Sugar Grits

I recently visited Sugar Grits in Memphis, Tennessee, for brunch on a Saturday morning. Based on reviews, I anticipated a potential wait, and I was told that the food would be worth it. While this was accurate, the wait time was approximately 45 minutes to an hour, which was longer than expected. Initially, the establishment appeared to be slightly understaffed, leading to delays in service. Despite this, once we received our food, it was truly enjoyable and worth the wait. Interestingly, some patrons seated immediately received their orders within about 15 minutes, suggesting that staffing levels improved later during our visit, possibly when a manager arrived and adjustments were made. The staff was generally friendly, although there was a minor issue with an initial order that was lost and needing to be re-entered. The server was apologetic and attentive afterward, contributing positively to our experience. In summary, Sugar Grits offers excellent food that most likely justifies the wait, provided you have sufficient time and patience. I recommend planning ahead and being prepared for a potential delay as the team appears to be responsive and committed to delivering a enjoyable experience.

Today was our first time here and it was incredible! While walking in, a couple walking out passed us by saying,” the service is about to be amazing.” That’s never happened to me before. We were seated quickly and Vernon was so helpful during our entire meal. He was attentive, answered our questions thoroughly, and even gave us a house special (sweet tea with lemonade ice-ee in it? Delicious 🤤). We had catfish and grits with a monkey bread as a shareable. We highly recommend Sugar grits (ask for Vernon) and we’ll be stopping by at least 2x month for great service and food.

Good food, friendly service. We were there during a down time. Our party got a build-your-own grits bowl, Carolina BBQ chicken sandwich, bingette plate, fried green tomatoes, and drinks. The food was tasty but MAN ALIVE the cheese was melted all over the grits! I was expecting it to be melted and mixed into them. It was so very tasty, though. The women's restroom needed a good cleaning and restocking, however. No soap or towels, etc for adequate sanitation.

We were instantly seated. The food was cooked to perfection. That was the best biscuit I had ever had in my life. The service was wonderful. Our waiter answered all our questions about the menu and helped us to have a wonderful experience!

A fantastic choice for lunch!! Food is so so good. The service was great- they were all so friendly. Make sure to get the cinnamon roll because it melts in your mouth. Biscuits are true southern quality!!

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 disappointed!

Our 2nd time to Memphis and Sugar Grits. The biscuit board is the bomb!!!! Bacon and sausage along with the flavored butters made each biscuit unique. The server was great and took care of our every request. 3 of us shared the breakfast board and added eggs coffee was hot and perfectly balanced. Highly recommend breakfast at Sugar Grits.

It was a bad experience. We went at about 8:15 am and were seated right away. The floor was sticky and the booth had crumbs in it. We ordered the Big Ole Biscuit, Banana Pancakes, and a Grits Bowl. I asked for NO spinach in the grit bowl. It took a while for the food to come but when it did, it looked great! Pancakes and biscuits were actually delicious. The grits in the grits bowl were not hot and it had spinach. The server noticed and offered to take it back. I thought they were going to remake the dish. It came back out in minutes, piping hot. As I examined the bowl I realized that someone had microwaved the dish and picked out the spinach. I was able to tell because the was still wilted spinach and now a pool of oil from the microwaved meat. The thought of someone picking through my food instantly turned me off from eating any more. It’s in a great location and we were able to walk there from our hotel. They have great potential just need to show that you care able what you are putting out and making good impressions.

I visited Sugar and Grits on today. Daphne my server was amazing and vigilant. And omg the food was delicious

Sugar grits in right off Beale in downtown Memphis. I chose this place as it was close to my hotel. Upon entering I was impressed with their lighting and overall ambiance of the restaurant. The food menu is what you would expect and they offer a lot of grits plates served with fish and other proteins. The food was tasty! Their biscuits are huge! Only reason for three stars was very slow service and automatic gratuity was added. I always tip above 20 percent but not being told it was included already caught me off guard.

Wound up here by accident but grateful for the change of plans. Several reviews mention the wait time and it may have been a little longer than one might like but the food was great, as was the service. We were hungry and over ordered. The biscuit board was a treat! The biscuits were delicious and seemed truly scratch made. Husband had the cinnamon roll stack AND French toast. It was a lot of food! He loved the cinnamon rolls and said French toast was good but rolls were better. We did leave with leftovers. I saw lots of grits being ordered and will try those next time. Worth a try. Be patient. The workers appear to be doing their bests.

