Tacos, Mediterranean and a snazzy bar: 3 new Louisville restaurants opening in September
Looking for somewhere new to eat and drink in Louisville?
Following the highly-anticipated opening of Pig Beach BBQ at Waterfront Park on Thursday, three other new places are on the way in September.
From a popular restaurant serving tacos, tequila and whiskey to a sandwich shop and bar taking over a former jazz club, here are a few spots to try.
Know something we missed? Send a note to ahancock@courier-journal.com.
Bakersfield
1064 Bardstown Road, bakersfieldtacos.com, opening Sept. 12
Looking to drink a beer out of a cowboy boot-shaped cup? Bakersfield, a Cincinnati-based chain, will bring tacos, tequila and whiskey to Louisville this month. The bar and restaurant will bring those miniature cowboy boots for drinking, too. Bakersfield's menu features Mexican street fare, including tacos, taquitos and tortas, as well as a selection of over 100 tequilas and whiskeys. When Bakersfield opens in the heart of Highlands, it will mark the establishment’s eighth location and second concept in Louisville from Thunderdome Restaurant Group, which opened The Eagle in 2016.
“We’re excited to bring Bakersfield to Louisville,” Joe Lanni, co-founder of Thunderdome Restaurant Group, said in a news release. “We felt so much love from the city after opening The Eagle [at 1314 Bardstown Road] and we always knew we wanted to bring a second concept to the area.”
The restaurant’s name is a tribute to the Bakersfield Sound, a country music genre going back to the 1950s. You can expect a “lively, casual and high-spirited atmosphere.”
MeeshMeesh Mediterranean
636 E. Market St.; meeshmeesh.com; opening Sept. 1
After pushing back its opening date by a few weeks, MeeshMeesh Mediterranean opened its doors on the first day of September.
The restaurant will add eastern Mediterranean food to NuLu’s vibrant restaurant scene with a menu full of flavors pulling from fare popular in places such as Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. Opening in the building formerly housed by Wiltshire on Market, MeeshMeesh will serve dinner Wednesday through Sunday.
“We’re excited for people to stop in and see what we’ve been up to,” chef Noam Bilitzer said in a news release. “We’ve done a lot to make the space our own, including changes to the decor, a few small renovations, and several other updates.”
Bilitzer, a native of Israel, built a menu featuring an array of vegetarian, vegan and meat options, along with culinary cocktails and thoughtfully-sourced wines.
“We’re highlighting the unique flavors and ingredients I grew up with through shareable dishes that explore the diverse culinary history of the Levantine region,” the chef stated.
The Misfit Lou
119 S. 7th St., misfitlou.com, opening in late September
The home of a well-known former sandwich shop and jazz club downtown will again be serving food and entertainment. The Misfit Lou, a bar and restaurant with a movie theater downstairs, plans to open later this month in the downtown building formerly occupied by Jimmy Can't Dance and Another Place Sandwich Shop. The Misfit comes from husband-and-wife duo Martin Svab and Ryan Hughes-Svab, who both have over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry and moved to Louisville in 2022.
“This is what we love to do,” Martin Svab said. “And this opportunity came to be in a beautiful historic building. We can't wait to show people what we've been working on."
Know a restaurant opening this month we missed? Reach food and dining reporter Amanda Hancock at ahancock@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville restaurants opening in September: MeeshMeesh, Bakersfield
