35+ Black-Owned Louisville Restaurants You'll Love (2024)

By LEO Weekly Staff on Fri, Feb 16, 2024 at 6:47 pm

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.

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Roof 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 Grill

Four 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/fourpegsbeerlounge

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Cherry 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.

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Louisville 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!

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House 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.

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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 Amburgey

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The Seafood Lady

601 E. Jefferson St.
The Seafood Lady is one of the many deserving restaurants that have been anointed by Guy Fieri on “Divers, Drive-Ins, and Dives.” Thanks in part to his high praise, The Seafood Lady has moved from a former tire shop in Old Louisville, to a bigger restaurant nearby, to a beautiful, brightly colored spot in the NuLu neighborhood (in addition to a Fern Creek outpost). The food has kept up in quality, of course. Nichelle Thurston, aka The Seafood Lady, serves Florida-style seafood platters with crab, lobster, crawfish, veggies and more.
Photo via facebook.com/seafoodlady502

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The 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/TheBlackItalian

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Six Forks Burger Company

1039 Ash St.
There is nothing better than a good burger and you can find some of the best at Six Forks Burger Company
Photo via Six Forks Burger Company

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Georgia’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 Amburgey

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Kizito 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.

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Sis Got Tea

976 Barret Ave.
Sis Got Tea is a small, cozy cafe located on Barrett Ave. It advertises itself as the perfect place to go while you wait for your table at Big Bad Breakfast next door, but it is much more. It is a meeting spot for poets and artists, host a weekly ‘Stitch and Bitch’ for knitters, a monthly meetup for aromantic and asexual community members, and regularly host name change clinics for trans people. Plus, it has some of the freshest teas in the city, available both brewed and in loose leaf form to take home. The Nighty Night blend will surely knock you out cold, deliciously and enjoyably!

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Dasha 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/Instagram

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Funmi’s Cafe

3028 Bardstown Road
Louisville has only one Nigerian restaurant, and thank goodness it’s Funmi’s. The restaurant, tucked into the back of the Gardiner Lane Shopping Center, features an extensive menu with around 24 entrees. First time trying Nigerian cuisine? Try their $12.99 appetizer combo with ewa, dodo, moin-moin, samba and more.
Photo via Facebook.com/funmiscafe

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Fleur 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/fleurdetea

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Lonnie’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 Garr

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Queen 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.com

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Melt 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-502

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Soul 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 Vegan

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Black 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/theblackjockeyslounge

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