Stella's Kentucky Deli is a southern restaurant in Jefferson Street, Lexington.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Signature dishes: Kentucky burgoo
Tip: Daytime only, 09:00-15:00. The weekend brunch menu is small; arrive before 10:30 to dodge the queue.
Address: 143 Jefferson St, Lexington, KY 40508
Columbia Steak House has fed Lexington since 1948, still broiling the garlic-butter Nighthawk Special with a Diego salad and frying its famous lamb fries.
Signature: Nighthawk Special, Lamb fries, Diego salad
Tip: Order the Nighthawk Special with fried banana peppers; the Richmond Road room keeps the old-school feel.
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.
Josie's plates omelettes, waffles and the Chevy Chase Special every day until 14:00, the breakfast room that draws Chevy Chase Lexington's longest queues.
Signature: Josie's Dad Omelet, Chevy Chase Special
Tip: Daily 08:00-14:00 only. Weekend waits run long; put your name down and browse Chevy Chase Place shops.
A.P. Suggins Bar & Grill keeps Romany Road in burgers, catfish fingers and chicken livers, the Chevy Chase corner tavern where Lexington generations meet.
Signature: Catfish fingers, Burgers
Tip: Kitchen runs 11:00-21:30 most nights; the house salad and a burger is the local default order.
Tachibana has served Lexington sushi, yakitori and teppanyaki since 1987 on Newtown Court, the city's longest-running Japanese dining room by some distance.
Tip: Lunch is weekdays only, 11:30-13:30; book a tatami room for groups and order from the sushi bar.
Han Woo Ri simmers soon doo boo and grills bulgogi on South Limestone by the UK campus, the Korean kitchen that keeps Lexington students and expats fed.
Signature: Soon doo boo, Bulgogi
Tip: The kitchen breaks between lunch and dinner; arrive before 14:00 or after 17:00 and start with kimchi dumplings.
