Bistro 1860 Wine Bar & SpiritsExceeding ExpectationsBeing a huge L&N fan, my husband and I have been waiting patiently for someone to grab this location and make it just as good as L&N. I've got news for you - it's just as good if not better!!! From meeting the owner as we walked in, to having the most knowledgeable waiter as for wine and food - it was an excellent evening out! We have already recommended it and will be back as soon as our wallet recovers! The food was scrumptious, the wine outstanding, and the service over the top!
Thank you for bringing back an old favorite in a big new exciting way!!
Tonya & Tim Hollins6/15/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat place!Great place to dine for anyone who loves great food and great service. Great. Wine list, great energy, but quaint!6/7/2013 12:00:00 AMgreat food choices and varietyGreat restaurant with a wide ranging menu. Especially like the set up of the menu. Virtually everything can be ordered in three portion sizes or at least two. Thus lobster fritter can be ordered for appetizer size, small plate size or dinner size. Great extensive wine list. Nice old house atmosphere . Highly recommend.5/31/2013 12:00:00 AMMy new favorite restaurant!Very enjoyable atmosphere-cozy, white table cloths, brick walls-when you walk in it's like a secret little place tucked away in the neighborhood that you just discovered! Delicious food and lovely presentation. Our server, Dave, was outstanding...friendly, helpful, kept a good eye on us, but not intrusive. I love how they offer different sizes of each dish! It makes it fun and easy to try a nice selection of things, or just go for your favorites...your choice! The arugula salad was fresh, with the perfect amount of dressing and creamy goat cheese. The potato wrapped salmon with chervil sauce was the best I've ever had! I'll definitely have this again! Scallops and oysters, fresh and delicious! This just might be my new favorite restaurant!5/21/2013 12:00:00 AMMy dinner group wants to returnOur dinner group meets once per month. We try different restaurants each month. Everyone wants to return next month because every choice was wonderful and we want to try more of the menu and specials. Our server, Amanda was superb! Keep up the great service and menu!5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMLove they choice of size inLove they choice of size in the portions. They create an small medium and larger portion of most everything. This allows you to choose several different things. Food was delicious....5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMVery different but delicious!This was my 3rd visit to 1860 Bistro and the menu choices are things I would never think to put together but always taste wonderful!
The lobster hushpuppies are great, and the special salad and fish was also delicious. Our group went through 3 bottles of $58 wine, so our bill seemed high for splitting, but to be expected on Derby night. They also held our table for us for at least 30min.longer than they should have due to our late arrival from traffic delays. I have had a better waiter there before though. This one seemed to be "put out" by waiting on us and didn't explain the options as well as the other guy.5/4/2013 12:00:00 AMKy Oaks DinnerEven though all restaurants on the Friday night before Derby are packed, the service and food selection here was excellent.5/3/2013 12:00:00 AMKentucky Oaks DinnerMy husband, Jeff and I were visiting from Connecticut for the week for the Oaks and Derby. Frank (our waiter) from Manny & Merles recommended your restaurant. We had a wonderful dinner and experience there on Friday, May 3rd.Our waiter was very helpful and knowledgeable about the menu. We ordered two appetizers which were specials. One was an awesome cheese platter with crackers, almonds and strawberries and the other was escargot in a delicious garlic wine butter sauce. Our dinners were just as good. We both like the concept of the different portion sizes so you can experience many diffeent menu items.
