Louisville’s bourbon reputation precedes it. But the city’s culinary scene is just as deserving of attention. Between tastings and tours of Louisville’s twenty distilleries, it’s essential to take time for more hearty refreshment, and there’s an embarrassment of riches to be found.
Step back in time at Jack Fry’s, a restaurant that evokes Jazz Age charm and has served customers since 1933. As piano music tinkles in the background, enjoy spicy fried oysters, shrimp and grits in redeye gravy, pork chops, and beef fillet. Or taste the food of a Chopped champion, chef Dallas McGarity, at The Fat Lamb. This seasonally inspired, globally influenced Highlands restaurant is where you’ll find hot sauce–marinated fried chicken and butternut squash falafel on the same menu.
Unsurprisingly, steak houses thrive here—there’s something timeless about the union of a fine cut and a well-poured dram. Experience the classic appeal at Pat’s Steakhouse, a beloved institution steeped in old-school charm. Or explore how Asian influences elevate the genre at Nami Steakhouse, where chef Edward Lee infuses Korean flavors into his bold, contemporary approach to the steak-house tradition. Almost every fine-dining establishment offers a prime cut. Take Decade, where you can taste a prime rib eye plated with confit ramps following an inventive baby beet and smoked eggplant salad. Or the French bistro M. Peppers, where steak frites never leave the menu. Watch Hill Proper can also set you right with beef tenderloin with sauce au poivre or a juicy Iberico Secreto, an Italian pork dish much like a flank steak. You can even take the perfect pairing of bourbon and a bavette dish home from Red Hog Restaurant and Butcher Shop, an artisanal butcher all about nose-to-tail dining.
Craving something a little unexpected? Head to MeeshMeesh Mediterranean, one of the city’s most buzzed-about dining destinations, where chef Noam Bilitzer serves up a “love letter to Jerusalem and Kentucky.” The menu brims with Levantine specialties—think lamb merguez—reimagined with Southern soul. For a final taste of home, make your way to North of Bourbon, a Southern-Creole standout inspired by the flavors and folklore of New Orleans that seamlessly fits into the richly diverse culinary landscape
of Louisville.
Make Louisville your destination for dining at GoToLouisville.com
