Volare Italian Ristorante.Photo via Volare Italian Ristorante/Facebook.
Food & Dining, Readers' Choice

LEO Readers’ Choice Awards 2023: Food & Dining

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Best Appetizers

  1. Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar
  2. Four Pegs Smokehouse
  3. Chik’n & Mi

FlavaVille Food Truck (tie)

Best BBQ

  1. Four Pegs Smokehouse
  2. Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar
  3. Momma’s Mustard, Pickles & BBQ

Best Bakery

  1. Nord’s Bakery
  2. Plehn’s Bakery
  3. Blue Dog Bakery & Cafe

Best Boozy Brunch

  1. Le Moo
  2. Four Pegs Smokehouse
  3. The Merryweather

Best Breakfast

  1. Highland Morning
  2. Wild Eggs
  3. Con Huevos

First Watch (tie)

Best Burger

  1. Toasty’s Tavern
  2. Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar
  3. Jay’s Burgers

Best Burrito

  1. New Wave Burritos 
  2. El Mundo
  3. Bandido Taqueria Mexicana

Best Cajun

  1. Lou Lou Food & Drink
  2. North of Bourbon
  3. J Gumbo’s

Best Caterer

  1. Casey Mader – Chef It Up 
  2. Four Pegs Smokehouse
  3. Wiltshire Pantry

Best Chef

  1. Casey Mader – Chef It Up 
  2. Chris Williams – Four Pegs Smokehouse
  3. Josh Moore – Volare Italian Ristorante

Best Chili

  1. Check’s Cafe
  2. Four Pegs Smokehouse
  3. Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar

Best Chinese Restaurant

  1. August Moon
  2. Oriental House
  3. Double Dragon

Best Coffee Shop

  1. Heine Brothers Coffee
  2. Quills Coffee
  3. Sunergos Coffee

Best Cuban Restaurant

  1. Havana Rumba 
  2. La Bodeguita de Mima
  3. Mojito In Havana

Best Deli/Sandwich Shop

  1. Morris Deli
  2. Frank’s Meats & Produce
  3. Stevens & Stevens Deli

Best Fine Dining

  1. Volare Italian Ristorante
  2. Jack Fry’s
  3. Repeal Oak Fired Steakhouse

Best Fish Sandwich

  1. Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar
  2. Check’s Cafe
  3. The Fish House

Best Food Truck/Cart

  1. FlavaVille Food Truck
  2. Four Pegs Smokehouse
  3. Bamba Egg Roll Co.

Best Fried Chicken

  1. Mellwood Tavern
  2. Chicken King
  3. The Eagle

Best Guacamole

  1. Guacamole Modern Mexican
  2. El Mundo
  3. Havana Rumba

Best Hot Dog

  1. Red Top Hot Dogs
  2. Lonnie’s Best Taste of Chicago
  3. My Ol’ Kentucky Lemonade

Best Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt

  1. Louisville Cream
  2. Dairy Del
  3. Graeter’s Ice Cream

Best Indian Restaurant

  1. Kashmir Indian Restaurant
  2. Shalimar Indian Restaurant
  3. Bombay Grill

Best Italian Restaurant

  1. Volare Italian Ristorante
  2. Ciao Ristorante
  3. Grassa Gramma

Best Korean Restaurant

  1. GOGi 1055 Korean BBQ
  2. Lee’s Korean Restaurant
  3. Nami Modern Korean Steakhouse

Best Late-Night Bite

  1. Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar
  2. The Post
  3. Hauck’s Corner

Best Latin Restaurant

  1. Seviche
  2. Mayan Cafe
  3. Havana Rumba

Best Lunch Spot

  1. Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar
  2. Lady Tron’s
  3. Dragon King’s Daughter

Good Belly Sandwich Shop (tie)

