Looking to get out and support the thriving Black-owned restaurants in Louisville? You’ve come to the right place.
From Italian to BBQ to specialty dessert shops, seafood, soul food and beyond, Louisville’s thriving restaurant scene is made all the better by the spots on this list.
We searched the city far and wide to spotlight as many of the Black-owned restaurants we could find. While some have been here for decades, others just opened, but all of them deserve our patronage and support.
Enjoy this tasty sampling of Louisville’s Black-owned restaurant scene and reach out if you have any to add.
Happy Belly Bistro
1020 E. Washington St.
Ashlee Northington sharpened her utensils in one of Louisville’s most well-known restaurants, Mayan Cafe, and now she’s launched her own venture where she makes fusion dishes with ambitious flavors. Currently stationed at TEN20 Brewery in Butchertown, Northington swaps out her curated menu often but there are customer favorites that stay, such as her Old Town Road nachos with chipotle aioli, fried kale, braised chicken, quest fresco, black beans and corn pico piled onto fresh fried tortilla ships.
Photo by Jess AmburgeyAbyssinia Authentic Ethiopian Cuisine Restaurant & Bar
554 S 5th St.
Abyssinia opened over 10 years ago and continues to serve its customers with an amazing Ethiopian style that you can’t find anywhere else.
Photo via FacebookMelt 502
At Joe’s Palm Room (1821 W. Jefferson St.)
Melt 502 is more than a grilled cheese restaurant. This business recently opened a newly renovated spot in Fern Creek, where it professes to sell “everything good & delicious” including cheesy melts on buttered bread and dessert egg rolls covered in powdered sugar. It’s all tied together with a hip-hop theme.
Photo via facebook.com/Melt-502Roof Top Grill
414 W. Oak St.
Roof Top Grill serves authentic Jamaican cuisine, made by Courtney Johnson, a Jamaican immigrant. Don’t expect lots of fried food here. Johnson prides himself on his grilled and steamed options, which include jerk-style chicken and rib tips, oxtail and curry goat. But if you do want to indulge, you’ll find it in the sides which include Southern staples, macaroni and cheese and potato salad.
Photo via Roof Top GrillFour Pegs
1053 Goss Ave.
Four Pegs is a Germantown dive bar that serves great barbecue. Whether you go for the wings, a smoked sandwich or the bbq jackfruit fritters for a vegetarian option, you’re going to enjoy it. For those with the biggest appetites, Four Pegs also offers a monster eating challenge, “The Greatest,” with four kinds of meat, six slices of cheese, six fried green tomatoes, 12 fried pickles, onion rings, a double order of fries and toppings — all swimming in chili.
Photo via facebook.com/fourpegsbeerloungeSumma Dis Summa Dat & More
2536 W. Jefferson St.
We can’t really describe the restaurant better than the owners. They have Summa Dis (catfish and fried shrimp), Summa Dat (BBQ Wings, Fried Chicken) & More (savory sides). Photo via SummaDis SummaDat & MoreCherry Pickin’ Juicery & Goods
828 E Main St
Sydney Smith and Lavell Wells opened this (very cute) basketball-themed juice bar in fall of 2023. Located behind the Seltzery in Nulu Marketplace, Cherry Pickin’ Goods is a one-stop shop for holistic health. They serve everything from fresh pressed herbal juices and overnight oats to açaí bowls, sea moss, and even vitality shots. If you’re wondering where the basketball decor comes into play, Smith is related to Derek and Nolan Smith of UofL basketball fame. Cherry Pickin' Juicery & GoodsEden & Kissi
3912 Bardstown Road
Eden & Kissi creates Afro-Caribbean food with a French touch, and the best wings in the city, according to LEO’s Arts and Entertainment editor Erica Rucker. She described their Peri-Peri wings as “ordained by the heavens and ebony gods of quality chicken wings and seasoning.” Their oxtail is also worth the trip.
Photo via LEO archivesFleur de Tea
1074 Meeting St.
Black tea, green tea, oolong tea, roobioois tea. Tea with steamed milk, tea served in a cast iron trap pot, tea with 50% more tea added. And finally, bubble tea. Whatever tea you want, this tea shop probably has it. Started by Jasmine Gatti, who admits she has the perfect name for this sort of venture, Fleur de Tea is an adorable shop in Norton Commons. You’ll also find scrumptious desserts if you visit.
