Best hidden gem restaurants in Louisville? 10 places you can't miss
As Beth Bliss headed toward the exit of this restaurant in an old yellow house, she noticed the familiar face of the owner and paid a compliment about lunch.
"This is the best burger on the planet," Bliss said.
Every week, and usually for the meatloaf special on Wednesdays, Bliss brings her 83-year-old dad to this beloved Middletown eatery.
"He has Alzheimer's and he does not remember anything," Bliss said. "But, he remembers Cottage Cafe, and he remembers where he sits and the people and the food."
As Stivers sits at one of the cafe's tables with fruit-themed coverings, near a photo of her great-grandmother's dinner table, she greets other patrons who recall decades of Cottage Cafe lunches. A minute or two later, she meets a couple who dropped in for their first visit.
While Cottage Cafe has tons of regulars and fans, Stivers says her restaurant is still new to some in the Louisville area.
"It's off the beaten path," she said. "People say, 'We don't want everyone to find out about this.' And I say, 'Well, we do.'"
Louisville is home to more than 1,800 restaurants, including so many like Cottage Cafe that don't pop to the top of Google searches and don't have fancy facades or a bunch of marketing dollars.
That's the beauty of so-called hidden gems. You have to just stumble upon them. And once you do, it feels like you're in on a secret.
Read on for details about 10 of Louisville's top hidden gem restaurants, listed in alphabetical order:
Note: The following list is not comprehensive. Did we miss your favorite? Send a note to [email protected].
Hidden gem restaurants in Louisville
Black Rabbit
You can't get more hidden than a speakeasy bar behind a bookshelf. The Black Rabbit in St. Matthews offers cocktails, an extensive bourbon collection and a sophisticated wine list in a dark, moody setting.
Black Rabbit, 122 Sears Ave., is a speakeasy bar and restaurant in St. Matthews with weekly events and jazz nights on the weekends.
Beyond drinks, Black Rabbit's food menu includes more than you'd expect at a typical speakeasy with appetizers such as French dip sliders and Cajun calamari. Along with pizzas and sides such as a Big Bowl O' Fries, main dishes include a catfish sandwich, pork tenderloin and linguini with meatballs. Another menu item, Deano's Fried Chicken serves as a nod to this place's former life as Equus & Jack's Lounge from the legendary Louisville chef Dean Corbett.
This place also hosts weekly events such as trivia, ladies night and martini nights, along with jazz every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Black Rabbit is open 4-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 4-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
Classico Takeout Empanadas
In a small storefront on a row of offices near Louisville Slugger Field, you'll see a neon sign for "empanadas" glowing in the top corner of the window.
Empanadas at Caffe Classico, Agentinian style empanadas of beef, chicken and veggies.October 15, 2014
Inside, you'll find a row of Argentinian-style empanadas with a variety of flavors, from spicy pork and shrimp to egg, bacon and cheese. You'll also find a few sandwiches, paninis and pizzas on the menu, plus a few beers on draft. As an extra treat, look for Classico Pizzeria, which opened in December around the corner at 400 E. Main St. Both concepts are off-shoots of Caffe Classico, the long-running European cafe at 2144 Frankfort Ave.
Classico Takeout Empanadas is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Cottage Cafe
This longstanding restaurant is filled with flamingos. You'll find a slew of stuffed animal versions, both small and human-size, a flamingo in a snow globe, one in the shape of a basket, and a painting of three of the pink birds with the words, "Don't postpone joy." That is the kind of motto you might hear from owner Susan Stivers as she presides over this popular Middletown lunch spot. She opened Cottage Cafe 34 years ago in an empty house, after dreaming about owning a restaurant since she was 9.
“I wanted an older house, so you feel like you're eating at your grandma's,” she told the Courier Journal. "It's cozy and it's different."
The menu is plenty cozy, with house-made chicken salad, turkey and ham sandwiches, creative burgers like one topped with pimento cheese, a meatloaf special on Wednesdays, a hot brown, salads, and huge slices of cake and pie.
Cottage Cafe is open 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.
