New restaurant in Lexington

Lexington had a new high-end Cuban restaurant that just opened. It sounds wonderful and beautiful in every respect. Hopefully the fact that is owned by the franchisee for 23 Cheddars restaurant isn't a bad sign. Here's the article from Insider Louisville: Coba Cocina

Whoa! Is Lexington a foodie town? Will it support something that grand. I could see that concept in Vegas. I told Mark we need to get over to Lexington and check out the culinary scene. What restaurants would all of you recommend?

Whoa! Is Lexington a foodie town? Will it support something that grand. I could see that concept in Vegas. I told Mark we need to get over to Lexington and check out the culinary scene. What restaurants would all of you recommend?

The answer is yes. Lexington has fantastic restaurants. With Keeneland, large horse farms, and a high profile basketball program Lexington has a lot of opportunity for great restaurants.

Some of the finer options:

Holly Hill
Table 310
Dudley's
Jonathan at Gratz Park

Some of the cheaper side bets:

Tolly Ho
Windy Corner
Wallace Station
Stella's
Good Foods Co-op

Great local micro breweries:

Country Boy Brews
West 6th

Jonathan's was very disappointing, I thought. I don't suggest it unless you want to spend a lot of money in 1992. The place is stodgy and the menu is dull. The last time I was there my salmon was over cooked, the potatoes were limp and greasy and the asparagus was floppy.

I like Dudley's a lot better if you want traditional. They do a very nice lunch too.

I adore Table 310. Highly suggested.

I will add Shakespeare & Company to the "cheaper side" list. It is really fun and the food is pretty good.

I can't wait to try the new Cuban place. My Lexington exile ends in a month but I will try to check it out soon.

I'm not crazy about any of Lexington's white-tablecloth places, and I agree with MichelleS regarding Jonathan's (and you are also right about Dudley's: it's better than Jonathan's, but still nothing really special). I find Azur particularly puzzling--the chef is a good guy, he uses quality ingredients, and sometimes comes up with great recipes, but he usually drowns his food in nasty sweet sauces or finds some other way to sabotage a perfectly good cut of meat/fish. Lexington doesn't have anything that can compete with Lousiville's best places (they are comparable in price, though!)

Table 310 is about the best thing going in downtown Lexington, but it's never quite as exciting as Louisville places like Rye or Blind Pig (and it's also usually more expensive than those places)

Holly Hill Inn and Windy Corner are quite good, but I don't care for Wallace Station. Some of our ethnic places are quite good: Tomo, Sugano, Sahara, Old San Juan, Arirang, El Rancho Tapatio. and Good Foods Co-Op is an interesting place, with great soups on their hot-bar.

I will try the cuban place. I suspect that it will do well in Lexington if it meets these criteria: 1) huge plates of food 2) cheap prices

I also agree about not recommending Jonathan's. I wrote about a very negative experience there in a post around 18 months ago, and have seen no reason to return.

We have had slightly better luck than Blake with Azur; in the summer, especially, with the outdoor spaces and weekend band, it's a fun atmosphere. While we don't disagree about the sweet sauces, the overall experience is still pretty good.

We usually tend to go more to Malone's and that family. The food isn't wonderful, but for a very plain dinner with good drinks they do know their clientele!

Table 310 is just OK but I've only been for brunch and the menu is much smaller.

I agree with the above sentiments about Jonathan's.

A real gem in Lexington is Yamaguchi's Sake and Tapas. It's a very small izakaya (big part of Japanese drinking culture) but the food and hospitality is out of this world. The menu is very different than the standard sushi/teppanyaki joints. Look no further than this place....for real.

Try the miso-cured broiled pork jowl (from Kurobuta pigs no less); anything from the daily specials menu (fresh sashimi on the weekends); or anything else that might appeal to you. It is so freaking excellent that Yo-Yo Ma and his crew was in there recently.

Table 310 is just OK but I've only been for brunch and the menu is much smaller.

I agree with the above sentiments about Jonathan's.

A real gem in Lexington is Yamaguchi's Sake and Tapas. It's a very small izakaya (big part of Japanese drinking culture) but the food and hospitality is out of this world. The menu is very different than the standard sushi/teppanyaki joints. Look no further than this place....for real.

Try the miso-cured broiled pork jowl (from Kurobuta pigs no less); anything from the daily specials menu (fresh sashimi on the weekends); or anything else that might appeal to you. It is so freaking excellent that Yo-Yo Ma and his crew was in there recently.

While I can't wait to try Yamaguchi's, an interesting note on their web page reads: "Our phone number is not listed and the phone is turned off all the time " That is the first time I've ever seen that for a restaurant outside of some in NYC trying to build a word-of-mouth rep!

Lexington would become a foodie town overnight if you opened a Coal's there Madeline

Just thinking out-loud Jeremy Heck, they bring all their restaurants here. Thanks for the suggestions from all of you. It would be a fun overnight to go and check the city out.

Sahara (http://www.sahara-lex.com/) = well prepared middle eastern / near eastern food. This place gets very busy at lunch for good reason. Has an adjoining store / market.

Masala Indian (http://eatatmasala.com/) - located in the same shopping center as Sahara. This is our favorite Indian in Lex. (update: last experience there was not great)

Lex has quite a number of sushi places, in part due to the Toyota factory in Georgetown. Nagasaki was generally our go-to place but it's been a while and we've not kept up with the newer places.

Sav's Grill (http://www.savsgrill.com/) -- West African food, near campus. Nicely done, friendly folks.

There are several newer BBQ places in different parts of town.

Village Idiot has an adventurous gastropub menu and a fantastic beer list.

I second Sahara and Good Foods. My go to lunch spots in Lexington.

I have to say the Yamaguchi restaurant caught my eye. There are a lot of sushi restaurants in Louisville but they are so focused on their "roll" offerings. All good, but it gets a little boring. I like a little adventure when it comes to sushi I have been to a restaurant in Midway. Would you consider that Lexington? Really cute town.

I was always a fan of Joe Bologna.

While I can't wait to try Yamaguchi's, an interesting note on their web page reads: "Our phone number is not listed and the phone is turned off all the time " That is the first time I've ever seen that for a restaurant outside of some in NYC trying to build a word-of-mouth rep!

They really go out of their way to create an atmosphere and make their guests feel comfortable. I have even heard of them turning away parties that are larger than six people...in order to maintain their cozy and intimate atmosphere.