Mesh Open?

OK, it has been a very long time that I've missed the soft opening of a new place, but the opening of Mesh has totally slipped off the radar and has not been at least mentioned on HotBytes....the first I was aware was a mention in passing FaceBook and then Mesh showing up in the scroll for Open Table.....

Has anyone been?

Impressions?

It's still not listed on the Cunningham Restaurant Group's web site, and driving by the parking lot isn't really there yet . . . have a feeling they're still in the "prep" stages, and set up with Open Table (tho no menu there) even though not yet open.

Can't wait for the place to open, though, as we think the Indy Mesh is a great place!

Someone in the Louisville press tweeted about it being delicious the other day...Steve Coomes? Terry Meiners? Can't remember. Anyway, they must be at least doing some soft openings or media previews.

According to Insider Louisville article today the restaurant did officially open yesterday! Here's a quote from the article:
"Mesh now open — finally: Indianapolis-based Cunningham Restaurant Group opened Mesh on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 3608 Brownsboro Road, known to many as the site of Azalea Restaurant and Bauer’s 1870’s Tavern.

In the next few days, we’ll have a full story on the restaurant, but until then, just know it’s a beautiful upscale-casual space serving a wide-ranging and eclectic menu drawing on multiple cuisines and culinary discipline. (As a former chef, it makes my head hurt to consider making it all work — which is more proof of my many shortcomings in that role.) Appetizer prices range from $6 to $15, while entrees run from $19 to $35.

The Louisville location’s website is not yet active, but you can get an idea of its menu by clicking here for the Indy lineup. Honestly, I’m most drawn to the bar menu, a small-plate grazer’s delight that’s relaxed, nicely priced and on trend."

[Robin Garr]

Given the lengthy delays and the way that Anoosh signed on, then quickly cut it loose, I'm not going to be overly optimistic until I've had a chance to see it for myself. I don't put a lot of faith in blogger reports from schmooze-fest soft openings, either.

Not to be a cynic, I'm just saying wait and see.

[Robin Garr]

Given the lengthy delays and the way that Anoosh signed on, then quickly cut it loose, I'm not going to be overly optimistic until I've had a chance to see it for myself. I don't put a lot of faith in blogger reports from schmooze-fest soft openings, either.

Not to be a cynic, I'm just saying wait and see.

Given the lengthy delays and the way that Anoosh signed on, then quickly cut it loose, I'm not going to be overly optimistic .

Concur, but there were reasons here . . . the Building Code disallowed the restaurant (original plans were kitchen in basement and more seating, but were insufficient parking spaces available even given that there are never more than three cars in the hardware store parking lot) ,. . . ironing that out took just enough time for Anoosh to find that Henry's Place was available . . . I think more coincidence in this case than food problems!

We went last night and everything was good.

The food was good, but nothing fantastic. There are a lot of interesting dishes on the menu that will be fun to try. The space is very nice with a large bar/dining area, a separate dining area, and another "sunroom" dining area.


Tuna Stack - 8/10
Crostini - 7/10
Hunters Stew - 8/10
Steak Frites - 9/10

cocktail and beer pricing not listed on menu
(2) cocktails $12 each,
(2) draft West 6th $8 each

$90 before tip, a little rich for me for a casual Thursday night dinner.

Until yesterday (after an incredible job offer was dropped in my lap), I was a chef at the Louisville Mesh, coming on board from the beginning training/soft/grand opening. They are deliberately rolling out slowly because standards are crazy high, more than I have ever worked with for such a high volume place. The Executive Chef, Tim Macintosh just moved to Louisville from California, so there are definitely some West Coast touches to the regionalized (from Mesh Indy) menu. I was surprised to find that though they are a very large corporate group, most of the food was coming from Indiana farms, with the addition of more local (like Grateful Greens) to Mesh Louisville. They also have a giant bourbon wall installed behind the bar and backlit with the lighting from a wine room which is boasting some 150 different wines. I was really proud to work there and will definitely be a regular patron. Here are some of the (to me) stand out dishes:

House smoked steelhead trout/warm watercress/soft boiled egg salad
bespoke meat/cheese board (featuring Kenny's cheeses to choose from, some yummy meats)
proscuitto crostini with sweet ricotta (made in-house)
double cut (it's huge) pork chop with carrot ginger puree, bourbon glaze
pan seared scallops with fresno jam over risotto (that jam is amazing)

I could go on, but just go!

[Robin Garr]

Thanks for the look from inside, Meghan, and welcome to the forum!

Thanks! Been a long time lurker; look forward to seeing your review for Mesh (fair warning: not many vegetarian options!)

Beautiful bride & I dropped by for lunch today. The bad news is the menu changes at 1500 hours from the lunch menu to the dinner one. Which means in the blink of an eye my steak frites went from a hefty $16.00 to $20.00. OK, we told ourselves, we'll make it in a tad earlier next time.