Photo via facebook.com/fleurdeteaLouisville Cream
632 E Market St #101
If you haven’t been to Nulu’s Louisville Cream, you’re missing out on some of the best dessert in the city! Their rich, decadent flavors are perfectly complemented by salted pretzel cones and toasted marshallow toppings. Be on the lookout for specialties and collabs. You never know what goodness they’ll feature next! Louisville CreamBig Hopp’s Southern Eatery
2913 Dixie Highway
Big Hopp’s Southern Eatery is serving soul food with New Orleans flair. From catfish to lemon pepper wings, Big Hopps’s brings back memories of Grandma’s house. Photo via Big Hopp’s Southern EateryChef’s Cut Pizzeria
9901 C. LaGrange Road
Chef’s Cut Pizzeria has everything you’ve come to expect and love from pizza restaurants: breadsticks, salads, Italian sandwiches and delicious pies. Of course, it has its twists, like the hot brown pizza and its T-mac dog, an all-beef frank topped with pulled pork, house slaw and barbecue sauce.
Photo via facebook.com/chefscutpizzeriaSouthern Express
418 W. Oak St.
Southern Express made a splash when it first opened for offering everything — from sides to mains — for $1. It’s an astonishingly cost-effective and delicious soul food option in Louisville.
Photo via facebook.com/1DOLLARJUST1DOLLARThe Black Italian
2009 Highland Ave.
Husband-and-wife duo Anthony and Paula Hunter have combined their culinary and personal backgrounds to make a unique Louisville restaurant. Anthony infuses Paula’s Italian food with soul cooking flourishes such as smoked meats and country greens. The result is an Italian eatery that goes beyond pasta and meatballs, although there’s plenty of that, too.
Photo via facebook.com/TheBlackItalianGeorgia’s Sweet Potato Pie Co.
1559 Bardstown Road
Georgia’s Sweet Potato Pie Co. sells mini delicacies that will fit in the palm of your hand. Stop by its retail shop on Bardstown Road for eight flavors of pies, cupcakes and sweet potato chocolate chip cookies. Georgia’s also gives out free books to the community as part of its Pies with a Purpose initiative.
Photo by Jess AmburgeyBarry’s Cheesetakes
5408 Valley Station Rd.
Philly-born Barry Washington makes authentic cheesestakes at this local favorite. Multiple outlets have said his are the best in the state. And yet, the pandemic has so devastated the restaurant that it’s in danger of closing forever. If anytime is the time to support Barry’s, it’s now.
Photo via facebook.com/barryscheesesteaksSoul Hi Vegan
1860 Mellwood Ave.
Soul Hi Vegan is giving us plant-based soul food, “phillies” and pastries. And we love that for our bellies. Photo via Soul Hi VeganKizito Cookie
1398 Bardstown Rd
Elizabeth Kizito moved to Louisville from her birth nation of Uganda in 1975, and from there began making and selling cookies, opening her successful bakery in the Highlands in 1989. From there, she’s achieved a dedicated local following, with cookies available to purchase around town. If you haven’t had Kizito Cookies before and don’t know which to try… take it from us that you can’t go wrong with peanut butter or Lucky in Kentucky. Kizito CookieLonnie’s Best Taste of Chicago
121 St. Matthews Ave.
The dogs that you’ll find at Lonnie’s in St. Matthews are as good as any that you’d stumble across in the Windy City. Owner Lonnie Edwards makes sure of that, using Vienna meat and poppy seed buns and all the typical toppings. While the hot dog is king at Lonnie’s the menu is extensive, featuring a pizza crepe, tamales, gyros, burgers and Italian beef in au jus.
Photo by Robin GarrThe Gruv Sports Bar and Lounge
434 W. Market St.
Loaded Fries, Tacos and Wings are plentiful at The GRÜV. This restaurant is also a sports bar and lounge and serves up fun with great food. Photo via The GRÜVDasha Barbours
217 E. Main St.
Head to Dasha Barbours if you want classic Southern comfort food. There, you’ll find everything you could expect and want: fried chicken, catfish, wings, cornbread, broccoli cheese casserole and more.
