The Arcade Restaurant

Established in 1919, the Arcade is Memphis' oldest restaurant. It is a fun and inexpensive place for a quick meal in a historic location.

At 11:00 a.m. on a Saturday, the Arcade was already packed. Though there wasn't a table available, there was bar space enough to accomodate my party of two. I recommend eating at the bar anyway -- it was nice to converse with some of the restaurant's other patrons.

We were attended to immediately by a friendly and efficient server. All of the restaurant's staff seemed equally on task, bustling about as they cooked and served the food, refilled soft drinks, and cleaned tables as they were vacated.

The menu offered basically four choices: breakfast, sandwiches, salads, and pizza. While the breakfast fare seemed pretty basic (eggs, pancakes, grits, etc.), there were other more imaginative choices such as the Downtowner Pizza with garlic, ricotta, tomatoes, pesto, arichoke hearts, onions, and calamata olives; or the South Main Sandwich with smoked ham, brie, sliced pear, creole mustard, and pesto aioli. Additionally, you can order hand-dipped shakes and sundaes, as is fitting for a diner of its type.

In spite of its apparent lack of imagination, I ordered a breakfast combo that came with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns. As ordinary as it may sound, it was actually wonderful. The pancakes tasted like the ones Mom used to make (seriously!) and the eggs were cooked to perfection.

If you're downtown anyway, consider a trip to the Arcade. The food is decent, the atmosphere is fun, and the price is right.