Reddit r/Louisville told us about the Most Underrated Bars & Restaurants in the city

Most travel blogs covering Louisville discuss the same restaurants and bars in the same popular neighborhoods. In an attempt to dig deeper, we went to the very knowledgeable and passionate Reddit r/Louisville community for opinions on the most underrated and, to some extent, underrepresented restaurants and bars in the city.

There were some amazing takeaways from the Reddit thread:

• Multiple Reddit users called out that Louisville’s population is majority white and that many tourists visit the same places. However, many posters made a point to recommend places that showcase the ethnic vibrancy of a city.
• A few legendary local establishments were suggested multiple times: Toasty’s Tavern, Passtime, Wagner’s Pharmacy, Annie’s, Shenanigans, & Back Door.
• The Reddit user Emilia_Clarke_is_bae even took the time to create a massive map of ethnically rich and black-owned restaurants in areas less traveled. We’re lovingly calling it the dinosaur map because, well, it has a massive dinosaur on it.

We took every restaurant and bar mentioned in the Reddit thread and created a massive Google Map. It would take us an eternity to visit and review every place.

Bars

• Barret Bar & Grill
• Big Al’s Beeritaville
• Cunningham’s Creekside
• Dundee Tavern
• High Horse
• R Place Pub
• River City Drafthouse
• Shenanigans Irish Grille
• Shippingport Brewing Co.
• ShopBar
• The Back Door

Restaurants

• 80/20 @ Kaelin’s Restaurant
• A Chau Restaurant
• Abyssinia
• Alwatan Bakery
• Annie’s Café
• Bombay Grill
• Brasserie Provence
• Caffe Classico
• Carali’s Rotisserie Chicken
• Caspian Grill Persian Bistro
• Come Back Inn
• Cottage Inn
• Cottage Cafe
• Danny Mac’s Pizza
• DiFabio’s
• Dragon King’s Daughter
• Eden & Kissi
• Falafel Oasis
• Jamaican Jerk Center
• Jay’s Burgers
• Jerusalem Kitchen
• Kathmandu Kitchen and Bar
• Lee’s Korean Restaurant
• Max Orient
• Melt 502
• Mirage Mediterranean
• Noosh Nosh
• Pasha’s Mediterranean Cafe
• Passtime Fish House
• Pizza Donisi
• Sapporo Japanese Grill & Sushi
• Southern Hospitality
• The Café
• The Fish House
• Toasty’s Tavern
• Vietnam Kitchen
• Wagner’s Pharmacy

Dinosaur Map

• Addis Abeba Ethiopian Bar & Restaurant
• Aji Sushi and Asian Cuisine
• Annie’s Café
• Babie Bac’z Good Grill
• Back Deck BBQ
• Big Momma’s
• Bodega Mi Sueno
• Burger Boy
• Chicago’s Jerk Tacos
• Dairy Delight
• Dakshin
• Dizzy Whizz Drive-In
• El Molcajete
• El Pastorcito Taqueria
• EL TACO RANCHERO
• Feast BBQ
• Flavors Cuisine of India Louisville
• Jasmin Bakery European Bread
• Kathmandu Kitchen and Bar
• Koreana Restaurant III
• Kum’s Cafe & Arirang
• La Chiquita Bakery & Store
• Louie’s Hot Chicken & Barbecue
• Louisville Smokers
• Mike Linnig’s
• Mi Preferida Supermercado
• Mussel & Burger Bar
• Ollie’s Trolley
• Open Caribbean Kitchen
• Rubbies
• Safier Mediterranean Deli
• Smor
• Smor Bakeri
• Sue’s Touch of Country Restaurant
• Taco Luchador
• Taquero Mucho
• Thai Noodles Restaurant
• The Seafood Lady
• Tuscany Italian Restaurant
• Vietnam Kitchen
• Wagner’s Pharmacy
• Week-End Burgers

A few hand-picked restaurants and bars from the list with notable dishes

Annie’s Cafe – Vietnamese, Beechmont

Annie’s Cafe is a Vietnamese restaurant near Beechmont. They are known for serving authentic Vietnamese cuisine, including pho, banh mi, and spring rolls. The menu is full of traditional Vietnamese dishes made with fresh ingredients and bold flavors. The restaurant has a cozy atmosphere and friendly staff.

Chicago’s Jerk Tacos, West Louisville

Chicago’s Jerk Tacos is a Caribbean restaurant that specializes in Jamaican-style jerk chicken tacos, burritos, quesadillas and burgers.

Toasty’s Tavern – Burgers, Shelby Park

Toasty’s Tavern is a gastropub in Shelby Park. The restaurant offers a variety of elevated pub fare, including burgers, sandwiches, and hot dogs. They even have quite a few vegetarian options. Toasty’s has a cozy atmosphere with comfortable seating, making it a great spot to grab a drink and a bite to eat. It has a cult following in town and also won the best burger in Louisville in 2022.

Mirage – Mediterranean, Outer Loop

Mirage Mediterranean is a restaurant that serves traditional Mediterranean dishes such as gyros, kebabs, and hummus. The menu also includes vegetarian and vegan options like falafel and stuffed grape leaves. Its staff is super friendly and helpful as well.

Danny Mac’s Pizza – Butchertown/Mellwood

Danny Mac’s Pizza is located in the Mellwood Art Center near Butchertown. Their pies are a must-try for pizza buffs.

Wagner’s Pharmacy – Breakfast, South Louisville

Wagner’s Pharmacy is a historic restaurant located across the street from Churchill Downs. As such, it is frequented by jockeys, those in the horse racing industry, and locals. They’re known for their breakfast, especially their biscuits and gravy.

Passtime Fish House – Seafood, Jeffersontown

Passtime is a restaurant, sports bar, and fish house mashup. It’s a super no-frills establishment with delicious fried fish and cheap beer. They even have frog legs and chicken livers on the menu.

Eden & Kissi – Caribbean, Buechel

Edin and Kissi is in the Beuchel neighborhood and is described as an Afro-Carribean restaurant with a French touch. The current menu features jerk chicken, wings, beef patties, but also plenty of other dishes like salmon and red snapper. They have a curry goat special on Thursdays!

Shippingport Brewery Co – Craft Beer & Grill, Portland (Louisville)

Shippingport Brewery and its Sally Forth Taproom opened in Portland in 2021. It’s a women-owned brewery with a wide range of craft beer, including IPAs, ales, sours, kolch, and more. They also have a food menu with plenty of sandwiches to choose from.

If you want the other list, you can read our post on how to spend 48hrs in Louisville.