Best Mexican Restaurant

  1. El Mundo
  2. El Nopal
  3. Gustavo’s

Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

  1. The Grape Leaf
  2. Safier Mediterranean Deli
  3. Kebab House

Best New Restaurant

  1. Harvey’s
  2. Nostalgic Cocktail House + Restaurant
  3. Decade

Best Outdoor Dining

  1. Chik’n & Mi
  2. River House Restaurant & Raw Bar
  3. Captain’s Quarters

Best Patio For Pets

  1. Four Pegs Smokehouse
  2. ShopBar
  3. Flanagan’s Ale House

Best Pho

  1. Eatz Vietnamese Restaurant
  2. VinBun Vietnamese Bistro
  3. Pho Ba Luu

Best Pizza

  1. Pizza Lupo
  2. Danny Mac’s Pizza
  3. The Post

Best Place For A Romantic Dinner

  1. Volare Italian Ristorante
  2. Jack Fry’s
  3. Grassa Gramma

Best Ramen

  1. Ramen House
  2. Renshoku Ramen
  3. Chik’n & Mi

Best Raw Bar (That Is Not Sushi)

  1. Lou Oyster Cult
  2. River House Restaurant & Raw Bar
  3. Repeal Oak Fired Steakhouse

Best Restaurant: Butchertown

  1. Naive Kitchen & Bar
  2. Pizza Lupo
  3. Decade

Best Restaurant: Clifton/Crescent Hill

  1. Volare Italian Ristorante
  2. Harvey’s
  3. The Irish Rover

Best Restaurant: Downtown

  1. Repeal Oak Fired Steakhouse
  2. Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse
  3. Last Place – Number 15

Best Restaurant: East Louisville

  1. The Village Anchor
  2. BoomBozz
    Grassa Gramma (tie)
  3. Coals Artisan Pizza (tie)

Best Restaurant: Germantown/Schnitzelburg

  1. Four Pegs Smokehouse
  2. Check’s Cafe
  3. North of Bourbon

Best Restaurant: Highlands

  1. Jack Fry’s
  2. Dragon King’s Daughter
  3. Seviche

Best Restaurant: NuLu

  1. Mayan Cafe
  2. bar Vetti
  3. La Bodeguita de Mima

Best Restaurant: S. Indiana

  1. Lady Tron’s
  2. The Exchange Pub
  3. Dragon King’s Daughter

Best Restaurant: South Louisville

  1. Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar 
  2. Vietnam Kitchen
  3. Annie’s Cafe

Best Restaurant: St. Matthews

  1. District 6
  2. Simply Thai
  3. LouLou Food + Drink

Mojito In Havana (tie)

Silvio’s (tie)

Best Restaurant: West Louisville

  1. The Table
  2. Indi’s Fast Food Restaurant
  3. Shippingport Brewery

Best Salad

  1. Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar
  2. Green District
  3. Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen

Best Steakhouse

  1. Repeal Oak Fired Steakhouse
  2. Pat’s Steakhouse
  3. Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse

Best Sushi

  1. Sapporo Japanese Grill & Sushi
  2. Dragon King’s Daughter
  3. Oishii Sushi

Best Taco

  1. Taco Luchador
  2. Taco City Louisville
  3. I Love Tacos

Best Takeout

  1. Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar
    Four Pegs Smokehouse (tie)
  2. Lady Tron’s
  3. Double Dragon (tie)

Best Thai Restaurant

  1. Simply Thai
  2. Time 4 Thai
  3. Thai Noodles

Best Vegetarian Restaurant

  1. Heart & Soy – Roots
  2. Naive Kitchen & Bar
  3. V-Grits

Best Vietnamese Restaurant

  1. Vietnam Kitchen
  2. VinBun Vietnamese Bistro
  3. Annie’s Cafe

Best Wings

  1. Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar
  2. Four Pegs Smokehouse
  3. Momma’s Mustard, Pickles & BBQ

Navigate the list of this year’s Readers’ Choice winners with this handy section-by-section hyperlink guide!

Readers’ Choice Categories

Aesthetics
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Community
Drinks
Food & Dining
Health & Fitness
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