Pin + Proof ★ 4.5
$$$Downtown{'monday': 'closed', 'tuesday': 'closed', 'wednesday': '17:00-23:00', 'thursday': '17:00-23:00', 'friday': '17:00-01:00', 'saturday': '17:00-01:00', 'sunday': 'closed'}
Pin + Proof inside the Omni Louisville Hotel is a prohibition-era speakeasy with sleek wooden bowling lanes in a dimly lit cellar, hidden behind a photo mural of a woman shushing.
Tip: Find the entrance left of the Omni lobby. Book bowling lanes through OpenTable.
Down One Bourbon Bar ★ 4.3
$$$Downtown{'monday': '16:00-23:00', 'tuesday': '16:00-23:00', 'wednesday': '16:00-23:00', 'thursday': '16:00-24:00', 'friday': '16:00-01:00', 'saturday': '16:00-01:00', 'sunday': '16:00-23:00'}
Down One Bourbon Bar in the Galt House Hotel basement pours 100+ bourbons in a low-lit speakeasy-style room under West Main Street, a hidden hotel-attached drinking room.
Tip: Walk-in for the bar. The Old Fashioned class runs Saturday afternoons.
Big Bar ★ 4.5
$$Highlands{'monday': '16:00-02:00', 'tuesday': '16:00-02:00', 'wednesday': '16:00-02:00', 'thursday': '16:00-02:00', 'friday': '16:00-03:00', 'saturday': '14:00-03:00', 'sunday': '14:00-02:00'}
Big Bar on Bardstown Road in Louisville is the Highlands' welcoming gay bar, voted Best Bar in the Highlands by LEO Weekly, with karaoke on Wednesday and Sunday nights since 2012.
Tip: Walk-in. Wednesday karaoke is the loudest night; happy hour runs every weekday.
Chill Bar Highlands ★ 4.3
$$Highlands{'monday': '16:00-02:00', 'tuesday': '16:00-02:00', 'wednesday': '16:00-02:00', 'thursday': '16:00-02:00', 'friday': '16:00-04:00', 'saturday': '14:00-04:00', 'sunday': '14:00-02:00'}
Chill Bar Highlands on Bardstown Road in Louisville runs a Highlands gay-friendly bar with drag shows, karaoke and a busy Friday-night dance floor, an LGBTQ+ Highlands fixture.
Tip: Walk-in. Drag shows run multiple weeknights; check the calendar online.
Please and Thank You ★ 4.5
$NuLuMon to Sat 07:00 to 17:30, Sun 08:00 to 17:30
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.
Tip: Walk-in. The vinyl rotates daily; ask the barista what's spinning.
Holy Grale ★ 4.6
$$Highlands{'monday': '17:00-22:00', 'tuesday': '17:00-22:00', 'wednesday': '17:00-22:00', 'thursday': '17:00-23:00', 'friday': '17:00-23:00', 'saturday': '14:00-23:00', 'sunday': '14:00-22:00'}
Holy Grale on Bardstown Road in Louisville pours Belgian and German imports from a converted 1905 church, the late-night Highlands beer hall with 30 taps and a stained-glass aesthetic.
Tip: Walk-in for the bar. Kitchen serves Belgian-style fries with the European beer list.