Owen Brennan’s

Old southern charm with a definite NOLA flavor. I rarely visit the same restaurant twice while traveling, but I made a point to go back while I was there.
Don’t hesitate to try the creole /​Cajon classics. The shrimp and grits were great. The sausage and the jambalaya were also good.

Been here for lunch and maybe that or dinner is a better choice. Stopped in on a Sunday and brunch is the only offering, primarily breakfast type foods … at $ 36 per person — no, thank-​you.

My first experience at Owen Brennan’s was in 2015. I had always heard of their brunch from friends, but I never took the time to check out the restaurant. Boy, was I missing out! Since my first lunch, I find myself eating at Owen Brennan’s almost once a week! The staff is friendly and attentive, the ambiance is true to Southern standards, and the management staff is energetic and eager to please. I highly recommend Owen Brennan’s for your next lunch, happy hour, dinner, or event destination. Fantastic.

So Husband was given 2 gift certificates for Sunday brunch by the restaurant’s owner. Nice, right? Wrong. We both felt the food was totally overpriced for such poor quality. Unfortunately, I don’t see us going back for any meal. Such a letdown since Owen Brennan’s has been such a long standing establishment in Memphis!

Went for my husbands’ Christmas dinner. The food was good. The service was terrible, our waitress wasn’t as attentive as she should have been. She didn’t bring bread with the salads, and even mentioned that she should have. She didn’t check on us as she should have, several of us went without something to drink for quite a while (this included water refills!!). I suppose that she knew she would receive her 20% tip with a company party and decided to give terrible service, so I am glad to alert her employers to her lack of wait staff duties, especially BIG PARTIES! 12÷12÷15

Food was mediocre… Extremely overrated for the price. However, what topped everything is the service provided by Brianna.
She was extremely «standoffish» to our group; borderline rude.

Hosted a Christmas Dinner party for 12 here last night. Somewhat disappointed at the overall experience. Our waitress — «B», was hard to find throughout the evening. She seemed extremely rushed when we tried to request something from her. We reserved a private room which was nice. 2^nd time we’ve had our Christmas party dinner here, last year seemed much better.
Several people’s glasses were empty for a while, we had to request bread 2 times (after the meals had arrived, would have been nice to have when the salads arrived).
My ribeye had –0-​, none, nada, flavor. The butter on top never melted as the steak was only lukewarm. For the overall price, the food, service, and ambience were just not there.
We’ll visit another establishment next year for our annual outing.

Probably the worst restaurant experience I have had in Memphis.
The restaurant décor and bar are very nice. Sadly that’s the only positive I can report about my experience.
First, I was with a party of 25 people and had only one waitress assigned to us. I would have imagined that there would have been more consistent support for her, but it seemed like she generally was on her own with one or two people helping her sporadically. She kept her poise but I felt for her. It seemed as though the restaurant had never had a party hosted with them before! The whole process was unorganized and everything came out at different times. Drinks were not refilled and orders were messed up.
The food is not cheap here. Unfortunately it’s also not worth it. I ordered the scallops and they were so over cooked. They were also covered in a nasty gravy. $ 34 for over cooked scallops and gravy with probably the worst risotto I have ever had. I didn’t even know risotto could taste bad.
I started this review while waiting to check out and my two star review has now become a one star review. Thirty minutes and we are still waiting for them to ring everyone out.
Lastly, it was freezing the entire time. Clearly the overpriced food isn’t making them enough money to keep the heat running!
This place is the most overrated place in Memphis that I have been to. Poor service, bad food and overpriced-​triple threat!

Here from Michigan, first time eating at Owen Brennan’s
The food and the service is absolutely amazing! My husband and myself order separate dishes. We should have ordered together, the portion were great, fit for 2 people, I had crawfish Beignets, Monday’s French Dip which consists of shaved Prime Rib on a Hoagie roll with horseradish, au jus dip… Husband had Crabcake Benedict with… Get this the most melt in your mouth Shimp and Grits ever… Now Wait! Let’s not forget Dessert, Bread Pudding with a Rum sauce! As you can tell we love food, great food so we have a new Fav… OWEN BRENNAN’S!!! THANKS FOR THE EXSPERENCE!!!

I recently ate Sunday brunch at Owen Brennan’s. I am from out of the area and had eaten brunch there 5 years ago. I like the selections, particularly the crayfish etouffe.
BUT THEIR MAJOR, MOST DISTINCTIVE ATTRACTIONS ARE THE OMELETTES BY CHEF SHORTY!!! He has raised omelette making to an art form. In addition to spinning and tossing plates and pans, he makes six omelettes at once. He can/​and does add an incredible amount of fillers, including crayfish and chunks of prime rib. He cooks each omelette to perfection. They are both delicious and filling– a substantial meal in themselves. Watching him was an education as well as entertainment. Chef Shorty is a very personable guy too.
Go and tell him «Chris says ‘Hi.’»

