Itta Bena

Reviews 5

A

A Private User

Ive heard sooo many things about this place (and the She Crab Soup) I just had to try it for myself. And since my birthday was coming up, I thought why not now. So my birthday comes, and I go up the infamous stairway leading to Memphis’ “diamond in the rough”. I was very impressed by the wood work in the room, which I was later told by the waitress was imported from Afghanistan. We were first seated in an area close to the restrooms, where we could hear EVERYTHING coming from B.B. King Blues club right beneath us. This didn’t impress me because I read a review saying “you can’t tell there is another club right beneath you”. I later learned it all depends on where you’re sitting...so we asked could we be moved closer to where the piano was playing, and the waitress quickly accommodated our request. So much that we were sitting RIGHT beside Ms. Ruby Wilson herself and the piano! After the move, I must say I did not hear an inkling of anything that was going on downstairs or outside. The mood was perfect....now to see if the She Crab Soup would live up to the hype. The soup was okay, and I totally get why some people would REALLY get into it. But it was just okay for me. It was a little too buttery for my taste, and I think I was expecting it to be a lot more lumpy than it was. It was very watery and most of the meat was settled to the bottom, which was okay...but I was just expecting so much more. I also got a small plate of the Fried Avocado Crab Salad. This on the other hand surprised me. I liked the different textures with the crisp outside and soft core of the avocado. The crab meat within the stuffed dish was EXCELLENT. So the soup was just average, but the Fried Avocado definitely tickled my pallet and took it to a place I wasn’t expecting it to go (that’s a good thing). The service was GREAT! The waitress we had was very attentive and even the chef came out and spoke to make sure we were enjoying our meal. Only one thing negative stood out---while we were waiting to change seats we did have a seat at the bar while our new table was being prepared. We ordered a glass of wine and the bartender seemed just a little snooty, but maybe it was just me, I’m not sure. ... But overall it was a good experience. I loved the place and I definitely see myself peeking in every so often to sample a few more of the small plates. :-)

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ME

Memphis Girl

If you are thinking about a private party or special event for a medium-large party, think again about choosing Itta Bena. The management made our event HELL for our rehearsal dinner there for 90 people. -We had all the details arranged in September- October 2014 for our event in May 2015, including having the entire main dining room to ourselves. -They fired the original event coordinator in early Spring and then changed how much of the room we had (even though it was in the contract and very clear that the room was ours.. they even agreed that they had changed it). They told us this the week of the event and were super hard to get in touch with for months beforehand. -They told us of the change three days before our event and guaranteed us the use of a microphone for the whole dinner due to the increased noise from extra guests in the main dining room. Then they restricted the microphone use to 30 minutes total--- my uncles and grandmother were not able to give their speeches. I tried to reason with them and spent 15 minutes bawling because they were so unaccommodating. It was extremely difficult to hear anything without a microphone. -They finalized the table arrangements three days before the event-- THEN CHANGED THE LAYOUT on the day of-- forcing us to spend 4 hours on the day of the event re-seating guests. -After all of this, the waiter spilled hot wax from a candle on the groom and did not even apologize for ruining his best shirt. Two dry cleanings later, and its still ruined. -We were repeatedly lied to about the layout, the room, and the accommodations. This was the most condescending and untruthful management I have ever seen. We were shocked by how rude people can be. Save yourself a headache and go somewhere else. Whatever they say, they cannot be trusted.

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CA

Caleb Jones

OK, this place is nice. The service, the interior and its ambience all met the expectations I had set for one of Memphis more upscale restaurants. Our server, Alexander, was friendly yet professional and my date and I never were for want during our entire visit thanks to his quality service. However, the food really was not up to what I had expected, especially for how much I ended up having to pay. My date and I started with a few fried green tomatoes as an appetizer. It was decent enough, I suppose. Nothing special though. But when the main course, some shrimp and grits for me and chicken marsala for my date, came, we simply were unimpressed. The shrimp and grits had a disappointing lack of flavor or anything exciting. My dates chicken marsala was much tastier but even it was mostly uninspiring. We finished our meal with a delicious white chocolate bread pudding which ended up being the most memorable part of the meal. I certainly recommend it, if youre pining for a dessert. All of this plus a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc cost roughly $150 including tax and tip. I expected to pay this but I had hoped for a better quality meal out of the exchange. Sadly, it was not worth it. TL;DR Quality interior, service and ambience did not compensate enough for the mediocre food and I left paying for an overpriced experience.

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VA

Van Williams

What a great find on Beale St. IB was recommended by a local and we were very happy with our experience. There are no signs of the place from the street but you can enter from the cross street to Beale under the awning up a long staircase. Once we found it, we were very surprised how quiet it was above the blues band at BB Kings and the rest of Beale. We did not have reservations (recommended) but on a busy Friday night the 6 of us were able to find room at the bar and receive service there. After filling up with BBQ at lunch, we opted for a series of appetizers with drinks. The BBQ Shrimp came highly recommended. It was good but not out of this world. The fried avocado, however, was very well done (prepared) and flavorful and the fried green tomatoes with shrimp were also very good and a different spin on the Southern favorite. The She crab soup was my favorite, however. Great atmosphere, excellent service and food thats flavorful and prepared well will bring us back the next time in town. Prices may be a little high for the product but given the fact you kind find something done that well, overlooking Beale and the friendly atmosphere are understandable given the surroundings. We recommend it!

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GE

George Hoff

One of the best dining experiences we have had in a while. This restaurant is tough to find.. there is NOT a street sign. You just go up the fire escape behind BB Kings. The atmosphere is rustic, yet nice. All the staff were super friendly. Wife had the Red Snapper which she said was one of her best ever, and I had the filet which was done perfectly. The options for sides for the filet could have been better considering the price of the steak, but we ordered an additional side which rounded out the meal well. We also had the peach cobbler for dessert which was very good with a perfect crust. Even the rolls were good, although we would have liked more than a couple of rolls. We did wait a bit more than comfortable for the waiter to check on us, but it wasnt really inconvenient. The only negative of the whole evening was the stemware on the table wasnt clean (lipstick on glass), but that got switched out promptly. We are definitely going back here later this year when we are back in Memphis.

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