Sugar Grits — Restaurant in Memphis

Guess we should have taken the initial incident as a premonition. We were greeted & brought to a booth promptly, but a server tray was sitting there & she didn’t attempt to move it until it was completely empty. Finally sitting, our simple drink order of coffee & iced tea was taken by a sweet female server, but she quickly returned to tell us that our server was not going to be her, after all, but a young man. He came & introduced himself, brought us our drinks, then took our food order. Informed us that they were out of biscuits. At a breakfast place, at 10am, on a Friday. Ok, no worries, let’s have toast for me with my omelette & grits & French toast for the hubby, instead of the biscuits he planned to order.

About 5 minutes pass & he returns to refill the coffee & tells us, “There’s been a couple of big orders, so your order will be a little while.” Sure, no problem, we can wait a bit. Another refill of the coffee & an apology, “shouldn’t be too much longer.”

An hour and 20 minutes after we were seated, a refilled tea & two restroom trips later, we got our food. After 3 tables of two people seated after us were served, before we were. French toast is better at Cracker Barrel, they subbed turkey sausages for pork without asking if we wanted something different, toast with the omelette came unbuttered & none brought or offered. The only thing I would consider good was the omelette & the cheese grits.

I fully understand that servers have no control over the speed of the cooks. So after saying I wanted to speak to the manager, (which I have never done, ever) I did tell the server we knew it was not his fault. He became a bit defensive & said he was something of an assistant manager, he quickly reminded me that he “told you it was going to take a while to get your food.” Yes, you did, but the hostess should have informed us before seating us, as we would have most definitely gone somewhere else. We watched at least one other family pay for drinks & walk out after waiting so long, with 3 hungry little kids.

The wait was unacceptable & should have been verbalized before ever seating us. We were given 50% off the ticket, but we will never go back & never recommend this place to...

Restaurant Review: Sugar Grits

My friend and I arrived at Sugar Grits around 1 PM, hoping to avoid the breakfast rush and experience a more relaxed dining atmosphere. Unfortunately, I should have known things were going to go left when we waited 15–20 minutes just to be seated, despite the restaurant being only about one-third full. It was clear they were short-staffed, which set the tone for the entire experience.

Our waitress seemed shy and inexperienced, offering no information about the menu items and not even promoting any drinks. There was no alcoholic beverage menu available, and when I asked about mimosas, she struggled to remember all three flavor options. After finally placing our drink orders, she immediately emphasized that she was not the bartender and that she doesn’t make drinks—she just takes orders. We weren’t sure why she felt the need to say that, so we just responded with an awkward “okay.” Then, after waiting over 20 minutes, the bartender finally arrived with our mimosas, claiming she had lost our ticket.

By this point, service had gone from slow to frustrating, but things only got worse. Nearly an 45mins after ordering, our food finally started to arrive—but only mine. And to make matters worse, my chicken and pancakes came out without the chicken. It wasn’t even our waitress who brought the food, and when she eventually checked on us, I was told she didn’t hear my initial request for chicken and pancakes—even though we all ordered the same thing, with the only difference being that I opted for a pancake instead of a waffle. I was then asked if I wanted to wait while they remade the order. So there I sat, the only one without food, while my friend ate alone.

When the chicken finally arrived, I just asked for a to-go box because, at this point, we were more than ready to leave. But even that turned into a waiting game—another 20 minutes passed before our waitress casually walked by and said, “Oh, I forgot your to-go plates.” That was the final straw.

From beginning to end, the customer service was terrible. The disorganization, lack of attentiveness, and overall slow pace made this an experience we won’t be repeating. We will not...

Amazing Experience at Sugar Grits!!

My first time in Memphis, my husband born and raised in Tennessee! Staying at the historic Peabody, we stumbled upon a gem, Sugar Grits! My husband and I were initially turned away from another restaurant across the street just before closing. The bartender was rude and unwelcoming….as was the whole environment TO INCLUDE the customers! That left us disappointed—but little did we know, it led us straight to Sugar Grits, and we’re so glad it did!

From the moment we walked in, we were greeted with warmth and genuine hospitality even though we were the absolute last customer 20 min before kitchen closed! They didn’t make us feel rushed at all. Our server was real, cool and up front and i appreciate that. Basically, i respect you and you respect me. Common courtesy and decency i guess…. that our generations are not being instilled sadly. I’m trying!! But i only have one human in the world to raise!

The food was outstanding—flavorful, comforting, and exactly what we needed after a long days of traveling across the country! We got the grits and French toast. Sooo amazing and delicious! The chef even came out to say hello! I was glad I was able to thank him! I’ve never “thanked the chef” before! I felt honored to thank him face to face for the delicious food!!! And I’ll be real… felt a little fancy…. But they all made the experience feel personal and special.

We’re in the middle of a major life transition—moving from Utah to Hawaii after my 20 years of active duty service in the Air Force/Air National Guard! Utah Air National Guard to be exact!! We got married on Kaua’i 6 months ago, November 22,2024!!!! , fell in love with the island, and decided to move there…. Even if we have to work out butts off to make rent, i want to work hard there….. than where we were raised. So different, yet similar. Our Memphis stop was not initially on the route, but Sugar Grits made it unforgettable.

If you’re ever in the area, skip the places with bad vibes and head straight to Sugar Grits. You won’t be...