Sunday morning and came for brunch since it was recommended by my hotel. Setting aside the fact it took 10 minutes for anybody to man the hostess station, I sat at my table for 25 minutes waiting on my Bloody Mary. For context, there were no customers at the bar and the restaurant was half empty. My food arrived before the drink, which only came when I asked for it. When the drink did arrive, it was exactly what I wanted. Perfect amount of heat (which means good and spicy!). I ordered the Red Rooster, a fried chicken biscuit sandwich, with a side of cheese grits. The grits were perfect. Just the right amount of cheese for flavor but not to be a cheese soup mess. That's a good thing since I had to eat my grits with a fork since the spoon never materialized. The biscuit sandwich was utterly disappointing. The biscuit was dry and crumbly. The chicken was burned. The scrambled eggs were overcooked and dry enough to be chewy.

Came to visit from Chicago and found this spot on Yelp! We arrived on Sunday morning about 10a and had no wait. Place looked ok and was clean. Ordered a few dishes and drinks. I only have it 3 stars because the food lacked flavor. The customer service was great! The male waiter was very nice and helpful. If I choose to go again I'll definitely make sure I order the cheese grits instead of the plain.

Came in in labor day, so pretty busy. There were only 2 people working the front of house, 1 person serving the entire floor by herself and 1 person hosting and bartending it seems. Waited to be sat for about 20-30 min, which was fine. When we were sat we waited another 20ish minutes and got no service. So why were we sat? I would rather have waited to be sat if the server couldn't get to us yet. Management clearly has staffing issues and I was mad for the girls working that they had to deal with the labor day business with no support. Food looked good but never got a chance to order before leaving, we didn't want to wait that long. My issues with this experience were with management - to staff a holiday with only 2 FOH workers is not only torture for your staff but also disappoints customers. The girls working were amazing and holding down what they could, but they needed help.

Food is beyond good.. the location is in a great area and the parking was $10 for 2hr.. the only issue that I have is that upon walking in and being seated.. SG had 3-4 waitresses active and serving tables and seating people.. the volume/pace was really slow for the business. As we were seated the black waitress with the blonde in her hair sat me and my partner down at the table, we waited an additional 10-15 minutes for drinks to be served and they only got served because the owner served us. (Assuming the white lady is the owner) Remind you there is 5 couples here including us, and there is 10 booths? How did we not get a waitress like seriously guys? The issue is, why seat us knowing you have personal issues or matters you need to overcome, we were asked did our waitress not come serve us drinks yet? To a complete different waitress. Politely responded no. Other couples are walking in and being seated and drinks brought to them immediately, consistent check up's at the table etc. The same lady who sat us down also sat down other couples and served them no issues consistent check-ups. We are finished eating and I guess currently waiting on the owner to come check us out? The breaking point is, every single other couple here is same race, we are the ONLY couple here not the same race! Very sad situation! Very Thankful for the food! Food 9/10 Customer Service 4/10

Food was good actually great .. they were busy so service was a little crazy.. it took quite a while to get our food .. the atmosphere is awesome...

Decided to stop by for an early Sunday breakfast. Was told it was a 20 min wait but got sat in about 10. Our server was new but she was really sweet. The menu had some good options. We decided to get the biscuits and gravy , omelette and chicken fried steak. Everything was good but we could've had more gravy on the biscuits and gravy and the chicken fried steak. The biscuits were reallly good. Very tasty and overall a good experience.

Good breakfast spot in downtown Memphis with generous portions. The biscuits are massive--you can really only enjoy the top half of the biscuit with the toppings. The service was a bit slow, but it was a last-minute decision and we were just happy to grab a quick bite nearby. Overall, a solid choice for a filling breakfast!

Food was okay. Service was a bit slow however the staff were very nice and accommodating.

Clean & and front desk was pleasant. Waiter lacked attention to detail. We had to get our own straws, napkins and asked for the cheap plastic wear. One pancake no powered sugar, egg scrambled American cheese, grits - brown sugar No brown sugar, no raw sugar Sweet tea w/lemons Never received the lemons Egg sausage biscuit w/cheese - biscuit crumbled apart Overall 3 stars. I've had a better meal at Dennys / IHOP. Haven't seen the check but I'm thinking definitely overpriced for overall experience and food.

