5 Spot: A hidden gem of Downtown/date night recommendation

If you’re not familiar with the 5 Spot on G.E. Patterson, you should be. You’d never expect the room behind dive bar Earnestine & Hazel’s to be a place to get a fine dinner, but that’s exactly what it is.

It’s open Friday and Saturday nights. The menu changes every night; the chef buys whatever he feels like cooking, and when he runs out, he’s out. For this reason it’s advisable not to go there for a late 9 PM dinner. Here’s a recent menu that was posted on the window.

Click the menu to see it at a larger size.

I’ve never heard of any of my friends having a bad meal there. It’s a great spot to take a date for dinner.

Hmmm… how about this for a Downtown date itinerary: Dinner at 8 at 5 Spot, then a trip to E&H to see the upstairs and to have a drink at Nate’s bar. Then a trolley ride north for a drink at the Silly Goose or Automatic Slim’s or the Peabody lobby, then dancing at Paula & Raiford’s or Rehab Disco, then a late-night breakfast at Cockadoos. That offers several options and is bound to impress, and never once do you have set foot on Beale Street.