Photo via dashabarbours/InstagramSouthern Hospitality Bar and Grill
3402 W. Broadway
If you asked for Southern Hospitality, you’ll get it here. I mean, what’s more welcoming than serving breakfast all day? Besides the supreme customer service and cinnamon brown sugar French toast, you’ll find a wide-ranging lunch and dinner menu covering pizza, wings, burgers and seafood. You’ll want to take off your coat and stay a while, too — there’s a pool table and darts.
Photo via facebook.com/SouthernHopitalityBarAndGrillHuge Impact Restaurant
566 S. 5th St.
Huge Impact is coming to Louisville from Indianapolis and bringing seafood, chicken and steak meals with huge flavor.Photo via Huge ImpactHouse of Marigold
10310 Shelbyville Rd
Adrienne Cole and partner Chef Kristopher Cole opened House of Marigold in 2023. It quickly became one of the most Instagrammable spots in Louisville and for good reason. With interior stylings by Maddox & Rose, their menu has just as much to rave about. Featuring a rotating selection of seasonal farm-to-table classics, this is pretty much one of the best brunch spots in the city. House of MarigoldSweet Peaches/Tino’s Taste of Heaven
1800 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd.
Sweet Peaches/Tino’s is a West End deli with two wonderful sides: It’s healthy choice breakfasts and lunches and its soul food specials and Sunday feasts. The restaurant reopened last year in a brightly-colored Russell neighborhood storefront.
Photo via facebook.com/sweetpeaches8615Daddy Vic’s
4444 Cane Run Rd.
Ain’t no city got soul like Louisville has it. Daddy Vic’s Soul Food puts southern home cooking on the table. Available for dine in or carryout.Photo via Daddy Vic’sQueen of Sheba
2804 Taylorsville Road
Queen of Sheba is a Louisville classic, stuffing our city with Ethiopian food since 2004. Your food is served the traditional way with injera, a spongy flatbread that you tear apart and use to scoop up the rest of your delicious meal. Dining is a communal experience at Queen of Sheba, with all of your entrees typically served on a round tray for everyone at the table to share. There’s no time like the present to try a new cuisine.
Photo via queenofshebalouisville.comBlack Jockey’s Lounge
630 S. Fourth St.
This restaurant is dedicated to telling the stories of Black jockeys, who were the trailblazing horsemen who originally dominated the Kentucky Derby. In addition to a good education, the Black Jockeys Lounge will serve you a good meal with a range of regional delights such as Kentucky red beans and rice and fried catfish filet. Finish it off with some bourbon bread pudding or a peach cobbler.
Photo via instagram.com/theblackjockeysloungeFranco’s Restaurant and Catering
3300 Dixie Highway
Franco’s, which has no online presence of its own, relies on tales of its greatness spreading by word of mouth. And that it does. There’s often a line out the door for this soul food restaurant which serves its dishes cafeteria style. In its heaping pans, you’ll find fried chicken, smothered pork chops and sides of mac and cheese, yams and more.
Photo via Goodall’s Country Kitchen, YouTubeBack Deck BBQ
801 W. Kenwood Drive
This popular food truck became a brick-and-mortar last year. Its owners borrow their barbecue styles from around the U.S., serving Texas-style smoked biscuit, burnt ends inspired by the barbecue of Kansas City and ribs without sauce — Memphis dry rub style.
Photo via facebook.com/BlackDeckBBQOpen Caribbean Kitchen
4724 Poplar Level Road
Just outside of a manufacturing park lies the fresh food oasis that is Open Caribbean Kitchen, started by Ernst Pierre, who immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti when he was 10. He sells authentic cuisine, including jerk wings, oxtail and more.
Photo via facebook.com/OpenCaribbeankitchenShirley Mae’s Café & Bar
802 S. Clay St.
Shirley Mae’s opened on New Year’s Eve, 1988. Now 34 years old, its owner Shirley Mae Beard is still cooking up her Southern meals on the daily like she was serving Sunday dinner in her home.
Photo by Robin Garr
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