Onix

So here’s the thing about Onix, don’t set your expectations too high or else you’ll be disappointed. But if you expect to get some heavily liquored drinks, some fried food, really loud music and some good people watching… you’ll be perfectly satisfied. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a gourmet meal and soft jazz, this isn’t your place.
I generally go to Onix for the happy hour. The menu and the website advertise that their happy hour on Tues-​Fri is 2 for 1 drinks. Well I went on Thursday, and it had changed (magically) to $ 5 well drinks. The waitress said they wouldn’t honor the advertised special, but I figured that even if she did they would just charge $ 10 per drink so I might as well not complain. I asked at the house vodka was and she had no idea. I opted against the house special and just order a cocktail from the menu. Although tasty and fruity, I couldn’t taste a lick of alcohol. I noted that on he the second round and the bartender tried a little harder to put more than a dash of vodka in the drink.
On the food menu, if it isn’t fried, you probably aren’t eating. Not to say there are salads on the menu, but that just isn’t what they do. And they can make some mean wings, chicken fingers fried shrimp etc., but that’s about it. So no diets around these parts.
Also– on Thursdays they have live music, which is an older guy that sings the hits and will serenade anyone celebrating their birthday. It could be really nice if the venue were larger and the music had space to resonate. But I found myself looking forward to the bands intermissions so that I could hear myself talking to my friend at dinner.

I have frequented this place for about 4 years and I have always enjoyed the atmosphere, live music, and décor. The vibe is intimate and the décor is artistic and a bit abstract. It is really good for small groups, especially in nights with live entertainment which are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
The service can be hit or miss depending on the waiter/​waitress. My most recent visit was on a Thursday when there were 3 for 1 drinks and a live band. Like I mentioned before, I love the live entertainment! The band was great and played neo-​soul, jazz, and old school r&b music. The service wasn’t so hot. I sat down and waited about 10mins to be greeted by my server and when my whole party arrived, it took 45mins for our food to arrive after we ordered. We didn’t get any explanation about the long wait time while we wondered where our food was. In fact, we didn’t even see our waiter busy serving others; she was nowhere to be seen on the floor. When she finally appeared, we flagged her down and inquired about our orders (appetizers and entrees, neither of which we’d seen yet). She said the kitchen was swamped and promised our food would be out soon. 5 mins later our food appeared and we asked for water (the whole party had been here for about an hour at this point). We got water about 30mins after originally asking for it. We had to ask for our checks too and that was another 30mins for those. This is the type of service we usually experience with this server each time she serves us. If it wasn’t for the great live entertainment, I would stop coming here because of the spotty service. I will say that when I have other servers they are quite attentive. In sum, music and atmosphere are great, food is good, service is hit or miss. Still a decent local spot.
Also, Thursday night 3 for 1 drinks and live band is advertised as a no cover charge night. BUT, the price of the drinks are increased by about 4 bucks because of the no cover charge. This is new and of course our waiter didn’t explain this until we had questions about our checks. Defeats the purpose of a happy hour.

I was pre-​disposed to like Onix, because the lunch prices were good and the atmosphere was pleasant, but I won’t be back.
The waitress took my order quickly, which I appreciated. Then the food didn’t come. At the point when I was getting ready to ask if something had gone wrong, the waitress came to report that the food was coming right out. But it wasn’t — it took more than twenty minutes extra and two more inquiries. When the food did come, it was mediocre, and the burger was lukewarm.
Three things made it worse than it had to be: the waitress’s attempt to misled me when she said that the food would be right out; her attempt to make excuses afterward by describing how swamped the cook got; and her not bringing anything to take the edge off when I asked, then accounting for it by saying, «We can only bring you what you order.» Seriously? I asked for a side salad. How much stronger does the request have to get?

they have one of my favorite meals – pecan crusted trout. the combo of the fish with rice and a salad (on the plate which i usually abhor) is perfect! i have to go there at least once per month and would go more often if i thought about it! the price is reasonable at lunch, but a little too pricey for the same meal in the evening.
i have never been for their happy hour but i hear it is great… cool jazzy atmosphere! i intend to try it!
it is a great, hidden gem!

