Erling Jensen The Restaurant — Restaurant in Memphis

3.5 - 4 Stars at Best

Ambience: Terrible.... 4 walls, some paint and some pictures. Pre-Game: We had 8:15 reservations showed up early to have a drink and were sat upon arrival. We ordered drinks (Lemon Drop Martini & a Washington Red Apple.) Both drinks were terribly over poured with liquor which ruined the drinks. Requested mine to be re-made.... came back less worse but still terrible so I requested they just bring me 2 of the missing components and I mixed it myself. Service: Our server wasn't very prompt. We were waiting extended periods of time for the 1st 45 minutes for drinks or for here to answer questions about the items on the menu. Starter: The Ceviche layered cracker was terrible for me. One of the raw fish components was gamy and had a very off putting spoiled taste. My date's was ok from what she said. Appetizers: -Lobster Pancake was exceptional. -The pan fried pheasant tasted like any breaded tenderloin you could order in a midwest mom & pop place. Average at best Soup & Salad: The Baby Spinach, Lingonberry Vinaigrette, Spicy Almond-Pecan Brittle and Beemster Cheese was prob THE SHINING STAR OF THE MEAL (sad to say). The combination of vinaigrette to cheese to brittle was PHENOMENAL. Seafood Gumbo was excellent. Lots of craw-fish and other components and a great brown gravy style broth. ENTREES: My date Black Angus Filet of Beef which was under cooked per her instructions on temperature and the filet came out as one big chunk of meat that was drizzled with sauce and served with mashed potatoes, crunchy seared asparagus and a carrot that was basically a raw carrot with the skin removed. I had the Filet of Buffalo Tenderloin which was also accompanied with the same mashed potatoes, asparagus & raw carrot. The filet was excellent & also the Lobster Béarnaise. Presentation of both these plates could have been better and the quality of the side components was definitely lacking. Dessert: Chocolate Soufflé which was excellent. OVERALL 3 FOOD 4 SERVICE 2 AMBIANCE 1 NOISE...

I am a huge foodie and was excited to finally visit this restaurant. Fine dinning is one hobby I like to do once a month and my parter picked this place to visit for my birthday. The server (forget her name, I’ll do better!) was such a delight. She knew we were there to celebrate and she made everything perfect from wine tasting to being very knowledgeable of the menu. She was actually quite impressive. I ordered the watermelon and feta salad which was very good. For the entree I ordered the red snapper which sounded devine on the menu, however when it came out of the kitchen the snapper was super pink on the inside. I had to send it back (as much as I hate to do this) because I couldn’t eat it. The server apologized but it wasn’t her fault. A new plate came in 15 minutes. I was a bit disappointed because in fine dinning establishments most chefs work hard to refrain from this type of mistake happening, and it’s my birthday. I was never offered a percentage off the bill or a complimentary dessert for my wait and I certainly didn’t ask. However, anything would’ve been appreciated due to my dining experience being interrupted. No one said anything to compensate and the manager never came over to apologize. I rarely have mistakes happen like this while fine dinning, however in most fine dinning establishments, if there is something wrong with the order that comes out, a manger immediately comes to the table and check on the guests. We were not checked on by a manager and we were there for 2 hours; ordered wine, appetizers, entree’s, as well as dessert (of course cause it was my birthday). All other items was great. Ambience was quiet and friendly. Would’ve been 5 stars if my experience wasn’t interrupted and a manager had come over to check on us. I will not be back but I will recommend this...

I initially planned to go to Folks Folly or Capital Grille but was detoured for another reason yet to be understood. I can blame this bad experience on a lot of other things but after I calmed down to reflect carefully I realized that my waiter, Ryan, from the word go, had a bad swag about himself the moment he approached our table. He seemed like the guy who picked the shortest straw - meaning in most places of fine dining white waiters don't like to wait on blacks because they assume we don't tip well or don't tip at all. The idea that perhaps we dont tip bad service or bad attitude never crosses their mind. But I assumed this was his problem because he never quite treated us with dignity and respect - the kind u see the "others" he served at surrounding tables get; the kind of polite courtesy a man gets when he is deemed respectable and worthy. After the first visit to our table he totally ignored me and focused most of his condescending attention moreso on the lady at the table whom to him perhaps seemed more easier, althoughi had not given him an ounce of problem. So that made my bad lambchops (they were not cooked as i had ordered) more noticeable whereas with good service I probably wouldn't have noticed. I still tipped 20% because I was I need a waiter a long time ago and understand that waiters live on tips. The dessert finally came but I couldn't eat the dessert because good ole boy Ryan had spoiled the entire situation for me. I hope his night...