I’m a New Orleans native, and have to say that this outlet of Brennan’s was a disappointment. Several reasons — 1) the waitstaff seemed miserable. It was Saturday night. Not a single one was smiling, or looked like they enjoyed their job. 2) the food was not up to par. We ordered redfish, blackened — and it was over salted. Not over seasoned — the spice profile was good — but the salt overwhelmed the dish. We also ordered one of the eggs benedict dishes — and it was just awful. The eggs were overcooked, the hollandaise sauce had no flavor. IT was just really disappointing
On the flip side, the red beans and rice was yummy, and my son’s kids meal had good chicken… but, don’t plan to go back.

Not impressed at all. Food is all buffet, sitting out for hours. Too expensive for what you get.

My mother and I went for an impromptu lunch after doing some shopping in the center next door. I’m big on a nice atmosphere and this place didn’t disappoint. At 12:30 in the afternoon, its not going to be a trendy 25 – 30 crowd but we were ok with that. Trust me the 50 – 65 crowd can be just as entertaining when mid day cocktails are involved.
Yes it is kind of a «boys club» during lunch time and yes ladies (especially the young ladies) get plenty of stares but I didn’t mind.
The waitstaff is attentive and very helpful. As usual we started off with two cups of Gumbo and our waitress brought out their french bread and gumbo, I was actually stuffed after the apps but I’m no quitter! My mother had the salmon caesar salad, which was amazing. I love a good filet of salmon, seasoned well and not overcooked. I ordered the seafood newburg, it was everything you crave. Buttery, cheesy, creamy and loaded with seafood! Again, I couldn’t finish everything on my plate but they were happy to pack it up for me.
If you like an older friendly crowd, I suggest trying Owen Brennans out for lunch one day, I know the jazz brunch is a hit or miss but the lunch is a sure hit.

We went here for my sisters birthday brunch last week. So for brunch they have a buffet type setup. This ranges from breakfast food to seafood. Im not gunna lie, I was very overwhelmed by the options. Its nice you can get as many plates as you want. My only thing is it was $ 35 a person. For my brother-​in-​law this was a steal. For us, we didn’t eat anywhere close to that. Also, I wasn’t floored by any of the food. It was all pretty basic. I went for the oysters cause I love those a whole lot :)! Highly recommend those!
As for the atmosphere, I loved it. Very vibrant and update. The band that was playing was so good and very involved with the crowd. My only thing was I felt rude waiting for a table right in front of them. They were too good to be blocked :).
Advice: Do a quick scan of the Sunday brunch buffet. It can be quite overwhelming and hard to decide what to get! I heard their omelets are pretty good, and he makes them right in front of ya! There was a bit of a line so I unfortunately missed out :(.

Sunday Brunch with my family this morning was delightful and delicious here at Owen Brennan’s. The food was full of flavor and freshly prepared. Everything breakfast from smoked cheese grits, perfect bacon, biscuits and sausage gravy and warm scones. Then there was the shrimp, catfish with creole sauce, jambalaya, beans and rice. Leaving the best for last was the omelet station manned by Shorty, with 6 omelet skillets going at once with more than 15 possible ingredients. The coffee was rich and perfect. Fresh fruit and delicious desserts.
The ambiance was welcoming and lively, especially with the love jazz band. The service was first class.
Great experience!

Big hint: Owen Brennan’s is wonderful for lunch service or on a weeknight for intimate conversation. Weekend evenings, as long as this place has stood, still pack the house. Service gets touch-​and-​go when it is full.
I love their oysters– best in town. Small groups of 2 – 5 people will fare best.

Best.brunch.hands.down. Need I say more? Get there as quick as you can after church on Sunday. I also would suggest a reservation. If not, you’ll be waiting a really, really long time.

Excellent lunch, great service and best creole food north of Louisiana. Price is only about $ 7 more than you would pay for lunch at Wendy’s.

Pinot Grigio was $ 10
Bloody Mary $ 8
worth it.
Turtle soup was the best I ever had.
Shrimp and grits are some of the best in the city.
But, I wish the term jumbo shrimp
was legally enforceable term.
The service was noticeably good.

Owen Brennan’s was okay but not great. I had a business lunch here and reviewed the menu beforehand, and was eagerly anticipating it. I love fish (if cooked properly), and spicy cuisine, so I was looking forward to trying it out.
Baguette was served gratis, and we ordered the «cajun popcorn», ie., battered and fried crawfish tails. They were mehhhh and surprisingly bland, so the dunking in the remoulade and cocktail sauces was almost necessary.
For entrees I ordered the Red Snapper Perez and my lunch companion had the Catfish Boudreaux. My dish was described as «blackened red snapper, topped with crawfish étouffée, served with seasoned rice, chives and fresh vegetable sauté.» Unfortunately I found my dish to be mostly just salty than seasoned, and my snapper was EXTREMELY overcooked — chewy around the edges, dry, fishy and mushy. Not great. Vegetables were okay. Étouffée was an unappealing, soupy mess slopped on top, and the rice was definitely NOT seasoned — and I did not see chives.
I ate the whole plate because I had skipped breakfast in anticipation of gorging myself on a rich, flavorful cajun feast, but I felt rather let down and like I had cheated with empty, unsatisfying calories. Also, for the price, the meal was a huge disappointment — each of our entrees was over $ 20 apiece.
I don’t plan to return, since the meal was so overpriced and lacking in execution and quality.