Thanks for such a pleasurable dining experience.5/3/2013 12:00:00 AMFabulous! Came back the next night!My husband and I so enjoyed our dinner here on Friday night we came back on Sat. We were in town for the Oaks & Derby race days from Chicago and found the restaurant through OT.We highly recommend it -great restaurant with very welcoming wait staff, chef and owner. We started on the patio Friday night and moved inside due to rain and invited two ladies to join us at our table. The menu is varied, but not overreaching and most items come in three sizes - a taste, appetizer or entree.Loved, loved, loved the tuna tartar, potato wrapped salmon, lobster hush puppy and lamb chops. We did not care for the mint julep creme brulee-prefer the classic. I hope everyone enjoys 1860 Wine Bar and Spirits as much as we did. Will be back as soon as we can.5/3/2013 12:00:00 AMCuriously Wonderful -- A True GemWe went to the Bristo for a quick business dinner and found ourself experiencing a true culinary event. The abilty to order a dish it just the right portion allowed us to have a "bite" of a half dozen different dishes and not fell guilty. Every dish was delightful. A must try reasturant.5/2/2013 12:00:00 AMSuperb food in all sizesLove eating here and have never had a dish that wasn't great. They serve several of their dishes in 2 or 3 sizes, which makes it easy to enjoy a variety of tastes and also eat just as much as you wish.4/30/2013 12:00:00 AMOnce again, the noise wasOnce again, the noise was so deafening I couldn't hear the person next to me at all!!!! Something needs to be done about RUDE, LOUD, OBNOXIOUS diners who think they are at home or at a ballgame. I'm not sure I'll be back, no matter how the food and service were, because if I can't talke to the people I came with, then I'll stay at home.4/27/2013 12:00:00 AMMy Favorite Louisville RestaurantI had no idea when I made the reservation at 1860 that I would be treated to such a supurb dining experience! How wonderful that the best restaurant in the city has opened up so close to home. The food was just so wonderful..... not to be missed. And our waiter helped make the experience more enjoyable by doing his job well and with good humor. Bravo for Bistro 1860!4/25/2013 12:00:00 AMA second visitThis was my second visit within a month. I believe the pricing on the small and moderate portions are appropriate, however, I was shocked at one of the "specials". The price on that was very over-priced. I should have asked the price, but, I believe it would be less embarrassing for the customer if the waiter voluntarily quoted the prices.4/23/2013 12:00:00 AMInteresting concept. EachInteresting concept. Each dish was made out of special ingredients. You can order 3 different sizes if you want to try different things. Wine bar is great. Our service was poor, but it could have been because it was "Thunder Over Louisville" night and they may have been short of help.4/20/2013 12:00:00 AMWe've only been a few timesWe've only been a few times but the staff is consistently great and work hard to make sure you have a wonderful experience.4/19/2013 12:00:00 AM5 starsWhat a concept! We loved the small "bites" options on the menu. We were able to try a lot of the menu without ordering a full entree, although you may do so. We will definitely put this restaurant in our top 5 of the area. We sat in the bar area, so got to see the bartender work his magic.....very energetic fellow who made awesome drinks. The lobster fritters were very good, the potato wrapped salmon awesome ( will have to get the full entree version of that one), arugula & beet salad delightful, the porcini mushroom flan a must try.....and ask for MARTY as your server. He's awesome.4/18/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat experience!We were a party of 4 and every one of us had a wonderful time! We all loved the pricing structure for different-sized portions and wondered why more restaurants don't follow suit. Everything about our experience was great! I've already recommended to a half-dozen friends.4/18/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat addition to restaurant sceneWe were so excited to try this new restaurant that occupied a former favorite. We went to celebrate our birthday's and I cannot say enough good things about Bistro 1860. The waitress was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the menu and help guided us in the right direction on menu choices. Since their menu is set up a little different, we wanted to try to gauge how much food we would need. It turned out to be a great place to "share" food and allowed us to get a taste of many things off the menu. The service was swift and the presentation lovely. We even got a birthday dessert to share! My only complaint is we were not asked if we wanted more to drink, but in the grand scheme very minor. We cannot wait to go back!4/17/2013 12:00:00 AM"First experience at Bistro 1860"Everything was top notch, but did not care for the Root Beer drink... it was mixed pretty (for the lack of a better word) strong. The waiter was very helpful and knowledgeable of the menu. Thank You for accommodating us.4/13/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat FindThis was my first experience and I will definitely return. Our party consists of genuine foodies and we appreciate a new find.4/8/2013 12:00:00 AM1860 Bistro is a very fun1860 Bistro is a very fun place. I have eaten there 4 times. The service has been great and the food is very good.
