I attended the friends and family night at Bishop restaurant August 3rd at Central Station Hotel. According to the invitation, the event was held so Bishop could reveal its new menu.
The restaurant was closed several days prior to the event. The invite stated, “We are using this time as a reset. We have spent this week fine-tuning our space, while revamping and refreshing our current systems.”
I asked Andy Ticer, who, along with Michael Hudman, owns the restaurant (along with Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Catherine & Mary’s, and Hog & Hominy restaurants), what that meant.
“Sometimes we need to take a second and re-evaluate what we’re trying to achieve and how we’re getting there,” Ticer says. “And if the way we are doing it is the best version of that.
“And we felt we needed to dive into the food and the hospitality and just kind of do a refresh. Slow it down for a second and really concentrate on training. And just focus on getting dialed in there. Sometimes we need to do that every once in a while.
“That takes a couple of days to get in there and talk to people. What works and what doesn’t. Ways to become better.”
I asked what ways they felt they could get better. “Hospitality. From when you walk in the door, our table-side service, and, of course, the menu and the knowledge that the team has on cocktail, wine, and food.”
They also have a new chef: Christopher Zelinski, who started two weeks ago at Bishop, Ticer says.
First of all, I think Bishop is one of the most beautiful restaurants in Memphis. I’ve heard the view from the inside looking out compared to being in a restaurant in New York or Paris.
The interior of the 3,500 square-foot space has black-and-white Cathedral-style flooring and lots of windows. Natalie Lieberman of Collect + Curate Studio with the help of Anna Wunderlich designed the interior, which Lieberman told me in a 2019 story that she created as a narrative based on the name “Bishop.”
As my story states: “Earthly elements, including leaves and mushrooms, combine with objects, including keys and bells, that go along with ‘Bishop,’ Lieberman says.
“There’s also a ‘spiritual underlying theme’ with the stars, beads, and tarot card, she says.
“A bishop’s cape from France is in a frame on one wall. Butch Anthony of the Museum of Wonder in Alabama created the hand painting in the dining room.
“‘Moody and rich textured’ was the feel she was going for at Bishop, Lieberman says.”
I loved everything I ate. My favorite was the escargot with persillade, country ham, lemon butter, and popovers. And make sure you try the shishito peppers with potatoes, lemon, chives, and crispy onions.
I also loved the tuna carpaccio with green beans, sun gold tomatoes, bell peppers, tarragon, olives, and capers.
The tasty “Steak Frites” was a New York strip, French fries, and sauce au poivre. They also serve chicken, snapper, lamb chops, “Mussels & Frites,” and the “Bishop Burger.”
My all-time-favorite Ticer-Hudman restaurant dessert, “Sticky Toffee Pudding,” is on the menu. I also tried the perfect creme brûlée with vanilla, orange, and caramelized sugar.
As the menu describes the restaurant, Bishop is “a fine place at the corner of South Main and G. E. Patterson.”
I agree.
