Big Bad Breakfast - East Memphis

I heard this was the best place to eat breakfast, so thought we would try it with family. The locals suggested and bragged about how great the food was, so we went on Friday ~1130am. We had a 20+ minute wait which was fine since we knew the food would be really good. When the waitress walked up to the table, we received no smile, good morning, nothing, that should’ve been the first sign or red flag something was wrong. I ordered a waffle, eggs, bacon, biscuit, home fries and my husband ordered the oyster scramble. First, the presentation was really great and professional looking. The food was decent, nothing that I could not fix at home. If I wanted to cook, I would’ve stayed home. The food didn’t have much flavor but was still good (decent). One of the main issues was the service and the temperature of the food, which is partly due to the terrible waitress we had. I had asked for a water and my husband an unsweet tea. We received our drinks but didn’t get anything else for ~20-25 minutes. Once the food arrived, we couldn’t eat it because we had NO silverware. The waitress came back after ~4-5 minutes later and I asked her for a refill for both of us, silverware, extra napkins (as we didn’t have any) & the extra butter (which I had previously asked for when I ordered). She rolled her eyes and said, “I hear you ma’am!” I’m not sure what sort of service this is called, but it isn’t something I should be forced to pay 18% tip. We received the silverware ~another 5 minutes later (total of 10 minutes). Once that was dropped off (only the silverware), I asked for the other items, she said, “Again, I heard you ma’am.” She proceeded to take a few orders instead of getting the other items I had asked about. A few minutes later she brought the butter, “to go cups” with our refills (I assume that meant that was all she was bringing), and no extra napkins. My food/waffle was so cold that the butter had no chance of melting whatsoever and it took another few minutes just to receive the syrup, as it was not brought out either. I won’t be back whatsoever. My husband said the same. It was so bad and the fact we were FORCED to pay the 18% tip, I wanted to write a review. I don’t even like adding this comment, but I will; I felt like we were treated differently because of our race, as people of color at least received a smile from her. I don’t know about the other treatment of them, but at least a smile. I know the reviews are mixed, and so you take your life into your own hands when you go to this restaurant. We were visitors to this place and the first time. It was so bad that the entire family in Memphis now knows the treatment and are going to share it to their friends and family. Do not go unless you want to go somewhere like Dick’s Last Resort with decent breakfast and cold food. Nothing spectacular, actually, it was pretty awful. Save your money and keep the 18% tip in your pocket

Poor customer service. New to the area and looking for a 2-3 time a week breakfast spot. It won’t be here.

I ate at Big Bad Breakfast on 2/12/2025 For the first time. I will be coming back The service was great Food was great I absolutely loved it

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

There were nice people attending. It was a regular American breakfast with big pancakes on the side. We ordered a biscuit sandwich with spicy bacon and a breakfast plate.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 4

Geat food, service and people. My family and I love this place!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Cajun Omelet, Big Bad Skillet

Excellent food…Redneck eggs Benedict w gravy over easy! Flapjacks, light fluffy tangy whew! Atmosphere loud, could use some dampers on the walls or curtains on glass.

Kid-friendliness: Low key casual

Easily one of the best breakfast places I have been to in a while. The waffle, french toast, and breakfast skillet were AMAZING! The pancakes were so good and easily splitable if you are looking for something to share! We will be coming back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Belgian Waffle, Flapjacks, Big Bad Breakfast Skillet

Delicious...I love this breakfast place it is way better than another broken egg and they are inexpensive...food great customer! service good! atmosphere is comfortable ....when they have a crowd, THEY HAVE A CROWD ...AND THAT is everyday at all times ..so get in where you fit in

Update food is still good prices have surged tremendously I will never eat there again!! How’s orange juice 6dollars for a glass girl bye

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

First of all, they charge 18% gratuity to you even if its just you. The food was ok, the service was terrible. Food took forever to come, and then it was cold.

Horrible experience ordering takeout - twice! I wasn't going to say anything the first time because it could have been a one off, but it just happened again. It's so frustrating to place your order online, show up 20 minutes later and wait another 20 minutes while customer after customer comes in after you and places their order in person, then gets their order 5 minutes later. I'm done with them.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 1

Great service. Good food.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken and Waffles

4 solid stars all day.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Normally, we always have takeout, but today my wife and I decided to stop in for a quick breakfast date. Let me just say, we're glad we did! Our waitress was AMAZING! Her customer service was top tier and she was very attentive.

I ordered a Cranberry Juice with a Breakfast Plate with Scrambled Eggs with cheese, BBB Sausage, and Flapjacks. My wife ordered a Low Country Skillet with Orange Juice. Let me tell you... I wasn't expecting my Flapjacks to be as big and fluffy as they were, so I definitely had leftovers. We definitely enjoyed our breakfast date.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Flapjacks

Breakfast and new connections!!!!
It was great to share space with my daughter and her friend.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Shrimp N Grits

We had a late Sunday breakfast. We started with coffee. It was okay, but not particularly hot, which was a theme that continued for the rest of the meal.

We ordered biscuits and sausage gravy to share. The plate arrived with one large biscuit and the top, not the top half, just the top crust of what had been a small biscuit, in white gravy. The gravy was cold and any sausage was sparce.

I ordered fried chicken & a waffle. Hubs ordered the Big Bad Breakfast skillet with grits.

My chicken was hot and had a beautiful browned batter, but it lacked flavor. The waffle was soggy & room temp. It was so bad I asked for a fresh waffle. Although the next waffle was hot, it wasn't crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, like a waffle should be. It was basically a waffle-shaped pancake. Sadly, neither were served with butter.

Hubby's BBB skillet was hot, but again, not great. It was just scrambled eggs with  meat, peppers & onion. There was one piece of potato in it. He wasn't a fan of the cheese grits, but I did taste the cheddar in them & appreciated that they used a sharp cheese versus mild. His breakfast was served with a biscuit...a large, whole, biscuit. No butter for him either, but it did come with a serving of strawberry preserves. The biscuit was okay. The BBB  biscuits  are not light, fluffy southern biscuits. They have a heavier texture with a crispy bottom & top.

An 18% gratuity was added to our check. That's typically a practice with larger parties, & there was only two of us, but I'm sure they have their reasons.

There wasn't anything on the menu that we wanted to return to try, so we most likely won't visit again.

I hope my review had been helpful, If you found it to be, press the heart. ♥️

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 5