Champions of chow: Key ingredients to Lexington’s longest standing restaurants
There’s no doubt that Lexingtonians are obsessed with food if the numerous chat rooms, Facebook pages and websites are any indication.
Most of the obsession centers on newly opened restaurants and trendy eateries that make the city a mid-sized mecca for dining.
I say it’s about time to give some love to the old-timers – those who have been serving food longer than Gen Xers, Millennials and Gen Zers have been alive.
They must be doing something right. Collectively, these 13 restaurants have been in business for about 650 years – you read right, more than six centuries.
So, it’s time to salute Lexington’s long standing dining spots. All are over 30 years old and some are more than double that. Here are oldest restaurants open in town, from youngest to oldest (not counting bakeries).
As part of that salute, we also want to know what your favorite long standing Lexington restaurant is. There’s a poll at the bottom of this story where you can cast a vote for your favorite. This isn’t a scientific poll by any means and is solely for fun. Voting is set to close Jan. 7 and you can vote multiple times by refreshing this page.
13. A.P. Suggins Bar & Grill
345 Romany Road; 859-268-0709; suggins.com
The baby of the bunch at 31 years old, this neighborhood bar and grill is a place where if everyone doesn’t know your name, they’ll act like they do.
Casual is the word here (they don’t care how many rips you have in your jeans) and comfort food — such as chicken croquettes, pork chops and chicken livers served over white toast with white gravy — reigns supreme. Also known for burgers, beer cheese and chili.
12. Ramsey’s Diner
4053 Tates Creek Centre Drive, 859-271-2638; 4391 Old Harrodsburg Road, 859-219-1626; 3090 Helmsdale Place Suite 279, 859-264-9396; 151 W. Zandale Dr., 859-259-2708; ramseysdiners.com
Everyone’s favorite diner has been in business since 1989 when it opened on High Street. While that location is no more, Ramsey’s still has locations on Tates Creek, Harrodsburg Road, Andover and Zandale, and next year will open a fifth location on Leestown Road near Masterson Station.
That means most of Lexington has convenient access to their menu favorites Hot Browns and Buffalo Chicken Salad as well as their traditional breakfasts.
11. Paisano’s Italian Restaurant & Lounge
2417 Nicholasville Rd.; 859-533-2607; paisanositalianky.com
Loyal customers having been coming to this small Italian eatery for 37 years for the extensive menu in which practically everything is made in-house, says Mark Kakar, who describes himself as “owner/manager/chef, server, dishwasher and anything else that needs doing.”
The house-made items include pizza, bread and sauces. Menu favorites include Marco’s Chicken, Veal Saltimbocca and Paisano’s Sampler (chicken Parmesan, lasagna, Italian sausage and meatballs), and if you want a personalized meal – well, that’s just fine with the owner/manager/chef/server/dishwasher.
10. Dudley’s on Short
259 W. Short Street #125;859-252-1010; dudleysonshort.com
This wildly popular fine dining restaurant celebrated its 40th anniversary this past year. A two-time “Southern Living” magazine winner in their “Best of the South” awards, it debuted at Dudley Square in 1981 and moved to its current location in 2010.
Owner Debbie Long is very much a fixture at the restaurant, and attributes her success to always being there to oversee operations, and the fact that 85 percent of her business is repeat and 75 percent is local. Two of her menu items, Pasta Dudley and Tournedos Maxwell, have been around almost as long as the restaurant.
9. Charlie Brown’s
816 Euclid Ave.; 859-269-5701
Charlie Brown’s opened in 1977 and became an instant hit with University of Kentucky students, who loved the atmosphere – equating it to hanging out in your best friend’s basement – only with food.
The décor – if you can call it that – consists of mismatched sofas and chairs, and vintage posters on the walls (the light is so dim it will take a while to see them). Thrift store for sure, but that’s part of the appeal.
As for the food, don’t pass up the Hot Pepper Cheese appetizer and the Black and Blue Burger.
Comfort, Boho charm, affordability and a familiar menu will likely keep this Chevy Chase institution going for decades to come.
8. Max’s Loudon Square Buffet
801 N Broadway, 859 252-9741
Owner Max Flannery opened his restaurant in 1974 and still runs it daily from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The big draw is the buffet, which includes customers favorites from fried chicken and pinto beans to banana pudding and green Jello salad, with specials that change daily.
Not much has changed at the restaurant, which isn’t big on atmosphere, since it opened almost 50 years ago. Except for the price: The buffet is now $9, still a bargain.
7. Merrick Inn
1074 Merrick Dr. off Tates Creek Rd.; 859-269-5417; themerrickinn.com
One of Lexington’s favorite fine dining restaurants for nearly half a century (since 1974), the Merrick Inn has a pedigree unrivaled in the Bluegrass. That pedigree results not only from success in the restaurant industry, but the Thoroughbred industry as well.
As a horse farm, Merrick Place was the training site of 1918 Kentucky Derby winner Merrick, who won 61 of his 125 races, and whose gravestone is in the circle in front of the inn, once the farm’s manor house.
The restaurant recently sold but the new owners plan to keep it substantially the same.
Atmosphere abounds in the picturesque dining rooms complete with white linen tablecloths and framed equine art. But the food doesn’t take a back seat to the décor.
Routinely rated one of the South’s best restaurants, the Merrick Inn is famous for its fried chicken, but its extensive menu includes dishes such as pecan-crusted pork tenderloin topped with Maker’s Mark apple chutney and maple chipotle butter, and walleye pike with house-made tartar sauce, both dishes accompanied by Southern staples such as corn pudding and greens.
