LEO's Eats with Robin Garr
The blue and white logo on the western side of Decca’s 136-year-old building in NuLu may be painted to look weathered and old, but this popular spot is actually one of the hottest new tickets in its rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.
But it would be a mistake to think of Decca as merely another NuLu hipster hangout. Consider it instead an icon-in-the-making, book-ending the eastern end of the downtown strip as Proof on Main holds down the west.
Although Proof gains from its connection to the feisty, artsy 21c Museum Hotel while Decca stands alone in a three-story brick building that previously housed part of the now-departed Wayside Christian Mission, I see many more similarities than differences between these two destination eateries.
Like Proof, Decca’s attractive dining room offers a classy scene that echoes with a joyful noise but stops short of eardrum-shattering conversational thunder. Decca’s cool subterranean, stonewalled bar and comfy lounge may be even more inviting than Proof’s street-corner scene, though I’d gladly enjoy a cocktail in either.
Both restaurants feature creative and interesting menus of well-crafted cuisine at an upscale price point, and each brings a certain sensibility from a major city: Proof seeks to meld a taste of New York and a whiff of Tuscany with a Southern accent. Decca’s eclectic tastes of the Pacific Rim channel the soul of San Francisco with no pretense.
During a recent visit to Decca, we shared dining space with an array of customers, from millennials to 80-somethings and just about every bracket in between; and I’m reliably informed that they’re gracious and helpful even to families with well-behaved children in tow. With its alluring variety of dining rooms and bars within the multi-story facilities — plus an attractive patio and al fresco balcony reminiscent of the Vieux Carre — it’s Decca for the win.
Our party of four was hard-pressed to find a single flaw in food, mood or service during an indulgent evening.
Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/decca ... the-making
And in LEO Weekly:
http://leoweekly.com/dining/decca-icon-making
Decca
812 E. Market St.
749-8128
http://deccarestaurant.com
Rating: 94