Steve Coomes did a write up on the interior of the restaurant in an Insider Louisville piece a few days ago. He described it nicely and I wont elaborate on it. We were seated promptly, told our waiter "Steve" would be with us shortly and then left alone.....alone.....alone. 10 minutes later a personable young lady (wish I had caught her name, she saved the day) popped up and said she was the bartender and would be waiting on us. I asked how that had happened and she replied that someone came by and told her to wait on us and she was. OK.

Having had more than enough time to peruse the menu we had a few questions. They offer a Cheese & Meat board where you pick 3 items from the offerings. We went with Kenny's Kentucky Rose, Red Rock Cheddar Blue and Spanish Hot Chorizo as a starter and then Cindy went with the Applewood Chicken salad and I with the Steak Frites served rare as our mains. We both ordered iced tea to drink.

Our wait for food was very short and all of it appeared at once. No spacing of the food and no explanation why. The Cheese board arrived with no crostini and we were told they would find some. My Steak Frites was served medium well which is overdone for me. I didn't complain and I didn't send it back. I figure if you are charging $20.00 for Steak Frites you need to get it right the first time. The meat was good, the French fries delicious. Cindy liked her salad but would order it with dressing on the side next time as it was sauced pretty heavily for her.

The Cheese and Meat board finally found some crostini in time for us to enjoy it for dessert. It was flavorful, the cheeses being mild, harder examples of their type. The knockout was the Spanish Hot Chorizo with a mild hot bite. What made it a winner was the depth of the smoked paprika flavour throughout.

The restaurant wasn't crowded at the time we arrived and it appeared it had adequate staffing so the service issue was interesting. Our server was a bartender out on the floor and it showed. We were very nice to each other and muddled through but again a misstep that shouldn't occur.

Our bill came to $54.06 with a $12.00 tip for our bartender/server being a nice person stuck in an odd place. We'll be back again at lunchtime and try again. Your mileage may vary.

Thanks for the feedback guys! As Justin said the prices seem a little high for occasional place especially for a weeknight evening. Those are pretty much in line with Anosh's new place. The drink prices definitely seem out of line unless it was something special, I can get a Maker's Mark Manhattan for $10 or less every place in town! Ed, thanks for the tip about when they change from lunch prices to dinner prices, will be sure to take that into account if we go for lunch because we normally go late when we do. I'm sorry your steak wasn't done how you liked it, I would've definitely sent it back because I can't stand any steak cooked more than medium at the most.

It's definitely a place we will have to try but I doubt it will become one of our favorites.

I took my 86 year old Mom for her birthday to brunch today, along with hubby and daughter first, there is no better place in Louisville for walkers, wheelchairs, etc. the aisles are spacious in every part of restaurant and the tables are well spaced apart...which is rare! I thought the place was beautiful, and it looked like a sound engineer designed the ceilings, keeping noise down.

We shared a huge yogurt and fruit parfait...delicious! My Mom have eggs Benedict with crab cakes and fruit. She loved it and ate every bite! Quite a feat. Husband a daughter had smoked salmon tar tine. They both liked it, be sure to ask for a steak knife. Pretty impossible to pick up and eat, the crisp bread is hard to cut with a regular knife. Salmon was moist and delicious. I had the Bucatini All' Amatriciana . It had bits of tasty pancetta and fluffy ricotta in a delicious sauce, and I am very picky!! You can order it with chicken or shrimp for extra. Some of the meno items seemed a bit odd to me, such as Biscuits and Lamb Gravy. I really can't eat lamb, don't know how that will go over. They have Monkey Bread on the shared appetizer menu. A taste of childhood..it looked delicious! They served an interesting Bloody Mary with a spear of shrimp, gherkin, cheese, marinated squash and SA.lami. That was GREAT, however the drink itself didn't have enough "tomato" taste for me, and it was not spicy at all. It also seemed weak, cause my Mom can really feel a strong one, and she didn't get the giggles. Service was excellent, people are working hard in there! Getting there at 11 was great, because it was really filling up when we finished. Yes, I agree that it's on the pricy side, but not outrageous. I did find the menu pretty vegetarian unfriendly, but maybe they could adjust some dishes. I think the place will do well, and is especially nice for business lunches/dinners. I'm sure the large, comfy bar will be hopping and they should kill it when the patio opens.

I checked out Mesh on the "official" opening on Wednesday....not the soft opening on Monday and Tuesday. I ordered a burger and a Maker's. $14 for the burger and $11.50 for the Maker's ! Really ? The burger was decent, nothing special. But paying $11.50 for a stingy pour of Maker's was truly aggravating. That has to be the highest place in town for drink prices ? Maker's at Boombozz the next night was only $6.25 !!!