Big Bad Breakfast is a brunch restaurant in Highlands, Louisville.
Editorially verified May 31, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Signature dishes: House-cured bacon plate, Southern fried chicken biscuit
Must order: House-cured bacon plate with two eggs and stone-milled grits, plus a $5 happy-hour cocktail.
Tip: Walk-in only. $5 cocktails Monday to Friday from 07:00-10:00. Kitchen closes at 14:30.
Address: 984 Barret Avenue, Louisville, KY 40204
Wick's Pizza on Baxter Avenue in Louisville has poured pints and pulled deep-dish pies out of its Highlands corner since 1995, the busiest game-day room.
Signature: The Big Wick, Stromboli
Order: The Big Wick pizza with sausage, pepperoni and mushroom.
Tip: Walk-in only on weekends. Order at the bar and a runner brings out the pie.
Garage Bar on East Market in Louisville turned an old auto-service shop into a NuLu wood-fired pizza pub with a courtyard ping-pong table and a Kentucky.
Signature: Wood-fired pizza, Pork meatballs
Order: The pork-meatball wood-fired pizza, with a Kentucky bourbon old fashioned.
Tip: Kitchen serves late on weekends; the patio fills first on warm nights.
Hammerheads in Louisville packs forty seats into a Germantown basement on Swan Street, running smoked lamb ribs and pork sliders from an open kitchen.
Signature: Lamb ribs, Smoked sliders
Order: The lamb ribs and a pork-belly slider, plus a local draft.
Tip: No reservations. Get in before 18:00 or expect a 45-minute wait on weekends.
Wick's Pizza on Baxter Avenue in Louisville has poured pints and pulled deep-dish pies out of its Highlands corner since 1995, the busiest game-day room.
Signature: The Big Wick, Stromboli
Order: The Big Wick pizza with sausage, pepperoni and mushroom.
Tip: Walk-in only on weekends. Order at the bar and a runner brings out the pie.
Coal's Artisan Pizza on Frankfort Avenue in Louisville pulls thin-crust pies from a coal-fired oven, the city's most consistent neighbourhood pizzeria.
Signature: Coal-fired pizza, Burrata appetizer
Order: The Brownsboro pie with sausage and roasted peppers, plus a burrata to start.
Tip: Walk-in for the bar. The Middletown location takes reservations for larger parties.
Feast BBQ on East Market in Louisville runs a counter-service NuLu pit, slicing brisket and pulled pork until the smoker runs dry for the day.
Signature: Smoked brisket, Pulled pork
Order: A brisket plate with two sides and a side of pickles.
Tip: Get in before 14:00 on weekends. The brisket sells out fastest.
Royals Hot Chicken on East Market in Louisville has fried Nashville-style hot chicken from Ryan Rogers's Eternal Optimist group since 2015, the NuLu counter.
Signature: Hot chicken sandwich, Tachos
Order: The hot chicken sandwich at medium heat, with a side of tachos.
Tip: Order at the counter. Heat levels run from southern to plain-clucking insane.
