NoLi's creative corridor: Greyline Station stalls, dive-bar stages, donuts and the first-Friday Night Market.
Doodles Breakfast & Lunch fries beignets and dirty shrimp and grits in a converted North Limestone petrol station, Lexington's morning-queue daytime cafe.
Signature: Dirty Shrimp & Grits, Pigs & Puffs
Tip: Closed Mondays and the kitchen stops at 14:00 sharp; the Pigs & Puffs bacon beignets sell out on weekends.
North Lime Coffee & Donuts fries small-batch donuts to pair with espresso at Greyline Station, the Lexington morning ritual that sells out by early afternoon.
Signature drink: Espresso with a scratch-made donut
Tip: Everything closes at 13:00 and the weirder donut specials go first; the Clays Mill shop opens at 06:00 on weekdays.
North Lime Coffee & Donuts fries small-batch donuts to pair with espresso at Greyline Station, the Lexington morning ritual that sells out by early afternoon.
Signature drink: Espresso with a scratch-made donut
Tip: Everything closes at 13:00 and the weirder donut specials go first; the Clays Mill shop opens at 06:00 on weekdays.
Magic Beans Coffee Roasters air-roasts on West Sixth Street north of downtown Lexington, selling retail bags of its coffee alongside wholesale accounts.
Tip: Air roasting is the house signature; ask for whatever came off the roaster that week before picking a bag.
Sources from: Single origins, House blends
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
Darling Wine Bar pours natural and low-intervention wines inside Greyline Station, a small Lexington bar and bottle shop with a rotating by-the-glass list.
Wine focus: Natural and low-intervention bottles
Food: Snacks; Greyline Station vendors nearby
Tip: Closed Mondays; buy a retail bottle from the shelf and drink it in for less than list price.
The Green Lantern books doom metal, bluegrass and punk into a West Third Street dive, one of Lexington's most-loved and longest-running dive rooms.
Signature drink: Cheap cans and whatever band is loading in
Tip: Cash helps at the bar; Wednesday karaoke and the happy hour before 19:00 are the reliable nights.
Al's Bar anchors the corner of Sixth and Limestone with burgers, local beer and gigs, the long-running NoLi corner bar wired into Lexington's music scene.
Signature drink: Local drafts before a punk or bluegrass set
Tip: Closed Mondays; Tuesday open mic is free and the Thursday to Saturday bookings range from hip-hop to bluegrass.
West Sixth Brewing pours its IPA in the old Rainbo Bread building on West Sixth, the taproom that kicked off Lexington's craft scene revival in 2012.
Tip: Smithtown Seafood serves fish and chips inside the Bread Box building; the courtyard takes dogs and kids.
Country Boy Brewing pours Cougar Bait and taproom-only experiments on Chair Avenue, a garage-born Lexington brewery that stayed proudly unpolished.
Tip: The Lexington taproom keeps small-batch beers the cans never see; food trucks park outside most evenings.
Blue Stallion Brewing lagers to German and British tradition on West Third Street, the Lexington taproom for a proper dunkel instead of another IPA.
Tip: The lagers are the point; order the dunkel or a cask British ale and settle into the long hall tables.
Smithtown Seafood fries fish sandwiches and bowls inside the Bread Box building on West Sixth, sharing a wall with West Sixth Brewing's Lexington taproom.
Try: Fish sandwich and fries
Order: Fried fish sandwich with a West Sixth IPA
Why locals love it: A fish-sandwich counter tucked inside the West Sixth brewery building, easy to miss behind the taproom crowds.
Tip: Order at the counter and carry the fish sandwich into the taproom; a West Sixth IPA is the house pairing.
Doodles Breakfast & Lunch fries beignets and dirty shrimp and grits in a converted North Limestone petrol station, Lexington's morning-queue daytime cafe.
Signature: Dirty Shrimp & Grits, Pigs & Puffs
Tip: Closed Mondays and the kitchen stops at 14:00 sharp; the Pigs & Puffs bacon beignets sell out on weekends.
The Green Lantern books doom metal, bluegrass and punk into a West Third Street dive, one of Lexington's most-loved and longest-running dive rooms.
Signature drink: Cheap cans and whatever band is loading in
Tip: Cash helps at the bar; Wednesday karaoke and the happy hour before 19:00 are the reliable nights.
Al's Bar keeps NoLi's corner stage busy with punk, bluegrass, hip-hop and Tuesday open mics, a long-running Lexington bar that books bands most nights.
Tip: Closed Mondays; Tuesday open mic is free and weekend shows are cheap, so it suits a no-plan night out.
The Green Lantern crams doom metal, folk and karaoke into a West Third dive stage, Lexington's scrappiest long-serving room for loud nights.
Tip: Cash is easiest at the bar; Wednesday karaoke is the institution and most gigs charge only a few dollars.
The Green Lantern holds West Third Street down as Lexington's late dive of record, open to 02:30 nightly with bands, karaoke and cheap cans.
Tip: Karaoke Wednesdays and the pre-19:00 happy hour are the moves; bring cash to keep the line moving.