Beer cheese
Central Kentucky's sharp, beer-spiked cheddar spread, served cold with crackers, celery and pickles. Invented near Winchester in the 1930s, it opens meals across Lexington from taverns to steakhouse bread baskets.
Where: Winchell's
Lexington eats where bourbon country meets horse country. Beer cheese, invented twenty minutes east at the Driftwood Inn in the 1930s, shows up on menus across the city, and the Kentucky Hot Brown long ago migrated from Louisville onto the menus of diners like Ramsey's. The old guard still holds: Columbia Steak House has broiled its garlic-butter Nighthawk Special since 1948, Spalding's has fried donuts since 1929, and Wheeler Pharmacy still runs a drugstore lunch counter. The new energy sits in the Distillery District, where the James E. Pepper campus now holds breweries, a cidery, a whiskey house and Crank & Boom's ice cream window. Ouita Michel's kitchens, Honeywood in town and Holly Hill Inn in Midway, anchor a farm-driven chef scene that stretches from Coles 735 Main to County Club's hardwood-smoked Kentucky meats. Come during a Keeneland meet and the whole city eats out at once.
Eat your way through Lexington
Map of Lexington
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Lexington, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
Where to eat in Lexington: editor-picked starting points
5 institutional venues to anchor a Lexington food trip
- Dudley's on Short - Contemporary American, chef Hannah Coffey
- Coles 735 Main - New American, chef Cole Arimes
- ItalX - Italian, chef Jonathan Lundy
- Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse - Steakhouse
- Malone's - Steakhouse
Signature Lexington dishes
- Beer cheese - Central Kentucky's sharp, beer-spiked cheddar spread, served cold with crackers, celery and pickles
- Kentucky Hot Brown - An open-faced turkey sandwich buried in Mornay sauce, broiled until bubbling and crossed with bacon and tomato
- Burgoo - Kentucky's slow-simmered hunter's stew: several meats, a garden of vegetables and a long afternoon in the pot
- Lamb fries - Breaded, deep-fried lamb testicles with cream gravy, a stockyard-era delicacy that central Kentucky never gave up
- Bourbon balls - Kentucky's boozy candy: bourbon-soaked sugar and pecan centres dipped in dark chocolate
Best Lexington neighborhoods for food
- Downtown - Courthouse-square Lexington: steakhouses, bourbon bars and pre-Rupp dinners, with Cheapside pouring until 02:30
- Distillery District - The revived James E
- Jefferson Street - Lexington's restaurant row: chef-owned rooms, a steakhouse and daytime deli cottages strung along a walkable few blocks
- North Limestone - NoLi's creative corridor: Greyline Station stalls, dive-bar stages, donuts and the first-Friday Night Market
Signature dishes in Lexington
The plates that define eating in Lexington.
Kentucky Hot Brown
An open-faced turkey sandwich buried in Mornay sauce, broiled until bubbling and crossed with bacon and tomato. Born at Louisville's Brown Hotel, it became lunch-counter canon across Kentucky, Lexington included.
Where: Ramsey's Diner, Columbia Steak House
Burgoo
Kentucky's slow-simmered hunter's stew: several meats, a garden of vegetables and a long afternoon in the pot. Racetrack kitchens and church fundraisers keep it alive, and Stella's ladles it year-round in Lexington.
Where: Stella's Kentucky Deli
Lamb fries
Breaded, deep-fried lamb testicles with cream gravy, a stockyard-era delicacy that central Kentucky never gave up. Columbia Steak House has kept them on its Lexington menu since the 1940s.
Where: Columbia Steak House
Bourbon balls
Kentucky's boozy candy: bourbon-soaked sugar and pecan centres dipped in dark chocolate. Invented in Frankfort in the 1930s, they anchor every Lexington holiday tin and candy counter.
Mint julep
Bourbon, sugar, mint and a mountain of crushed ice in a frosted cup, Kentucky's ceremonial race-day drink. Lexington pours them all spring, from Keeneland weekends to downtown bourbon bars.
Country ham with red-eye gravy
Salt-cured Kentucky country ham fried hard and deglazed with black coffee into a sharp, thin gravy. A Bluegrass farm breakfast that Lexington's butchers and biscuit kitchens keep in circulation.
Where: Critchfield Meats Family Market, Crust
Kentucky spoonbread
A souffle-soft cornmeal pudding served by the spoonful, richer than cornbread and older than the Commonwealth. Berea's Boone Tavern made it famous, and Kentucky tables still pass it at holidays.
