Restaurants in Louisville

At Sol Aztecas Mexican Restaurant, culinary craftsmen forge authentic Mexican feasts from homemade ingredients, marinated meats, and fresh seafood. Specialties range from the extra meaty chicken-and-chorizo burrito to the seafood fajitas with shrimp, crab, and scallops. The full bar lubricates esophagi with Mexican beers, daiquiris, and five fruity flavors of margarita, including classic lime and tropical mango. Monthly mariachi-band performances invigorate the venue, and karaoke Sundays allow diners to share heavy-metal anthems that evoke their favorite periodic-table entries.

Patticakes' menu features sweet and savory flavors and more than 30 different panini sandwiches. The egg-, ham-, onion-, and pepper-stuffed Western Scrambler panini ($4.95) and the sweeter apple-pie panini ($4.50) satisfy bready cravings, and fast-breaking specialties, such as the vanilla-infused cinnamon-bread Sunnyside french toast ($4.49) with a side order of Patticakes' fresh-baked cinnamon rolls ($1.99), make traditional meal lovers smile. Herbivores and herbivoyeurs can dive fork-first into various salads, such as the corn and avocado salad, which is rich with spinach, turkey, bacon, and veggies and is drizzled with a honey-gorgonzola vinaigrette ($5.99, whole). If a full meal isn't on your to-do list, the cozy café—with its candy-colored pastel walls and dog-friendly atmosphere—is a welcoming place to pop in for an impromptu slice of Patticakes’ homemade pie, whose selection rotates daily.

Freshly baked tandoori breads and chicken tikka masala bask in their status as customer favorites at Taj Palace Indian Restaurant, where chefs craft a plentiful menu of North Indian cuisine. In the eatery’s kitchen, a traditional clay oven roasts meats tandoori-style while chefs season sauces for poultry, seafood, and lamb dishes with zesty curry aromas. Voted Louisville's best Indian restaurant by CityVoter 2012 Louisville A-List, more than 20 vegetarian entrees sate meat-free appetites, and mini portions of assorted Indian classics nestle in chef-arranged sampler platters, or thali, for diners who are indecisive or need a bigger palette for postmeal finger paintings.

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Coffee from local Sunergos Roastery ($1.65) and specialty teas ($1.65) make each cup a memorable quaff, and the fresh-fruit smoothies and shakes ($4.50) are a cool way to relax in the newly expanded lounge. Mrs. Potter's also offers breakfast, lunch, and small plates from 4 p.m. to close, so complement your latte ($3.40) with an early morning quiche of the day (with side of bacon and fresh fruit, $4.95), ham and brie panini at noontime ($7.95), or evening hummus plate with vegetables ($6).

The White Oak's menu of creative southern-inspired cuisine features farm-fresh ingredients from local producers, making sustainable eating attainable even after your Chia Pet goes bald. For lunch, whet your palate with an order of mushroom and roast-cauliflower gratin with shallots, sweet peppers, and herbed breadcrumbs ($7) or a local-cheese plate ($11) before making your way to a plate of “Louisville” fried chicken (locally raised and organic, $12), a cast-iron-cooked burger (all-natural KY-raised beef, $10), or a vegetarian cassoulet of country beans (parmesan-corn-bread topping, greens, and stewed green tomatoes, $8). Dinner delights in small bites such as sweet-potato frites served with sweet and spicy apricot ketchup and a Caribbean cream sauce ($5) and butternut-squash flan accented with parmesan cream and apple butter ($6). With taste buds tickled and teased, treat them to a stuffed-vegetable platter (fresh seasonal veggies stuffed with cheese and breadcrumbs, $12), seared duck breast (confit leg and KY-sorghum glaze, $20), or stuffed pork loin (smoked bacon, apples, homemade cheddar stuffing, and apple butter, $16). All sandwiches and entrees are served with your choice of two sides.