Clifton & Crescent Hill

Take a stroll along Frankfort Avenue, the main thoroughfare through the leafy and charming Crescent Hill and Clifton neighborhoods. You’ll find historic homes and buildings, tree-lined streets, alfresco dining, and locally owned shops peppering this railroad-lined avenue and one of the city’s noted “Restaurant Rows.”

EAT & DRINK

Start your day at any one of the many outstanding breakfast and brunch locations on Frankfort Avenue. Grab a croissant at Blue Dog Bakery, known for their authentic artisan breads (Levain!). Or, try the Huevos Rancheros at James Beard-nominated Con Huevos, the biscuits and gravy at Eggs Over Frankfort or a full, leisurely brunch at Morning Fork. The Manhattan Project is a great place to catch the big game on TV and grab some elevated pub food and craft cocktails. For pizza, Parlour has live music and outdoor seating areas. For a rotating seasonal menu and locally-sourced meats, visit Red Hog. For sushi, there’s cozy Osaka. For Vietnamese favorites like pho and banh mi, there’s Eatz Vietnamese Restaurant. Miki’s Karaoke Bar & Korean Restaurant serves up casual Korean food and fun for all ages. Blending Japanese and Southern food cultures, Ensō excels in yōshoku cuisine.

Among other local favorites are Caffe Classico (a European cafe). Kayrouz Delicatessen (chili, hearty sandwiches, and draft beer), Porcini (fine Northern Italian cuisine), Irish Rover (authentic Irish pub grub), Bourbons Bistro (a founding member of Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trail® known for its Bourbon-inspired dishes), Volare (authentic Italian), Varanese (Mediterranean and American), DiFabio’s Casapela (Italian), Mesh (innovative American fine dining), and farm-to-table Fork & Barrel.

Need a sugar fix? Head to Bae’s Baekery for stuffed, gourmet, and thick cookies, brown butter brownies, cream puffs and cakes. Gelato Gilberto specializes in artisan ice cream with an Italian flair. Please & Thank You bakes what’s touted as the country’s best chocolate chip cookie and is among the neighborhood’s many unique coffee shops.

Other java joints include Abol Cafe, an Ethiopian coffee shop, Quills Coffee, a light-filled community gathering spot, Hotel Marty, which also provides flexible co-working office space, Heine Brothers’ Coffee, with a heated and covered large outdoor patio, Witches Brew Coffee, where you can get a Tarot Card reading with your Dragon’s Blood Latte, and Crescent Hill Coffee next to Carmichael’s books, where you can read a spell while the trains roll along the Avenue.

To start the evening or top off the night, the options are vast, from the elegant Champagnery, the casual Gallant Fox Brewing Company, the small-batch craft brewery Apocalypse Brew Works, The Shop, a beer bar with a rotating draft list featuring local brews, the Bourbon-centric Silver Dollar, which is housed in a restored 1890’s firehouse, Pretty Decent, a botany shop and a botanically-inspired cocktail bar, to late night spots like Hilltop Tavern, offering delicious comfort food and bar bites, and Burger Girl, a 24-diner offering breakfast, burgers and sandwiches Frankfort Avenue Liquors & Wine has over 600 whiskeys by the bottle and serves cocktails at their bar, including frozen Old Fashioneds.

DISCOVER

The Crescent Hill Reservoir and Gatehouse became an instant tourist attraction when it first opened in 1879 and is the perfect place for a leisurely stroll. For a quick round of golf, there’s the nine-hole Crescent Hill Golf Course, a public course founded in 1926.

The American Printing House for the Blind is the official supplier of educational materials for visually impaired students in the country.

SHOP

A variety of consignment shops line Frankfort Avenue, including Margaret’s Fine Consignments, Urban Kitty and men’s re-saler Evolve. Magnolia & Fig is a women’s clothing store known for its charm and inclusive sizing.

Looking for something a little unusual? Just Creations is a fair-trade marketplace with handcrafted goods from artisans in more than 45 countries. Vinyl lovers will want to peruse Guestroom Records, and book lovers will feel right at home at Carmichael’s Bookstore, Louisville’s oldest independent bookstore. If you’re on the hunt for designer fashions, you can find them at Peacock Boutique, for women, and for children, next door is the whimsical clothing store Kiddo. Designer options for your home abound at Posh Home and Summer Eliason Designs. The Wine Rack is a friendly neighborhood wine, beer, and spirits store, offering wine tastings every Thursday and Friday.

Vintage, antique and resale seekers will enjoy browsing 2023 Antiques, Nussbaum Antiques & Fine Art, Redefine Design on the Avenue and the expansive Mellwood Antiques & Interiors in a former meat-packing plant off Mellwood Avenue in Clifton.

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Featured Attractions & Things to Do