New year, new food: A dozen Lexington restaurants, bars to look forward to in 2020
It’s no secret that Lexington’s dining scene is constantly changing.
Whenever one restaurant or bar closes, another one opens.
Last year more than 25 restaurants closed across the city. But almost 40 new ones opened for hungry diners to sink their teeth into.
Here are some that are planning to open in the new year, plus a heavy hitter who will start construction that might force Lexington to up its game play (see below):
▪ ItalX, the new restaurant from chef Jonathan Lundy will be going into the City Center development downtown. It’s now scheduled to open sometime in the spring. The avant-garde Italian restaurant at 160 West Main is the latest project from Lundy, business partner and sommelier TJ Cox and developer Lee Greer.
It won’t be huge, with seating for about 80, plus 15 bar seats, just off the lobby of the 120-room Residence Inn and the 214-room Marriott Hotel.
This isn’t the first restaurant from this team: Lundy worked at Greer’s Coba Cocina restaurant before opening Corto Lima in 2017. Although Lundy became known in Lexington for his New Southern cuisine at Jonathan’s at Gratz Park, the chef said in 2016 that his culinary heart was more attuned to Southwestern flavors. Now he’s looking at shaking up Italian cuisine.
“We want to take the success we’ve had at Corto Lima and push it into a new restaurant,” Lundy said. The price point will be similar, with a menu that is respectful of classics without adhering to the stereotypical.
▪ Marriott City Center, 121 West Vine, and Residence Inn, 150 West Main, will also have a hotel restaurant called The Greatroom Restaurant plus a rooftop bar, called Infinity: A Sky Bar and Cafe, next to the swimming pool.
Lexington native Jonathan W. Henderson has been named chef of the Infinity. Tyler Donahue will be pastry chef for the restaurants and hotels. T.J. Harville will be executive chef of the hotels.
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▪ 2020Rooftop, above 161 North Limestone, will be a new bar from Javier and Aimee Lanza, who also own Centro on Cheapside and Garage on Leestown.
Javier Lanza said they are building a fourth floor on top of the building, with a glass-walled rooftop bar. They hope to open in the spring. “I purchased the building and one day when we were doing the inspection, I got on the roof and said, ‘my lord, the city needs this,’” Lanza said. ”This city doesn’t really have rooftop bars, and we have a great view. ... You can see the entire city.”
They are putting in an elevator to take you straight to the bar at the top.
▪ Ethereal Brewing & Public House, 102 West Vine St., will be the new tavern from the guys at Ethereal Brewing. Their microbrewery will serve their own beers, of course, and have a craft cocktail menu and wine list. Co-owner Andrew Bishop said they also will serve a limited menu of eclectic food for lunch and dinner.
“We want to have an affordable menu, in the $8 to $12 range,” Bishop said. They are working with the guys from the Gringos Food Truck, so there will some Mexican items as well as Middle Eastern, plus a burger-and-fries option, he said.
They hope to open in early 2020.
▪ El Cid, 304 South Limestone, is a new Mexican restaurant that will bring more “street taco” flavor to downtown Lexington.
The restaurant is expected to open in January in the former location of Sav’s Grill & West African Cuisine in front of Samaritan Hospital. Sav’s moved to a new spot on East Main Street in Nov.
El Cid will have lots of “crazy specials” from $0.80 margaritas and more.
▪ The Horse and Jockey, an Irish themed bar and restaurant, will be opening at the corner of Short and Cheapside.
Owners Paul Murphy and Jimmy McSweeney plan to open their gastropub in January. It will blend Irish and equine themes and serve both traditional dishes and twists on Irish fare, Murphy said.
McSweeney also owns the Crompton Ale House in New York, so they have a background in hospitality.
▪ Stings Lounge, 123 West Main St., will open in late January or early February, with a VIP area overlooking a bar. The nightclub will feature live music.
It’s going into into the former Trust Lounge spot, which closed three years ago. There will be private rooms and they will rent out the upscale venue for events.
▪ Taco Tico, 3110 Pimlico Parkway. This is the second location in Lexington of this new/old favorite taco joint.
Now owned by the Greer Companies, the chain is focused on bringing the original taste of tacos, enchiladas, burritos and more Mexican staples to fans all over town.
And work has begun on another Taco Tico at 212 Southland Dr. to remodel the former Arby’s. It’s expected to open later in 2020.
▪ BurgerFi, 1816 Alysheba Way. This burger chain is opening its third location in Lexington in a spot once occupied by BackYard Burgers at Hamburg.
The gourmet burger spot was expected to open this spring and will have new chicken tenders as well as the Beyond Burger, a 100 percent plant-based burger. Besides specialty burgers (check out the Breakfast All Day Burger), BurgerFi also has shakes and custards.
▪ Backroads Bakery, 109 West Sixth St., is going into the former Beach House Caribbean Cafe spot, with a menu of cheesecakes, large and small.
Sisters Ruth and Katie Ralph who now own it have been selling cheesecake wholesale out of the Delaware Avenue commercial kitchen incubator at Pasta Garage. Now they are ready for their own place and plan to add a cafe as well. Should be opening around the first of the year.
▪ Roulay Restaurant and Bar, 107 West Short St., is expecting to open soon.
Chef Kelly Mackey has built a following catering from her Lady Remoulade food truck and now will open a Cajun and Creole restaurant and bar in a historic building on Lexington’s booming Short Street dining district. Upstairs will be a rooftop patio with a view of Lexington’s skyline.
▪ Texas Roadhouse. At some point in 2020, the restaurant on Richmond Road is scheduled to close and move into a new, 8,800-square-foot, 300-seat restaurant that will be built on a new lot carved out of the enormous parking lot in front of the former Walmart.
The store, which was Lexington’s first Walmart, closed in August 2018. The property was purchased by Don Franklin Auto Group.
▪ Dave & Buster’s, South Park shopping center at Nicholasville and New Circle Road.
This is one to pin up for 2021. Although construction on the huge restaurant, bar and entertainment complex will begin in early 2020, the restaurant probably won’t be ready to open until early 2021.
Dave & Buster’s also has Kentucky locations in Florence and Louisville. The Louisville site opened in 2019.
This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 8:25 AM with the headline "New year, new food: A dozen Lexington restaurants, bars to look forward to in 2020."
