City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Address: 2144 Frankfort Ave.
62. El Mundo
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (502) 899-9930
Address: 117 S Keats Ave.
Description: A perennial favorite on the local Mexican food scene, this unfancy Clifton eatery incorporates fresh, local ingredients for a variety of Mexican staples, but often with a different take. Favorites include the guacamole, fish tacos, tamales, beer-braised bison tacos, and the veggie chili relleno. There’s also an ever-changing selection of daily specials for something different. And if you like your food with a little kick, ask the server for one of their house-made hot sauces. The choice of beers is good, but don’t leave without ordering a margarita or two—they make them the old-fashioned way, without mixes.
63. Genny’S Diner
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (502) 893-0923
Address: 2223 Frankfort Ave.
Description: An old-school neighborhood dive, Genny’s has a no-nonsense menu that features a lot of fried food among a selection of mostly burgers, breakfast fare, and sandwiches. Fried chicken livers, grilled cheese sandwiches, fried green tomatoes—those are the kinds of things served here. Genny’s is the birthplace of the frickled pickle chip, a crunchy dill-pickle slice lightly coated with egg batter and deep-fried, and the Sweet Daddy. Weighing in at 20 ounces—that’s a pound and a quarter—of beef formed into a triple-deck hamburger, it easily qualifies as the largest in town. It’s topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and mayo. Cheese is extra. Genny’s opens at 8:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
64. Grape Leaf
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (502) 897-1774
Address: 2217 Frankfort Ave.
Description: Nestled in the heart of Clifton for more than 15 years, owner Nabil Al-Saba’s Grape Leaf is one of the city’s most popular Mediterranean restaurants. When it’s not too cold outside, the adjacent grape arbor is a popular place to sit and enjoy the inviting smells of cinnamon, pepper, and cardamom. Inside or out, it’s food like the gyro-style strips of beef and lamb wrapped in pita and fresh Greek salads with feta that keeps customers coming back for more. Open every day at 8 a.m., the Grape Leaf is also a popular breakfast spot. The large morning selection includes fatoosh salad with hard-boiled eggs or falafel and lamb sausage biscuits.
65. Irish Rover
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (502) 899-3544
Address: 2319 Frankfort Ave.
Description: Easily the best—and most authentic—place to eat Irish in the city, the Rover has made its home in a 150-year-old building that at one time served as a saloon. Beers and whiskey are still pushed across the counter today, although now it’s most likely Irish whiskey and Guinness, which has been shipped directly from Dublin. The menu leans heavily to the comfort-food side, and salmon, lamb, and leeks make appearances on more than one occasion. Fish and chips are available in both adult- and child-size portions. A popular appetizer is the Scotch egg, a hard-cooked egg that is wrapped in sausage and batter-fried. A second location, the Irish Rover Too, is in La Grange at 117 East Main Street. Call (502) 222-2286 for more information. Both locations are closed on Sunday.
66. Kt’S Restaurant & Bar
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (502) 458-8888
Address: 2300 Lexington Rd.
Description: A Louisville tradition since 1985, KT’s was built on the site of the old Kentucky Tavern, a popular neighborhood watering hole in the 1950s. Today, it’s a popular, casual place for families, couples on dates, singles dining alone, or even large groups wanting to celebrate, and the extensive menu features standard appetizers like spinach queso and chips, coconut shrimp, and artichoke dip with chips. Huge entree salads are a draw, as are specialities like the Maker’s Mark bourbon sirloin and charbroiled salmon with lemon dill sauce. Located at the edge of the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood and across from the golf course at Cherokee Park, KT’s is open seven days a week.
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Address: 1765 Mellwood Ave.
68. Maido
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (502) 894-8775
Address: 1758 Frankfort Ave.
Description: In addition to good beers and wines, this Kansai-style sake pub serves a variety of small dishes and sushi. The portions are smaller—and the prices lower—so guests can try more dishes and share with family and friends. Open every day except Sunday, Maido offers a “super happy bar menu” from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Items like miso soup and Japanese pickles go for $1; sushi croquettes and California rolls go for $2; and red snapper tempura rolls and eggplant with miso sauce only cost $3.
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Address: 1722 Frankfort Ave.
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Address: 2437 Brownsboro Rd.
71. Porcini
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (502) 894-8686
Address: 2730 Frankfort Ave.
Description: Specializing in the cuisine of Italy’s northern regions since 1992, Porcini is another one of those restaurants that receives regular accolades from readers of the area’s top food publications. The menu changes frequently, but you can usually expect to find standards such as cheese-filled tortellloni with mushrooms and prosciutto, or calamari friti in the antipasto section. In the entrees you might find grilled rack of lamb with Madeira sauce, or grilled chicken breast stuffed with mascarpone and arugula, served with fava beans. Dishes like orecchiette with spicy sausage and penne alla carbonara make up the pasta selections. Porcini opens for dinner every day except Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Address: 2339 Frankfort Ave.
73. Shiraz Mediterranean Grill
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (502) 891-8854
Address: 2011 Frankfort Ave.
Description: Kabobs and things like falafel, hummus, lentil rice, and bulgur wheat salad are served up at the no-frills Shiraz Mediterranean Grill. Aside from the Frankfort Avenue location, you can pick up your koobideh or shish kabobs at the following locations: 3501 Poplar Level Road (502-632-2232); 2210 Holiday Manor (502-426-9954); 2105 North Hurtbourne Parkway (502-426-3440); and 153 South English Station Road (502-244-1341). Most locations are open before noon six or seven days a week.
74. Varanese
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (502) 899-9904
Address: 2106 Frankfort Ave.
Description: An eclectic Mediterranean-style restaurant that can comfortably seat about 150 guests, you can dine at the bar, in the dining room, or on the four-season patio, which has a dramatic 20-foot slate water wall. Enclosed by serpentine glass doors that retract to provide an outdoor dining experience, the space is ideal for enjoying John Varanese’s eclectic menu. The array of options ranges from stuffed grape leaves and fried green tomato salad to new signature entrees such as the seared boneless pork chop and caramelized orange salmon. A popular dessert is the fried banana topped with homemade oatmeal cookie dough ice cream. Varanese opens daily at 5 p.m. for dinner.
75. Bluegrass Brewing Company
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (502) 899-7070
Address: 3929 Shelbyville Rd.
Description: The largest microbrewery in the state, the Bluegrass Brewing Company was founded in 1993. At this location in East St. Matthews, some of the region’s best beers are crafted under the supervision of head brewer Jerry Gnagy. Pull up a chair at the spacious and inviting bar, or watch the brewing operation through large windows in the dining room as you enjoy your meal or dine alfresco in the beer garden. Aside from an assortment of burgers, sandwiches, and brick oven pizzas, you’ll find entree items such as the New York strip with mashed potatoes and asparagus, and a fish platter with fries and coleslaw. Open seven days a week at 11 a.m., BBC has a second location downtown (closed Sunday) on Theater Square at 660 South Fourth Street. Call (502) 568-2224 for more information.