If you want a hearty southern breakfast, I recommend this spot! The biscuit board is a delicious appetizer for 2-3 people to share, although it seemed like their flavored butters were just flavored syrups layers on top of melted butter. All of the grits dishes on their menu looked amazing! I got the chicken and waffles, and while the waffle tasted like birthday cake, the chicken was a little dry and sparsely seasoned. I did enjoy the food but the ambience and service left a little to be desired. Overall, I wasn't wowed, but I would go back to try more dishes!

This place has some delicious food, and they were open on Labor Day just a five minute walk from where I was staying, but, alas, a couple servers had decided to call in so there was a long wait, which many people gave up on. The food is worth waiting for, particularly the grits (I got the Chicken Sausage Grits bowl) and their biscuits and egg concoction (Big Ole Biscuit Bake, I think) but be prepared to wait, potentially.

The food was great! The bread board is yummy with all the different type of butter and jam. The service was very friendly and quick. We will be back.

The food was amazing! Large portions provided. Gratuity automatically included despite the party size( I completely understand why). The ambiance was nice! I will definitely return again!

Pretty, airy, sleek place that has some cozy booths. Grits are very creamy and the bowl choices offer a variety of toppings. They were extra generous with the chorizo versus the spinach and mushrooms on my choice. The spinach was nice and fresh. Note that the create your own doesn't come with an egg. With a snowy week, one day they were closed and another, short staffed. Still, they hustled to manage the tables. Nice folks. A little nicer breakfast choice. The chicken and waffles at another table looked very nice.

I lovedddd this place, the atmosphere was very calming and the servers were very welcoming and kerra was very helpful she even helped me figure out how to leave a review ! I loved the cinnamon roll and the rest of my meal was great as well! I got the fried chicken biscuit with eggs and grits and it was delicious!

Shout out to Kerra I visit Sugar Grits for lunch and she was my waitress on that day. She was very polite and professional. The food was great. The shrimp and grits and cinnamon roll was an excellent choice.

The food was filling and tasty. The service was great. I ordered the (build your omelette) it came with grits and a biscuit.

If the goal is grits you came to the right place. My grits knowledge/experience is limited but their selection and variety was what I expect. Kind staff and a great brunch spot. Their hours could be a bit more accommodating but worth a visit if you are in town.

I had the honey butter biscuit and the stone ground rice grits with eggs! I enjoyed the meal. The main reason for the visit was to test the grits! The stone ground rice grits were good. I could detect a slight difference from the corn grits I am used to in texas. All in all I give the grits a solid 3.

YUMMM! Everything about this place was YUM! The food was amazing. The drinks were amazing. The service was fast and kind. Overall a great experience. We went for an early brunch and got the Sugar Grits Biscuit Board, Rise & Shine, and the Irish Coffee drink. If you're staying at the Peabody, near Beale St., or near Second St. in Memphis, this is an easy walk to enjoy a tasty meal!

This place was insanely understaffed; we came in at 10 on a Sunday morning. Shame on management. It was maybe 1/4 full and still terrible service. Only 1 waiter and 1 hostess for the whole restaurant. Took 15 minutes to order, and then almost 30 to get our food. Phone ringing off the hook not being answered. The staff did the best they could and were very nice and did what they could, but whoever owns this place needs to hire more people. Again, shame on management

The food is good! Greeter is nice but... the server she's a bit condescending "Rosie is her name" it sucks that they put 20% tip on ur bill. I am basically paying the service w/o getting the proper service. People here are rude! "Chris profiled us about being too picky about our food in regards to white eggs" he didn't even acknowledge his mistake. If you looking for good food n great service go somewhere else. You as a customer you have to do better when it should be the other way around when eating at this place. I won't be coming back to this place ever again.

This place is nestled right behind the Peabody Hotel. The service was quick and the biscuits were to die for! I enjoyed the Cajun bowl as well!

Interesting place. The food was okay. The coffee was served "lukewarm" and sugar for it was dispensed into a little plastic cup and you had to pour it into your coffee. Not sure if the coffee was properly served that way or if it was just an off day? The facility's staff was the best part of this location. Very friendly and customer oriented. The eatery is in a great location, just wasn't a place I'd recommend.

We went here by recommendation of our friendly hotel staff since it was closer than where we were originally going, and within walking distance. I ordered the Giddy-up grits, which were really good. The country ham and braised greens in it were the best part, but everything was really tasty and melded into a big delicious mess once I dug in. The over easy egg was a little bit on the over hard side on the bottom though, but everything else more than made up for it. Especially that huge cinnamon roll -- so good!

