One of the best parts of discovering Louisville was the amazing mixture of options when it came to food & drink. And for a place known for bourbon and a Midwest mentality, this nomadic vegan was a pleasantly surprised by the selection!

First up, the most important part of visiting Louisville includes drinking. Here are a few of my favorite spots to do so:

Meta - My local bar here in town, if you want to learn more I wrote a whole post about it. Great people, great cocktails, enough said.
Expo - One of the coolest dive bars downtown. Go through the blue door on Main Street into a different kind of Louisville where the cocktails are delightful and reasonably priced.
Doc Crow’s - One part BBQ place, one part bourbon heaven, this spot has some great veggie friendly food along with the meat heavy BBQ and a literal binder full of bourbon choices that you might not be able to try anywhere else.
Silver Dollar - Similar to Doc Crow’s, this spot has a very extensive bourbon list. Housed in an old converted fire house, stop by for a drink, some lunch, and then don’t forget to go across the street to the Sweet Surrender Dessert Café for some delicious options afterward.
The Pearl of Germantown - This place is open what seems like every day of the year. It’s where local bartenders go after their own bars close. It has a chill, neighborhood vibe and is worth a stop if you’re up past 2am.
Heine Brothers’ Coffee - After all of that bourbon, and the few late nights that might come with it, you’ll need a good cup of coffee. This local spot has branches all over Louisville. Skip the Starbucks and grab a cup of joe and some delicious breakfast pastries at any of their locations.

Now onto the food. Broken down by neighborhood, some were great while others were a bit of a disappointment. check then notes for each!

Downtown - for some reason my only three downtown suggestions are all in / associated with hotels and are therefore on the fancier side. If you want more options, make your way out into the various neighborhoods.
- Proof on Main - This bar & restaurant in the bottom of the Louisville 21c Hotel is a visual experience in itself. The food is on the fancier ( & pricier) side, and while you wait for food or drink you can take a stroll through the adjacent art gallery located in the 21c lobby. This combo makes it a great spot for an upscale date night.
- Swizzle - Located at the top floor of the Galt House Hotel, this is the best place for a fancy dinner with a view. When my parents came to town to celebrate thanksgiving with me, this is where we booked our thanksgiving dinner. The restaurant has two circular dining rooms that actually rotate to give you a perfect view of the river. Definitely come here for sunset if you want an incredible view and some high-class service.
- Brown Hotel - This hotel is famous for creating the Louisville local favorite: the Hot Brown. There’s texas toast, there’s bacon, and there’s a whooole lot of cheese. My dad had to order it and he was not disappointed. There are a few restaurants in the hotel, but dining at the Lobby Bar gives you an amazing view of the gorgeous interiors of a truly grand hotel, and full access to both the dinner menu & the bar.

NULU - an up and coming area, NULU extends along Main & Market streets past downtown towards the new soccer stadium. There are a bunch of great restaurants here, not to mention easy access to the waterfront parks. If you have time to catch a soccer game while you’re in town, this is a great place to eat & drink before and after the game.
- Everyday Kitchen - A new venture from the head chef of Proof on Main, they have an impressive menu full of interesting taste combinations and a chic décor to compliment.
- La Bodeguita De Mima - This place is something you definitely don’t expect to see on a big street in a Louisville Kentucky… but somehow it works. Once you step through the front doors you are greeted by a Panama hat wearing staff and live salsa music. Definitely make reservations ahead of time to get a prime seat for great a night of Cuban food and entertainment!
- Mayan Café - Whenever locals give recommendations for NULU they add this spot, and for good reason. With a delicious selection of Latin American cuisine, I can happily confirm what all the locals know: this spot is worth a visit.
- West Sixth Nulu - When you enter West Sixth you’ll find yourself in a large open courtyard with an abundance of outdoor seating and quite a few food & drink options. You can get beer at the brewery, cocktails at Gertie’s, pizza at Emmy Squared, and a few more things as well. This is a great spot to stop before a local soccer match (it’s within walking distance of the stadium).
- Naive Kitchen - This spot is tucked away on a back street off of Market, but it’s worth the detour. With a lovely interior dining room and a cozy outdoor patio, this place offers a delightful veg friendly menu in a beautiful and relaxing setting.

