We were in Louisville for the Under Armour vollleyvall tournament. One of the family’s went to Merle’s for lunch and said their food was good. OMG. I got the brisket nachos from reading the reviews and they were some of the best I ever had. I even did takeout and it was perfect with all the toppings and queso in separate containers. The chips were so yummy with just the right amount of salt, thin and crispy. I ate all the chips and toppings. I also enjoyed the Geen Chili pork taco. My neice enjoyed her bbq sandwich and fries and her dad got the Merle’s Melt. If I’m ever downtown this is top of my list. The female bartender that served us was super friendly and had a very nice sense of humor. I just loved this place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cami Byers
Leah is a phenomenal server! She provided great knowledge on bourbon and recommended the best meal for me and my family!! Definitely ask for her at the door!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joseph Nixon
So, I don't know if this is the kind of place where you have to drink to enjoy, or what. But we were underwhelmed.We started with the pretzels and queso, the queso was pretty tasty, but the pretzels needed salt.Wife got the big pig sandwich, and the sauce of the pork was watery and the pork itself wasn't great. She LOVED the smashed potato thing, very good.I got the southern chicken sandwich, and the chicken part was fantastic, but the slaw and pickles totally drowned it out. Slaw was just kinda bland. Garlic Parm fries were okay.Wife's grandfather got 2 fish tacos, and the theme continues, the fish itself was pretty good, but otherwise no real flavor.Atmosphere visually was pretty cool, but it was quite loud. Not from people, but from music over the many speakers.Service was good.Overall, $60 + tip for 3 people for mediocre food ?. We won't be recommending or revisiting, but you guys make up your own mind!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Jeff Bricken
Neat place. Loved the atmosphere. The food was good and the service was great for Saturday lunch. I would recommend a stop here.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Reid Gast
A great place at a fair price. I had the fried chicken and smashed potatoes which were good. My buddy, Louis, had the brisket taco and the Pollo rojo taco and said they were love at first swallow.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Angela M.
Spent three nights in Louisville and two of those we stopped at Merle's. Food was good, tons of bourbon to choose from, and pretty good prices on the bourbon. The first night Macie took great care of us and the second day we sat at the bar. Lindsey was knowledgeable, had suggestions, and was also fun!
Maggie M.
This place is excellent. I wasn't sure what to expect since it's definitely on the beaten path, but it really is so good! My friend and I were visiting from out of town and really wanted a place that had Mint Juleps and so we landed at Merle's. First, the mint juleps are excellent. Second, the skillet cornbread with honey butter is absolutely divine - it's enough to split between 2 people but you won't want to share. I ordered the Caesar salad with chicken and loved it! The atmosphere is also really neat as it's in some kind of historic downtown warehouse with original brick walls.
Marlee Corcoran
I can’t say enough good things about Merle’s. We found it a couple years ago when we were driving from Toronto to New Orleans and got stuck in Louisville due to a storm that closed the roads. The hotel said that Merle’s was probably the only place that would’ve stayed open in those conditions so we headed there. The food blew us away. So much so, we adjusted our plans for the way home to make a stop back in Louisville again and we had Merle’s for lunch and dinner! This time, we came for a couple days to check out the city and ate at Merle’s 3 times in the two days! The lunch special is highway robbery, I don’t know how they’re charging that little amount for that amount of food. But it’s all amazing. Cornbread, pretzels and queso, Mac and cheese, el jefe nachos, chips and queso, burger, fried chicken sandwich, and the tacos…mushroom, barbacoa jack fruit, steak, chicken, fish…..we ate it all over and over and never got tired of these flavors. This restaurant is a MUST when you’re in or around the Louisville area. We are definitely counting down the days until we can return to Merle’s. I’m sure there are other good restaurants in Louisville but after eating at Merle’s, we aren’t interested in trying anywhere else!!! Sooooo good!!!Vegetarian options: The vegetarian taco options are amazing. And then there also lots of other things for vegetarians to eat like mac n cheese, cornbread, pretzels, nachos, etc.Kid-friendliness: My kids loved all the food here. So many options to choose from.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Wild Mushroom Taco, Burger, Nachos, Mary Lou's KY Cornbread, Cornbread and Mac N Cheese, Lunch Special
Marcia Mc Clendon
Merle's has great food and specials for lunchtime! The green chili pork tacos and Mary Lou's cornbread are my favorite, and I'm sure you'll enjoy them, too!They provide great service and have a typical bar atmosphere, which means the lighting is dimmer and the noise level tends to be very loud.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mary Lou's KY Cornbread, Green Chili Pork, Lunch Special
Sean O.
Service was excellent and food options were good. Nachos were great portions for the price. Got there 15 minutes before kitchen closed and still got excellent attention and service. Live music too!
Seated at a table where the server was on break, manager wouldn't let anyone else serve us.Dumb.
Service: 1
Bruce Gibson
Quick service, great food and awesome live music.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mary Lou's KY Cornbread, Mac N Cheese
Kayla Roy
Chicken and waffles are dry. The waffles are too sweet. You can taste the sugar granules in the mix. Average quality for the price.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Christa D.
The green chili pork taco - amazing. Nice place - good drinks, servers are fun. Not directly downtown, easy to park.
Will S
The tacos were alright, would have been better if they were hot and not room temp. Our server had a great attitude and although it was her first week she still handled our group of 8 well.The 3 start service is for the hour and a half wait we had to be sat. While I understand that smaller tables take priority, five groups were sat ahead of us, which seems excessive.