El Molcajete
This Mexican restaurant's Facebook feed is filled with behind-the-scene photos of homemade tortillas, chicken tamales or big tubs of rice getting cooked or whole chickens getting roasted.
El Molcajete, 2932 S 4th St., is a popular Mexican restaurant in Louisville.
El Molcajete, which is located near Churchill Downs in south Louisville, describes itself as the "best Mexican cuisine in Louisville to fill both your hearts and your stomachs with happiness." El Molcajete is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
FABD Smokehouse
With a name like Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot, you might not initially expect a barbecue restaurant. But then you see, or smell, the barrel smokers out front.
Boasting Louisville-style barbecue with a "We Rub the Best Butts" slogan, FABD Smokehouse offers smoked pulled pork, ribs, brisket, and chicken wings tossed with your choice of sauce, from sweet baby Ray's to honey chipotle, all in a dive bar-like space.
FABD Smokehouse is open 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to midnight Sunday.
Frank's Deli
This deli, butcher and produce shop has been around since 1979, serving the Audubon Park neighborhood and beyond.
Frank's Meat & Produce, 3342 Preston Highway, has been around since 1979.
Here, you'll find a bunch of deli sandwich option and sides like pasta salad, bowls of chili and daily sandwich specials are go-to orders on the menu. Sloppy Joe's are on special, for example, on Mondays and it's ribeye sandwiches on Thursdays.
Frank's is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10-5 p.m. Sunday.
Pizza Lupo
Thought this pizzeria has an address for bustling Frankfort Avenue, its precise location still has a tucked-away feeling. It's not another restaurant on a row of restaurants and if you were driving by, you'd be forgiven for missing the lit-up "pizza" sign.
And in a city with plenty of solid pizza choices, Pizza Lupo surprises with sourdough Neapolitan-style pies and Italian fare beyond those wood-fired circles of goodness. Pizzas are topped with locally-sourced ingredients and that goes, too, for dishes such as the rigatoni carbonara, which is topped with with dry-aged pork belly from 3D Valley Farm. For drinks, you'll find natural wine, beer and cocktails with Italian amari.
Pizza Lupo is open 5-9 p.m. daily.
Shack in the Back
This beloved barbecue joint began in 2006, when the Sivells family opened their dream business in a 920-square-foot log cabin. Shack in the Back has since grown and, in 2022, moved to a 4,400-square-foot space in Fairdale that still has plenty of rustic flair, complete with a faded blue Chevrolet pick-up truck marking the front door.
Along with starters like pork rinds, turkey ribs, and "The Hump," which is the Shack's version of nachos, you'll also find pulled pork, beef brisket, a pork chop sandwich, baby back ribs, and chicken wings. The restaurant's newish digs also come with an outdoor patio, where live music is often on the schedule.
Shack in the Back is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
Wagner's Pharmacy
While this place springs to the very top of mind around the first Saturday of May, don't forget Wagner's Pharmacy is open year round near the historic Churchill Downs Racetrack.
While visiting this neighborhood diner that's been around since 1922, you'll be surrounded by plenty of Kentucky Derby memorabilia and pieces of horseracing history. The hearty menu includes breakfast plates with your choice of potatoes or tomatoes as a side. For lunch, dishes include burgers, country fried steak or sandwiches like grilled bologna. Brunch is also offered on Saturday and Sunday.
Wagner's is open 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Week-End Burgers
What other burger joint in town also offers "famous Eclair cakes" for dessert? This unassuming spot neighboring a gas station began as a food truck in 2018 and opened its brick-and-mortar location on 2021.
The Mushroom Swiss with Cheese Burger Royal at Week-End Burgers in Louisville.
Week-End Burgers, a participant in Louisville Burger Week in recent years, bills itself as serving "one of the best burgers in Louisville if not the best," according to the restaurant's website.
Beyond burgers, Week-End's menu offers a range of items, such as grilled chicken, fried chicken, patty melts, cheesesteak sandwiches, fish sandwiches, salads, chicken wings, and hot dogs.
Week-End Burgers is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 2-7 p.m. Saturday.
Reach food and dining reporter Amanda Hancock at [email protected].