Clifton - A bit of a stroll east of Downtown & Nulu, there aren’t a lot of places here that I visited, but of the ones I did, it had the best concentration of vegan options.
- Gold Bar - Most nights you can find a younger crowd hanging out here late for the music and dancing. If that’s not your scene this probably isn’t the spot for you…. unless you want vegan bar food. I’m talking delicious burgers & sandwiches that come out of a kitchen open until midnight or later most nights. If you ever have a late night vegan craving, this is probably where you should end up. They also have non-vegan fried food but it’s definitely worth trying some of the vegan options, you would never know the difference!
- Sweet Surrender Dessert Café - Across the street from Silver Dollar, I found not only vegan options for cookies, I found an entire vegan cake option. Let’s just say I got my self a slice or two for my birthday while I was in town and I am still thinking about that cookies and cream cake goodness.
- The Grape Leaf - A quiet Mediterranean place with a lovely courtyard. I came here a few times in nicer weather to enjoy my falafel wraps sitting outside. This spot offers a spread of reasonably priced mezze platters, kabobs, and falafel platters in a serene setting.

Highlands
- Agave & Rye - I think this is a chain of Latin/Mexican inspired fare. The food was good but I wasn’t in love with the general vibe, it was pretty loud and gets very crowded. I would try other spots first if you want a calmer atmosphere.
- Ciao Ristorante - Recommended by the owners of Meta, I had lunch here and this spot had some seriously solid Italian food. Pasta, pizza, what more can you want?
- Molly Malone’s Irish Pub - Owned by an actual Irishman, if you want that Irish pub vibe while watching some European soccer, this is your spot. They also have some great veggie options (even a vegan shepherds pie!) so it’s a win-win.
- Hearts and Soy / Roots - This is two restaurants in one, on the left you have a more sit-down restaurant and on the right is more of a counter service kind of place. I went left and got some extremely delicious pan-Asian vegan food. With a mix of vegetarian & vegan options, you won’t be lacking in selection. I left with extra dishes to take home!
- V-Grits (fully vegan) - I wanted to love V-grits, I really did. But sadly I only liked it. They fall into the trap of making a lot of comfort food veganized (meaning you get a lot of greasy sandwiches & mac and cheese options) to pair with your beer (from the on-site brewery), instead of having anything else slightly healthier. They also love to add pickles… to everything… including mac and cheese. If you’re a vegan in town I would check them out for your comfort food day, but if you want more mid to high-end dining, this isn’t it.
- Flora Kitchenette (fully vegan) - Right across the street from V-Grits, and down the street from some great vintage stores like Nitty Gritty & Fat Rabbit, this is your vegan brunch spot. So many places have vegan options for lunch or dinner, but breakfast & brunch is where we miss out. Luckily Flora fixes that for Louisville. It isn’t fancy, but it’s definitely tasty and that’s all you can want from brunch really.

Germantown
- Toasty’s Tavern - This bar / restaurant has a local neighborhood feel and offers a very good veg friendly burger. If you’re feeling in the mood for a quiet bar atmosphere and a solid burger, this is the spot. It’s also down the street from Trouble Bar if you want to try some bourbon.

St. Matthew’s
- Taj Palace - This is definitely out of the way of downtown, but I asked some local friends about the best place for Indian takeout and this was the recommendation. I ordered from here multiple times for pickup and was happy every time.

Thanks for coming along for another super long review of spots to visit in Louisville. Hopefully this piques your interest for visiting!

All photos taken on a first-gen iPhone SE

Disclaimer: this post is not sponsored. All drinks & meals were fully paid for by me and/or my family. All opinions are my own.