I planned a party for 20 people and made a reservation for 6:30pm a week in advance. I also called to confirm the reservation the day before. I was told nothing about having to pay a $ 10 cover when I called both times. When I got there I was told that everyone had to pay a cover if they wanted to come in or they would be escorted out. We paid the $ 10 at 6:30 which was for the band who didn’t go on until around 8:00. The only tables reserved were the 3 nearest the door and we were told we had to fill one table at a time before moving on to the next table. Keep in mind it’s 30 something degrees out and we were right by the door and they would not let us move further in the restaurant to our «reserved» tables. The 3 tables only sat 14 people and with 20 people… well, you do the math. I had the chicken quesadillas which I was told by the waitress were not made in house because the spicy tomatoes could not be taken out. A «well» drink cost $ 8 which is an outrageous price considering top shelf was only $ 2 more. I worked in a well known bar/​restaurant in Memphis for 8 years and know the ins and outs of restaurant/​bar industries. This is not how you treat a party that will bring you $$$ in one night sales. I will not return.

Onix has turned things around, at least on Thursday Nights! NO cover charge and the band is AMAZING! The entrees are ok, but I recommend focusing on the appetizers. The artichoke spinach dip, buffalo shrimp, shrimp scampi, and quesadillas are awesome. The pecan pie and carrot cake are delicious too! They come served warm. Taste like they were just made! They also have 3 for one drinks 4/5−7pm.
The only negative was the music was really loud so having a conversation was hard to do. BUT it was worth it. Love the band on Thursday night!

WORST service ever in my life! Server was very rude. Also beware that you have to pay $ 10 at the door after 6:30 to even get in the place. Would never go back there even for a free meal.

This place is not bad but it is not good either. Our table of three arrived at 1:30 after a great visit to the civil rights museum down the block. We sat out side at one of their three tables.
The menu offers the standard burgers, salads, catfish and side. I had the Unmemorable fried catfish and a side of the chicken eggrolls (which taste kind of like deep fried chicken bartitoes.) Blah.
The waitress was awful. You’d have thought it was her first day because she had no idea how to serve, poor water, what was on the menu. And she was sassy in a not friendly way.
Apparently they close at 2:00 pm because she came and asked to take our full water glasses away at 2:05 «because they were now closed» seriously, we were sitting outside and had just spent over $ 50 on lunch and you can’t find something else to do but chase away paying customers from you patio 5 minutes after you close at 2:00 the afternoon.
Leaves a bad taste in my mouth as a tourist who just spent the morning at one of the nation’s important landmarks.
Don’t bother.

Overall this restaurant is nice. The food, drinks and service is very good. Be aware of the hidden fees/​charges such as $ 10 cover charge after 6:30pm although the live music doesn’t begin until 8pm. Also there is an automatic 18% gratuity for parties (even ours of only 5). I received a message that my entrée would be free for my birthday but when I got there the waitress said they wouldn’t honor it.
I ordered the chicken egg rolls as an appetizer and they were good. The strawberry martini was excellent and my main meal was the (grilled) chicken and waffle with a maple cream sauce. The grilled chicken was good; waffle was pretty good and the maple sauce was okay but I would get it on the side next time. The regular (fried) chicken and waffle is very good.
The live music was okay this evening. Band and singer was great… just slow and could almost put you to sleep. She serenaded me for my birthday and it made me happy.

I am headed to the Civil Rights museum and found this restaurant in route. The staff is very pleasant and helpful. I’m big on ambiance and the restaurant has a great vibe. Cute décor and canvas art work!
The food was basic: sandwiches, burgers, salads but the food was well done and prompt.

I called to have them fax a copy of their menu for my company to order a large quantity of food for a lunch meeting. Emoter refused to fax menu and was very rude and didn’t want to help me.

I ate lunch there last week, it was Friday and I decided to slurge on a steak. I was really disapointed but it was partly my fault so I am going to give them 3 stars. I ordered the prim rib and normally I would order a steak medium rare in hopes of receiving it no more cooked than medium. For some reason I told the guy medum, which means my steak was well done, A medium steak should have a warm pink center, there was zero pink in that steak. Thankfully it was not dry like a well done steak would normally be. I don’t understand why cooks always overcook a steak but they do. The mashed potatos were ok, could have been a bit more flavorful. The saving grace was the huge side salad of fresh sping greens, tomatoes and the best tasting croutons I have ever eaten, and I normally pick the croutons out. The service was friendly and efficiant. I will more than likely return but will remember to request it less than how I really want it cooked.

