Longtime Lexington restaurants: Readers respond with more local favorites
In early January, I did an article on Lexington’s oldest restaurants – those that had been open for three decades or more.
Feedback from readers indicated that Lexingtonians, although quick to try out a new place, really do love their golden oldies.
Some readers questioned why we had left their particular favorites out, and so to rectify that, here are more Lexington establishments that have stood the test of time.
And this time, we have expanded our list to include bakeries and even a couple of local foodie places open for 20 years or more.
The Ketch Seafood Grill
It used to be that if you drove past this Southland area restaurant, you would see a somewhat dilapidated sailboat rescued from floodwaters at Hall’s on the River occupying what is now the patio.
The ketch may be gone, having finally rotted away, but its namesake restaurant has been serving quality seafood since 1986. Favorites such as gumbo, oyster stew, fish sandwiches and enormous seafood buckets attract regular diners, and the collegial bar is always packed.
Owner Mike Hart likes to quote humorist Brother Dave Gardner in explaining why The Ketch has lasted so long.
“Brother Dave said that a diamond is nothing but a piece of coal that has stuck with it,” he says. “That’s us.”
2012 Regency Road; 859-277-5919; ketchseafoodgrill.com
Winchell’s Restaurant & Bar
The Ketch’s Southland neighbor has been a success story since it opened 30 years ago and quickly became a favorite of neighborhood residents.
When Henry Clay High School and Culinary Institute of America grads Eric “Abe” Lansdale and Graham Waller bought the restaurant in 2002, they kicked it up a notch, adding 35 flat screen TVs where sports fans could get their fix while noshing on the fried chicken, burgers, Philly Cheese steaks and Hot Browns which have been on the menu since Day One.
So, what sets Winchell’s apart from its competitors?
“The quality of the homemade food,” says Waller. Spoken like a true CIA alum.
348 Southland Drive; 859-278-9424; winchellsrestaurant.com
Stella’s Kentucky Deli
Before there was a Jefferson Street food corridor, there was Stella’s Deli. The mustard yellow Victorian-style building with ketchup red awning opened in 1981, and was christened after the owner’s dog, a feisty terrier mix with a less than hospitable attitude.
According to a blurb under Stella’s picture on the restaurant wall, she was “not fond of strangers or children and was known occasionally to bite the hand that fed her.”
Current owner Lester Miller is dedicated to serving classic Kentucky recipes using local ingredients, and has been justly lauded by USA Today and Taste of the South Magazine for doing so.
Try the Hot Brown, called one of the South’s Top 10 sandwiches, and polish it off with a slice of the house dessert, Mary Porter Pie. Created by accident when two pages of a cookbook got stuck together, it combined the ingredients of one pie with those of another, resulting in a mix of ganache, almond, cheesecake, toffee and chocolate.
143 Jefferson Street; 859-255-3354; stellaskentuckydeli.com
Courtyard Deli
Dave and Krissy Fraser have owned this local favorite for 38 years, beginning on Cheapside and moving to the current location adjacent to Heritage Antiques six years ago.
While browsing for antiques, place your order for one of their hearty soups, healthy salads or high-quality sandwiches (the turkey and brie is a fave.) For something different, try their version of a grilled cheese sandwich – ham and pineapple on sourdough with Swiss, Gouda, bacon and apple mustard jam.
351 Church Street; 859-252-3354; thecourtyarddeli.net
Bella Notte
This Southside spot has developed a fanatically loyal clientele over the past two decades. Known for its wood-fire-grilled meats, pastas, and freshly baked breads as well as its romantic ambiance. With its twinkling lights and large tree in the atrium, it resembles a trattoria in the Eternal City.
3715 Nicholasville Road; 859-245-1789; bellalexington.com
Giuseppe’s Ristorante Italiano
You have to go a bit further out Nicholasville Road to find this stalwart of 25 years. First-time visitors often miss the turn-off down the leafy, hidden byway, but regulars know exactly where to go for Italian favorites enhanced by soft candlelight and smooth jazz. Start with the gnocchi or a bowl of pasta fagioli soup followed by veal served several ways. Order off their extensive wine list or opt for what I consider Lexington’s best lemon drop martini.
4456 Nicholasville Road; 859-272-4269; giuseppeslexington.com
Shamrock Bar & Grill
From Italy to Ireland in the same city. Shamrock is a true pub that would make any Irishman proud to lift a pint. For three decades, it’s followed the true European model – a place where sports and trivia contest fans meet for friendly competition, aided by a little hair of the dog.
Menu item names may be a bit precious as they say in Ireland with monikers such as Basket O’ Rings, Wings O’Fire, Irish Nachos and the O’Round, often lauded as the Bluegrass’s best burger, but the Irish Pot Roast and Shepherd’s Pie are the real deal. As they like to say here, “Erin Go Yum!”
154 Patchen Drive, Unit 87; 859-269-7621; shamrocksky.com
Lynagh’s Irish Pub
The Old Sod meets the Blue Sod (as in Bluegrass) at this pub which opened in 1981 and moved to its current location near the UK campus in 1993. Bangers and Mash may no longer be on the menu, but patrons will be heartened to know that the beer cheese is made with Guinness Stout.
