Downtown Memphis has taken a hit recently. Several restaurants have closed over the past few months, leaving the area depressed and empty. Several weeks ago, a new eatery opened in the space vacated by Stella, a popular fine dining establishment situated right off the trolley line. In this beautiful space, a new restaurant was born, one that brought a fresh concept to a tired town. Flight Restaurant and Wine Bar utilizes the idea of the "flight," which serves multiple smaller dishes with a common thread in a single serving. At Flight, most item choices come with option to enjoy them singly or with three different preparations. Because of this, I will offer my opinions by flight, choosing my favorite from each flight and then an overall favorite at the end.
We started our meal with almond crusted honey baked brie, which was baked and served with herb crostini and strawberries. The honey sauce really brought out the flavor of the cheese, and I appreciated that the crostini were seasoned. However, there was one big drawback: the almonds were burnt. I'm talking "extra-toasty" but blackened, bitter, and quite burnt. I'm actually very surprised that it was even allowed to leave the kitchen in that state, and it put a dark cloud on what would have been a very tasty dish and a great start to the meal.
After our appetizer, I chose to sample the salad flight, three different salads on one plate. The first was a watermelon and feta salad with red onion, mint, and cucumber oil. It was extremely light and fresh. The saltiness of the feta paired extremely well with the watermelon. Since neither Tom nor I really like watermelon, this was a tasty surprise. The second salad featured avocado slices, orange segments, and slivered almonds with a citrus vinaigrette. I thought it was a really nice combination, but Tom felt that the orange was overpowering. My only problem was the orange segments; I counted 8 seeds from three small segments. In a restaurant of this caliber, I would think these would be removed (or that they would use naval oranges). The final salad was a spinach and bacon salad with hard-boiled egg and red onion. It was a good rendition of a popular steakhouse salad, tasty and satisfying, but nothing special. For this course, we both chose the watermelon and feta salad as our favorite.
While I was munching on salad, Tom was slurping the soup flight. The first choice was a seafood bisque. It was buttery and creamy, but Tom felt it was a little bland. The second was a seafood gumbo, which was savory and had a lot of great textures. It was hearty, and the flavors were complex. Tom felt like it was one of the best soups he's ever eaten. The last option was French onion soup. It was an excellent version of a classic dish. It was beefy, rich, and delicious. However, for this course, the clear winner was the seafood gumbo.
At Flight, you have the option of choosing a single dish for your entree, selecting one of their preset flights, or creating your own flight from the "small plate" versions of the full entree choices. Tom and I both decided to pick three different small plates to create our meals. The three I selected were the ribeye, the pork tenderloin, and the duck breast. My ribeye was served with a caramelized onion and bacon mash and house-made Worchestershire sauce. It might possibly have been the best steak I have ever eaten in my life. It was tender, perfectly cooked, and all the flavors were like magic in my mouth. The pork tenderlion was served on top of cheddar grits and a BBQ beurre blanc. This dish was extremely tasty; the grits were nice and creamy, and the sauce gave the overall dish great flavor. The duck breast came with a sweet potato hash and pomegranate reduction. Out of the three, it was my least favorite. The duck was well-seasoned, but the hash needed something else to make it pop. Tom and I both agree that the ribeye was by far the best out of my three dishes.
For his entree, Tom chose the halibut, quail, and the lamb loin. The halibut was well-cooked, flaky, but not falling apart. It was served with shrimp risotto and a sweet corn sauce. The risotto was perfectly executed; it was creamy without being stiff or lumpy. Tom's lamb was served with a ratatouille and thyme jus. The ratatouille had great flavor, but the lamb loin was a bit overcooked, making it pretty tough to eat. The quail was served saffron and herb rice with an orange and ginger demi glace. The combination of flavors was spot on; it was extremely delicious and the meat was super tender. There was a split decision on this course. Tom chose the halibut as his favorite, while I thought the quail was far superior.
Diners can also order their dessert in the form of a flight. We shared the chocolate flight which featured a chocolate and peanut terrine. This consisted of an excellent chocolate mousse, which was complimented by some tasty peanut brittle. It offered an interesting textural contrast, but we had to pick up the brittle and eat it with our fingers, making the dish a bit unwieldy. The second option was a chocolate toffee parfait. It was light and airy with a hint of citrus. The toffee bits added a much-needed crunch. The last dish was a white chocolate tart with raspberry sorbet. The tart was dense and sweet, but the sorbet made it sing. It was it was crisp and fruity and paired excellently with the creamy sweetness of the tart. We also disagreed on which dessert was the best: I loved the chocolate toffee parfait, and Tom was all about the white chocolate tart with the raspberry sorbet.
Final Impressions: This was a fantastic meal, with a fantastic (big) pricetag. If you're dining on a budget, this is a spot that should be saved for a special occasion. The concept is especially nice for people like me who have a hard time making up their minds and want to try a little bit of everything. This place is definitely romantic enough for a date, and there's complimentary valet, so you don't have to worry about parking downtown. I really considered giving this a four smiley review, but the burnt almonds and the seedy salad couldn't be ignored. So for the first time in the history of tiffanytastes.com, I'm awarding a 3/4 smiley, because this meal was almost (but not quite) perfect.
Tom's (overall) favorite: The ribeye
Tiffany's (overall) favorite: The ribeye
Tiffany's Rating :) :) :) 3/4 out of :) :) :) :)
Flight Restaurant and Wine Bar
39 South Main Street
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 521-8005
Average Appetizer Price: $10-$15
Average Soup/Salad Price: (Lunch and Dinner) $8-$13
Average Sandwich Price: (Lunch only) $9-$13
Average Entree Price: (Lunch) $10-$13 (Small Plate) $9-$13 (Dinner) $24-$36
Average Dessert Price: $9-$12
Operating Hours
Monday-Saturday 11:00am-3:00am
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