Eat your vegetables and like it: Uptown's gently spicy curried rice noodles are packed with perfectly prepared veggies and tofu.
As autumn 2020 chilled into the first Covid winter, one of the hardest hits of a run of bad restaurant news came when Uptown Cafe announced that it was closing on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, seemingly ending a 35-year run as a fixture on Bardstown Road’s Restaurant Row.
Uptown was comfortable, cozy, reasonably affordable, yet stylish, more a bistro than a diner. If it wasn’t a place where everyone knew your name, at least it was a place where your face was always familiar.
But its time had come, squashed by the worldwide pandemic. Owner Kelley Ledford put it bluntly, calling the closure "totally pandemic related ... financially insurmountable." Ledford had taken the reins from her parents Nancy and David Shepherd, who had also founded the more upscale Cafe Metro across the street in 1980.
The Uptown building stood closed and dark through that cold pandemic winter. But then in February good news broke: Longtime Uptown regulars Tom and Lisa Drexler, best known as proprietors of Tom Drexler Plumbing, had bought the business.
Uptown reopened in July 2021, following gentle renovation that maintained its style and spirit but avoiding major changes in a beloved tradition. Executive Chef Matt Weber (who had started at Cafe Metro) and Pastry Chef Jenna Miller remain, and most of the familiar menu items stayed. “This is not a place where you can get rid of the old favorites,” a HotBytes forum participant observed.
So here’s the new Uptown, pretty much like the old Uptown, so much so that I blinked and suddenly two years had passed before I got back. A delightful recent visit and a very good meal took quick care of that. ...
Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
https://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/new-old-uptown-cafe
You'll also find this review in LEO Weekly's Food & Drink section today:
http://www.leoweekly.com/category/food-drink/
Uptown Cafe
1624 Bardstown Road
405-8898
uptownlouisville.com
facebook.com/UptownLouisville
instagram.com/uptowncafelouisville
Noise Level: Just about every table was taken at this popular spot, and that results in a happy hum. Conversation was only occasionally difficult, though, with average sound at 69dB with peaks to a noisy 78.8dB.
Accessibility: The restaurant and its multiple rooms appear fully accessible to wheelchair users.
