The Tower Center

The Tower Center/​Bistro 33 sits on the 33^rd floor of the Clark Tower in Memphis. While it is famous for hosting events, the bar itself opens Monday-​Friday 4pm-​7pm, offering delicious snacks and honest drinks. During these hours (happy hour), you can have a seat in a classy restaurant with views over the city of Memphis. The prices are amazing as well as the food, with house wine for $ 4 and delicious cheese plates for just $ 8. The menu is small, but the service and ambience are spectacular. Allie was our gracious host and she was friendly and makes a great drink! This is definitely a nice place to have an after-​work drink, with soft lighting and no blaring televisions. Tower Center is definitely worth a visit.

As others have said, this is a hidden jewel in Memphis. No advertising except word of mouth, which keeps this place honest. It really is designed for weddings, big parties and special events, but their lounge/​happy hours are unique and refreshing. The bartenders are friendly and make excellent cocktails. The prices are super affordable for the rather upscale atmosphere, with a great view of Memphis. No draft beers, but plenty of bottled selection and decent variety of wine and spirits. If you haven’t been, try something to eat, anything, its all delicious. The fries are ridiculous and the remoulade sauce would bring me back in its own right. Also cant recommend the crab cakes highly enough. While most food items are not «hearty» the portions are more than enough for a light dinner or appetizer before heading out for the night. The ambience is very relaxed, with comfy chairs, chill music, and is the perfect place to quietly unwind with friends after a long week. They are not open for long, I think its something like 4 – 7 or 8 pm; and only on week days as this venue is almost always booked for some kind of event. Parking is convenient and free! Check out the West side of the Tower and park in the garage, you’ll be on the 3^rd floor with easy access to the elevators. Definitely check this bar out, especially for a date or even for a work dinner/​drinks as it will impress without breaking your wallet!

I LOVE this place. Just don’t everywhere come here at once… I don’t want to share! Delicious small plate food, amazing atmosphere, incredibly cheap drinks. The bartenders are great and friendly, and will try to make you anything that suits your fancy. Allie is totally the best, she’s hands down my favorite bartender OF ALL TIME. She makes great specialty martinis and she’s the best. Ask for a Hello Kitty or a caramel apple martini. Just trust me.

They have a great happy hour special. I believe wine was $ 3-​$ 4 per glass. They also have food specials and the food was very good. They are only open during the week from 4 pm-​7pm and specialize more in catering than restaurant business. The reason for the off key review is that the service was lackluster. There was only one person working the entire space. She was friendly, but could really use some assistance.

This place is kind of a «best kept secret» in my opinion. Atmosphere is almost unbeatable, never crowded, exceptional staff, and a great view 33 stories above Memphis!

I’ve been postponing writing this review because I really don’t want people to know about the weekday happy hour at the tower bar. It is the best happy hour in town! This is my hands-​down favorite place to come to for a fancy drink, and the prices are absolutely amazing! Any drink is virtually for 4 $. And the drinks are phenomenal! The place isn’t usually crowded which I love. And one of the main reasons I’ve been going more often is the awesome bartender they have working there (Allie you’re the bomb!!). She’s so friendly and chatty and always knows what I want to drink without me even saying it. The food here is delicious and incredibly cheap. They also have daily specials for 3 $!! Yes people. Yummy and fancy snack food for 3 $! The other thing I love is the view. Gorgeous. You can also rent the place for weddings or special events. Definitely worth it. They’re open Monday through Friday from 4pm to 7pm. Perfect place to unwind after a long day or to start off the night with a bang! I have to mention that the setting here is slightly fancy. The crowd usually includes older people in suits. This is no place for frat boys or partying undergrads. Which makes it perfect in my opinion, and which is why they close so early. They know exactly which crowd they are tailoring to. Final tip: park in the garage. It’s free! So big yes to this place. I wish I could give it more stars!

