South of Beale, also known as SOB, has two restaurant locations in the Memphis area serving bold and unique flavors to adventurous guests.
Source: South of Beale Restaurant – Eat and Sip Adventurously
I’m always a fan of restaurants that have an outdoor area, bright lighting and high ceilings. South of Beale has all of the above and the restaurant tops off the experience with a fantastic small menu. If you drink, then the atmosphere is even better because the bar is expansive and the location that’s not just South of Beale on Main Street, but in Collierville also has an upscale sports bar flavor.
The fare is a blend of Asian inspired flavors, but not solely isolated to Dim Sum or Ramen. There are Indian influenced options with gluten free and vegan choices. We didn’t go for that part of the menu. We jumped immediately into the carnivorous stuff.
We had fried chicken bao buns, which weren’t as good as I’d hope. I’m still used to an entire bao with filling as opposed to the taco styled sandwich type SOB served. This loses SOB a half a point on a scale of ten. The kimchi needed more of a kick and the appetizer would have been right there.
fried chicken bao buns – 13 – soy glazed fried chicken breast, pickles, kimchi
My wife had Lola’s Bowl. I didn’t ask who Lola was, but with noodles and skewers wifey was in her element. I thought the skewers looked overcooked, but she liked the texture because of how it seemed to get just a bit juicier when she combined a bite of egg roll and noodles. (note – she said they were overcooked half a point)
lola’s bowl – 17 – filipino bbq pork skewers, egg roll, noodles, boiled egg
My daughter broke tradition and went with the almost American meal option. She grabbed a duck patty melt. With the various bowls on the menu, I was positive she would roll with something more Asian inspired, and as she finished, she wished she had. The burger wasn’t bad, but it was up against years of LBOE (now closed after quarantine) and Belly Acres. Those are giant measuring sticks to compete with. She did add a side of mac and cheese, but it wasn’t as creamy as she expected. This loses a point on a scale of one to ten.
duck patty melt – 19 – sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, smoked gouda, texas toast, fries
While the prices are much better than Itta Bena, but comparable to Babalu (I need to do reviews of both, but everytime we go I start eating and mess up the photos, lol), I figured the best thing to do was compare. I ordered the jerk short ribs, which I wanted to compare to the braised beef at both of the previously mentioned restaurants. Seeing Jerk, I had an excellent comp in Clive’s in Little Haiti, so I was expecting some heat. There wasn’t any heat. The meat was tender and flavored well, but I think the restaurant should offer spice levels akin to what Urban Fusion does on their spicy fried pineapple rice. If there was a spice level, it would have been 4.5 out of 5. No heat at all. I have to subtract a point for that.
jerk short ribs – 23 – jerk spiced short ribs, yellow rice and peas, sauteed vegetables, brown gravy
It was good though. When considering the ambiance and the pricing for this dinner, SOB’s earns a point back. Our ticket included drinks (tea and lemonade) which gave us a total of $83.96. We would definitely go back again, although a 7 out of 10 sounds bad, that atmosphere adding that point gives it an 8. I’m adjusting it to 7.5 because while it was definitely worth the dollars, 8 is reserved for a perfectly executed meal.