upscale restaurants (Louisville, Frankfort, Bardstown: hotel, house, live in)

[madre5050]

We will be staying in Louisville for our anniversary. We are in our late 50's and would like suggestions on upscale restaurants for an anniversary dinner. We are not interested in any chains. Thanks

[Roguewave]

I would go to Avalon, on Bardstown Road. Or Azalea's on Brownsboro Rd. Both very "Highlands Louisville." or the L&M wine bar. I mean, I don't know how upscale you want to get. This is what I would consider, casual-fine dining, but if you do it right, and get a nice wine, your easily going to spend 200 for two, but it will be amazing for that price. There are so many others and I haven't lived there in awhile. There's Primo for a more urban vibe right downtown. I mean, I live in Miami, and this is food heaven too. But you can do upscale right in Louisville, and not get totally hammered over the head with your wallet, its a bygone era for me. Enjoy your stay.

[louroclou]

Louisville has a world-class collection of fine restaurants, amazing for a city this size. I would suggest going to Louisville Hotbytes and starting a thread.

Louisville Restaurants Forum

Louisville Originals is a consortium of locally-owned and operated restaurants. Check out their lists and links: Louisville Originals

[louroclou]

Here's a great, quick summary of places to eat (and things to do): Louisville review

[madre5050]

Sorry, accidentally hit a wrong key. Thanks for the great websites. Does anyone have any comment about 610 Magnolia, Avalon, or Rivue?

[louroclou]

610 Magnolia for true fine, fine leisurely dining - a rich, sumptuous classic upscale experience. Avalon for more of a kicky, trendy razzle-dazzle meal. Rivue primarily for the view. There have been very mixed reviews about the actual food, though some have liked it.

[gocards1289]

A couple of posts mentioned Avalon on Bardstown Rd and it has possibly the nicest patio in Louisville-its got misting fans (and heaters for cooler nights) and a rectractable awning and fronts Bardstown Rd (not really a quiet spot due to that of course)-there's often a live jazz band that plays on the porch that overlooks the patio (there's actually a boutique-type shop inside of that house which the restaurant owns). Without a doubt one of the best spots for outdoor dining in Louisville-the inside is nice too, pretty much a trendy, lounge-type atmosphere.
Roguewave mentioned Azalea on Brownsboro, but unfortunately that place closed a few years ago. Primo on Market St also is now closed.
Proof on Main is a good trendy spot, I've never been there but I've heard good things about it-its in the 21C boutique hotel at 7th and Main.
If you like upscale Italian dining try either Volare or Varanese on Frankfort Ave-I've been to both and they're highly recommended.

[bw87a]

i took my fiancee to rivue for our one year anniversary and it was very nice. i believe the food was pretty good, but you are also staying atop the galt house hotel in a revolving restaurant, so you are also paying for the view. i would recommend the rivue.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by madre5050

We will be staying in Louisville for our anniversary. We are in our late 50's and would like suggestions on upscale restaurants for an anniversary dinner. We are not interested in any chains. Thanks

Please be more spefic as to tastes and wanting for trendiest?

The top five tables right now are probably:

Corbett's
Oakroom
English Grill
610 magnolia
Equus

Oakroom is the only AAA Five Diamond restaurant in KY, but is quite stuffy for some tastes. Frankly, I think chef Edward Lee of 610 Magnolia and Chef Dean Corbett of Corbett's and Equus churn out the top food right now. Certainly Le Relais and Volare are right below these restaurants. For the value, live Jazz, and atmosphere, Varanese is wonderful as well.

Of course, if you are more trendy, the two hottest trendy upscale spots would be 732 Social and Proof on Main. Z's Fusion is also quite good in this category. Jeff Ruby's is the top trendy steakhouse for the "pinky ring" set.

Buck's is old world romantic, but in a somewhat questionable area.

In the Highlands, you can never go wrong with Jack Fry's. It has waits every night of the week and is a Louisville tradition. Avalon is good, but has gone more upscale casual, but still rather upscale, where attire is more business casual. In this category, Uptown Cafe and Cafe Metro are also excellent choices. The city also romantic entries in ethnic categories, including De La Torres, which is the only true continental Spanish resaurant between Chicago and Atlanta.

This is only the tip of the iceburg. I have traveled to 70% of the nation's largest cities. From what I have seen, Louisville is a top 20 dining city. Please be more specific and I will help more, or go to where the real experts are at Commentary | LouisvilleHotBytes.com, which is the epicenter of Louisville's foodie scene.

[madre5050]

Thanks for all the great imput. You ask for more details. We are not really the "trendy" set but more classic or traditional in our choices (but not British protocol stuffy). For our anniversary dinner we would probably go more "stuffy" than trendy and we definitely are not into jazz but more quiet classical ensemble background music. We want excellent food with "impeccable" service. We get tired of going to "trendy" places that have good food but the wait staff are unkempt---pants about ready to fall off, hair going in all different directions, girls with obviously too tight of button shirts, and the wait staff stoop down putting their elbows on our table acting "folksy" while they take our food order. We can have that every day of the week. So we oviously are interested in a total opposite atmosphere for a special occasion such as an anniversary. I have to say the older we get, the pickier we are about food quality and quality of service or the lack thereof which unfortunately happens to be the case more times than not in this over casual, lack of manners or social graces society. So with this in mind of the restaurants mentioned we would probably be interested in something along the lines of 610 Magnolia or Oakroom. If you have eaten in Charleston, SC and eaten at places such as Circa 1886, 82 Qeen, or The Woodlands in Summerville, you'll know what I'm talking about as far as atmosphere, food quality and service. Thanks.