The 20 Hottest New Restaurants in Louisville Right Now

By LEO Weekly Staff on Fri, May 27, 2022 at 11:39 pm

Here's the thing: There are so many restaurants in Louisville. So, so many. While we'd love to cover them all, we know that our readers tend to look first for the ones that already have a lot of community hype. With that in mind, we put together this list of the 20 hottest restaurants and bars in Louisville that have opened or reopened this year.

Common Haus Hall

134 Spring St., Jeffersonville, Indiana
Bavarian-inspired food is the star at this three-story restaurant across the river. Enjoy German beers, sauerbraten, pretzels, leberkäse (fried bologna sandwiches) and more.
Photo by Carolyn Brown

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Guacamole Modern Mexican

900 E. Market St.
When this Mexican restaurant moved to its NuLu location, the building it took over got a colorful facade spotlighting Frida Kahlo, thanks to Derby Festival poster artist Kacy Jackson. At every corner, the interior decor is just as bright — and so is the food.
Photo by Carolyn Brown

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Dasha Barbours Southern Bistro

217 E. Main St.
This Black-owned business, a Southern/soul food restaurant, moved from Buechel to a larger, higher-traffic space downtown. Its menu includes shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, Cajun salmon with “rasta pasta,” deep fried catfish, and salmon croquettes.
Photo by Carolyn Brown

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Noble Funk Brewing Co.

922 S. Second St.
This gigantic brewery, which opened in January, replaced what used to be a Kroger. It now serves pizzas, salads, and, obviously, plenty of beer.
Photo by Kathryn Harrington

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All Thai’d Up

211 S. Fifth St.
Kathy Aphaivongs-Harrod had owned and operated the All Thai’d Up food truck for years before she opened the brick-and-mortar location this March. The restaurant serves noodle dishes, curries, papaya salad, boba teas, and more.
Photo via facebook.com/AllThaidUpKY

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The StrEatery

304 West Woodlawn Avenue
When Fresh Out The Box owner Dung Tran announced last December that he’d be bringing an international food hall to Beechmont, hundreds of people shared the news on Facebook and implored him to bring all their favorite international cuisines. The StrEatery has been soft-open for pop-ups since April and will have a grand opening later this summer.
Photo via Facebook.com/LouisvilleStreatery

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Joe’s Palm Room

1821 West Jefferson St.
This legendary club had a soft reopening on New Year’s Eve under its original name, Joe’s Palm Room, to honor the original owner Joe Hammond, a well-known entrepreneur in Louisville. It was known in its heyday for attracting power brokers and big names like Muhammad Ali, Redd Foxx, Dizzy Gillespie, Richard Pryor and more.
Photo courtesy of Donnie Adkins

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Vernon Lanes

1575 Story Avenue
This celebrated bowling alley in Butchertown reopened earlier this spring after a multi-year closure, just in time for Jack Harlow to celebrate his birthday there not long after. Their menu includes flatbreads, salads, bar appetizers, sandwiches, desserts and more.
Photo via instagram.com/vernonlanes

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Railyard Billiards & Sports Pub

630 Barret Avenue
This billiards pub is opening this weekend in the site of the former Diamond Pub Highlands (RIP.) While it won’t be the hub for the metal community that its predecessor was, it will have live music and plenty of tables for billiards and pool players.
Photo courtesy of Railyard Billiards & Sports Pub

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Goodfellas Pizzeria

642 Baxter Avenue
Don’t fuhgettabout this Mafia-themed restaurant, which opened a location on Baxter Avenue earlier this year. As you can imagine, they serve plenty of pizza, plus salads, calzones, etc.
Photo via Facebook.com/GoodfellasBaxter/

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Oldham Brewing Co.

10601 Worthington Lane
The patio at this microbrewery overlooks the golf course of a country club, so the views are much swankier than those at most other bars. Beyond that, it’s also the first of its kind in Prospect and second in Oldham County.
Photo via Facebook.com/OldhamBrewingCo

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Honeydew

135 Breckenridge Lane
There’s never a bad time for a smoothie (or a smoothie bowl.) You can get both at Honeydew, which also serves salads, sandwiches and desserts.
Photo via Facebook.com/honeydewlouisville/

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The Fox Den.

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Neat Bourbon Bar & Bottle Shop

1139 Bardstown Road
You can drink, buy and sell hundreds of varieties of bourbon at this 1920s-inspired venue, which opened in January.
Photo via Facebook.com/neatbottlebar/

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Frank’s Whiskey Place

331 East Market Street
Dogs are more than welcome at this whiskey bar — especially the one the bar was named after, owner Russell Shore’s beloved 3-year-old pup. The new bar opened last week and sits on the Urban Bourbon Trail. Look for the painted paw prints on the sidewalk.
Photo via Facebook.com/FranksWhiskeyPlaceLouisville/

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Southern Restaurant and Lounge

301 West Market Street
When you want to eat Southern dishes in a luxury setting, with live music in the background, you come to Southern Restaurant and Lounge. Conveniently, it’s also a short walk away from the Kentucky Center, the Galt House and the waterfront.
Photo via Facebook.com/SouthernRestaurantAndLounge

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The GRÜV Sports Bar & Lounge

434 West Market Street
This Black-owned bar downtown opened in April: you can drink, do karaoke and dance to a DJ’s live tunes. The bar serves food, too — “small plate gourmet cuisine,” as they call it, meaning classic bar foods (loaded fries, wings, sliders, etc.) with a “GRUV” twist.
Photo via Facebook.com/thegruvlou https://www.facebook.com/thegruvlou/

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Watch Hill Proper

11201 River Beauty Loop
This bourbon bar in Norton Commons specializes in American brands, has an membership option and has a “strongly suggested” business casual dress code. They’ve also got food — think you can handle a 48-ounce porterhouse?
Photo via Facebook.com/watchhillproper

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Seidenfaden’s

1134 E Breckinridge St.
After several months of closures preceded by the untimely passing of former owner Alex Cosby, this dive bar is now open again — in general, although it’s closed this week because of a COVID exposure. The bar is known for its late-night dance parties, weekly themed TV and movie nights, and for the “Crazy Ridenfaden Cyclists,” who end their rides with drinks together at the bar.
Photo via Instagram.com/seidenfadensbar

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