Old stockyard streets east of downtown, now home to Game Restaurant's exotic-meat burgers and Naive Kitchen's farm-to-table plates beside historic shotgun cottages.
Naive Kitchen in Louisville cooks vegetable-forward Latin plates from a Butchertown corner on East Washington Street, the neighbourhood's vegan-friendly room.
Signature: Vegetable-forward plates, Latin-inspired bowls
Order: The seasonal grain bowl, plus a margarita with house chile salt.
Tip: Book on OpenTable. The bar runs a separate cocktail list with mocktail-forward options.
Game Restaurant in Louisville grills exotic-meat burgers from antelope to yak inside a lodge-themed Lexington Road dining room near Butchertown.
Signature: Venison burger, Wild boar burger
Order: The venison patty with Gorgonzola and mint pesto on a pretzel bun.
Tip: Closed Sundays. The patio is dog-friendly with the full menu.
Play Louisville is the city's leading gay dance club, set in Butchertown with drag shows, weekly guest performers and a sound-system dance floor running into the early hours.
Tip: Wed to Thu 20:00 to 02:00, Fri Sat 20:00 to 03:00, Sun 20:00 to 02:00. Showtimes 21:00 and 23:00.
The Whirling Tiger on Story Avenue in Louisville pairs a mid-century cocktail bar with a 300-capacity live-music room, the Butchertown venue that runs DJ nights and touring acts.
Tip: Wed nights are live music. Check the calendar for headliner tickets vs walk-in nights.
Headliners Music Hall on Lexington Road in Louisville is the 600-capacity Butchertown rock club booking touring indie, metal and Americana acts, the city's longest-running music room.
Tip: Tickets on the venue's site. The standing floor sells out fast for headliners.
The Whirling Tiger's back room runs as a renovated 300-capacity live-music venue with a state-of-the-art sound system, the Story Avenue spot for indie and electronic touring acts.
Tip: Walk-in for the front cocktail bar. Tickets through the venue site for shows.