We were in Louisville for the Under Armour vollleyvall tournament. One of the family’s went to Merle’s for lunch and said their food was good. OMG. I got the brisket nachos from reading the reviews and they were some of the best I ever had. I even did takeout and it was perfect with all the toppings and queso in separate containers. The chips were so yummy with just the right amount of salt, thin and crispy. I ate all the chips and toppings. I also enjoyed the Geen Chili pork taco. My neice enjoyed her bbq sandwich and fries and her dad got the Merle’s Melt. If I’m ever downtown this is top of my list. The female bartender that served us was super friendly and had a very nice sense of humor. I just loved this place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Leah is a phenomenal server! She provided great knowledge on bourbon and recommended the best meal for me and my family!! Definitely ask for her at the door!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
So, I don't know if this is the kind of place where you have to drink to enjoy, or what. But we were underwhelmed.We started with the pretzels and queso, the queso was pretty tasty, but the pretzels needed salt.Wife got the big pig sandwich, and the sauce of the pork was watery and the pork itself wasn't great. She LOVED the smashed potato thing, very good.I got the southern chicken sandwich, and the chicken part was fantastic, but the slaw and pickles totally drowned it out. Slaw was just kinda bland. Garlic Parm fries were okay.Wife's grandfather got 2 fish tacos, and the theme continues, the fish itself was pretty good, but otherwise no real flavor.Atmosphere visually was pretty cool, but it was quite loud. Not from people, but from music over the many speakers.Service was good.Overall, $60 + tip for 3 people for mediocre food ?. We won't be recommending or revisiting, but you guys make up your own mind!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Neat place. Loved the atmosphere. The food was good and the service was great for Saturday lunch. I would recommend a stop here.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
A great place at a fair price. I had the fried chicken and smashed potatoes which were good. My buddy, Louis, had the brisket taco and the Pollo rojo taco and said they were love at first swallow.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Spent three nights in Louisville and two of those we stopped at Merle's. Food was good, tons of bourbon to choose from, and pretty good prices on the bourbon. The first night Macie took great care of us and the second day we sat at the bar. Lindsey was knowledgeable, had suggestions, and was also fun!
This place is excellent. I wasn't sure what to expect since it's definitely on the beaten path, but it really is so good! My friend and I were visiting from out of town and really wanted a place that had Mint Juleps and so we landed at Merle's. First, the mint juleps are excellent. Second, the skillet cornbread with honey butter is absolutely divine - it's enough to split between 2 people but you won't want to share. I ordered the Caesar salad with chicken and loved it! The atmosphere is also really neat as it's in some kind of historic downtown warehouse with original brick walls.
I can’t say enough good things about Merle’s. We found it a couple years ago when we were driving from Toronto to New Orleans and got stuck in Louisville due to a storm that closed the roads. The hotel said that Merle’s was probably the only place that would’ve stayed open in those conditions so we headed there. The food blew us away. So much so, we adjusted our plans for the way home to make a stop back in Louisville again and we had Merle’s for lunch and dinner! This time, we came for a couple days to check out the city and ate at Merle’s 3 times in the two days! The lunch special is highway robbery, I don’t know how they’re charging that little amount for that amount of food. But it’s all amazing. Cornbread, pretzels and queso, Mac and cheese, el jefe nachos, chips and queso, burger, fried chicken sandwich, and the tacos…mushroom, barbacoa jack fruit, steak, chicken, fish…..we ate it all over and over and never got tired of these flavors. This restaurant is a MUST when you’re in or around the Louisville area. We are definitely counting down the days until we can return to Merle’s. I’m sure there are other good restaurants in Louisville but after eating at Merle’s, we aren’t interested in trying anywhere else!!! Sooooo good!!!Vegetarian options: The vegetarian taco options are amazing. And then there also lots of other things for vegetarians to eat like mac n cheese, cornbread, pretzels, nachos, etc.Kid-friendliness: My kids loved all the food here. So many options to choose from.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Wild Mushroom Taco, Burger, Nachos, Mary Lou's KY Cornbread, Cornbread and Mac N Cheese, Lunch Special
Merle's has great food and specials for lunchtime! The green chili pork tacos and Mary Lou's cornbread are my favorite, and I'm sure you'll enjoy them, too!They provide great service and have a typical bar atmosphere, which means the lighting is dimmer and the noise level tends to be very loud.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mary Lou's KY Cornbread, Green Chili Pork, Lunch Special
Service was excellent and food options were good. Nachos were great portions for the price. Got there 15 minutes before kitchen closed and still got excellent attention and service. Live music too!
Restaurantji Recommends
Seated at a table where the server was on break, manager wouldn't let anyone else serve us.Dumb.
Service: 1
Quick service, great food and awesome live music.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mary Lou's KY Cornbread, Mac N Cheese
Chicken and waffles are dry. The waffles are too sweet. You can taste the sugar granules in the mix. Average quality for the price.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
The green chili pork taco - amazing. Nice place - good drinks, servers are fun. Not directly downtown, easy to park.
The tacos were alright, would have been better if they were hot and not room temp. Our server had a great attitude and although it was her first week she still handled our group of 8 well.The 3 start service is for the hour and a half wait we had to be sat. While I understand that smaller tables take priority, five groups were sat ahead of us, which seems excessive.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3