We have eaten upstairs, at the bar, and also at a wonderful booth that they rounded out for a 6 top. The lighting is too bright, though. The bulbs hanging at the bar are fun, but they need to be on a dimmer. I loved the booth, but the overhanging light was crazy bright, took away from the atmosphere. It's like you are being interrogated and someone is shining a bright light in your face instead of a romantic evening out. That is absolutely the only drawback though. It is a terriffic restaurant, otherwise!!4/5/2013 12:00:00 AMSeating OptionsThe table where they tried to seat us was inappropriate. It was tucked back in a corner and was difficult for a server to get through, much less a 6'4" former college football player. They then gave us a table that someone else would be using in 2 hours, and although we rarely have dinners that last that long, we felt rushed having been informed that we were using someone else's table.
In my opinion, that tiny area table. if kept, should be used only for walk-ins who have no reservation and can physically fit into the tiny space. I expected to have a regulation table, as I made the reservation a few weeks prior to the evening, which was my husband's birthday.4/5/2013 12:00:00 AMWe loved the food. Our waiterWe loved the food. Our waiter was very good. He gave us sincere answers to our questions regarding food choices and, because we had theater tickets, was quite attentive to our time constraints in a gracious manner.4/2/2013 12:00:00 AMYou're going to love this place!I was very impressed from the second I stepped inside with the outstanding ambiance and beautiful decor. I was very impressed with the black and white photos of iconic views of Louisville decorating the walls of the first dining area and the photos of the owners latest vacation from Italy in the second dining area. But, I was especially impressed with the lounge on the second floor; you felt like you just walked into a welcoming family room. Aside from all this, the food and service were wonderful. The "taste" portions made it possible to try several items at a time and the server was very informative and attentive. We will definately go back again and again.4/1/2013 12:00:00 AMSecond time I've been to BistroSecond time I've been to Bistro 1860, and enjoyed the food and service on both occasions.3/30/2013 12:00:00 AMLoved it!! All 8 of us wereLoved it!! All 8 of us were very impressed with the food. I tried a bite of the lobster hush puppies, the duck confit bite and a little chocolate dessert. Others tried the salmon and everyone loved it all. Atmosphere, waiter, ambiance, etc. were all great!3/28/2013 12:00:00 AMWe had a party of 8 and hadWe had a party of 8 and had an absolutely wonderful time. The food was excellent and the service was outstanding. We did not have a negative thing to sat about our dining adventure. It was the first time for all 8 diners and we will absolutley be making return visits.3/23/2013 12:00:00 AMWe had a great time at 1860We had a great time at 1860 overall. The seating was a little tight for our group of 8 and noise from adjacent tables at times necessitated louder conversations at our table. That said, the food and service more than made up for any drawbacks. We look forward to visiting again.3/23/2013 12:00:00 AMI've enjoyed the Camel LoungeI've enjoyed the Camel Lounge many times at Bistro 1860 (still have never eaten downstairs!). The service was the slowest I've experienced, but there was a large party there & think our server was the only one- she was great & did well. Food was wonderful. Don't like having a TV in that space- it kills the ambiance, but I understand the need for some patrons. Will be back soon!3/22/2013 12:00:00 AMBRAVO!We loved it. The pick-a-size menu (tasting bite, appetizer size or entree size) is a great idea and really opens up the variety of dishes you can have in a meal. The favorites from our 4 person meal were the oysters, salmon, filet and short ribs. All perfectly presented and cooked. Service was impeccable - just enough, not too much. The decor is urban and sophisticated with black & white tile floors, exposed brick and grey, yellow and white upholstery. Upstairs in the Camel Room is a special treat. You can go for drinks before or after your meal or have your meal there. It is all comfy upholstered sofas and chairs so it is more like being in a home. We really loved this restaurant and will be back.3/20/2013 12:00:00 AMA pleasant addition to theA pleasant addition to the area. The options for selecting the plate sizes for the whole menu is a nice twist. Food was outstanding and server was well informed. Will visit again and recommend to others.3/16/2013 12:00:00 AMThe pork belly was fantastic.The pork belly was fantastic. The service was good. Overall, a very nice experience.3/13/2013 12:00:00 AMWhat a wonderful experienceWhat a wonderful experience my girl friends and I had!!! I highly recommend Bristro 1860 to all who wants a remarkable evening filled with outstanding food, excellent service and surrounded in a beautiful enviting environment. Louisville has a new gem on Brownsboro Road / Mellwood.1/1/0001 4:00:00 PM