Lynagh’s will celebrate its 41st year in business this summer, and regular Jeff Lycan attributes that partly to the diverse customers – students and their professors socializing outside of class and white-collar execs and their working class counterparts drinking elbow to elbow just like they do in Dublin.
384 Woodland Ave.; 859-255-1292; lynaghs.com
Tachibana
For 25 years this has been the place to go for specialty sushi such as spicy salmon roll and spider roll (try saying that in a hurry) as well as the bluegrass roll (yellowfin tuna, radish sprout, sesame and green onions). If you want a show with your dinner, opt to sit around the teppanyaki grill where the chef’s flying knives enhance your enjoyment of the sashimi slivers.
785 Newtown Pike; 859-254-1911; tachibanarestaurant.com
Charlie’s Seafood Restaurant
If you want to know just how popular a restaurant can get, a few years back a truck crashed into the front of this unpretentious seafood shack, necessitating a temporary closure for repairs. Regulars were disconsolate. Where would they get a replacement for Charlie’s fish sandwich – so large the bun can’t handle it, and considered by many to be Lexington’s ultimate fish sandwich?
Opened in 1981 in what had formerly been a Texaco station, Charlie’s has been selling fresh and frozen seafood to generations of Lexingtonians. The fact that there is no inside seating doesn’t phase customers who are only too happy to stop by for a pick-up order.
It also doesn’t phase The Romeo Club, a group of men who, in warm weather, gather every Friday to grab lunch and take it to picnic tables in nearby Castlewood Park to eat and solve the problems of the world.
And even though the men are at an age when their doctors warn them about cholesterol, most can’t resist that famous fried fish sandwich.
926 Winchester Road; 859-255-6005; facebook.com/charliesseafood-carryoutrestaurant-126514477188
Malone’s
Blue Grass Hospitality Group opened its first Malone’s steakhouse in 1998 in the Lansdowne Shopping Center, and has since opened two more Malone’s, along with Drake’s, Harry’s American Bar & Grill, OBC Kitchen and Aqua Sushi.
This means they have you covered for everything from gastropub fare to gourmet dining, offering menu items from chicken to crab legs, salmon to sushi to steak.
The latter is the real star here, with choice cuts named for past University of Kentucky greats such as Randall Cobb, Anthony Davis and Tim Couch.
Check the website bluegrasshospitality.com for locations and phone numbers of the individual restaurants.
Magee’s Bakery
Since 1956, Magee’s has been the place to pop in for a Danish, breakfast Hot Brown, mouth-watering croissant or a chicken biscuit with queso. The appealing décor – exposed brick walls and dark wood ceiling beams – make a nice backdrop for grabbing a table at lunch where the chicken salad is the most popular choice.
726 E. Main St.; 859-255-9481; mageesbakery.com
Donut Days Bakery
This family-owned bakery since 1972 is a favorite stop for harried execs on their way to work to grab one of their glazed donuts, or for anyone with a yen for their cookies, cakes, rolls, bread and pastries baked onsite daily.
185 Southland Drive; 859-277-9414; donutdaysbakery.com
Spalding’s Bakery
The year 1929 saw at least one good thing happen. Wall Street may have imploded and the country thrown into a depression, but Lexington got an iconic bakery when Bowman Spalding and his wife Zelda started selling donuts out of their home. Soon after, they moved to the corner of Sixth Street and Limestone where they remained for 70 years before relocating to the current location.
The donuts have been described as “round rings of yeasty, sugary bliss.” Sometimes they come out misshapen or lighter or darker in color than usual, but it doesn’t matter to loyal patrons who start lining up at 6:30 a.m. to get their round rings of yeasty, sugary bliss before they’re all gone. And they all know to bring cash as it’s the only accepted form of payment.
760 Winchester Road; 859-252-3737; spaldingsbakery.com
Critchfield Meats Family Market
In 1966, Amos Critchfield opened a butcher shop in a back room of Taylor’s Hardware and Grocery. Today, his grandson Mike honors his legacy at the huge marketplace on Southland Drive once occupied by Sav-a-Lot grocery.
Speaking of Sav-a-Lot, Critchfield won the undying gratitude of Lexingtonians when he purchased the recipe for that store’s famous fried chicken. Along with the chicken, they also serve burgers, jumbo hot dogs, soups, sandwiches and specialty items at the in-store Butch’s Grill.
398A Southland Drive; 859-276-4965; critchfieldmeats.com
Wheeler’s Pharmacy
William “Buddy” Wheeler opened his pharmacy on Romany Road in 1958 complete with soda fountain. You can still get a soda, but you can also get pancakes, omelets, bacon and eggs, grits, French toast and sandwiches from olive nut to Philly Steak as Wheeler’s serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday.
It’s also served as a de facto outpost for the BBN as the late Joe B. Hall presided over his own version of the Breakfast Club (eat your hearts out, Molly Ringwald and the rest of the Brat Pack).
Hall may have been the most closely associated with Wheeler’s, but it’s common knowledge that every basketball coach but two occasionally occupied a stool at the fountain. Now, we’re not naming names, but here’s a hint – neither of the two no-shows ever won a national championship.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 6:00 AM.