15 editor picks in Lexington.
15 bars in Lexington, editor-picked for bars open late. Bars serving past 23:00. All bars in Lexington.
The Bluegrass Tavern stacks Kentucky's largest bourbon collection on Cheapside, the downtown Lexington bar where flights run deep into allocated bottles.
TipClosed Sundays and Mondays; tell the bartender a flavour direction and a budget and they will build a flight from Kentucky's largest bourbon collection.
Ona mixes precise cocktails in an Art Deco room on Church Street, the low-lit downtown Lexington bar for a slow drink rather than a loud night.
TipOpen nightly from 17:00 to 01:00; the seasonal menu rotates, so ask the bartenders what they are testing this week.
OBC Kitchen stocks over 150 bourbons and whiskeys behind a Lansdowne storefront, the Lexington bar-restaurant where bacon arrives in a glass with the drinks.
OrderBacon in a glass
TipIt sits in the Lansdowne Shoppes beside sister steakhouse Malone's; weekend service opens at 10:00 with brunch dishes.
The Obstinate Sons runs a snug bourbon bar and kitchen on Chevy Chase Place, a neighbourhood Lexington room that takes its whiskey list seriously.
TipClosed Mondays; the kitchen holds its own, so arrive hungry rather than treating it as a drinks-only stop, and expect a wait for seats on weekends.
Wiseguy Lounge hides a Prohibition-styled bourbon bar above Goodfellas Pizzeria on Manchester Street, Lexington's speakeasy with hundreds of bottles.
TipEnter through the pizzeria and head upstairs; Thursday to Saturday it pours until 02:30 with slices below.
Belle's Cocktail House pours bourbon cocktails across three levels on Market Street, with the rooftop bar downtown Lexington heads to on warm weekends.
TipOpen Thursday to Saturday only, 16:30 to 02:00; head straight up to the rooftop level before the queue forms.
Bourbon on Rye keeps Prohibition-era cocktails and 12 taps going until 02:30 on West Main Street, a late-shift bourbon room in downtown Lexington.
TipWednesday to Saturday only; kitchen plates pub classics late, which is rare downtown after midnight.
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.
TipClosed Mondays; Tuesday open mic is free and the Thursday to Saturday bookings range from hip-hop to bluegrass.
Chevy Chase Inn has poured since 1933, Lexington's oldest bar, a cash-friendly Euclid Avenue dive that opens at 14:00 and never pretends to be more.
TipAfternoon drinking is the move; it opens at 14:00 daily and the jukebox and regulars do the entertaining.
The Beer Trappe runs taps and a bottle wall on Euclid Avenue, the Chevy Chase beer bar where Lexington's beer nerds drink in or carry out rare releases.
TipAnything on the shelves can be opened at the bar for a small corkage; ask what rare Kentucky releases landed.
The Bar Complex runs three bars, a dance floor and drag stages on East Main, the long-standing anchor of LGBTQ+ nightlife in downtown Lexington.
TipThursday to Saturday only, 20:00 to 02:30; check the drag show schedule and arrive before the second set.
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.
TipCash helps at the bar; Wednesday karaoke and the happy hour before 19:00 are the reliable nights.
Charlie Brown's furnishes its Euclid Avenue bar like a worn library, all couches, bookshelves and lamplight, a Lexington comfort institution with pub food.
TipGrab a couch by the fireplace in winter; the kitchen serves the full menu until late on weekends.
McCarthy's Irish Bar pulls Guinness on South Upper Street daily until 02:30, the downtown Lexington local for march-in singalongs and post-game pints.
TipOpen 11:00 to 02:30 every day; it is the default St Patrick's headquarters, so plan around the March crush.
Henry Clay's Public House pours pints on North Upper Street, blocks from the statesman's old law office, a downtown Lexington blues and covers pub.
TipClosed Sunday and Monday; Tuesday blues nights are the local pick over the busier weekend cover bands.
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