Restaurants Near Downtown in Louisville
It can be difficult to get moving. If you're experiencing a lack of motivation in downtown Louisville and it's time to eat, here are our favorite restaurants in or near the city. The farthest one is a seven minutes' drive.
Our number one pick, Mayan Café, is located in the NuLu neighborhood on East Market Street. The restaurant sources local ingredients to create its Mayan-inspired dishes, and Chef Bruce Ucan stays involved with the Louisville community by sharing his knowledge through cooking classes (check the website for dates). We love the tok-sel lima beans and salbutes, which change every day.
A newer downtown addition is Hillbilly Tea, a tea house that serves Appalachian cuisine. Closer to the city center, Hillbilly has breakfast, lunch and dinner (the priciest meal of the day). The portions are reasonable and won't cause a food coma, and items like the rosemary apple scone and chai butter introduce an interesting blend of flavors. The food is organic, and there are vegan options.
Proof on Main appears on most of our top ten lists, and this is no exception. Located near Museum Row and the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, Proof serves all three meals in its trendy, art-filled dining room (the giant green walrus is our favorite). Another restaurant that uses local ingredients, Proof's menu changes seasonally, but a few staples, like the bison burger, can be found year-round.
Toast on Market (back in the NuLu neighborhood) and the Café (just off Broadway as you head towards the Highlands) both serve breakfast and lunch at reasonable prices. The wait at Toast can be long, but servers offer coffee for the wait. The lemon soufflé and the bread pudding pancakes never disappoint, and the omelets are some of the fluffiest in town. The Café's French toast is enormous, as are most of their dishes.
The seven minute drive from downtown to Jack Fry's is worth it. If the menu intimidates you, try the burger - for $10, it's a great deal. Between downtown and Jack Fry's, check out Molly Malone's and O'Shea's for decent Irish pub food. Molly's fish and chips are always good, as is the mushroom sandwich at O'Shea's.
Our number one pick, Mayan Café, is located in the NuLu neighborhood on East Market Street. The restaurant sources local ingredients to create its Mayan-inspired dishes, and Chef Bruce Ucan stays involved with the Louisville community by sharing his knowledge through cooking classes (check the website for dates). We love the tok-sel lima beans and salbutes, which change every day.
A newer downtown addition is Hillbilly Tea, a tea house that serves Appalachian cuisine. Closer to the city center, Hillbilly has breakfast, lunch and dinner (the priciest meal of the day). The portions are reasonable and won't cause a food coma, and items like the rosemary apple scone and chai butter introduce an interesting blend of flavors. The food is organic, and there are vegan options.
Proof on Main appears on most of our top ten lists, and this is no exception. Located near Museum Row and the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, Proof serves all three meals in its trendy, art-filled dining room (the giant green walrus is our favorite). Another restaurant that uses local ingredients, Proof's menu changes seasonally, but a few staples, like the bison burger, can be found year-round.
Toast on Market (back in the NuLu neighborhood) and the Café (just off Broadway as you head towards the Highlands) both serve breakfast and lunch at reasonable prices. The wait at Toast can be long, but servers offer coffee for the wait. The lemon soufflé and the bread pudding pancakes never disappoint, and the omelets are some of the fluffiest in town. The Café's French toast is enormous, as are most of their dishes.
The seven minute drive from downtown to Jack Fry's is worth it. If the menu intimidates you, try the burger - for $10, it's a great deal. Between downtown and Jack Fry's, check out Molly Malone's and O'Shea's for decent Irish pub food. Molly's fish and chips are always good, as is the mushroom sandwich at O'Shea's.