Holy moly! That view!
I attended the Special Olympics dinner here a year or two ago and was completely blown away by the view (especially at night… all those pretty lights!)…and yesterday (during the day) was no different (GORGEOUS!).
I’ve heard rumors for awhile now that they a happy hour and it has been on my short list of things I want to try it. Well, yesterday I had a meeting in the bar area at 4 and decided to ring up a few friends after it was over to fully experience their happy hour. And honey, I’m so glad I did.
Their house by the glass is only $ 4 and well liquor is $ 3. Tower Center, I think we’re going to get along just fine (especially since my office is literally next door). But what really impressed me (besides that view), was the food! I am super picky about my cheese plates and not only was it pretty to look at, but it was yummy to eat (kinda important). And the chicken wings? Yes, please! They were so cute and tiny and delicious! I’ve actually never seen pretty chicken wings but somehow they managed to do it (no seriously, check out my photo). I also stole some bites of my dining partner’s french fries and they were indeed just like I like ‘em. And the pizza? Phenomenal! You’ve got to check out my food porn pics!
They also rent out the venue space so take a peek around!

We went last night for happy hour before we met a friend for dinner! I’m obsessed! This is my new favorite happy hour place. Granted, they are only open from 4 – 8, but they have an awesome view! We munched on mashed potato egg rolls. Yes, I said mashed potato egg rolls… Sooooooo good! Drinks are a great price!

Dropped in for a happy hour drink on a Friday night around 5:30. Of course, the draw of the place is the view. The view was good… but SPOILER ALERT: Memphis has a lot of trees. You’ll mostly see the tops of trees. You can see downtown buildings and the pyramid in the distance, planes taking off from the airport, and the cars and the trains along Poplar.
Drinks are reasonably priced — $ 3 – 5. They also have a small bar menu. It was quiet with only a 3 – 4 other parties in the place. As one of the previous reviewers mentioned — it does not have a «Happy Hour”/“TGIFive-o’clock» vibe.
I think it seems like a good place to go for 1) a semi-​romantic/​private after-​work drink date, 2) a business meeting, or 3) a group of people who plan to bring their own fun and don’t want to have to wait for a table or yell in a crowded bar.

Heard they had a fantastic happy hour, was looking forward to it, finally made it to the top of Clark Tower to experience it. Truth be told, perhaps the worst happy hour atmosphere I’ve ever experienced. Yes, the view, the view, the view was great. There was only 1 waitress/​bartender for the entire place. When we arrived, only 3 tables were occupied, 1 by the people we were meeting. Initial drink order — fast. But, you don’t twist a lime in a Crown & 7, especially when the 7 is flat. Apps were good, cheese plate and chicken pizza. Pizza was the best of all. Another round came timely, but, then…1 worker was behind the bar, couldn’t get out, a few more people showed up, but, not over crowded, in fact, disappointed there weren’t too many people there. Had to eventually go to the bar to get our tab.
I’d rather go to a HH where there’s: 1 — people, 2 — fun atmosphere, 3– nice drink & food options. They need a shot of B-​12 or something to survive. (& is Molly Ringwald coming there on ⁸⁄₁₀ equal to a shot of B-​12, I don’t know)

Full disclosure: I used to work here and Bartend the happy hour. So I am a little biased but I am still a paying customer
Now that that is out of the way I won’t talk the place up I will just state a few facts.
This space is primarily an event space for all types of banquets, meetings, dinners and parties BUT…
Mon — Fri they also have a happy hour from 4−7ish.
All Drinks are half price (of what you would pay at event). $ 3 wells to $ 5 top (grey goose, crown type premium).
The food is fancy for bar food but awesome.
This place is not normally a party scene during happy hour, its a good quiet calm place to get a cheap drink and chill with friends.
Last but not least the view is the best you can get anywhere in Memphis that is not downtown.

Clark Tower is a massive, almost sky-​scraping building in East Memphis that houses offices and a bank. But until last week, I didn’t know that it also had a bar.
The bar, which is located on the 33^rd floor, is called the Tower Room. And, contrary to my initial impression at finding out that there’s a bar in Clark Tower, you don’t have to be some kind of captain of industry to drink there. You just take the elevator all the way up and walk in.
And once you walk in, it’s kind of awesome. The room is lined with huge arched windows that give a panoramic view of Memphis at rush hour.
The Tower Room isn’t all about the view, though — they’ve also got one of the best happy hours in Memphis. All of the drinks (including top shelf) are half price from 4 p.m. — 7 p.m., meaning that you can get a quality beverage for less than $ 5. They’ve got a small menu, too.

