Night in town

Hello,

Well, this is my first time doing something like this and I usually try and look stuff up on my own - but I was wondering if someone can help me out with a few things.

I have a big group of guys coming down in May for the derby and a good friends bachelor party... I hope that this doesnt come out rude/dirty or anything, but I was wondering if people know of some good places to go - As much as he says he doesnt want to go to a strip club, I think that its a neccasity to do on a bach party/derby weekend..:) On that note, I was wondering if there is a good ';strip'; of bars that people could recommend that is walking distance ( and fun ) to some strip clubs. We would mainly like to go to a strip club first or later in the night and then walk to some other fun bars.

Any suggestions / Streets / places would be greatly appreciated.

Night in town

I%26#39;m not really sure about strip clubs, but 4th street live is downtown and is a large entertainment area with a number of clubs, bars and restaurants. If you are staying downtown, 4th Street is within walking distance of the big hotels.

Also, Bardstown Road is a great place for drinking, eating and listening to bands. I like the bars on Bardstown better, but 4th Street may be a better bet for a group.

Night in town

Hi Goodtimes,

I working on taxes, so I%26#39;m too fried to have an original thought. Here%26#39;s some info I gave someone with a similar question a while back. Actually, it%26#39;s probably a good time to repost this stuff since many Derby visitors will be looking for the same information.

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';Bardstown Road'; is Louisville%26#39;s own restaurant row/pub strip. There%26#39;s also Fourth Street Live, but it has a much more contrived feel. The area locals refer to as Bardstown Road actually begins on Baxter Ave. If you are coming from the north (which you would be if you are coming from downtown), Baxter Ave will eventually run into Bardstown Rd.

The whole thing is about a 3 mile strip starting with the Phoenix Hill Tavern and ending with the Bambi Bar. I compiled the list below from memory and although many of these places serve food, I only listed the places that feel more like a bar, than a restaurant. There are still a ton of restaurants that I did not include in the list below.

Bardstown Road Bars/Pubs/Taverns:

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Phoenix Hill Tavern - Cavernous. Multiple live bands on most nights. Draws a young, college crowd. Big deck area. Can be cheesy.

Outlook Inn - Divey. Great Bloodies. Hipster local crowd of mixed ages. Pool tables. Jukebox in back. Flat screen TV%26#39;s.

Flanagan%26#39;s - Irish. Nice back patio. Lots of beers on tap. Mixed/college crowd. Younger on weekends. TV%26#39;s in back room.

Molly Malones - Irish. Great outside space. College/prepster crowd.

Wet Willies (Has an Irish name now) - Think swirling daiquiri machines. The crowd seems cheesy to me, but I haven%26#39;t given it much of a chance.

O%26#39;Shea%26#39;s - Irish. Great outside patio. Live music on some nights. Good all around bar.

Akiko%26#39;s - Karaoke. Only open on certain nights.

Wick%26#39;s Pizza - Pizza pub meets bar. Live music on some nights. Dining room is family friendly. TV%26#39;s.

Cahoot%26#39;s - Divey. Locals mostly. Mixed crowd. Pool tables. TV%26#39;s.

BW3%26#39;s - Wings. College crowd. Sports. Sports. Sports. Obviously, lots of TV%26#39;s. Loud.

Back Door - Behind ValuMarket. Hard to find. Locals only. Very mixed crowd. Divey. Lots of pool tables. Tented smoking section.

Highland%26#39;s Tap Room - Small. Live music. Good outdoor area in front. Pool tables. Fooz ball. TV%26#39;s behind bar. Big screen in that, weird Alice-in-Wonderland back room.

Monkey Wrench - (On the corner of Barrett %26amp; Winter. About 4 blocks off Bardstown Rd.) Hipster crowd, especially on Thursday nights when DJ%26#39;s are spinning. Outdoor seating. (Barrett Bar is just across the street. Locals and lots of pool tables. Has an ATM)

Cumberland Brews - Brew pub. Small. Comfy. Good food. Several outdoor tables.

Za%26#39;s Pizza - Good selection on tap. Good pizza. TV%26#39;s. Comfy. Two pool tables in back. Darts. Family friendly.

Hideaway Saloon - Divey. A bit hard to find. Locals. Deadheads. Live music on many nights. Pool tables upstairs.

Cafe 360 - Open really late for food. Fully stocked bar. Hookah lounge. Hipster/mixed/Highlands crowd.

Asiatique - Upscale asian restaurant until around 11pm. Clubby/DJ thing in the basement late night.

Big Dave%26#39;s Outpost - Neighborhood bar. Pub grub %26amp; beers. For sale sign in window. May be moving soon.

Pink Door - House music DJs. ThursGay.

Dundee Tavern - Neighborhood bar. Good sports watching set-up. Big TV%26#39;s. Good food. Will be very crowded when local teams are playing.

Left Field Lounge - Divey/hole in the wall. Strange, but in a good way. Teensy pool table. Used to have weird pickled food items in a jar, on the bar.

Bambi Bar - Neighborhood bar. Mixed crowd. Pool table. Excellent burgers. Good pub grub. No credit cards.

My best suggestion for new visitors to Bardstown Rd., would be to begin your evening on the corner closest to Molly Malones %26amp; Flanagans (Baxter Ave. and Morton Ave.) From there, you are within easy walking distance of several bars. Most places will only have a small cover (if they have one at all). Check out several places until you find one you like.

Fyi - Most bars close at 4am. On Derby Eve, they are allowed to stay open until 6am if they choose (and many do).

Here%26#39;s a thread discussing the various strip club/bachelor party options....

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g39604-i452-k16946鈥?/a>

I forgot to mention this, but Louisville has tradition called ';The Bambi Walk'; that might be fun for your guys.

The idea is to get a group of people, like a bachelor party together. Sometimes people dress up or have special T-shirts made for the occasion.

Everyone assembles at The Bambi Bar and then they proceed to walk north on Bardstown Road...having a drink at every establishment along the way that serves booze. The walk ends at Phoenix Hill Tavern I believe. (I%26#39;ve never really heard of anyone making it to the end).

You could also do the walk in reverse. Perhaps call it the ';IBMAB'; walk.

Seagtover did a great job of describing the Bardstown Rd. bar scene, which is a great area with a lot of great (and fun) bars. But you won%26#39;t find any strip clubs in that area. Strip clubs are kind of spread out through the city in area that aren%26#39;t reaslly walkable to other bars. Your best bet for that would probably be downtown. Fourth Street Live has a lot of great bars and dining options, mostly chain type places. From there, you could head oiver to the Coyote/O%26#39;Malley%26#39;s Corner complex (which has a few different type bars such as piano and C%26amp;W) and then over to P.T.%26#39;s on Market Street. Or you can spend your time at Fourth Street Live then head to the Body Shop which is on Chestnut, between 4th and 5th, just a couple of blocks away. Thogh I have to warn you that I really only know of these places, and have never been, so I don%26#39;t know how sleazy these places might be. But an option! If you decide to skip the strip club, I would definitely go with the Bardstown Road area, I think that you will get a more true feel to the city than with Fourth street Live, which is very nice but also kind of generic.