CHAR Restaurant
Much of Char’s Highland Row neighborhood caters to University of Memphis students, making this southern steakhouse and piano bar combo, owned by Amerigo alum Ben Brock, stand out as a sophisticated culinary destination. You’ll likely spend most of your visits to Char in either the main dining room or piano bar, but there are two private dining rooms – the Woodland Room and the Bluff Room – for when you’ve really earned it. The charcoal-and-chocolate color scheme, whose sultry mood is echoed in black-and-white photo of Memphis personalities throughout, will seduce you into ordering a few more cocktails than you’d planned for, and you’ll indulge in the seemingly endless bourbon program or limited cocktail selection, perhaps with a whiskey concoction, with Rittenhouse Rye, Meletti Amaro, Cynar, honey syrup, lemon twist, and lemon juice. The dinner menu is organized into “Beginnings,” “Steaks & Chops,” “Seafood, Poultry & Veal,” “Salads,” “Sides to Share,” and “Desserts.” Southern specialties, like crab, shrimp, and andouille gumbo is available by the cup or by the bowl, to be paired with gulf shrimp and Delta Grind garlic cheddar grits, with mushrooms and spicy Creole butter. It would be sacrilege to leave Char without devouring a signature steak; the standout is the Original Cowboy Prime Ribeye, fit for the irreverent rancher in you.
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