Visiting Louisville...Places to eat

My husband and I will be visiting Louisville this month. Where are some of the best places to eat? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

[Robin Garr]

Sarah, I hope you all have a great visit. Louisville has tons of great places to eat, so it might help if you can narrow your query down a bit: Tell us if you have budget limits, food preferences. Upscale? Cheap eats? Ethnic or down-home? Etc.

Right off the top, Seviche on Bardstown Road is one of my favorites. Upscale looks but not over the top pricing; Latino food from all over the Americas, with some tilt toward seafood (always sustainable, wild-caught), but ranges over to great beef and vegetarian options as well.

610 Magnolia is another of our top spots, but pricey, located in the Old Louisville section which is said to be the nation's largest mostly intact Victorian neighborhood. Its partner, Milkwood, is located in Actors Theater of Louisville, downtown, and they're both excellent.

The stretch of Main and Market streets just east of downtown is another hot section, with lots of great new restaurants in a gentrified 19th century district. Consider Wiltshire, Rye, Harvest, Decca ... all good. Bardstown Road and Frankfort Avenue are also nice, well-kept urban neighborhoods with lots of fine eateries. Further out in the suburbs, St. Matthews also has lots of good food and drink (and pizza). There's good stuff all over, though. Specific ethnic eats? Tell us what you like ...

We are looking for places with a great, fun atmosphere and mid-range, but are open to a little higher prices.

[Robin Garr]

We are looking for places with a great, fun atmosphere and mid-range, but are open to a little higher prices.

Well, definitely do Seviche, and maybe Milkwood as well. "Great, fun atmosphere" might take you to the NuLu (East Market) places I mentioned. Also El Camino or El Taco Luchador on Bardstown or El Mundo on Frankfort, all of which sound like Mexican joints but are actually hip, English-speaking eateries with a Mexican vibe. Or Mayan Cafe, chef-driven Yucatan cuisine, one of the top places around. (It's also in Nulu.)

Head out to the South End for real Vietnamese at Vietnam Kitchen or Annie Cafe.

I'm barely scratching the surface here, but I hope more folks will chime in ...

I'd put "River House" into the mix, great chef and a great new restaurant on the river which is a big part of Louisville's history. If they want to be a little more formal and stuffy one night they could always go to the Oakroom or the English Grille for a piece of historic Louisville dining and nightlife. Another point I would definitely consider going would be the new Mussel And Burger Bar on Main Street, you certainly can go wrong going to any of Fernando's restaurants!

Everyone here knows we could make a list that you could spend weeks visiting everything on. Just go with the flow and see what hits the fancy.

The more info you give us on specifics (specific tastes, ethnicities, pricing, meat v seafood v vegetarian), where you will be staying, if you have a car, etc., the better we can help.

Louisville has one restaurant for every 510 people (for example, NYC has one per 1,228), so for a city our size we have tons of great places that can give you a top experience!

Robin is the best restaurant reviewer in the city, and you cannot go wrong with his recommendations, but the more specific you are the more others will jump in and the better focused recommendations will be.

(for example, Robin's Vietnamese recommendations are top for rural or street Vietnamese, but Basa is a great restaurant more focused on city Vietnamese dishes!)

We are staying near University of Louisville, we will be in town for baseball games. We also will have a car.

Food wise not really into ethic food, but seafood, BBQ, steak, American food is always good.

Louvino -great small plates and fantastic wine selection.
Stout Burgers And Beers - next door to Louvino
The Hub - fun place with lots of games but a nice place to eat.
El Mundo for fantastic Mexican food
Proof at 21c for the upscale fix
Garage Bar for pizza and fun atmosphere
Anoosh Bistro for mid level upscale
Amici's- close to UofL. American Italian.
Butchertown Grocery- great restaurant and a really cool upstairs bar.
Bistro 301 - good solid American food
Equus for some mid range American
Corbett's for more upscale.
Fontleroys -new place with a cool vibe.

Cafe Lou Lou - Cajun and Italian
Eiderdown
Smoketown USA BBQ (hillbilly Jew)
Shack and the Back BBQ (turkey ribs!)
Bourbons Bistro
Varanese
Basa
Doc Crow's (Downtown)
Doc's Cantina (Waterfront Park)
Griff's (sports bar near UofL)
Coconut Beach Tacos & Cerveza (near UofL)
Bluegrass Brewing Company (downtown & St. Matthews)
Against The Grain (brewpub in Louisville Bats stadium downtown)
Marketplace Restaurant at Theater Square

If you're looking for a great brunch on Saturday or Sunday, come see me at Harvest! It's not cheap, but it's well worth it. http://www.harvestlouisville.com/ Real, actual farm-to-table.

http://bistro1860.com/

[Robin Garr]

http://bistro1860.com/

Good one! I can't believe I overlooked that.

My addition to many that have already been posted:

Holy Grale - Great beer and food, fun and unpretentious. (one of Louisville's best burgers)
Migo - Fantastic and creative fusion tacos and other sides
The Post - Best pizza in the city, over the top sandwiches and a local beer selection

Smoketown USA BBQ (hillbilly Jew)

Minor point of order......

"hillbilly Jew"? Is Eric toning down towards PC or is that your own misquote?

From his introducing himself to me as well as subsequent intros I've overheard; It's "redneck Jew"

Anyway, yes. Smoketown USA.

Thank you for all the recommendations! Last question, any good breakfast places not too far from campus?

Thank you!

[Robin Garr]

Thank you for all the recommendations! Last question, any good breakfast places not too far from campus?

Wagner's Pharmacy, an old-school lunch counter, is right around the corner from Churchill Downs, which is just south of the campus.

My breakfast go-to, though, is Con Huevos. It's on Frankfort Avenue in Clifton, not right next to campus but a fairly short trek across Eastern Parkway. Tiny, cozy, run by a nice Mexican couple, it offers a great range of Mexican breakfast and lunch, not short-order but well made and attractively plated. Really good. There may be a line on weekends, though.