We ordered the shrimp, breakfast plate two eggs biscuit bacon a sausage grits. We also ordered a cinnamon roll stack. First The waitress brought the Simmons throw stack out first even though we explicitly told her to bring it out at the end of our breakfast. Fortunately, the cinnamon roll stack was the best part of the meal. Everything else was substandard even though their name was sugar grits. It was the worst grits I've ever had.

Our waitress smelled like weed so much that we got a contact high. The food was okay. Our biscuits were very dry. Beware that they figure the tip in for you, there were only two of us. My burger was dry, my daughters fish was really good.

So I was feeling like grits on my trip to Memphis, and this spot has grits in the name! I had to try it! We came in with a large party and were seated immediately. The waitress took good care of us. We all order drinks and then we were. Drinks for nothing really spectacular. I don't know if they don't have an actual bartender at the restaurant, but they do have a full bar. But the drink mixing wasn't really impressive here but the food sure was. I got the grits with the duck. And it is super tasty. The Grits were a little bit hard, but the white gravy that gave you really helped. It made it mixed together very well. I also tried a piece of country fried steak. Now the country fried steak was amazing. It was breaded very well seasoned to a t. I love country fried steak, usually I make it my face from Cracker Barrel, but this one works great! Also the hash browns were good too, they had like some cream cheese type of mixture in them I guess? I don't know, but they were crispy on the outside and flavorful and tender on the inside. He was walking distance from where we were staying at and I loved it. Again, but Drake situation wasn't really great, but everything else was pretty solid and I would definitely go back and visit again.

I had the blessed opportunity to visit Sugar Grits for breakfast. Overall, it was an awesome dining experience. I highly recommend the Bird in a Bed (Chicken and Waffles). The reason that I am giving Sugar Grits 4 stars, rather than 5 stars, is because of their men's restroom maintenance or the lack thereof. The men's restroom was rather nasty and smelly. It's kind of gross thinking about how this is the same restroom that workers would be using before serving your food.

Great food and great service. Will definitely be back. I had the Charleston cheese grits and a biscuit.

Read through some of the reviews prior to coming. No issue with the customer service. It was excellent on our visit. The issue was the food. For the price they charge its not that good to me. The grits were semi luke warm. Great plating and visual, but I just wasn't feeling the taste. I'm also not a fan of places that do automatic gratuity. The name Sugar Grits catches your eye and attention. But I wouldn't recommend.

I was finally able to give Sugar Grits a try! I recently dined here for Sunday brunch. Upon arrival, the hostess wasn't present, so we seated ourselves. Luckily, we did not have to wait long before our server arrived. We ordered mimosas and jumped right in. I decided to give the Country Fried Steak and Eggs a try. It was a pretty hearty meal and I must say I was pleased with my selection! The hashbrown casserole was pretty tasty and the grits were okay. Everyone else at the table appeared to be satisfied with their selections. Overall, it was a good experience for me and I enjoyed it!

Biscuit was ok very dense,gravy thin. Seated right away as they were not busy. Female server appeared to be put out by having to take an order and bring food. Place was clean and decor was appropriately themed. Not sure if I would come more than once ever.

... idk why anyone would eat here tbh. The food was underseasoned, took too long to make and just very lack luster. The place is cute though. Has potential but they need a new chef.

Well worth the wait! We had to wait about 45 minutes when we were originally told it was a 20-25 minute wait. The food was very fresh! Nothing came to us cold outside server was McKenna, she was very friendly and knowledgeable of the menu. I had the Sweet ShirleyGrit Girl Grits Bowl and my son had a huge stack of Pancakes! I also VERY highly recommend the Ole Grit Fritters with the extra hot pepper Jelly. You won't be disappointed. My other people had omelette and other variations of the Grit Girl Grits Bowl.

