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  • Varanese

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Reserve at Varanese

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Varanese
Varanese
  • Address:
    2106 Frankfort Ave.
    Louisville, KY 40206
    Neighborhood:
    Downtown Louisville
  • Cuisine:
    Contemporary American
    Price: $30 and under

Varanese Details

  • Dining Style: Casual Elegant
  • Website: http://www.varanese.com
  • Phone: (502) 899-9904
  • Hours of Operation: Dinner: Sunday - Thursday: 5:00pm - 11:00pm, Friday & Saturday: 5:00pm - 12:00pm
  • Payment Options: AMEX, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
  • Cuisine: Contemporary American
  • Executive Chef: John Varanese
  • Dress Code: Smart Casual
  • Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
  • Additional Details: Banquet/Private Rooms, Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Entertainment, Farm to Table, Full Bar, Gluten-free Menu, Late Night, Non-Smoking Area, Non-Smoking Restaurant, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Smoking Area, Takeout, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine, Wine Bar
  • Catering: Catering is offered depending on Chef Varanese's availability. Call to inquire.
  • Private Party Facilities: With the addition of two new private dining room spaces, Varanese can accommodate groups of up to 80 people. Minimum sales requirement for each room applies. Call 502-899-9904 or email letsdine@varanese.com to inquire.
  • Private Party Contact: John Varanese (502) 899-9904
  • Entertainment: Live jazz seven nights from the Jeff Sherman band 6-10pm.
  • Special Events & Promotions: Sunday is Service Industry Night. Enjoy 1/2 price appetizers and drink specials starting at 8:30.
    Every Monday, enjoy a free Flambé Dessert with the purchase of any entrée.
    Wine Down Wednesday – Half price bottles of wine all night. Choose from our extensive wine list.