With its combination of unpretentious comfort food, elegant surroundings, topnotch service and ties to Thoroughbred tradition, it’s no wonder that the Merrick Inn has been winning, placing and showing for generations of Lexingtonians.
6. Joe Bologna’s
120 West Maxwell St.; 859252-4933; joebolognas.com
Before big chain pizza emporiums began mushrooming all over Lexington like ... well, mushrooms on a pizza, there was Joe Bologna’s. It opened in 1973 at the corner of E. Maxwell and S. Limestone to instant acclaim for its Italian menu. In Dec. 1988 owner Joe Bologna announced plans to move his popular Italian restaurant to the former temple of the Ohavay Zion Synagogue on West Maxwell. Bologna said he wanted a larger restaurant.. Its architectural touches from the 1880s brick house of worship include 40 stained glass windows, antique wood floors and loft chandeliers.
Impressive, but so are made in-house items such as breadsticks, pizza dough, soups, sauces and most salad dressings. It’s known for specialty pizzas such as Hawaiian Pizza (ham, pineapple, green peppers, mozzarella cheese and mild BBQ sauce) and Mexican Pizza (seasoned ground beef, cheddar cheese, jalapeno and green peppers, onions, black olives and tomatoes.)
My favorite dish is the lasagna with lean beef and pork, ricotta cheese and spices layered between noodles and covered with homemade marinara sauce.
5. Tolly-Ho
606 S. Broadway; 859-253-2007; tallyho.com.
Tolly-Ho has been serving its famous Ho burgers (Tolly Ho, Super Ho and Mega Ho) for half a century. After moving four times in four decades, it has found its forever home on South Broadway, and they like to say patrons are welcome there whether they’re in a three- piece suit, prom dress or running gear.
Everything is cooked to order and you can get breakfast anytime, since with a few exceptions (major holidays), the restaurant is open 24/7.
Diners enjoy the classic touches of vintage jukebox and Donkey Kong, but the one dish they can’t do without is the cheddar tots, on the menu since 2001.
4. Burger Shakes
219 E. New Circle Road; 859-299-4113
This old school burger joint has been in operation since 1957 – that’s right, 64 years. That adds up to a lot of burgers, fries, and shakes, not to mention cheeseburgers, fish sandwiches and chicken sandwiches.
For those watching their wallets, it’s comforting to know that you can still get a burger for $1.39, a chili dog for $1.29 and a milkshake for $2.39. That will save you a lot of cash and that’s a good thing as cash is all they accept.
3. Thoroughbred Restaurant
1483 Leestown Rd.; 859-252-9153.
Remember how your mother always urged, “eat your vegetables?” That’s getting harder to do these days with many restaurants considering mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and French fries vegetables.
Thankfully, this unassuming spot which has occupied the same space in a strip shopping center on Leestown Road since 1954, continues to follow mom’s advice.
Mark Smith, the latest generation of family members to own the restaurant, makes sure veggies such as asparagus, carrots, greens, cauliflower, stewed tomatoes, corn and green beans are on the chalkboard menu.
The menu lists six to eight options for lunch and nine or 10 at dinner. (Be forewarned: once they are out of an item, you are out of luck.)
Menu favorites include meatloaf, baked chicken, ribs and burgers.
Seeing your menu choice disappear from the chalk board with one swipe of an eraser will likely be the only disappointment you’ll experience here.
2. Parkette Drive-In
1230 E. New Circle Rd.; 859-254-8723; theparkette.com
When Parkette, one of the last remaining classic drive-ins in the U.S., opened in 1951, it was in the middle of a thunderstorm that threatened to turn the surrounding dirt roads in a field of mud. That didn’t deter customers who flocked here to have the “Poor Boy,” a (revolutionary for the time) double-decker hamburger delivered by American Graffiti-style carhops.
By 1957, Parkette felt secure enough to erect the 40-foot red and green neon sign, and 70 years later, customers still come for the Premium Poor Boy (two-4-ounce beef patties, cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato, pickle, mustard and Parkette sauce on a toasted double decker bun) or the equally iconic fried chicken box.
Part of the drive-in’s history includes the ongoing feud between original owner Joe Smiley and Colonel Harlan Sanders over who had the right to name its poultry Kentucky Fried Chicken (Smiley had come up with the moniker first.)
While a relatively recent renovation spiffed up the place and added a 90-seat dine-in garage, it retained the retro feel that has made it a beloved landmark for seven decades, and a favorite of Food Network stars Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri.
1. Columbia Steak House
201 N. Limestone; 859-253-3135; columbiassteakhouse.com
Columbia Steak House claims the title of Lexington’s oldest restaurant, opening in 1948. Before there was Malone’s, Tony’s and Jeff Ruby’s, there was Columbia’s, a no-frills eatery reminiscent of the best steakhouses in New York and Chicago.
It may not be as fancy in menu and décor as the others, but the always reliable (and affordable) steaks, along with the clubby atmosphere have been enough to make loyal customers of the commonwealth’s governors, senators, business execs and sports figures.
It’s easy to imagine deals struck here over a rib-eye or sirloin, and it’s easier still to imagine the activities that went on in the back room, dubbed the “Mafia Room” and once the site of a gambling operation.
Alas, gambling is a thing of its storied past. Today, you won’t have to gamble when you order the Nighthawk Special, an 8-ounce beef tenderloin marinated in garlic butter with two sides (make one of them the Diego Salad, with its house-made Ranch or Thousand Island dressing.)
The Nighthawk, named in honor of 1960s radio personality Tom Kendall, who spun his discs from midnight to dawn, is just part of this venerable institution’s lore.
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 6:00 AM.