WARNING FOR BRIDES OR REALLY ANYONE PLANNING AN EVENT!
I am so heartbroken about what has transpired. My brother and his fiancée are getting married Feb. 26 of 2011. I have been searching and helping to plan the wedding (as I am maid-​of-​honor & the bride is an out-​of-​town bride living in Nashville) since June. I went to view The Tower Room on July 11^th as a possible venue for the reception. A man named Lance showed us the room that day and said, if we decided on the place, a woman named Kristen would be working with us. We were told at that time that the date was free.
I loved the view. The ballrooms were a bit 1920s feel, but they were nice. The view was the winner and after looking at reviews of the place and hearing the details on rates I was convinced that this was it. The bride and groom were there that day and equally loved the place, but preferred the Summit Ballroom, the bigger ballroom.
By Mid-​August we had started making payments to make the down-​posit of, I think $ 1,800 with a room rate of $ 6,000 minimum. At this point we were working with another girl, I have forgotten her name as my mother was the one making the payments. We were again told at this time that the date was free. By this point Kristen (I believe her name was) had been fired. By the time we were around to the second payment we were now back to working with Lance as that girl had now been fired. He had written up a contact, promising us the Summit Ballroom (in the contact), and saying we were making payments on the down-​posit and saying that by Feb. 15 all the money for the room was to be due. We went up there almost weekly with payments. Basic details for the event being confirmed each week, with them taking our money. We made payments for some time before we had a death in the family were we stopped making payments for about three weeks.
It came time to order invitations and we called to check the room and everything. In mid-​November we spoke with a woman who told us we did have the Summit Ballroom for the 26^th and so on. We had also called a couple times previous to this and spoken to other women supposedly working there who confirmed the same details.
A week after we ordered the invitations ($ 600) they called and told us we no longer had the Summit Ballroom, they had given it to a bigger party of 250 people (we only had 200) that had supposedly been booked since July. They were sorry for the mistake but they would be able to put us in the smaller ballroom. We did not want the smaller ballroom as it is a long, very odd rectangular shape. We were VERY upset and did not buy that this party had been booked since July. They then told us that Lance had now been fired. They offered us free drinks and linens of our desire. We said we would consider it and that we wanted to view the room again and discuss it that Sunday as it was the only day the bride would be in town until December. She was having the bridal shower Saturday and leaving Sunday and the only possible time she could meet would be Sunday morning.
We were called back a couple days later (the day before the bridal shower at my house) and told that they were taking everything back that they said (as the drinks and linens go), that we had suddenly breached our contact, and we were told by some woman that we must speak with Wade, the owner, who was unable to speak at that time. This was the first time we had heard of Wade!
When my mother spoke with Wade today (for the first time ever, his existence only being revealed when his name was mentioned in the previous phone conversation) he told her that we had breached the contact (by supposedly not making the down-​posit in time??? although a time is not specified on the contact) and they were keeping the money ($ 1,400) and were not offering us any ballroom and were finished with us. When my mother tried to explain that Lance had said this and that she was told that it did not matter what Lance said. Wade would not let her get a word-​in at that point. She replied, «I am trying to say something.» Wade then replied rudely, «Well, I am done with listening to what you have to say.» And at that point he hung up. It was 5 minute conversation, monopolized by him telling us that we had no options and were without a venue for the reception when the wedding is just three months away!
My mother spent most of today in an attorney’s office in tears over the whole ordeal.
The new management of The Tower Room is disorganized, rude, and unprofessional. After the second «firing» we should have ceased everything with them. This is the most horrific thing that could have happened in the wedding planning, and in this economy with our families’ budget, $ 1,400 is not something that we can just allow to be stolen from us.
I am so upset and I hope no bride or event planner has to undergo something like this

Located on the 33^rd floor of the East Memphis landmark, Clark Tower, The Tower Room is an excellent choice for events of all kinds.
Perfect for business meetings, weddings, rehearsal dinners, etc., the view is extraordinary either day or evening. As I understand it, they have a new catering manager who’s working on a new menu and dining options.
I’ve been to lunch and dinner here in the past The food was great and I loved the elegant atmosphere — and coupled with the incredible view, it’s unlike any other venue in the city.