those ribs!

Let’s talk about parking. 🅿️ The first time I went, I parked at the Peabody Place garage. I do not recommend this if you have heels on. It’s just not worth this, sis. The second time, I parked in the parking lot that is directly in front of Docks and across the street from the Peabody Place garage.

Overall, I love this place and I am really looking forward to going back again. Most of all, I enjoyed having an option on Beale Street that felt like a bit...

‼️ listen up my memphis folk, i’m going to give this a very honest review, i understand this restaurant is extremely new because i inquired the servers about it and i was told its been open for less than 3 weeks; for my local memphians we all know this current building use to be a bar/nightclub across from tin roof… with that in mind, i came here for a birthday dinner and immediately was shocked by the LACK OF AC 🤣 everyone in the building i kid you not was fanning themselves with the plastic menus! everyone at my table looked like they were gonna pass out from it

i truly don’t know how the staff can deal with the extreme heat/humidity in the kitchen… the owner is greedy for not fixing that before the opening. memphis has extremely hot summers and this is not a restaurant to enter without deodorant !! and lord please do not get me started on the bathrooms 😭 mind you this is an ex-sleazy pub bar so they are stank and ratchet, and for a restaurant charging $58 for a steak dish yall really did not give a damn about renovating the bathroom at all..

the decor is typical of what you’d see in a austin/nashville place which is cute but very average, not exactly original but aesthetic to some who may enjoy it

the BEST part of the restaurant was the food. any of the steak or meat dishes are super amazing!! if you like your food bland or unseasoned you should probably stick to stoney river or piccadilly 😆 but the food was banging and had a cajun/memphis flare and some spice to it which i appreciated

if they could invest some extra money in a working AC unit, better bathrooms to match the price point, this has a lot of potential. but like i said this is right by coyote ugly and tin roof so after dinner you will be greeted by MPD on every corner. not really safe but if you live downtown it could...