8 minute read
TOP 5 DINING | Power Lunch Spots
Power Lunches
BY DAWN ANDERSON | PHOTOS BY DANNY ALEXANDER
To further celebrate our 2022 Leaders of Louisville, we put together a Top 5 full of restaurants where the movers and shakers meet. From impressing a potential client to closing that huge contract or sale, these power lunch hotspots will provide the level of ambiance, cuisine, and service you expect to seal the deal.
Brasserie Provence
Restaurateur Guy Genoud and his wife, photographer/marketing director Stacy Duncan, opened Brasserie Provence in 2013, seeking to recreate the feeling of a comfortable Provençal neighborhood restaurant in the south of France. Conveniently located near the University of Louisville’s Shelby campus and the intersection of the Hurstbourne Lane and Shelbyville Road business corridors, Brasserie Provence has an elegant yet relaxed atmosphere conducive to the business lunch. “We offer a quiet environment good for conversation, with continued table spacing for a sense of comfort, safety, and semi-privacy,” says Genoud.
The waitstaff provides unobtrusive, efficient service, respectful of the guests’ flow of conversation. “Our clientele appreciates the quality of the service and the cuisine.” Brasserie Provence serves Southern French comfort food based on healthy Mediterranean cuisine. Genoud’s forty years of luxury hotel and fine dining experience and Chef Patrick Gosden’s culinary creativity and skill elevate the menu. Genoud recommends some classic business lunch favorites, starting with French Onion Soup topped with Gruyère and mozzarella and the Groganica Farms aquaponic Bibb Lettuce salad. The Steak Frites feature grilled hanger steak with shallot tarragon butter and mesclun salad. From the Sandwiches section of the menu, Genoud highlights the Grilled Chicken Breast Provençale with tomato, goat cheese, basil, and tapenade on ciabatta and the Hamburger with tomato, Brie, pancetta, caramelized onions, and red pepper aioli on brioche. June sees the return of Brasserie Provence’s Ahi Tuna Niçoise Salad.
The restaurant can also accommodate large lunch meetings and events in the private dining salon with special menu options and complimentary use of the A-V screen and projector. Outdoor seating is available for clement weather this summer. For more information, visit brasserieprovence.com and follow @ brasserieprovence on Facebook and Instagram.
Bristol Bar & Grille
Bristol Bar & Grille is a beloved Louisville original with locations in the Highlands, Downtown, and East End. Bristol Downtown and Bristol East are open for lunch Monday through Saturday, with Bristol East also offering Sunday Brunch. Main Street Management Associates Executive Vice President and Director of Operations T.J. Oakley describes Bristol Bar & Grille as always welcoming to those gathering for business meetings, whether in the dining room or private event space.
Bristol Downtown is convenient to Humana, the Louisville Bar Association, the courthouse, and City Hall. It has exclusive and semi-private dining spaces and a terrace and bar for more casual venues to seal the deal. Bristol East has proximity to Humana and Churchill Downs offices and is ideally situated near Hurstbourne Lane and Shelbyville Road. Featured areas of the newly renovated dining room provide a semi-private feel. Bristol Bar & Grille’s service has been known for its professionalism and consistency for 45 years.
Oakley begins his Lunch Menu suggestions with the legendary Green Chili Wontons: fried wontons stuffed with Monterey Jack cheese and green chiles and served with guacamole sauce. Perhaps equally famous is the Bristol Burger with beef dry-aged and sourced from Wendell Berry’s Berry Beef Farms. While an excellent vegetarian choice, Thai Stir Fry is a Bristol Classic with the option to add shrimp or chicken.
On the lighter side, try the Grilled Chicken & Spinach Salad or Grilled Salmon Teriyaki, another Bristol Classic. The fresh spinach salad has roasted garlic, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, croutons, goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, and grilled chicken breast. The teriyaki Atlantic salmon filet is served with fresh vegetables.
In addition to business lunches, Bristol Downtown is perfect for dinner and a show as PNC Broadway in Louisville presents the award-winning, smash-hit musical Hamilton June 7-19 at the Kentucky Center for the Arts.
For reservations, visit bristolbarandgrille.com. Follow @BristolBarandGrille on Facebook and @bristolbarandgrilleky on Instagram.
Sidebar At Whiskey Row
In service of business lunches, Sidebar At Whiskey Row prides itself on consistency. According to Managing Partner Chip Herchert, “We have remained consistent throughout, using the same distributors, ingredients, and liquors. We haven’t cheapened or changed any of them. The employees and management are committed.” The restaurant celebrated its 9th anniversary in Louisville this May.
Sidebar’s convenient downtown Louisville location and menu variety keep patrons coming back for more. “We have foods that people want to eat,” says Herchert. “The staff is tremendous and genuinely cares about our customers. We are proud to stand behind our menu and the food.” The clever, legal-themed menu at Sidebar categorizes the food and drink items into various phases of a criminal trial.
