9 new Central Ky. restaurants to put on your dining radar. And they’re all open now.
New restaurants are always opening in Lexington and around Central Kentucky, sometimes with a splash, sometimes quietly.
Here are some places that might not be on your radar yet, but should be if you’re looking for good food.
Some are in Lexington but several are scattered in towns in the “ring counties” that surround Lexington.
But they are close enough to drive to for lunch or dinner. Or brunch if you’re looking for weekend options.
Here’s what’s new out there:
▪ The Rackhouse Tavern, 1375 South Broadway. This is the new restaurant at The Campbell House, which is now a Hilton Curio Collection hotel. The restaurant, which is having a grand opening Feb. 24., is open to anyone, not just hotel guests. It’s open for lunch and dinner, with a locally inspired menu that includes beer cheese and Kentucky burgoo, as well as flat-bread pizza, a house-made burger, sandwiches, salads and soups. There’s a full bar, with over 300 bourbons, and the tavern has signed on as sponsor of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Seating is varied, with cushy sofas by the fireplace, a high communal table for plugging in laptops, and tables by the garage door that opens onto patio seating in warm weather. There’s also a separate breakfast concept, The Stillroom, available in the mornings.
▪ Southern Countrylicious, 4300 Winchester Rd. This is a new Southern-style meat and sides restaurant that soft-opened last week between Lexington and Winchester where Burley BBQ used to be. Owner Gary Cavins said the menu is best described as “comfort food,” with home-style fried chicken and pork chops, smothered pork chops, pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, soup beans, baked beans, green beans, baked macaroni and cheese, and specials such as fresh greens. As for vegetarian options, “we’re still working on that,” he said. Cavins said the restaurant specializes in carry-out but has limited seating for dining in. It’s open for lunch and dinner 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week.
▪ Brady’s Asian Fusion, 511 Eastern Bypass in Richmond. Owner Wen Lin opened this restaurant in December near the existing Brady’s Sushi & Hibachi and it has proved a nice complement because it has a drive through window. The menu has Vietnamese dishes such as banh mi and pho as well as classic Chinese dishes. Everything, including the meat broth for the pho, is made from scratch. “We use 25 pounds of femur bone, with brisket, slow cooked for 10 hours with herbs, caramelized onion and cinnamon stick,” she said. Menu highlights include braised pork belly sliders as well as vegetarian options such as Chinese eggplant. Open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Closed on Sunday.
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▪ Not Your Ordinary Vegan Cafe, 1313 North Limestone. This is a kind of hidden gem that kind of straddles the line between pop-up and cafe. It’s open Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is tucked behind a church on North Limestone. There is a sign out on the road when the cafe is open. But with its all-vegan menu of burgers, appetizers like chili cheese fries and sides like mac & cheese and southern greens, it has developed a following. The chef also offers weekly specials such as lasagna that vegans might find hard to come by in an ordinary restaurant. Good thing this one isn’t ordinary.
▪ Don Jockey Mexican Grill & Cantina, 121 East Main in Midway. Owners Juan Garcia, his father Francisco Garcia and Jorge Villagrana opened this restaurant in December serving authentic Mexican food. The menu, which includes favorites like tacos and fajitas, also has specials that will change quarterly. The idea, Juan Garcia said, is to represent different regions of Mexico with different flavors. Currently the specials include enchiladas with a signature mole sauce and chile en Nogada, stuffed poblano chiles with a walnut-based cream sauce and pomegranate seeds. Don Jockey is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It has a full bar as well, and brunch on Saturday and Sunday with mimosas, margaritas and more. They plan to open a patio in the spring, Garcia said.
▪ The Burley Market & Cafe, 201 East Pike St. in Cynthiana. The warm and cozy coffee shop and market actually opened last May. The restaurant in a historic building built a following in the Cynthiana area for its signature Cyn City Cinnamon Rolls. Co-owner Karey Riddell says her mother-in-law and sister-in-law hand-make them from a family recipe. “We knew people would like them but had no idea we would be baking as many as we have,” she said. They’ve sold more than 7,500 since May. The cafe, which also specializes in coffee drinks, is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and brunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. They serve breakfast daily until 11 a.m. and until noon on Saturday. Then it’s a lunch menu of “things we couldn’t find around here,” she said: fresh salads, paninis, quiches and more made with locally sourced ingredients. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options are available, she said. The restaurant also has a full bar and hosts a bourbon society that meets once a month. There’s also a small market that sells items to go; the mammoth cinnamon rolls are available anytime unless they are sold out for the day.
▪ Wildcat Willy’s Distillery, Farm to Table Restaurant & Bar, 31 East Broadway in Winchester. This is the latest component of Laura Freeman’s Mt. Folly Farm. Freeman, who is working on creating a sustainable carbon-neutral local business model for Eastern Kentucky and beyond, opened the distillery and restaurant in downtown Winchester in late December. The menu includes Mt. Folly beef, eggs, salad greens and root vegetables now, and will add more as seasonally available. Sweet potatoes from the farm and an Eastern Kentucky co-op also went into moonshine. Organic corn became Liberty Lightning with the slogan, “It’ll ring your bell.” Both are available in the gift shop as well as the bar, which serves a slate of craft cocktails. The restaurant is open Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., open Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and open Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Chalkboard specials, such as the buckwheat pancakes and farm eggs coming for brunch on Sunday, are posted on Facebook. It’s closed Monday and Tuesday. An outside patio will be coming in warm weather.
▪ El Cid, A Traditional Mexican Restaurant, 304 South Limestone. As LexGoEat.com reported, this restaurant opened last month, with a menu of street tacos, enchiladas, sopes, chimichangas, tamales, burritos and more. It’s open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Wednesday is $0.85 Margarita Night, and Thursday is Sombrero Special day (wear your $5 sombrero in and get the $5 special.) All the food is made in-house, including the great tomatillo sauce that comes with the street tacos.
▪ The Horse & Jockey, 131 Cheapside. This new restaurant, also featured on LexGoEat.com, is an Irish gastropub with a menu of the Irish version of comfort food (shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash, fish and chips, beef and Guinness stew) as well as a full Irish breakfast available all day. It’s got a full bar and will have live traditional music on Sundays. It’s open daily from 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. And check out the amazing Tony Leonard photos of famous racehorses, trainers and racing celebrities on the walls.
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
