It’s easy to be tricked into giving a business a high rating because a celebrity chef is involved. Here is the thing for me and the fam, we’ve never seen any of the shows Chef Tam has been a part of. We first learned about Chef Tam’s Underground during a Memphis Black Restaurant Week in 2019. We made the unfortunate decision of visiting on a Father’s Day. The result was less than stellar. The rice was hard, the fried ribs weren’t that great and no one really enjoyed the meal. We chalked our visit up to arriving right before closing, but there really wasn’t an excuse. It was not a great trip. The location was in Cooper Young at the time and I rated the restaurant lower than Sweet Grass and other spots in the trendy neighborhood. Sweet Grass is gone and Chef Tam has relocated to a tucked away area named the Memphis Medical District in Downtown Memphis.
We had wanted to give Chef Tam’s another shot, but the bad thing about the location is how long the wait times are. Since 2019 Chef Tam has won another cooking competition and her products are featured at major retail outlets and used by celebrities. She’s a bigger brand now and this leads to an extended wait if you’re just dropping in. We stayed the course and waited to get a seat. I’m glad we did. Chef Tam’s isn’t the spot if you’re watching your figure. The restaurant is a flavor bomb, and the atmosphere was perfect. The move seems to have given the place a real personality to match the food. The service was excellent and since I felt that the place failed miserably at fried ribs the first time, I thought I’d give it a shot again. I’m not a fan of sauces, but I chose three flavors and if you look at the picture, you’ll see sauce is kinda their thing and I don’t mind at all. I chose a combination of Jerk, Tenniyaki and Honey Gold. It arrived atop a bed of fries. I used the fries to wipe off a lot of the excess and this gave me an ability to really taste the dressings… 5 out of 5! Wifey had a Cajun Stuffed Baked Potato and my daughter got the Underground Grilled Cheese (which is a big ass chicken sandwich). We added some Mac and Cheese as sides and the booming sound system made the wait fly by. Redemption is an understatement for Chef Tam’s. I highly recommend it but be prepared for a wait. If they can turn tables faster the restaurant could set this city on fire… kinda like the jerk sauce. Here go the pics.
