East Market Street is Louisville's hottest stretch of new openings, with Mediterranean, Italian and Mexican rooms inside renovated 19th-century brick warehouses.
Food tour in NuLu (East Market District)
Secrets of Louisville: 3hr NuLu Food & History Walking Tour
Order The Shefha shareable tasting menu with a group of four, plus the wood-grilled lamb.
Chef Noam Bilitzer's MeeshMeesh in Louisville took a 2025 James Beard finalist nod with Levantine plates from his NuLu kitchen on East Market Street.
Order The tok-sel lima beans wok-seared with pumpkin seeds, the dish locals rave about.
Chef Bruce Ucan's Mayan Cafe in Louisville cooks Yucatecan plates with Kentucky farm produce, the East Market NuLu room locals recommend to first-timers.
Order The shrimp and grits, the kitchen's loudest plate.
Lou Lou on Market in Louisville moved into the former Decca space, a New Orleans-rooted NuLu kitchen running shrimp and grits and Bananas Foster.
Order The wood-fired pork-meatball pizza, with a Kentucky bourbon old fashioned.
Garage Bar on East Market in Louisville turned a former auto-service shop into a wood-fired pizza pub with a courtyard ping-pong table and a Kentucky bourbon.
Order A brisket plate with two sides and a side of pickles.
Feast BBQ on East Market in Louisville runs a counter-service NuLu pit, slicing brisket and pulled pork until the smoker runs out for the day.
Order The hot chicken sandwich at medium heat, with a side of tachos.
Royals Hot Chicken on East Market in Louisville fries Nashville-style hot chicken from Ryan Rogers's Eternal Optimist group, the NuLu counter open since 2015.
Order A flight of wild sours and an IPA alongside a brewpub burger or shareable.
Akasha Brewing on East Market in Louisville turns up the funk with wild-fermented sour beers from a NuLu taproom tucked between Feast BBQ and Grind Burger.
Also on this listGarage BarFeast BBQRoyals Hot Chicken
Bar Nada Nada in Louisville's NuLu pours natural wines and Mediterranean cocktails next to NuLu Marketplace on East Market. At 829 E Market Street.
Rabbit Hole Distillery's rooftop bar in Louisville's NuLu pours port-finished craft bourbon and rye from the top of the modern East Jefferson Street distillery, with downtown views.
Please and Thank You on East Market in Louisville pours coffee and pulls warm chocolate chip cookies in a vinyl-spinning NuLu cafe, the city's daytime listening-bar atmosphere.