Everything’s coming up Swamp Bar
Swamp Bar keeps coming up. The historic home-turned-restaurant at 2146 Monroe Ave. still shares a kitchen with the neighboring Second Line at 2144 Monroe Ave., as did Panta and Restaurant Iris before it. And like all those, it’s a part of the Kelly English restaurant family.
Swamp Bar opened in December 2023, replacing the Spanish tapas joint Panta. At the time, Derk Meitzler said it would be a pop-up concept focused on Creole fusion food and cocktails.
Meitzler is the Restaurant Iris group’s director of operations, managing both Swamp Bar and The Second Line.
So far, Swamp Bar has stuck around and kept with that initial Asian-Creole fusion menu concept. There have been a few changes, but staples like the Korean red-sauce wings, pork-belly banh mi and steak Saigon are still available.
The food is accessible and with starters, sandwiches and full entrees, it’s versatile for diners seeking either small plates to share or a meal in courses.
Flaky Leidenheimer French bread — the same used at the Second Line for po’boys — filled with rich, salty pork belly, pickled veggies and a slice of smoked ham composes Swamp Bar’s take on the Vietnamese bahn mi.
Sides are ordered separately, including a comfort-food-level dish of cheesy coconut grits, the same that come with the panang curry shrimp and grits.
The sauce on the Korean wings is gochujang with umami chili flavor and a slightly spicy kick. Thai food’s takeout staple is represented with the crawfish pad thai.
Meitzler said a new fall cocktail and food menu will be released in late September, and that means the return of the yakamein noodle dish.
“It’s known in New Orleans as the ‘Old Sober,’” Meitzler said. “It’s a play on ramen ... a late-night thing coming off Bourbon Street and something you might want to put in your belly.”
Yakamein’s noodles are spaghetti, rather than ramen, and Swamp Bar’s recipe uses braised pot roast, shrimp and mushrooms in a beef broth. Also slated for fall is a new dish featuring chicken-soup dumplings in a miso red-curry broth and the option to have red fish instead of tofu with the coconut lemongrass curry.
“We’re excited about the fall and winter months and the holidays,” he said, adding he plans to add more nightly and weekly specials.
A happy hour with prices from the past that includes $4 well drinks and $6 house wines is on from 5 to 8 p.m. daily. Bartender Sam Reeves Hill mixes up batches of house margaritas with fresh lime juice daily for the $5 house margarita special, and she makes a spicy margarita option.
Swamp Bar has plentiful seating at the bar, dining room and a front patio. And it’s open until midnight Wednesdays through Sundays. The late menu goes into effect at 10 p.m. daily.
That late-dinner option is what sparked Daily Memphian reporter Laura Testino’s interest.
Testino, an enterprise reporter, is one of three staffers interviewed on this week’s “Sound Bites.” We revisited an interview series begun this spring in Sound Bites season 6, episodes 13-15, where staff and reporters join me on the mic for rapid-fire interviews.
As we did before, I encouraged all the guests to spill their Memphis dining “hot takes,” or controversial ideas or opinions.
In her portion of the podcast, Testino shares an underrated Memphis restaurant, king-cake knowledge from her time in New Orleans and her thoughts on having dinner after 8:30 or 9 p.m, which included a Swamp Bar shoutout.
“I would previously go to Panta for a late-night dessert and drink,” she said. “So I appreciated that there is still a good late-night spot.”
The Overton Square area restaurant came up again in the interview with digital producer Alys Drake, who writes The Daily Memphian’s monthly theater roundups.
She shared her favorite spots for pre-theater dining, including the Swamp Bar — it’s very close to Overton Square’s venues — and offers a piping-hot take on tipping and takeout.
I also talked with Maymo Hawkins, digital ad operations specialist, who has several wishes for the Memphis dining scene, a new Cooper Young coffee spot and a recommendation for a Downtown staple that’s recently added brunch service.
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Topics
Swamp Bar Derk Meitzler Overton Square Restaurant Iris Kelly EnglishHolly Whitfield
Holly has more than 13 years of experience in publishing and digital content, including 10 years at the helm of the I Love Memphis Blog. She began her career at The Commercial Appeal and is author of Secret Memphis.
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