Folk's Folly Prime Steak House — Restaurant in Memphis

Stagnant dining experience. Why did I do this? 🤯

I was going to delete everything past the 🤯 emoji, but it's a learning moment for someone, I hope.

A dinner at Folks Folly is like eating dinner inside of an old, candlelit funeral parlor. The managers are like the funeral directors that work full-time at childcare facilities but Moonlight here on nights, and the service and host staff must prepare the bodies. I don't know who owns this place, but they need a hard reset, probably the mob? 🤷🏻‍♂️ Terminate the staff (top-down), tear the building down, reconcept it, build new, and hire all new. And please understand this is in no way a knock on the older clientele -- it's simply the shear stagnant and lifeless vibe in the place.

If they would have rolled out caskets to deliver food to the tables, I probably would not have batted an eyelash. I probably would have nodded to the plastic managers and given them a tip of the hat because only then would I have fully realized the restaurant's theme. 👁👁

I wish I was making this up, read on.

My third and last time here. First time was a business dinner for ~25 people, it was not pleasant, but it was free, whatever. Second time was a birthday dinner with my wife and I because, and I quote, "This place is way too famous to be as bad as it was the first time" -- yet I was validated: it is that bad. Third time?-- and maybe 2 years later? Shame on me.

Hostesses stand guard of the old temple with solemn faces. They were taken back by our courage to attempt the lonnnng walk-up from the entry point which feels like you should be paying homage to an ancient deity with every step. Super awkward walk to be met with super unfriendly people. The lounge off to the side showed signs of life, but, as we reached out to grab a formless spirit, we were promptly ushered elsewhere by the guard to a fate that was cold, secluded and eerily quiet. We observed servers and support staff about as serious or unhappy as they come, what's the difference. The vibe is too serious, too dark and too fabricated. Not too good.

Food is hilariously overpriced as compared to the quality and overall dining experience. Steaks (large and small filets) were tough and undercooked. Sea bass was mid. UPSIDE ALERT 🚨 Sweet potato puree was a huge win for everyone. Potato au gratin seemed to be enjoyed, I didn't try it. 🚨 Spinach casserole had a very strong onion flavor, it was all I could taste. I see why it's nearly candlelit in that place: Mid-rare or Mid-well steak? Hard to say!

Our server had no sense of urgency or order of service. His support person was on-point with the water and bussing which actually proved more critical when our drinks sat on empty including and especially my one and only $10 G&T. If there's anyone you don't ignore at the table, it's the one person that can singlehandedly drive your ticket total through the roof. 🤦🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

The management is very uptight and looks at & talks to customers like they are 7 years old. Pretty hilarious to observe and then bizarre to validate your assumptions face to face. The female manager hovered over my wife like The Joker until she could confirm that my wife was at least 51% satisfied with her re-cook. Underlying concept is to bring the food to the table so hot & sizzling (spitting and popping butter/grease on a ~400°F platter) that people ignore the quality & service? Watched a runner set a tray of food down, sizzling 100% stopped before the server delivered the food.

The initial red flag was the astounding amount of open reservation slots on a Friday night, searching OpenTable at 4pm same day. 😅

Go to Jim's Place East or Texas Roadhouse at Wolfchase for a far superior experience.

And I hate doing reviews like this especially in my hometown. Folks team, do better or start over. I'm not doing this for a handout. I just want to go somewhere with my family, spend my good money and get a good...

My wife and I had our 12th Anniversary dinner at Folk’s Folly during the summer of 2015. It was one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had.

First off, I let them know that it was our anniversary when I made the reservation. When we arrived, we were seated in a private dining room which was very romantic. There were two balloons placed in the room which made us feel special.

Our server was Greg, and right from the start we could tell that he took pride in his job. He was cordial, non-intrusive and was passionate about the menu. He listed off in great detail the specials of the day and was extremely helpful when it came to selecting the proper wine. He even let us sample a couple of different wines so we could see what we liked before committing.

We never lacked for water either as the water server was on point all evening.

His knowledge of the menu was impeccable and did not hesitate in giving us his recommendations on the food and wines. After making our selections, my wife and I enjoyed some of the most fabulous food we’ve ever tasted.

My wife started with the crab soup and I with the wedge salad with bleu cheese, both were very tasty. The freshly baked baguette was delightful as well.

For our entrée, we split the 14 oz. filet which was exquisite. The buttery seasoning was so succulent it made my mouth water. We ordered the filet medium rare and the middle was definitely rare, which my wife liked. The edges were more medium, which I preferred. If we were given another opportunity, I think we would have ordered it medium.

The sides were also amazing. We ordered the artichoke bottoms and twice baked potatoes. Sadly, we didn’t get to eat much of either since the filet was so filling, but did get to take them home. For dessert we had the crème brûlée which was unsuprisingly scrumptous as well. I coupled dessert with decaf coffee which was a delightful touch.

Lastly, Greg packed up all the sides we couldn’t eat along with a complementary cake for our anniversary to complete a wonderful evening. I give the ambiance, service and food all five stars. Greg truly made the evening with his legendary service. The manager even stopped by a couple times to see how we were doing.

This is a top-notch restaurant and I highly recommend it for any special occasion. While it was expensive for our budget, the value we received was well worth it! We will be coming back again...

This was the best meal of my life, bar none. We started with a side of colossal onion rings as our appetizer (two were eaten before picture was taken oops!) and they were pretty good! Absolutely enormous! We also got she crab soup with garlic Parmesan bread. This is some of the best soup I’ve ever had. It is very rich and creamy. There was a decent amount of crab in there but more would have been welcomed. I do wish we would have ordered the plain bread with the soup. The Parmesan was definitely the real deal and therefore pretty strong, which is not a negative thing in my opinion; it just didn’t go well with the soup (my husband disagrees, so take that for what it’s worth!) Again, i realize it looks silly for me to complain about high quality cheese, but I assure you the bread (and cheese) is great—just separately from the soup! We couldn’t decide on sides, so we kind of went overboard. We ordered the asparagus, jalapeno Mac and cheese, and au gratin potatoes. Each of these are delicious and I would be doing you a disservice by recommending one over the other.. because even after trying them, I couldn’t tell you which one we would pick. They all were unforgettably perfect and stunning. Outright criminally delicious. I got the petite fillet mignon and I am a very picky steak eater (to the point where I normally do not order steak because I hardly ever like it most places) and when I say I have never put something so perfect in my mouth, I do not exaggerate. My husband has similar praises for the ribeye. I had the garlic butter and didn’t even touch it. It didn’t need it. My husband reports the makers mark peppercorn sauce to be “a little to peppery” but relented that he should have expected that (and I can report that he ate every bite of ribeye with the sauce anyways so clearly he loved it). Even if all of the food came out cold and sad and terrible, I would have enjoyed my meal because of the service alone. Greg was our server and was extremely hospitable and delightful. The service here is impeccable! Can’t...