Not a lot a diferente types of licor and waitres does not know anything about the drinks

I really, really, really wanted to like this place. It has a great location on South Main and has the perfect patio to sit on and people watch! I took my family to Trolley nights and decided to eat here… Our hostess and server were beyond adorable and were probably the friendliest people I have ever encountered at a restaurant. (Which is why I wanted to love this place so badly)
We sat outside and quickly ordered. I ordered the grillshire chicken and it was just meh. Nothing special the rice was bland and the chicken was dry. My mother ordered the coconut crusted tilapia… it was so spicy she could hardly eat half of it… it tasted if the sauce was just straight Frank’s hot sauce. My dad ordered the fried catfish plate and was literally served 25 pieces of fried fish… just what he needed post heart attack right? He thought it was great, but most likely because its been a month since he’s ordered anything fried. Mitch H. ordered chicken and waffles… it was served with grilled chicken and a maple sauce. I didn’t taste the chicken because he shoved it all off and just ate the waffle… He wasn’t crazy about the sauce, but I thought it was great! The waffle was cooked perfectly too!
If I were rating for the service I would give 5 stars, but the food just doesn’t match the quality!

Lame! Got there with a party of around 15 people. We had a reservation. The restaurant didn’t have any tables reserved for us and ended up cramming us into two tables right near the front door. We were freezing our butts off half the night every time someone opened the door to come in. Not what should happen when you make reservations! The staff seemed totally unbothered about the fact that *no* provisions had been made to honor our reservation.
The first thing I noticed when I walked in were two ginormous dummy bottles of Pama sitting on the bar. Pama is one of my favorite liqueurs, so I asked the bartender what cocktails they had that used Pama. «None,» they said. They didn’t actually have any Pama behind the bar for use in drinks. Huh? So why feature those enormous dummy bottles? «Just decoration.» O… K…
I’m pretty sure you are supposed to use those things to advertise what you *do* have, not what you don’t, but whatever.
I ordered a cocktail off their list and waited fifteen minutes until I finally went up to the bar to see what happened to my drink. It was made and just sitting, forlorn, on a counter behind the bar! A bartender brought it out to my table at that time.
Two members of our party arrived late and the (surly, unwelcoming) hostess insisted that they pay a $ 10 cover because they arrived after 7pm. TACKY. Yes, I understand there is a cover but if you have a large party like ours I think it is simply tacky to charge two latecomers a cover. That’s just me. After some argument, the manager on duty agreed to waive the cover.
Service was slow as molasses even when the place was barely half-​full. The menu was completely unoriginal, boring, and uninspired. There was nothing on it that I wouldn’t throw together at home on a *lazy* night. Fried shrimp, grilled chicken breast, salads, etc. I just thought it was completely meh.
The food was acceptable, but not great. I couldn’t see why I would feel the need to come to a restaurant to eat this stuff. There was absolutely no vision or real skill/​technique whatsoever.
I will say that the cocktails I had – the «Remedy Martini» with Remy Martin in it and the «Baby Blu» with Hypnotiq in it were both tasty and I thought reasonably priced, but I’m from the northeast and the southerners I was with seemed to feel that at $ 10 a drink the prices were out of line for the area, so I have to trust their judgment on that. The drinks were good, though, and strong.
A live jazz act came on later in the evening and they were very good. So maybe I would recommend this place for drinks and music but honestly I would try somewhere else first because the service was just so completely lacking.

Very nice atmosphere, the service was very nice and prompt for the lunch hour. The food was delicious and is a must-​visit-​spot for me again.

I haven’t been here in a while, but I used to come here all the time. Really cool atmosphere and the bartender Jason is really friendly. I haven’t had much of their food, but the burgers and their chicken sandwiches are good. The prices are reasonable and it’s a fun addition to the South Main District.