Varanese
Popular dishes
Bourbon Barrel Smoked Pork Chop*
Spice rubbed bourbon barrel smoked boneless pork chop topped with an apple bacon chutney served with gratin potato
23 reviews
Caramelized Orange Bourbon Salmon*
Grilled salmon topped with a caramelized mandarin orange bourbon sauce served over cream cheese grits
14 reviews
Bread Pudding
Toffee-marshmallow bread pudding and bourbon caramel sauce served with salted caramel ice cream
12 reviews
Excellent as always, Staff pleasant, great service
Great food and love the music.
My husband and I love Varanese. It’s our favorite restaurant. Definitely the most consistently great restaurant in Louisville. They never disappoint. Went for my husband’s birthday. Table had rose petals and a “Happy Birthday” sign. We were with another couple. We all loved the food, service and ambience. Ordered chicken, prime rib and salmon. Thank you, John Varanese!
Great time
One of our favorite restaurants in Louisville! Always love it!
We had a wonderful Easter dinner at Varanese. The calamari was amazing! Our dinners were all fabulous & the bread pudding was outstanding! A beautiful meal shared with family in a wonderful atmosphere. Thank you Varanese!
Family Easter Sunday was amazing!
Great Easter lunch. Great specials and full menu
We absolutely love Varanese! However, this last meal was AWFUL. I don’t know if it was because it was Easter or what, but the portions were sad, food was either overcooked (Calimari) or undercooked (pork chop). Everything was very lackluster. It was sad as we have always enjoyed Varanese, but may have to pause before we come back.
Second time here and we requested Mason as our server. He is always attentive and polite. Food was amazing just like before. We loved our experience. We will return for many more
Easter brunch
It was all very nice and great wait staff
Food was fantastic for the whole party, drinks are a bit pricey. Server was excellent.
Delicious salmon entree & cocktails
The service was superb & the food and drinks were excellent. We stopped in while on a trip to Louisville & we loved it. We will return anytime we are back in the area. We highly recommend it!
We were seated promptly. Service was attentive, but not pushy or overbearing. And the food was scrumptious.
What a great experience! Highly recommend 😊
Service was great, but the food was not as good as previous times. My steak was very over cooked.
Martin/Kinser family have been with John Varanese since he opened Varanese ❤️Also ❤️RiverHouse. All Special Family occasions with Chef John or Chef Eric
The pork chop and Mac and cheese were amazing. The classic old fashion was also good. The service was excellent. The music is great but a little loud if you are near the band.
Great service ! Awesome seafood !
Great spot with lovely music. Not too loud. The food is first rate!
We held a small private wedding ceremony with a four course meal that followed. Everything was perfect! Thank You to Dave and team for our great experience. I have been to Varanese many times, but had not experimented with the menu. This event allowed me to try several of the menu go to’d that I had not tasted before. It was a fun culinary experience, that has now given added some more choices to my go to’s!
Probably my favorite restaurant in Louisville. Always great food and service along with some good jazz. John really cares about his customers and makes sure they are pleased with their visit. 5 stars plus
Always a delight to have dinner here at our favorite restaurant!!!!!!!!!
Great experience at Varanasi! Food was really good, service was impeccable and the atmosphere was delightful.
They made my birthday special with sign and rose petals on the table.
David and Rory always greet us with great service and food!
Great food and service!
Anniversary , thank you for making it a very enjoyable evening. Highlights were Brussel Sprouts and Lamb Shank. Only thing didn’t like were sweet potato biscuits seemed like the were microwaved to get them warm, hard. Service was great, definitely will recommend and return!
Very classy. Great service and wonderful food. Went early and enjoyed the music at the end of my meal.
Excellent as usual! Our waiter was also covering the bar and she did both beautifully! You are always in for a great experience at Varanese!
Very professional and top notch service. Great place for an anniversary or birthday dinner!
Love the food and ambiance. So wonderful to have a jazz trio playing Friday night with masks. Orange bourbon salmon with cheese grits, and a side or braised brussel sprouts with balsamic vinegar.
Outstanding waitress and service. Food was delicious!
The food was amazing! Our server was very attentive and kind she was very helpful with suggestions and information about the menu!
Food was very amateurish. Didn’t like the flavors, especially the overly sweet orange glaze on the salmon and the mushy pico with the crab avocado. My steak was not cooked properly (didn’t even eat it), but because we sat down and didn’t see our server for nearly 30 minutes, I was already over the restaurant. I appreciated them comping the app due to waiter confusion, but this was two hours of my life wasted and would have had tastier food, quite frankly, anywhere else on Frankfort Ave.
Everything was excellent. While we were seated about 20 minutes after our reservation was scheduled for, we were able to grab a drink and wait.
This is the fourth time that my girlfriend and I have dined at Varanese in the last year and a half. As before, we thoroughly enjoyed everything about our dining experience. We enjoyed our dinners along with the great service and ambiance that we have always enjoyed about this restaurant! We have always dined on Saturday nights so we enjoy listening to the Jazz trio as we dine. It is a fairly loud atmosphere, but not too overwhelming, it just adds to the experience overall. We have eaten out at many restaurants in the Louisville area and Varanese has become one of our favorites!!! We highly recommend giving it a try.
Food was delicious. Service was impeccable. Jesse was our server very knowledgeable of the menu and he had a great sense of humor.
FAQs
Varanese offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (502) 899-9904.
Varanese is rated 4.8 stars by 3474 OpenTable diners.
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.