From cured meat to craft beer, here's 5 restaurants opening this month in Louisville

It's never a struggle to find someplace delicious to eat or drink in Louisville with its abundance of restaurant options, but if you're searching for something new, the Courier Journal has curated a list of alternatives.

This month, five new restaurants and breweries will open in Louisville. From cured meats and European delicacies to a golf-themed brewery, there's no shortage of options for every palate. Here are a handful of new spots to put on your radar.

Know a restaurant opening this month we missed? Reach features reporter Leah Hunter at lhunter@gannett.com or on Twitter @theleahhunter.

B-Side at Decade Restaurant

1076 E. Washington St.; b-sidevenue.com; now open

A new bar and music venue is now open in Butchertown. Located in the upstairs part of Decade, 1076 E. Washington St., B-Side will provide customers with a modern antique vibe complete with drinks, art and music performances in a venue that holds just over 100 people, according to co-owner Chad Sheffield. Sheffield previously worked at the now-closed Decca Restaurant alongside partners Andy Meyers and Matt Johnson.

Visitors can expect to see a different take on the "beloved" space that previously held Lola at Butchertown Grocery. Sheffield said the space was "already pretty amazing" with all the necessary nuts and bolts for them to do what they wanted. The team did, however, lighten the space's color palette, redid the hardwood floors, and added an art installation.

"I think the whole space as it stands is just more whimsical and feels lighter and has more flexibility for all the things we want to do up there," he told the Courier Journal. "So, I think it was already a great space that I think we just kind of lightened it up and are still trying to make it our own aesthetically."

For the first month or two, Myers said the space will be open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 5-11 p.m., an hour after Decade closes, to give people the opportunity to visit B-Side after their meal. Food will not be served upstairs at B-Side.

Decade, which opened to much fanfare earlier this year, boasts an expansive menu with veggie-based dishes, varied pastas, meat dishes like one offering octopus, potatoes, herbed labna, pickled tomatoes and mustard greens ($25), and desserts.

CURED Restaurant and Salumeria

637 East Main St.; curedbutchertown.com; opening in August

CURED Restaurant and Salumeria is a modern European restaurant and bar offering savory, house-cured meats and cocktails, according to its website.

The location, inside the Main & Clay Apartments Complex, has plenty of unique offerings, including soppressata, or fragrances of fermented meat followed by tart, fruity, tangy flavors on the palate; speck, an aromatic dish with sweet, cured meat followed by black pepper and rosemary; coppa, a dish with long-cured pork and spices; and lardo, a type of salumi.

Smoked meats like guanciale — a cured pork jowl with flavors of butter and ground macadamia nuts, chicken, bacon and pork loin — are also available, along with regularly processed meats, like Spanish chorizo and deli meats.

CURED will be open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with an open-view kitchen. Space for 40 people will be available inside, along with a patio and an area for outdoor dining on the bustling Louisville corner as well, the Courier Journal previously reported.

Co-owner Alvio Lapinet said the name of the restaurant means the meats he makes are "cured with salt and time." And the dedication owners put into their work, he said, should be clear to anyone who visits.

"We really care about our customers. We want to make them feel special," he said.

First Watch

7714 Bardstown Road; firstwatch.com; opening in August

A new First Watch location, the eighth in the Louisville area, is coming to Fern Creek.

First Watch serves "sunny skies and brunch vibes," according to its website, with its seasonal menu including breakfast items, specialty coffees, and drinks like the Mint Mocha Iced Coffee and the Watermelon Wake-Up.

For a taste of summer, try the Strawberry Tres Leches French Toast ($13.29), which is thick-cut, custard-dipped challah bread and topped with fresh strawberries, sweetened condensed milk, warm dulce de leche, whipped cream and spiced gingerbread cookie crumbles lightly dusted with powdered cinnamon sugar.

Craving Southern flavor? Try the restaurant's Lone Star Brisket Hash ($14.59), a smoked, hand-pulled brisket and house-pickled sweet peppers in a potato hash, topped with two cage-free eggs any style, cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses, avocado, house-made pico de gallo, chipotle aioli and scallions served with two wheat-corn tortillas.

MeeshMeesh Mediterranean

636 E. Market St.; meeshmeesh.com; opening in mid-August

MeeshMeesh Mediterranean is set to open a permanent location this month at 636 E. Market St. in Nulu, where Wiltshire on Market recently closed after 14 years in business, the Courier Journal previously reported.

The restaurant honors the food traditions of the eastern Mediterranean, encompassing flavors from Israel — where Bilitzer is from — as well as Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and more, chef Noam Bilitzer told the Courier Journal.

Bilitzer has been a corporate chef de cuisine at 21c Musuem Hotel group, executive chef at Red Hog Restaurant & Butcher Shop, culinary director for Eternal Optimist (which includes Ryan Rogers’ restaurants Feast BBQ, Royals Hot Chicken, and bar Vetti), and a private chef, which led to a private events business and a pop-up series featuring Mediterranean street fare.

While the seasonal nature of the mean means it changes frequently, some dishes Bilitzer said to watch for include scallop crudo with lavash; whipped labneh and fava beans with lemon and mint; za’atar fries with garlic confit; grape leaf wrapped branzino with fennel, artichoke, and almonds; and vegetable tagine with couscous.

His can’t-miss recommendation? A Freedom Run Farm smoked lamb hummus.

TurnStation Brewery Company

Located in GlenOaks Country Club, 10601 Worthington Lane, Prospect; turnstationbrewing.com; opening in August

TurnStation Brewing Company, a new brewery in east Louisville, is "where golf and beer cross paths," Brad Conrad, an owner and partner with the company, told the Courier Journal.

Having previously worked with Oldham Brewing Company, Conrad had some experience starting a brewery and brewing beer before he met TurnStation partners Leah Dienes and Matt Ledington.

Dienes is the partner, owner and head brewer at Apocalypse Brew Works, 1612 Selwood Ave., and has a strong background in craft beer. Along with Conrad, she designs TurnStation's brews with golfers in mind, so athletes can drink more refreshing beers in the summer heat without "get(ting) wasted," she said.

"You don't want something that's horribly high in alcohol because you're not going to last very long; you're not going to make it through 18 holes," she told the Courier Journal. "We're trying to have refreshing beers that give you a little bit of energy and keep you relaxed on the golf course."

TurnStation is in the midst of a soft opening, with golfers coming through before, during, or after their rounds to get one of the brewery's on-draft beers, Conrad said. It will officially open to the public in August once the team finalizes its golf-themed drinks, but customers can expect beers with names like the Links Lager and the Three-Quarter Swing.

Conrad said the company's 16-ounce pours range from $5.50 to $8, and lagers, seltzers, sours and a variety of ales will be available.

Reach features reporter Leah Hunter at lhunter@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville restaurants: B-Side, MeeshMeesh, more to open in August