Elfo’s

I’ve been coming here for years. This is the best Italian restaurant in Memphis, Germantown period. Alex the owner and staff or great. FOOD is impeccable I usually get the Special De La Casablanca or Lasagna because they are my favorites. The ambiance is nice and I live eating at the bar. Egor at valet is my guy live this place.

Great bar scene especially on the weekends. Sometimes there is live music. I prefer sitting at the bar or at couches than sitting in the back area of the restaurant. My fav is the beef carpaccio!
This is a place a hit monthly to unwind for half an hour. Bar service is ok. Drinks are properly stout.

A slightly more upscale spot for a nice dish and a classy ambience. There aren’t 6 forks or cutlery, so it’s not snobbish, but just enough class, I think.
They did start live music around 8, which I love, so I think it adds rather than takes away. The bartender was friendly and prompt, clearly working hard to make everyone happy. Filet was perfect. And they have blue cheese stuffed olives for my martinis which probably deserves a whole star in and of itself. I’m not from the area, I’m visiting and I really like this spot — it’s not cheap but it’s not Applebee’s or BBQ so I was pleased.

Came here with my boyfriend for our anniversary. If you’re looking for an intimate old fashioned Italian restaurant, this is your spot. The food was delicious, and the waitor was very attentive. We had the toasted ravioli as an app (fullll of meat, ordered the 6 and that was too much for the two of us). I got the chicken Parm (delish) and boyfriend got the Gorgonzola filet and he didn’t leave a bite. Overall great experience!

My daughter and I ate at Elfo’s. It was a Tuesday night and fairly busy. We were seated right away (got there by 6:00). Service was good. We each had the wedge salad. It was delicious! We split the chicken piccata. It was just the right amount and very good. We would recommend this place.

It’s like Elfos doesn’t know what it wants to be? It has some upscale assets, but then has finishing touches completely mid market. A below average wine list, one fork in a place setting and wine glasses that don’t match the wine served.
Average food and basically a completely average restaurant. I wish they would make the finishing touches to be fine dining, but now, just a want to be.

Went there early for dinner. Place was pretty empty but for a few bar patrons. Just the way my wife and I like it. Hostesses could use a little personality training and act like they care. Waitress was very nice and helpful. Had the calamari appetizer and it was good. Came with two tasty dipping sauces, marinara and lemon aioli. Wife ate the half Elfo’s special/​half manicotti. It was very good. I had the strip steak and potatoes. Steak was cooked well and had a nice reduction with it. We thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience and will definitely go back.

Fantastic dinner with friends. Great atmosphere and service. Wish I could give 6 stars !!

After such a wonderful experience the first time, we are going to try it again for our anniversary.
We arrived fairly early on a weekday so there was not much of a crowd yet. We were greated rather quickly and we were asked were we would like to sit. We chose a table by the window and the waiter was at our table in no time. The staff was very friendly for our entire visit.
We enjoyed the comfortable atmosphere and as the night went on you could see several business men and women gather in the bar area. It never got too loud and was very pleasant.
We started with the scallop appetizer. It was undercooked and the waiter took it back immediately. When the dish was returned it was perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious. I am a huge scallop fan and cook them quite well myself so I can be fairly picky about them.
Not long after finishing our scallops and the waiter clearing the table, our main dishes arrived. They were very flavorful and cooked to perfection. I am not usually a fan of any fish in restaurants, but my wife’s halibut was one of the best fish dishes I have ever tasted. As a matter of fact, I had her leftovers the next day for lunch and it was even delicious cold.
I highly recommend this restaurant and hope your experience is as pleasant as ours was.

Three stars are for a cozy atmosphere. Low lighting and not too noisy. The service was three stars as well. The food was maybe not three stars. I chose the margherita pizza and it was fine but could be improved with some fresh basil. It seemed to be cheese and tomatoes and not really done. I talked the spouse into the pork tenderloin special as he loves tenderloin. He was definitely underwhelmed. He described the pork as dry and chewy and the risotto as bland. We had a gift card to use, but we were still a little surprised at the charge for the special. It was not worth the cost.

Two stars, primarily for the service. The wait staff is outstanding, but I think even they realize that the food «just ain’t that great». This is yet another Italian restaurant in Memphis with chefs who have apparently never been to Italy, New York, Chicago or anywhere else where Italians actually live and enjoy their particular type of food. Bland sauce, oily eggplant, fish that spent more time in transit than in the water… Just not good. Certainly not worth the price. If you go, stay in the bar and order appetizers. You’ll enjoy this place a whole lot more.

Please communicate to the manager. Our experience in the restaurant was negative overall.
We were a party of 6. From the beginning, the greeter was unpolite. We asked for a booth, she said all were reserved. Which we soon noticed that was NOT true at all.
Then the service was poor to bad. Bread was not offered, food was either too cold or too hot.
At the time of getting the bills. The server was going to give the bill to me, but changed her mind and took it to one of the men of the group.
Not only we felt they were racist and sexist, the service was very badly, and the food nothing extraordinary.
Without hesitation, a place in where you find discrimination. We are not originally from this country, yet we’re American citizens. Have an accent but are highly educated, well dressed, respectful, and white –and I hope that especially the latter does not make a difference. I wonder what kind of characteristics you have to have in order to receive a better treatment there.
Expensive, bad service, food just OK. Good ambience but elitist and with a sense of discrimination.