Getting there

  • Cross Street: Vernon
  • Public Transit: Varanese has a TARC stop in front along with a Frankfort Ave. Trolly Hop Stop.
  • Parking: Private Lot
  • Parking Details: Varanese provides on-premise parking along with additional parking across the street at Nancy's Bagel Grounds along with street parking.
A word from Varanese
Varanese settled in Louisville because of its successful independent dining scene, and he believes that the people of Louisville will appreciate fresh ingredients, prepared with a creative flair and a culturally diverse menu. Varanese’s eclectic menu boasts an array of options from stuffed grape… leaves, and fried green tomato salad, to new signature entrées: the seared boneless pork chop, and caramelized orange salmon. Finish with a fried banana accompanied by a house-made oatmeal cookie dough ice cream dessert. This New American style restaurant will comfortably seat 150 guests between its bar, dining room and four seasons patio. The four seasons patio of Varanese is an addition to the building, which has a dramatic 20-foot slate water wall. The space is enclosed by a serpentine of glass doors, which retract to offer an outdoor dining experience. Varanese is located at 2106 Frankfort Ave. in the Historic Clifton neighborhood Continued
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Awards voted by OpenTable diners
  • Diners' Choice WinnerContemporary American
  • Diners' Choice WinnerOutdoor Dining
  • Diners' Choice WinnerMost Booked
Diner Reviews
  • "I don't think I've ever had anything other than a phenomenal experience here. The food is amazing, the service is wonderful and the atmosphere is lovely."
    Dined on 7/19/2014
  • "Enjoyed the food and our waiter was great. Thanks!"
    Dined on 7/18/2014
  • "Amazing food coupled with outstanding service make this a must visit place."
    Dined on 7/18/2014
  • "It was our first time to the restaurant, which had come highly recommended by our friends. The food was incredible, my wife had the Bourbon Pork chop and I had the Diver scallops. The Fried green tomato salad was very good. My wife had a cocktail which was one of the specials for the day and loved that as well. Our only complaint was our server was either new or overwhelmed. She wasn't very attentive. Our salad and our appetizer came out at the same time. Plus I wanted to have a beer with dinner but we never saw her till we had finished. The restaurant was very nice and brought us a complimentary dessert for our anniversary. We really enjoyed the doors being open with such a beautiful night, and the live jazz music was relaxing."
    Dined on 7/17/2014
  • "great dinner, busy place, wait staff over burdened, wonderful music but if you are there to talk the crowd was noisy. We will go back"
    Dined on 7/16/2014
  • "Ran into a few problems at this restaurant for derby. The management contacted us and invited us to give it a second try. WOW! Knocked our socks off!!! It was wonderful! Our waiter Jay must have wrote the book on service. The food was outstanding. Varanese is a Louisville gem."
    Dined on 7/12/2014
  • "We have been hearing about Veranese since our relocation to Louisville several months ago, and we finally checked it out this weekend. Shame on us for waiting so long! The ambience was fantastic; the indoor/outdoor seating gave it such a cool feel. The food and service were great too. We'll definitely be back soon!"
    Dined on 7/12/2014
  • "The salmon dish was excellent and my husband ordered the vegetarian dish and left if to the chef to choose the vegetables. Both dishes were two that I would definitely order again, if there were not so many other things that I would like to try on my next visit. Service was not over zealous and the pacing seemed just right. The only caveat is that most of the seating is open air at this time and it was particularly muggy so after sitting out in it for awhile, that got a little uncomfortable. If I were to do it over again, I would ask to be seated inside, but the tables looked so lovely, I thought "how hot can it get"? Well you should never underestimate the heat and humidity in July in the Ohio Valley."
    Dined on 7/12/2014
  • "I've lived in Louisville for 20 years and, somehow, had never made it to Varanese. My husband and I went the other night and it is now one of our Top 5 favorite restaurants in Louisville. Really a can't miss for all tastes."
    Dined on 7/6/2014
  • "I have decided this is now my favorite restaurant in town. I love the nightly music, the staff is attentive and friendly, and I thoroughly enjoy every bite. Always try at least one special! I have yet to be disappointed!"
    Dined on 7/1/2014
  • "Varanese is a wonderful venue for casual dining - both "fine" and "everyday". the food is outstanding, the service top notch, and the music a great addition. Made to feel speciel no matter what the occasion. a hidden Louisville Original"
    Dined on 6/30/2014
  • "Women diners were seated in small tables for two but couples were seated at large tables for four. Try juggling two appetizers and a wine carafe on that small table!"
    Dined on 6/30/2014
  • "Varanese is superb. The food and service are among the best in the city. I rarely give rave reviews, but this place deserves it."
    Dined on 6/28/2014
  • "The service is excellent and so are the servers thank you for a wonderful evening"
    Dined on 6/28/2014
  • "Do you ever approach a young girl at the hostess stand and although the restaurant is empty and you have reservations she wants to put you in the corner booth. When did these young part time employees get all the power? How about asking the waiter to split the bill and a few minutes later he approaches the table to ask how we wanted to split the bill. Someone needs to teach these young people the art of customer service. The customer is in control not the hostess or waiter. The food was amazing, the jazz band not too loud and the ambience hard to beat. At the end of the meal the customer still votes with their wallet."
    Dined on 6/28/2014
  • "I had out of town guest and once again Varanese did not disappoint. The food was wonderful, the old favorites are consistent so I could recommend with confidence and the specials were an excellent selection. Our service was exceptionally good on this Saturday with our server answer questions easily and knowledgeable of the wine and bourbon settings."
    Dined on 6/28/2014
