Mayan Cafe is a mayan restaurant in Nulu, Louisville.
Chef Bruce Ucan's Mayan Cafe in Louisville cooks Yucatecan plates with Kentucky farm produce, the East Market NuLu room locals recommend to first-timers.
Signature dishes: Tok-sel lima beans, Cochinita pibil
Must order: The tok-sel lima beans wok-seared with pumpkin seeds, the dish locals rave about.
Tip: Book on Resy. The new patio bar takes walk-ins for a quick plate and a mezcal before dinner service.
Address: 813 East Market Street, Louisville, KY 40206
Lou Lou on Market in Louisville moved into the former Decca space, a New Orleans-rooted NuLu kitchen running shrimp and grits and Bananas Foster.
Signature: Shrimp and grits, Bananas Foster
Order: The shrimp and grits, the kitchen's loudest plate.
Tip: Patio seats are first-come on weekends. Book the dining room on OpenTable for Friday and Saturday.
bar Vetti in Louisville pours Italian wines and pulls house-made pasta from the AC Hotel corner of East Market and Shelby Street in NuLu.
Signature: House-made pasta, Caesar salad
Order: Whatever pasta is on the daily list, plus the Caesar salad for the table.
Tip: Book on Resy. Bar seats and the patio take walk-ins early in the evening.
Jack Fry's has run on Bardstown Road in Louisville since 1933, the Highlands dining bar where the counter takes walk-ins for the full menu.
Signature: Lamb chops, Shrimp and grits
Order: The lamb chops, the dish that has anchored the menu for decades.
Tip: Book on OpenTable a week ahead. First-come bar seats turn over for walk-ins.
Lou Lou on Market in Louisville moved into the former Decca space, a New Orleans-rooted NuLu kitchen running shrimp and grits and Bananas Foster.
Signature: Shrimp and grits, Bananas Foster
Order: The shrimp and grits, the kitchen's loudest plate.
Tip: Patio seats are first-come on weekends. Book the dining room on OpenTable for Friday and Saturday.
bar Vetti in Louisville pours Italian wines and pulls house-made pasta from the AC Hotel corner of East Market and Shelby Street in NuLu.
Signature: House-made pasta, Caesar salad
Order: Whatever pasta is on the daily list, plus the Caesar salad for the table.
Tip: Book on Resy. Bar seats and the patio take walk-ins early in the evening.
Le Moo in Louisville runs Lexington Road's theatrical steakhouse: a black-walled dining room, dry-aged cuts and a caviar service that arrives on a silver tray.
Signature: Dry-aged steaks, Caviar service
Order: A bone-in ribeye and the caviar service to start.
Tip: Reserve on OpenTable for the dining room. The bar pours a sharp bourbon list with the full menu.
Buck's Restaurant in Louisville has poured Old Louisville's continental dinner since 1992, set inside the historic Mayflower building on West Ormsby.
Signature: Crab cakes, Bacon-wrapped shrimp
Order: The crab cakes and the bacon-wrapped shrimp, two long-running classics.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Best for a special-occasion dinner with a view of the room's vintage piano bar.
Volare in Louisville pours seasonal Italian dinners with house-made pasta on Frankfort Avenue, three years running the Louisville Magazine readers' best Italian.
Signature: Sea bass piccata, Tomato salad
Order: The sea bass piccata, the kitchen's most-ordered plate.
Tip: Book the dining room online. The bar opens at 16:30 and pours a sharp aperitivo list.