Chess pie
The South's plainest miracle: butter, sugar, eggs and a spoon of cornmeal baked to a caramelised custard. Kentucky bakeries riff it into lemon and chocolate, and Lexington buys it by the boxful.
Where: Missy's Pie Shop
Skillet-fried chicken
Bone-in chicken brined, dredged and fried in a cast-iron skillet, the dish Kentucky exported to the world. Lexington kitchens fold it into everything from bourbon-glazed dinners to hot chicken sandwiches.
Where: Azur Restaurant & Patio, Distilled on Jefferson, The Blue Heron Steakhouse
Ale-8-One
Winchester's gingery citrus soda, bottled since 1926 and still the Bluegrass region's default soft drink. Lexington drinks it cold from the bottle, in cocktails and even in barbecue glazes.
Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale
An amber ale aged for weeks in freshly emptied bourbon barrels, picking up vanilla, oak and warmth. Brewed at Lexington Brewing & Distilling, it is the city's signature glass of beer.
Where: Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.
Restaurants to know in Lexington
A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Lexington.
Dudley's on Short
Dudley's on Short cooks seasonal contemporary American food on West Short Street, the downtown room Lexington books for anniversaries and Keeneland nights.
Carson's Food & Drink
Carson's Food & Drink runs steaks, seafood and cocktails on East Main Street in Lexington, an old Kentucky supper-club room that stays loud into the evening.
Signature: Seared ahi tuna salad, Banana bread pudding
Coles 735 Main
Coles 735 Main serves Cole Arimes' locally sourced New American cooking in a circa-1938 room on East Main, with meats cured in-house for Lexington regulars.
Azur Restaurant & Patio
Azur Restaurant & Patio reworks American classics near Keeneland in Beaumont, a Lexington fixture since 2005 known for Tim Perkins' bourbon fried chicken.
Signature: Bourbon fried chicken, Woven shrimp
Distilled on Jefferson
Distilled on Jefferson pairs farm-to-table Southern cooking with a deep bourbon bar on Lexington's Jefferson Street restaurant row, in business since 2014.
Epping's on Eastside
Epping's on Eastside fills the old Epping Bottling Works in Lexington's Warehouse Block with house-cured meats, crab cakes and Cole Arimes' seasonal cooking.
Signature: Jumbo lump crab cake, Pork belly
Where to eat by neighborhood
Downtown
Courthouse-square Lexington: steakhouses, bourbon bars and pre-Rupp dinners, with Cheapside pouring until 02:30.
Best for: Steakhouses, Bourbon bars, Latin American
Distillery District
The revived James E. Pepper campus on Manchester Street: breweries, cider, whiskey, pizza and ice cream in old rickhouses.
Best for: Breweries, Bourbon, Ice cream
Jefferson Street
Lexington's restaurant row: chef-owned rooms, a steakhouse and daytime deli cottages strung along a walkable few blocks.
Best for: Southern, Barbecue, Steakhouse
North Limestone
NoLi's creative corridor: Greyline Station stalls, dive-bar stages, donuts and the first-Friday Night Market.
Best for: Coffee, Donuts, Wings
East End
East Main and Third Street's mix of old bakeries and new kitchens, from Spalding's donuts to Coles 735 Main.
Best for: Bakeries, New American, Pies
Warehouse Block
National Avenue's converted industrial strip: brisket, twin-batch beer, macarons and a women-founded wine collective.
Best for: Barbecue, Breweries, Wine bars
When to come hungry in Lexington
Peak food season: April and October, around Keeneland's spring and fall race meets. July brings Burger Week, Restaurant Week and Crave back to back.
Local dining hours: Lunch 11:00-14:00, dinner 17:30-21:00. Many kitchens close Sunday night and Monday; bars run to 02:30 downtown.
Tipping: Standard US tipping: 18 to 22 percent at table service, a dollar or two per drink at the bar, 10 percent at counters is appreciated.
Lexington food, FAQ
What food is Lexington known for?
Lexington's signature dishes include Beer cheese, Kentucky Hot Brown, Burgoo, Lamb fries, Bourbon balls. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
What are the best food neighborhoods in Lexington?
TableJourney editors map Lexington by district. Downtown, Distillery District, Jefferson Street, North Limestone are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Where should I eat fine dining in Lexington?
Editor picks in Lexington include Dudley's on Short, Coles 735 Main, ItalX, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
Are there food tours in Lexington?
TableJourney covers 4 editor-picked food tours in Lexington, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
Does Lexington have good vegetarian or vegan food?
TableJourney's Lexington dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.