  • "We eat at Varanese on a regular basis, and it's just great every time; such a romantic evening. It's just everything you would want for a perfect dinner: nice music, friendly staff, fun drinks, and great food. As always, we will be back"
    Dined on 6/27/2014
  • "My husband and I dined at Varanese on a recent Friday evening. We enjoyed a fabulous jazz band, spectacular service and delicious salmon. We even splurged on chocolate lava cake that was out of this world! We began planning our next visit on the ride home. If you are looking for an all-around great place to have dinner you must try Varanese."
    Dined on 6/27/2014
  • "Excellent service and food, a little hot and too dark"
    Dined on 6/27/2014
  • "We arrived a little early, but were seated immediately. Our waiter was courteous and had all the answers we needed regarding food and wine. (He also treated my wife and I to a dessert for our anniversary) The live two piece band was great as well."
    Dined on 6/22/2014
  • "The food and atmosphere at Varanese seems to never disappoint and this time was no different."
    Dined on 6/21/2014
  • "Great friendly atmosphere! Attention without hovering- I like that. Good food as well."
    Dined on 6/21/2014
  • "Decided to make a last minute reservation and was lucky enough to get a table. As usual the food was great and we had a great time. Thanks Chef John"
    Dined on 6/20/2014
  • "Came here for a small dinner with friends. I was very pleasantly surprised at what a great restaurant this was. The food was great, the service phenomenal. The chef even came out to ask how we liked it...I've never experienced that with any other restaurant. I Strongly recommend, as I have now found my new favorite restaurant in Louisville!"
    Dined on 6/20/2014
  • "We celebrated our 19 year anniversary with our two kids 12 and 14. Service and food was great. Kids enjoyed their meal. Server put rose petals on our table for our anniversary. Chef came out to ensure our meals were great. Jazz band played familiar but kind of old fashioned music. We enjoyed it."
    Dined on 6/17/2014
  • "Some how, we missed that it was predominately an outdoor restaurant! We were pretty dressed up as it was our 30th wedding anniversary, and it was a very warm night, soooo the overall experience was a little uncomfortable. That said, the food was outstanding, service very good, and we loved the backround live music! Had we dressed a little more summer casual, it would've been perfect, but it was close enough."
    Dined on 6/15/2014
  • "The service was friendly, personable and professional. The food was hot, well presented and delicious! The ambiance was exceptional!! We will be back!"
    Dined on 6/15/2014
  • "I treated my fiancé to Father's Day brunch. It was the most amazing brunch we have ever had. Loved that the chef came out and asked how are good was. Drinks were amazing also. We will definitely be coming back."
    Dined on 6/15/2014
  • "Service was great, attentive to the patrons by the wait staff. Food, over salted, which I've mentioned a few times when there and an issue others have mentioned including the 3 other guest with me. David - Nice gentleman and seems to care about his patrons experience John - Seems distracted when talking with tables and a bit impersonal."
    Dined on 6/15/2014
  • "Enjoyed the experience - took co-workers with me who had never been and all three enjoyed it"
    Dined on 6/9/2014
  • "Service could be improved, food presentation was nice and ambience presented an ideal setting for a date night."
    Dined on 6/8/2014
  • "I can't remember the last time I had food that tasted this good."
    Dined on 6/8/2014
  • "We love going to veranese. It's our special occasion spot. Excellent food and service. So good we keep it for our place. Prices are about what they should be for the food you received. We've never had a bad meal or service!!"
    Dined on 6/8/2014
  • "the pineapple topping on the mahi mahi was not good, and I was very disappointed. I had been at the restaurant two weeks earlier and ordered the fish special that was grilled perfectly and the topping was delicious.still, I love this restaurant and I'm going back for fathers day. I'll never order anything with pineapple on top of it. A word on the service: always excellent."
    Dined on 6/7/2014
  • "The restaurant was fine dining but very reasonably priced. It was prepared with style and made perfectly. Our wait or was on the spot and very friendly. It was my first visit but I'll be going back. Sometimes I'm leery about trying a fine dining restaurant and paying too much for a meal that wasn't that impressive. That was not the case at Varanese. I would been fine with paying a little more for the meal that I received. "
    Dined on 6/7/2014
  • "We all had something different. The food was a little over shadowed by the fair service. To serve this type of fare we felt the service was not up to par."
    Dined on 6/7/2014
  • "I tried special items marked with the "V" ( I thought it was an EKG signal) the bourbon orange salmon and apple cranberry salad were excellent."
    Dined on 6/7/2014
  • "My wife and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary here, and we couldn't be more pleased. The food was phenomenal, the setting was amazing, and our server was fantastic. She was very knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive. We will most certainly be returning for our next big celebration, or when we just want to treat ourselves."
    Dined on 6/7/2014
  • "Always fantastic, I want to lick my plate after I finish my meal, the food is fantastic. Service is great with helpful recommendations and live jazz on some nights makes for great atmosphere. "
    Dined on 6/2/2014
  • "We have been to Varanese multiple times over the past year and every time has been memorable. The waitstaff is helpful and attentive but not somethering. Vegetarians are well accommodated - the chef's vegetarian plate is both creative and delicious. The specials are just that - special! I always feel welcomed, always get a great meal, and always look foreword to returning. Go there when you can - recommended without any reservation (but you would be smart to have one)."
    Dined on 5/31/2014
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Diners' Choice Awards
  • Central Kentucky Winners
  • Contemporary American
  • Most Booked
  • Louisville Winners
  • Contemporary American
  • Outdoor Dining
  • Most Booked
Learn more ›