Herchert recommends starting lunch with Hot VS. Brown Fries - topped with beer cheese, roasted turkey, applewood bacon, and tomatoes - or the award-winning Chopped Kale Salad with fresh grilled salmon. Sidebar is famous for its burgers containing a proprietary blend of Certified Angus Beef® with ground chuck, buttery brisket, and sweet short rib for a steakhouse burger experience. In addition to over ten beef burger options, the Material Witness salmon filet and Alternate Juror shaved pork bologna with beer cheese are delicious sandwich choices. The restaurant was also the first in the city to offer Beyond Burger®.
Add a little fun to an otherwise buttoned-up business lunch with a hand-blended ice cream shake. Try a Not Guilty non-alcoholic shake such as Caramel Apple Bacon. Or go Guilty, take the afternoon off, and celebrate with the boozy Bourbon Ball featuring Buffalo Trace® Bourbon Cream, fudge, and candied pecans. Sidebar at Whiskey Row is open for lunch Wednesday through Saturday and serves dinner Thursday through Saturday.
Redlands Grill
Conveniently located near the St. Matthews shopping district and Hurstbourne business corridor, Redlands Grill opened in Louisville in 1998 as J. Alexander’s®. According to Louisville General Manager Ryan Paulson, 12 J. Alexander’s locations were strategically rebranded as Redlands Grill in recent years. The restaurant’s ambiance and consistent food quality remain a favorite among the business lunch crowd. High-backed booths with glass partitions provide secluded and quiet spots for crucial conversations.
Redlands Grill is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. If lunch hour time constraints are an issue, Paulson and his staff make it possible for guests to get in and out faster. “Our level of service, attention to detail, and exceptional food made from scratch are all delivered in a timely manner.”
This “chef-driven, boutique-style restaurant” has a classic, gastropub-style menu with enough variety for every taste, new featured items that change daily, and in-season vegetable selections. Paulson recommends the salad selections for lunch, including the Southern Salad with chopped crispy chicken tenders, pecans, avocado, tomatoes, bacon, cheese, croutons, and Classic Ranch dressing.
Redlands Grill grinds fresh chuck daily for their “hand-pattied” burgers. The Old Fashioned Cheeseburger with Tillamook cheddar is “one of the best in town,” says Paulson. The West End grilled chicken sandwich with Monterey Jack is another popular choice.
The restaurant also offers hand-cut steaks finished with Maître d’ butter for a more indulgent lunch. Choose from French Brasserie style Steak ‘N’ Fries, Steak Maui marinated ribeye, aged New York Strip, or Filet Mignon with Béarnaise. No meal at Redlands Grill would be complete without the “to-die-for” carrot cake, served warm and easy to share.
Try Redlands Grill’s sister restaurant, also owned by parent company SPB Hospitality, Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill at Paddock Shops, as an evening “power dinner” option.
Visit redlandsgrill.com and follow @redlandsgrilllouisville on Facebook.
With “top-notch service, an expansive menu that appeals to everyone, and its unique atmosphere on the river,” River House Restaurant & Raw Bar and Savor at River House offer multiple venues for the business lunch. Take advantage of spectacular river views and the sumptuous River House Raw Bar to impress your guests. Award-winning chef and restaurateur John Varanese can accommodate any size group, from smaller parties in the restaurant to private rooms and spaces serving up to 300. Choose from a secluded booth at River House, the River House Private Dining Room seating 50-60 with walk-out patio, Savor’s wine room with walk-out balcony, or several larger Savor room options. The waitstaff provides exceptional, professional service, adept at reading tables to know when guests require attention or prefer to be left alone for a time. Not to be outdone, the kitchen delivers a Lunch Menu, Plated Luncheons, and themed Luncheon Buffets featuring gourmet salads, fresh seafood, steak and chicken dishes, delicious desserts, and more. Varanese highlights the most popular power lunch selections.
Get down to business with a shrimp cocktail, seasonal salad, or the crab-stuffed Crispy Fried Avocado with house-made lemon, caper, and dill aioli. Dive into the extensive Raw Bar. Selections include Peel & Eat and Chilled Jumbo Shrimp, King Crab Legs, Oysters on the Half Shell, and stunning seafood towers. Oysters are also available as Appetizers, baked, fried, herb-roasted and grilled. Seared Diver Scallops are served over tasso ham and cheddar grits with Southern succotash and finished with a smoky corn butter sauce. Luncheon Buffets feature options such as NYC Deli sandwiches, Build Your Own Burger/ Chicken Sandwich, Italian, Backyard BBQ, or a Taco Bar.
For reservations, visit riverhouselouisville.com. Follow@riverhouselou on Facebook and Instagram. Book a plated luncheon or lunch buffet at savor. riverhouselouisville.com and follow @ savorlouisville on Facebook and @savoratriverhouse on Instagram.
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