Need Help Deciding On Restaurants

My girlfriend and I are going to spend the days of December 26-30 in Louisville and need some suggestions for places to eat. My personal favorite for Italian is the Spaghetti Factory, we will probably be eating there. For Thai, I looked at reviews and it looks like Mai's Thai will be the best bet on that. Beyond that, I have no idea where to eat. We want to try something different but not expensive ($15 an entree and below). Maybe some European food that is different such as Russian, French, or any others? Or we could try Caribbean or Middle-Eastern or something. We want to try something out of the normal Italian, Mexican, and Chinese cuisines and try something new.

Geez, leave the Spaghetti Factory and travel a few blocks east to Melillo's. Food is in your price range and waaaaaay beter.

To keep you in your price range:

Sari Sari on Frankfort for Phillipino food

Toast on Market for a different breakfast or lunch

Safiers on Fourth Street for Middle Eastern

Go out 3rd street to try Santa Fe - not your usual Tex-Mex fare, authentic Mexican

A strong 2nd for Melillo's for Italian and while you are out Market St., look for the Mayan Cafe, exceptional South of the border food (I cannot bring myself to call it Mexican, it is so much more).

If you want a special meal, there is Seviche (2 locations), Primo, Havana Rumba, Mojito.

If you go to FourthStreet Live, try Pub Louisville for not always authentic pub food, but it is good. Also, strangely enough, the food at Lucky Strike Bowling is very good.

If you give us a notion of where you are staying or if you have transportation we can give you more ideas.

Also on Market, 131 W. Market, is Saffron's. A very good restaurant mostly in your price range. Persian food but not too exotic.

Bistro301 (3rd & Market) and ditto on Mellilos and Saffrons. Toast and Jennicas for brunch/lunch. They are on the 600 and 700 blocks of E. Market. I have other suggestions but need to know where you will be staying. The Mayan Cafe, 813 E. Market?, is a real treat.

Or we could try Caribbean or Middle-Eastern or something. We want to try something out of the normal Italian, Mexican, and Chinese cuisines and try something new.

This is a really neat little place I like a lot. It's called Taste of Jamaica and the chef is from Jamaica. One warning, the service is kind of like how things really are in Jamaica, very laid back. But, no problem mon. Seriously, I have been to Jamaica and the food here is just like it is down there.

http://www.thetasteofjamaica.com/

One other place is Shiraz. It has some of the best Middle Eastern food around. I took my out of town folks there last month and they are still raving about it. Even my 8 year old nephew loved it.

http://www.shirazmg.com/

Yes, you can't beat Melillo's. As far as Thai food goes, Mai's isn't great in the atmosphere department. I actually prefer the itty bitty Simply Thai on Wallace, but also like Sala Thai in JTown and Thai Taste on Brownsboro Road. I think those three have better food, atmosphere and service. Ship Thai Siam and Lemongrass Cafe...can't recommend either.

To keep you in your price range:

Sari Sari on Frankfort for Phillipino food

Toast on Market for a different breakfast or lunch

Safiers on Fourth Street for Middle Eastern

Go out 3rd street to try Santa Fe - not your usual Tex-Mex fare, authentic Mexican

A strong 2nd for Melillo's for Italian and while you are out Market St., look for the Mayan Cafe, exceptional South of the border food (I cannot bring myself to call it Mexican, it is so much more).

If you want a special meal, there is Seviche (2 locations), Primo, Havana Rumba, Mojito.

If you go to FourthStreet Live, try Pub Louisville for not always authentic pub food, but it is good. Also, strangely enough, the food at Lucky Strike Bowling is very good.

If you give us a notion of where you are staying or if you have transportation we can give you more ideas.

Thanks for the wonderful recommendation. We may have to try Melillo's since everyone is recommending it. We will be staying at the Red Roof Inn Expo Airport motel on Preston Highway. My tennis tournament is at Fern Valley Tennis Club.

What restaurant at Fourth Street Live would you recommend to eat at? I have seen the recommendations for Pub Louisville and Lucky Strike Bowling..

What restaurant at Fourth Street Live would you recommend to eat at? I have seen the recommendations for Pub Louisville and Lucky Strike Bowling. Also, what is the largest chinese buffet in town? The one with the most selection of items.

There are many great venues on Frankfort Ave and in the Highlands (Baxter/Bardstown Rd). It would be a shame to miss those. Molly Malone’s, Flanagan’s, O’Sheas, Lilly’s, … Regretfully I am limited on time else could name many others. Could someone else please add to the list…

What restaurant at Fourth Street Live would you recommend to eat at? I have seen the recommendations for Pub Louisville and Lucky Strike Bowling. Also, what is the largest chinese buffet in town? The one with the most selection of items.

I would avoid the restaurants in 4th Street Live proper. If you are looking for a place to grab a drink, try 3rd Street Dive. For food, head to one of the locally owned places nearby: Saffron; Caviar; RAW; Cunningham's. Or, drive a few blocks to get a great wood oven pizza from Primo.

Hey, if you plan to go to RAW, then hop on over to http://www.restaurant.com for a coupon.

PS I don't work for them, but I lurve me some coupons!

Robert,

The restaurants at 4th street live are just fine....

I actually agree with you on this one, with a major addition: These restaurants are fine, but tend to be over-priced for the fare. If you are staying downtown and transportation was an issue, that would be one thing, but I personally wouldn't drive downtown to eat at any of the 4Th street restaurants, not when you can get better food for the same or less at many of the places previously listed.

Deb

Josh-
A couple of recommendations.
1. Check-out the online menus of suggested places. My site MenusOfLouisville.com has links to the resturant's websites and louisvillediner.com has scanned images of many resturants' menus (for those that don't have a website, this is quite handy).

2. Consider eating your main meal midday and "scale up" to better restaurants with less expensive lunches... and for dinner, eat lighter (apps only or split a main course).

3. My suggested places:
-Irish Rover
-Saffron's
-Jack Fry's for lunch or the most exquisite hamburger dinner you can imagine.
-Shalimar for Indian - Their lunch buffet is a bargain and perfect for experiencing a wide range of dishes