Bristol Bar & Grille - Downtown
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Popular dishes
Bristol Green Chili Wontons
A Louisville favorite! Fried wontons filled with Monterey Jack cheese and green chilies. Served with the Bristol's house-made Guacamole sauce
10 reviews
Southern Fried Chicken
Buttermilk fried boneless chicken breast, veggie demi-glace, mashed potatoes and collard greens
4 reviews
Pork Dijonnaise
Grilled pork loin with Dijon mustard sauce. Served with skillet fried potatoes
3 reviews
Reliable expectations for dining.
The lights over table one could have written in the dust. At the bar the bottles on display hadn’t been cleaned in a while either.
Always good. This was no different. Thanks.
buffet was not hot and lacked a good selection. we were not offered a menu to be able to order anything else. I am on a very strict diet and could eat very little. I was not made aware that on sunday afternoons it was a buffet. I have been to this bristol before and was very please but would not go back on a Sunday afternoon if I have to get the buffet.
What a great way to celebrate my birthday ! Thanks !!!
Bristol Bar and Grille is a Louisville Institution. You can never go wrong dining at the Bristol.
Food was great — the mashed potatoes were somewhat cold around the edges, but otherwise it was delicious.
Our reservation was for a Saturday before a Louisville Orchestra concert. Service was somewhat slow (drinks brought later than other tables, and other tables who ordered after we did received food before us) but not to the point where it ruined the meal.
Overall, we were very happy and will return.
This was our only bad restaurant experience during our long weekend in Louisville. The downtown location is lacking in atmosphere, our waitress was abrupt (to put in mildly), and our food was not good.
We went to brunch before a show at the KY Performing Arts Center. The brunch buffet had so many options! Eggs & many other breakfast items (yummy grits, waffles hot off the grill with berries & other sweet sides, pastries) as well as loads of hot lunch-type items including veggies, fried chicken & loads of other tasty looking options. $2 mimosas too it all off!
Excellent as always
Brunch always good at the Bristol! Great place to eat before Broadway Series shows.
We love the Bristol downtown. It is always a great place to go before or after a show at KPAC. The food is always good with specialty choices you can't get anywhere else. The green chili wontons are a must!
As usual, Bristol comes through. Food was great and service to match.
Great place! We will be back
Great service! The Thai sweet chili linguine was absolutely delicious, and the wontons are a must-try. Seemed a little overpriced, but overall great experience!
Wonderful food & service! Will definitely call and make reservations again when I am in town.
Quality food and STELLAR SERVICE1 Christina was amazing. Thank you.
We always enjoy our monthly dinners at Bristol before our broadway plays.
We were a group of 4 celebrating a significant accomplishment for one of our group. The food was exceptional. I recommend you try the chili won tons as an appetizer. Service was good, yet slow as first, until we flagged someone down for help. The only thing that really took away from our dining experience was the extremely drunk and loud people sitting in the corner table. There was also a large group with 6-7 small children who ran around the entire restaurant screaming and playing. It is a shame people cannot set expectations for their children's behavior in a restaurant. It is not a playground. Other are trying to have a conversation and eat.
Bristol is always a great place to entertain with friends and loved ones. Excellent food and service at a great price point. Absolutely love the place.
Adequate at best. The filets were way over cooked. The waitress was ok. Sides were ok. No idea how they won the best of anything.
We attended as a group of ushers who wanted to have "a quick bite" before heading down to Actors theatre to work a performance. We gave the restaurant and wait staff a heads=up that we had a time constraint and they were more than accommodating.
We would certainly go again for a pre-theater meal.
The food was good, not great. It is reasonably priced and was convenient to the KY Center.
The food was not very hot when served and the noise level was a little high, but the overall value and experience were excellent.
The teriyaki salmon and asparagus was excellent as was the raspberry almond chocolate torte. Our server was very kind and attentive and the atmosphere was such that we were able to carry on a lengthy business discussion. Thank you for a pleasant experience.
Food was good. Bloody Mary bar was nice. Reserved a table and got right in, no wait.
The shrimp and grits were okay. The gravy and grits were too thick. The lemon and raspberry cake wasn’t fresh, didn’t have enough lemon flavor, and the icing tasted of shortening and not sugar.
Great place to get in and out when going to a show
There for dinner before seeing Jesus Christ Superstar. We got there early and our table was already ready so they seated us. Good bourbon list divided by distiller. Reasonable prices (as reasonable as any bourbon list is today) and good but not extensive wine list. Started with the green chili wontons (you have to, it's state law). My wife had the fried chicken which is always a solid choice. I had the pork chop. The flavor was great but it was a little bit over cooked. This was the first time I've ever had an entree that wasn't spot on. I'll chalk it up to a very busy kitchen.
Our server (can't remember his name but he was from Stamping Ground) was definitely 5 🎆. Water glasses consistently refilled, drinks brought promptly, no complaints there.
I'm not going to ding them too much for an entree that was slightly overdone. The Bristol is an institution in Louisville and deserves its great reputation.
My friends and I go here often before going to the Center for the Arts Broadway Series. The Bristol downtown is usually prepared for the theater crowd and get us in and out efficiently. This visit was the opposite. The food took a long time to come (but was good once it arrived), the wait staff was slow and it took forever to get our check. Not sure why things went south but it was not the usual great experience. We will give it another try.
There were four of us dining before a show at Ky Center. They are very busy on a night like this. We arrived at 5:30 and didn’t get food until 6:45p. We were about ready to leave. The food is okay but nothing special. Not to be unkind but shouldn’t they be prepared for this crowd. You have to have a reservation so they know how many are coming. They need more variety on menu.
Food just ok.
Was a busy night before the nutcracker
They handled it well, food was timely
Chili pasta was good but dry, had to ask for extra sauce
Fried chicken was very good
Not a fan of the shrimp and grits flavor
Would definitely return before an event
We were very disappointed on being seated in an auxiliary room that was extremely noise and the lighting was so bright I wish I had brought my sunglasses. We walked past at least one table for 5 to get there. Food was very good and Kevin our waiter did an excellent job.
We were very happy with our waitress, Cristina. We were eating a pretheater meal so we had a deadline to leave. She was understanding and adjusted her service accordingly.
Love the Bristol! It is a Louisville Original that stands the test of time.
Always start with Green Chili Wontons!
Bristol Burger is hands down best in the city - worth the wait!
Steak Sandwich is also very good.
Wine specials are worth the trip!
All in all it has maintained it's quality over the years. However, the Martinis and the wine pour portions have become half the pour and twice the price.
Server was slow. Never refilled our water. Only checked on us once. The food was excellent! The experience kind of dampens the vibe of a favorable referral.
Normally the downtown Bristol is my favorite. This time not so much. They had been very busy so the restaurant was dirty. We ordered chili wontons and they were actually cold when they came out. My entree was also cold and i ordered with chicken. It had 3 small chunks.
Our glasses were never refilled and our napkins were wet.
Had a guest in from India and i was embarrassed to have taken them to
The Bristol after speaking so highly of the restaurant.
Great service, food was a little bland and a bit overpriced. Perfect location for dinner before Kentucky Center ballet.
FAQs
Bristol Bar & Grille - Downtown is rated 4.2 stars by 544 OpenTable diners.
Bristol Bar & Grille - Downtown does offer gift cards which you can purchase here https://www.powercard.com/giftcard/GiftCard.php?cardid=60.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.