New downtown Lexington restaurant features Irish comfort food, breakfast all day
A busy corner of downtown Lexington’s dining scene has come back to life: An equine-themed Irish gastropub opened at Cheapside and Short this week.
The restaurant, owned by Paul Murphy and Jimmy McSweeney, leans into Lexington horse heritage, with dozens of historic photos on the walls, all from the collection of late photographer Tony Leonard.
One photo, by the small stage at the front, is an amazing image of Leslie Combs with the stallions Swaps and Nashua at Spendthrift Farm in 1967. On the wall opposite the bar, there are famous trainers and champion horses galore. In the Stable Room, one wall is devoted to a 1952 photo of horse- and mule-drawn sledges sealing a muddy track at Keeneland. Outside the lady’s “powder room” is the a mink-clad Mary Lou Whitney in the paddock at Keeneland. And tucked into a booth in the back, there’s a funny one from Woodbine, of jockeys in the starting gate while a horse looks on.
“It goes with the bar so well,” Murphy said. The name of the bar? The Horse and Jockey.
The name is a nod to the famous Horse and Jockey Hotel in Tipperary, Ireland, he said.
Murphy, who is Scottish but spent part of his childhood in Ireland, and McSweeney, who owns the Crompton Ale House in New York, have done their homework. Central Kentucky, home to hundreds of Thoroughbred horse farms, has a strong Irish contingent.
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And the Horse and Jockey’s menu should appeal.
“We’re doing comfort food,” Murphy said. “Bangers and mash. Fish and chips. Beef and Guinness stew. Shepherd’s Pie.”
There’s the Traditional Full Irish Breakfast, available any time of day, featuring rashers of Irish bacon, sausage, Black & White Pudding, grilled tomato, Irish baked beans, eggs cooked your way, home fries and toast.
There’s Irish brown soda bread, baked by his wife, Niamh Murphy. And even the sides have an Irish twist, like the Curry Cheese Fries, with Irish Curry Sauce, or the empanadas, which will be Shepherd’s pie or chicken curry Irish-style empanadas, Paul Murphy said.
Desserts include Baileys Irish Cream cheesecake. And there’s a signature cocktail menu that includes, of course, an Irish whiskey cocktail, The Grafton Old Fashioned, with Jameson Black Barrel, chocolate bitters, simple syrup and a twist of orange for $10.
The restaurant, which most recently had been the Ruddy Duck, has had a remodel that upgraded everything except the bar and the doors. The lighting is warmer and the bathrooms are cleaner. The update adds ambiance without stripping out the building’s historic charm, something that Murphy said they were keen to enhance.
He and his business partner came to Lexington to look at a different location that didn’t pan out. He said they happened by the closed Cheapside location during Thursday Night Live and were immediately smitten. Once they realized it stretched the entire block and included a patio with a second bar and a balcony with a third, they were ecstatic.
Murphy said they patio and balcony will be redone in time to open in the spring, where they are considering a raw bar to serve Guinness and oysters.
“We thought it was an opportunity too good to be missed,” Murphy said. “We want to bring our own flair to Lexington.”
In the meantime, he plans to begin hosting traditional Irish music with fiddles in the bar on Sundays, which will also feature specials like roast lamb.
The Horse and Jockey will be open for lunch, dinner and late night daily, with brunch served until 4 p.m. on weekends as well.
While the bar isn’t too heavy on TVs, it does have enough to give every room a great place to watch basketball games or horse races. And in the main bar there is large screen that drops down from the ceiling for a projection TV, too.
Murphy is enthusiastic about downtown’s booming dining scene.
“You’ve got Dudley’s across the street, which is great; the new Italian restaurant (Frank & Dino’s) which is opening up here; they’re opening up Roulay; you’ve got Corta Lima on the other corner. This strip now is going to be a destination for people to come,” Murphy said. “It’s definitely a top location.”
The Horse and Jockey
Where: 131 Cheapside
Hours: Daily, 11a.m.-2:30a.m.
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This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 10:32 AM.