I love the atmosphere. It is warm and cozy. It’s a very nice date spot. I think the prices are a little high. I’m not a big fan of the tomato sauce. I’m found the pizza to be disappointing.

Every time I eat there it’s the best food. The service could be nicer & more attentive for the price you pay.

Came here for a late lunch — 4:30 pm
Atmosphere here is fantastic — service is good. We shared toasted ravioli up front. Ordered a bottle of Meiomi Pinot Noir and finished with two Miss Mary Salads.
Salads were light and refreshing — ravioli seemed homemade and were tasty. Only pain here was the $ 72 check.
This is a great place for special occasions and romantic encounters.

I hardly ever go to Germantown… much less eat there. I’m not being snotty, I just don’t leave the loop because I hate to drive and Germantown is pretty far from where I live. But when I do need to eat in Germantown, Elfo’s it is. Well, when we need to get fancy and/​or have cocktails. Because the Germantown Commissary is pretty delicious too.
Anyways, back to Elfo’s. Pasta heaven, my friend, past heaven. And I love the ambience (southern…cozy…yet sophisticated). And that they have valet! Valet makes everything better. Oh, and ladies, here’s a hot tip: REALLY cute guys hang out here for drinks. Young professional types… single ones.
Back to the food, I’ve never had anything bad here. All good. Especially that toasted ravioli. And the prices are great.

As many others have said, this place has an outstanding atmosphere. Very impressive — good for a date night or for a fancy business dinner. The service we had was outstanding. If at all possible, ask to be seated in Jason’s section. He will surely take care of you and offer up good wine selections based on your tastes or even some fun Memphis stories if you’re in the mood to be chatty.
What I appreciate about the menu here is the variety in terms of price. Elfo’s makes eating at an upscale place obtainable for more people. They had everything from pizza to pasta to steak… and they had sea bass (which always makes me smile). They seem pretty welcoming of splitting items and will do many of their dishes in half sizes. Portions were big for my meal and the food was well cooked. I ordered the white pizza and the sun-​dried tomato salad. Both very good and flavorful. I appreciated that the garlic in the pizza was not too abundant (which often happens with these types of pizzas). The salad was AMAZING. I was sad that there aren’t actually any sun dried tomatos on the salad though. Instead they are blended into the dressing. Which made the dressing the best darn dressing I’ve ever had!
They had a pretty expansive wine list as well. I noticed some wines being offered by the glass that I typically only see offered by the bottle at other places, so that was a nice surprise.
Overall, a great experience. Looking forward to visiting again!

I’ve eaten Elfo’s catered and absolutely loved it, so I thought to finally go to the restaurant and give it a try! I had the lasagna and spinach, it was divine! We went during happy hour so we had wine for $ 5 a glass, not bad. The server wasn’t that nice, but that can happen from time to time. Very romantic atmosphere, without being uptight, I would go here again!

I’ve put off trying this place for years. After our visit Tuesday night, my husband will make sure we eat there frequently. He would give this place 6 stars, and for Memphis, I think it deserves 5. Because I frequent Italian restaurants in New Orleans and the Mobile bay communities, I’m holding off on the 5^th star in comparison.
Here’s the scoop: The best Italian food I’ve had in the Memphis area, without a doubt. As I was looking at the menu trying to decide between several dishes that sounded delicious, the waitress informed us of the specials. We immediately decided to go with those because they sounded fantastic. I think we made the right decision, but I don’t know that we could have made a wrong one with that menu. I had the grouper topped with crabmeat, on a bed of risotto with a basil cream sauce. Hubby had the duck ravioli in a Marsala sauce. Both dishes were excellent! We both had the Miss Mary’s salad, which is really the only thing I wouldn’t order again. We split a piece of key lime pie with pistachio gelato for dessert. It was phenomenal as well.
The service was definitely 5 star. They were somewhat busy, but it didn’t show. Our server was very sweet, attentive, and knowledgable about the menu.
The price, well, I’ve had better food for the money. Not in Memphis though, so I can’t complain.

There’s no denying how warm and inviting this restaurant is. It would be the perfect setting for a date. But the food was sub-​par. We came in for a late dinner on a Wednesday night with a group of 7 people – the service was slow (especially slow to refill drinks). But our waitress was pleasant so I’ll give them a pass on that.
The scallop and calamari appetizers were really good. I could have passed on the toasted ravioli – the filling just tasted like mushy hamburger meat in my opinion.
I was especially disappointed with the salmon entrée. The salmon was cooked well – could have had a touch more salt. However, the risotto that it came with was unforgivable for a restaurant that specializes in Italian food. I admit I’m a bit of a risotto snob – and may expect something beyond perfection. But the standard rule for risotto is it’s supposed to be creamy enough that it spreads on the plate. What I got at Elfo’s was more like a rice pilaf – it was completely dry. Not sure if I just got the leftovers of what had been made prior to dinner service – because it didn’t seem to be fresh off the stove.
The crème brulle was perfection – classically made – no unnecessary frills. I’d be willing to give Elfo’s another try – maybe i just came on an off-​night.