Looked for places near the hotel I was staying and this one came up. I was looking for some good southern food. After reviewing the reviews here, I wanted to pass but the rest of the group wanted to go so I obliged. There were about 10 of us so we waited about 45 minutes which is to be expected for a Sat morn w/a large group. As we waited my relative ordered a cup of coffee, it came w/lipstick on the cup. It was as if they took the cup off of someone's table! Because our party was large we sat at two different tables. The waitress was very nice but my goodness the service was beyond slow. I'm from Cali, so idk if it was southern slow or just bad service slow! I initially had to send my food back b/c I asked for all Turkey sausage but there was bacon on my plate. The biscuit was lukewarm at best. It really could've been a good biscuit if it was hot. I'm not a grits person; I figured since Grits is in the name I'd be adventurous and try the red popcorn grits. They were tasty (just not hot). Whatever you do pass on the potato casserole! It was so salty. No one at my table like theirs. Here's the highlight...the food was affordable MINUS the $35 included tip for each table! $70 tip seems ridiculous! But even with that the bill was cheap for 10 ppl. The have a full bar! I got the special w/Watermelon Agua Fresca/vodka and it's walking distance from the downtown hotels! I would not recommend this place if you're looking for some good hot non-salty food.

Nice place, really clean. We were very well attended to by all the people work in big there. The food was excellent of course we got grits!

I'm trying to find the faults in previous reviews but I can't. But then I'm not a pseudo food critic, I just know good food. My son had the biscuit bake and I went with cheese grits and eggs on top. Both were delicious and the service was great. Austin did a great job. Very fair prices as well. Visit, you'll like it.

Had breakfast here twice during our visit. The atmosphere is very welcoming. The staff is very friendly and always helping each other. The food is delicious!

Our favorite breakfast place in Memphis. The staff was kind and friendly and the aesthetic was super cute. The food was delicious and made as requested for my pickiest eater.

The menu on their website did not match what they served. The service was very slow. The food was just ok. Not worth a visit again.

The grits were pretty good but that is the only positive about this place. It was warm and stuffy inside so seems like they don't want to keep it comfortable for diners. I personally don't want like sweating while I am eating, tends to kill the appetite. Oh and the service is terrible!! Server reeked of weed and was rude. Also 20% onto the bill automatically? Just goes to show that service is directly correlated to earning a tip. If you are guaranteed 20% without effort or a smile, then they will put forth none of it.

As this was my first trip to the Deep South, I wanted to try food that was local to the area. I stopped at Sugar Grits for lunch and saw chicken and waffles on the menu. I had never seen that combination offered before. My order came, and it clearly exceeded my expectations. The waffle was done perfectly. That was not such a surprise, since you can get perfectly done waffles almost anywhere. However, the waffle was topped with chicken which, as I found was customary in the South, was fried perfectly. There was no oily excess in the food itself, and there was no problem digesting the food. The combination was delightful. I commend the food to you.

They ran out of food at 11:30. Who does that? Several people were in line and all turned away. Won't be back

I found this place on Yelp, somewhere close to where I wanted to go exploring. I got the cinnamon biscuit, blueberry biscuit, and the honey butter biscuit because I wanted to try all three, they were all good. I also got the gardener's grits with added cheese, and a side of scrambled eggs, I didn't get the added cheese I ordered but I didn't bring it to the waiter's attention, I just ate my food. The gardener's grits came with all the good veggies; onions, bell peppers, garlic sautéed spinach, chickpeas, and tomato gravy over red corn ground grits. The tomato gravy came on the side so you could pour how much you wanted. All of it went so good with my scrambled eggs, and the flavor of the veggies were so good, grits hot and cooked well. I really enjoyed my meal, and the rest of the group did as well. Three of us got green tea to drink and one got coffee. The coffee came with creamers and different sugars; the tea came with honey and lemon and of course you could choose to have sugar. The tea was hot but just would get cold fast, the waiter did bring out more hot water, but we wanted it hotter, but they didn't have a microwave to do that. We understand that it may be a safety issue but still wish we could have had it hotter. The actual place was nice and clean and all staff were great with service; we left a really nice tip. I love grits so much I would love to come back here and try their other grits bowl dishes.

The reviews are in fact consistent with my experience. We had a reservation at 12:00 p.m. The host sat us down at 12:35 p.m. There were so many many waiting and even more waiting for their food. We waited approximately 30 minutes for food that came out lukewarm. The grits didn't taste like cheese grits and they weren't tasteful or fulfilling at all. The hashbrown hash wasn't good either.I had a mimosa and I wish I would've kept my $9 and made it at home. They were short staffed and the host seemed very overwhelmed. My friend mentioned she enjoyed her food. I wouldn't recommend this place. I had high hopes especially because it'a kind of new to the area. Customer service: 2 Ambiance:3 Wait time: 1 Food:1 Recommendation: No!