The Bottom Line
Pros
- Neely's serves up authentic Memphis style barbecue.
- The restaurant is spacious with plenty of seating.
- The service at Neely's was friendly and polite.
Cons
- The institutional-like plastic plates might make you feel like you're eating in a school cafeteria.
Description
- Neely's famous ribs are served wet or dry.
- If you want to try something a little different, Neely's has barbecue spaghetti on the menu.
- Neely's now has three locations, two in Memphis and one in Nashville.
- This review was based on my experience at Neely's Bar-B-Que's west location:
670 Jefferson
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 521-9798 - Hours of operation:
Mon - Thurs, 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Fri - Sat, 10:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Sun, 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Guide Review - Neely's Bar-B-Que
I visited Neely's at 7:30 on a Friday evening and assumed that I would probably have to wait to be seated. I was pleasantly surprised when the hostess immediately led my party of three to a table in the non-smoking section of the restaurant.
The restaurant's atmosphere was very casual with vinyl padded booths and chairs, dark wood paneling, and historical memorabilia decorating the walls. It felt distinctly Memphis, however, with overhead speakers belting out the blues.
Soon after we were seated, a friendly waitress came to take our orders. She offered up helpful suggestions and wrote down our orders to ensure accuracy. We didn't have to wait long for our dinner to arrive. Within ten minutes of taking our orders, the waitress was back carrying plates that were loaded with food.
I had chosen the pulled pork platter with fries and cole slaw. Yum, yum, yum! The pork was succulent, tender, and smoked to perfection. It was topped with the quintessential Memphis-style barbecue sauce - not too thick and not too thin, a little spicy and a little sweet. The sauce was so good, in fact, that we requested a little on the side and our waitress kindly complied. The cole slaw was also incredible. Just like the barbecue sauce, it was spicy and sweet but with emphasis on the spicy. It was unlike any cole slaw I have ever tried and it complimented the barbecue perfectly.
Although we were all far too full to order dessert, I think next time I will try to save room for some of Neely's peach cobbler or sock-it-to-me cake.
