How To Spend 36 Hours in Louisville

Looking for a cool gift in Louisville? Definitely make a stop at Red Tree Furniture!

My wife and I had a quick weekend getaway to Louisville to visit one of her clients this past January so I jumped at the opportunity tag along! I’ve been to Louisville twice now; I surprised Megan with a birthday trip to Louisville when we first started dating and despite some chilly weather (her birthday is in the Spring), we had an absolute blast. We checked out the Louisville Slugger Museum (and failed miserably to hit fastballs during batting practice), visited the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, and even made it to a University of Louisville basketball game at the KFC Yum! Center that went into overtime! Since we hit up a lot of the more popular stops in the city back in 2015, it was nice for us to explore a different part of town that we hadn’t seen before: the East Market District (aka Nulu). Here are a few of the places we stopped at:

Where to Stay

AC Hotel by Marriott Louisville Downtown
727 E Market St, Louisville, KY 40202

So modern, so chic. Not a bad place to grab a drink before heading to dinner!

The AC Hotel is a relatively new hotel in the area and is incredibly well-designed and centrally located for bumming around Nulu. Our room was large and modern without being completely devoid of any character. There’s a nice bar and lounge on the ground floor for meeting up with a group or grabbing a cocktail before heading out to dinner. Want to watch some sportsball or catch the latest news? There’s a massive LED/TV screen in the lobby if you get tired of watching TV in your room (I never do). 

Where to Eat

Breakfast/Brunch

Biscuit Belly
900 E Main St #101, Louisville, KY 40206

Behold! Our smorgasbord of carbs. The cinnamon/sugar cronuts were the star of the show.

Biscuit Belly checked all the boxes for us for a late morning brunch in Nulu. The wait wasn’t super long (you order at the counter and they’ll bring your order out to you when it’s ready), and we ordered two of their standard (but still incredibly delicious) biscuit breakfast sandwiches, along with sides of fried hash brown balls and ‘bonuts’, their take on a biscuit donut (essentially a donut hole meets churro). They have a ton of really interesting sandwiches on their menu for the more adventurous eater, including several that feature a healthy (?) portion of buttermilk fried chicken. Don’t leave the Tums at home!

Le Moo
2300 Lexington Rd, Louisville, KY 40206

My wife (pictured above - apparently mid-chortle) is having the time of her life at the world-famous (sure?) Le Moo Drag Brunch.

Looking for a more unique dining experience? Look no further than the drag brunch at Le Moo, a steakhouse location east of downtown Louisville in the Cherokee-Seneca neighborhood. Reservations are required for the brunch and cost $35 per person before taxes, tips (for the waitstaff and performers), and drinks. Each show lasts about 90 minutes and ours featured multiple performers, some even came from out-of-state! There were a lot of people celebrating birthdays, coming nuptials, and even retirement. One of the most eclectic performers would actually charge $5 to scream as loud as she could at you! The brunch food itself was mediocre (french toast, eggs, breakfast meats, hashbrown casserole, fruit, etc) but the drag performances were absolutely incredible. Be sure to hit up the ATM to grab some cold hard cash for tips before you get seated and settled!

Quills Coffee
Multiple Locations

I’m pretty sure Megan took this photo and I’m becoming more and more impressed with her skills behind the camera! Photo Credit: Wifey.

I don’t drink coffee but Megan said it’s good (at least better than the swill she was drinking at the hotel). Trust her!

Lunch

Royals Hot Chicken
736 E Market St, Louisville, KY 40202

I don’t know what’s sexier - those well-seasoned wedge fries or that fried chicken sauce. Get in me.

We didn’t end up making it to Royals but this fast-casual stop came highly recommended. Definitely a place you don’t want to miss on Market Street! 

Dinner

Mayan Cafe
813 E Market St, Louisville, KY 40206

Megan photographs well, as does our food. I make a mean guac but this stuff was out of this world. I ordered the blood orange margarita with mezcal (because fancy) and it was a delight. 10/10 no notes.

We had several friends recommend the Mayan Cafe as a modern yet romantic place to go for dinner. Because of the time change, we ended up getting to Louisville later in the evening but luckily they were able to seat us before 9pm. The actual restaurant is not very big so be sure to grab a reservation for their busier nights. This Mayan-inspired family-run restaurant is all about sustainability and farm-to-table practices–you can see a list of their farm and food suppliers on their website! Going green doesn’t mean they skimp on flavor; everything we ordered was delicious, and their bar program ain’t messing around either. 

Lobby Bar & Grill at The Brown Hotel
335 W Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202

This was SUCH a good meal. Started with a classic caesar salad paired with an old fashioned (for health reasons). I ordered the salmon with mashed taters and charred broccolini.

We almost didn’t get seated at this iconic Louisville Hotel because of a wedding that weekend but we got squeezed in just in time! I love historic and boutique hotels and this one is ancient–this landmark hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places and was built in 1923 (happy 100th birthday, BTW). If you’re up for a bit of a food adventure, order the “Hot Brown", a world-famous dish invented at The Brown Hotel in 1926. The service is world-class and our dinner service even featured a live piano player. We didn’t see a lot of kids around–this is a great date night spot if you’re in the neighborhood.

Things To See

See the Forest Giants at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest

This is “Little Nis”, one of the many Forest Giants at Bernheim.

About 30 minutes south of Louisville is a very cool natural area called Bernheim. I had a few friends recommend we check this out and honestly the drive (outside of a little rush hour traffic) was not bad at all. The Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest features a lot of very easy, family-friendly trails and art in the shape of wooden Forest Giants, each with their own names and fictional lore. The Forest Giants were crafted by a Danish artist and utilizes recycled wood from the region. There’s a cafe and gift shop located in the middle of the Arboretum in case you want to snag a souvenir or a quick snack. This is a great way to get the family outside and work off some of those carbs you may have accumulated by eating your way through Louisville ;)