bardstown road bars

I%26#39;ve read past post of some bars on Bardstown rd and was wondering how many bars are in that area and what kind of crowds hangout there. A group of guys (late 20%26#39;s) are coming down in a couple of weeks for a weekend and looking for options other than 4th street and omalley square. We will be staying at the marriot downtown. Any help is appreciated

bardstown road bars

The short answer.......LOTS of bars....and pubs %26amp; restaurants. Very few chains. Mostly unique, local places.

The area that we locals refer to as ';Bardstown Road'; actually begins on Baxter Ave. if you are coming from the north (which you would be if you are coming from the Marriott). Baxter Ave will eventually run into Bardstown Rd.

The whole thing is about a 3 mile strip starting with the Phoenix Hill Tavern and pretty much ends with the Bambi Bar. Be advised, the list below is from memory and although many of these places serve food, but I only listed the places that feel more bar, than restaurant. There are still a ton of restaurants that I didn%26#39;t include.

Phoenix Hill Tavern - Cavernous. Multiple live bands on most nights. Draws a young, college crowd. Can be cheesy.

Outlook Inn - Divey. Great Bloodies. Hipster local crowd of mixed ages. Pool tables. Juke box in back.

Flanagan%26#39;s - Irish. Nice back patio. Lots of beers on tap.

Mixed/college crowd. Younger on weekends.

Molly Malones - Irish. Great outside space. College/prepster crowd.

Wet Willies - Those swirling daiquiri machines. The crowd seems cheesy to me, but I don%26#39;t spend a lot of time in there.

O%26#39;Shea%26#39;s - Irish. Great outside patio. Live music on some nights. Good all around bar.

Akiko%26#39;s - Karaoke.

Wick%26#39;s Pizza - Pizza pub meets bar. Live music on some nights.

Cahoot%26#39;s - Divey. Locals mostly. Mixed crowd. Pool tables.

BW3%26#39;s - Wings. College crowd. Sports. Sports. Sports.

Back Door - Behind ValuMarket. Hard to find. Locals only. Very mixed crowd. Divey. Lots of pool tables.

Highland%26#39;s Tap Room - Small. Live music. Good outdoor area.

Cumberland Brews - Brew pub. Small. Comfy.

Za%26#39;s Pizza - Good selection on tap. Good pizza. TV%26#39;s. Comfy.

Hideaway Saloon - Divey. A bit hard to find. Locals. Deadheads. Live music on many nights. Pool tables upstairs.

Cafe 360 - Open really late for food. Fully stocked bar. Hookah lounge. Hipster/mixed/Highlands crowd.

Asiatique - Upscale asian restaurant until around 11pm. Clubby/DJ thing in the basement late night.

Big Dave%26#39;s Outpost - Neighborhood bar. Pub grub %26amp; beers.

Dundee Tavern - Neighborhood bar. Good sports watching set-up.

Left Field Lounge - Divey/hole in the wall. Strange, but in a good way.

Bambi Bar - Neighborhood bar. Mixed crowd.

My best suggestion would be for you guys to begin your evening on the corner closest to Molly Malones %26amp; Flanagans (Baxter Ave. and Morton Ave.) From there, you are within easy walking distance of several bars. Most places will only have a small cover (if they have one at all)

Have fun!

bardstown road bars

Ms. Seagrover knows what she is talking about. I think you%26#39;ll find everything you want between Wick%26#39;s Pizza for dinner and The Outlook for a late night Bloody Mary dessert. Remember, our bars close at 4:00 AM.

BTW, If you have two nights to spend, you %26#39;ll have a good time at 4th St. Live, too.

Seagrover, that is an impressive list you compiled.

I bet that gets copied and pasted plenty in the future. Good job.

Lawson, you can start at either end of the list and perform what we Louisvillians call a ';Bambi Walk';. Start at the Bambi Bar, have 1 drink and start walking up Bardstown Rd. Pop into every bar, pub, restaurant, etc. and have 1 drink. If you make it to the other end of Bardstown Rd. you%26#39;re an animal.

Thank you guys for your help

Thanks Oakae!

I knew my ';research'; would come in handy one day.

It may be too late, but depending on your scene, you may be interested in some other bars with more music. Pink Door has some good house music DJs and Monkey Wrench draws a nice hipster crowd, especially on Thursday nights. While you are in town, have dinner on Frankfort Avenue first. Try the new hot spot, Varanese. Then have drinks at Bourbon%26#39;s Bistro.

What%26#39;s the best hotel choice if we plan to go to Bardstown Road? We%26#39;re looking for a place that preferably has 2 bedroom suites. The Galt House and Hyatt downtown have these but rates are $500 +.

What? No way! Why do you need a 2 bedroom suite? You can Priceline and get 2 rooms probably for 70 bucks a room, tops. The only 2 bedroom suites I know of are at the Residence Inn. Any downtown hotel will be fine for Bardstown Rd...only about a 5 minute drive. The area you don%26#39;t want to stay is the East End off Hurstbourne Ln. That would be a drive. Have you considered a B%26amp;B? Many nice ones in Old Louisville as well.

Found your list trying to throw together a post tgiving bar crawl; made a map: http://tiny.cc/VtLqR

hope it helps someone!

Lawson10105,

I was in Louisville last year and went to a bar called the Saki bar. Do you know where that is? It%26#39;s a karaoke bar that serves Saki and beer in the front and the karaoke is in the back???