Lexington Restaurants

Natasha's Cafe has an eclectic menu, trending toward Middle Eastern. This claim, however, is not backed up by authenticity. The ambience is inviting and intimate, and there is an outdoor dining area which would be pleasant when the weather permits. But the food is generally a disappointment to a demanding diner. The ratatouille wrap contained a pile of mushy vegetables that in no way resembled ratatouille. The entire meal was virtually flavorless and my friend's meal which I sampled was equally bland and unexciting. The coffee was weak, transparent and full of grinds. The service was less than attentive and the restaurant was almost empty at the time of my visit. When I registered my disappointment with the waitress about the food, no offer was made to reduce charges or give me a coupon for something off on a future visit. That sort of settlement is standard in other cities.

We recently went to le Deauville’s to celebrate a birthday. I didn’t know much about the restaurant before going, but after eating there and talking to other people our dining experience seemed to make more sense. To begin with, although we were dressed up it started to rain right before we got there and we got a little wet on the walk to the restaurant. I thought they weren’t going to let us in there for a minute. The waiter was fairly pleasant at first, but service got lax after the initial ordering and my drink was never re-filled. The tables all around us seemed to be taken care of well, but nobody ever really bothered to check on us. It took our food a little over an hour to arrive and I thought they had forgotten about us. After eating, it took the waiter even longer to come back and take our dishes and to check to see if we wanted dessert. We both ordered it, but the person dining with me ordered an apple pie that was definitely NOT apple when it arrived. It was rhubarb. I knew this and they knew it because neither one of us like it. After a bit it was clearly decided that it wasn’t apple and since rhubarb was on the menu it seemed logical that it had been mistakenly sent to us instead. When we told the waiter about it he took it back into the kitchen, only to return a few minutes later saying that he had talked to the chef and that the chef “definitely said it’s apple.” It was a weird experience. Later, I talked to some other people who had eaten there and they said the same thing had happened to them. Only it was with an entrée and not dessert. As a matter of fact, I haven’t spoken to a single person that has had a god experience at the restaurant.

Favorite Dish: However, the food was pretty good. I had some excellent trout and my dining partner had really good salmon. But it’s way too hoity toity for Lexington and there are far too many good places to eat downtown. I would skip it and try out Bellini’s or Metropol if you want something fancy.

There are many good things to be said of Bella Notte’s. I am a huge lover of Italian food and honestly am really hard to please when it comes to eating it. That’s because I’ve eaten a lot of it and had the real thing in Italy and Croatia and tend to know what I like and how I like it. But Bella Notte’s almost always gets it right. Although it’s located on one of the busiest streets in Lexington and looks like an average chain restaurant from the outside, the quality of the food is always top notch. The minute you walk in the doors the aroma of freshly baked bread, light marinara sauce, and oregano hits you like a sledge hammer. If you’re not hungry when you go there, you will be as soon as your senses take over. The decorations are whimsy and tasteful, the service good, and the menu extensive and reasonably priced.

Favorite Dish: One of my favorite things is the free bread that comes with the meals. I usually end up taking an extra loaf home with me. It’s a little hard on the outside and really soft on the inside and I’ve never had a loaf that wasn’t warm. For main dishes I tend to either go with the pizza margherita or penne arrabiata. The arrabiata is too spicy for some people, but if you like a little kick to your pasta it will definitely add something. Sometimes I order plain penne pasta covered in tomato basil sauce which is a little like a mixture of alfredo and marinara. It’s only listed on the lunch menu, but if you ask for it they’ll fix it anytime of the day. The tiramisu is really good for dessert.

It’s nice to see the continuation of the revitalization of downtown Lexington. I enjoy the downtown area and like to support the local businesses-especially when they are not chains. Anytime a new restaurant opens up I always make an effort to check it out, even when the reviews are not entirely favorable. This is what happened with Annabelle’s. The first review I read on it wasn’t exactly in praising of it. The food was said to be mediocre and the atmosphere more of a place to “see and be seen” as opposed to a comfortable dining experience. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not true in my dining experience. It is a fashionable restaurant and there were many young people dining, but they appeared to be more of the young professional set than the young college kids type. I actually found the restaurant (which has dining both upstairs, downstairs, and outdoors) fairly European in décor and menu.

Favorite Dish: We ate there for lunch and split a caprese, one of my favorite dishes. It is difficult to find a Lexington restaurant that can make it adeptly but in this case it turned out great. The mozzarella wasn’t rubbery, which happens a lot, and the tomatoes were fresh. I also had an order of the chicken quesadilla stuffed with salsa and cream cheese. It was very good and not too heavy. For dessert we ordered a sampler of crème brulee. It came with coconut, vanilla, and chocolate varieties and was excellent. A problem I have with creme brulee is that sometimes the top layer can be overcooked and too sugary. This one was near perfect.

Although we ate there at lunchtime on a Saturday the restaurant got a little crowded. It has a lively bar in the downstairs area and I have seen it overflowing on the weekends. It is definitely a place well worth checking out.

If you want the quality, but not the price, of a la Lucie, then this is the way to go. Until recently it was owned by the same people, but with a totally different atmosphere. The inside looks like an old diner-albeit an upscale one. We've always had good service there and the food has been terrific. Don't let the fact that it is located in a strip mall throw you off.

Favorite Dish: Some of my faves:

White Lasagna layers of noodles and cheese, with chicken and mushrooms. It is very, very rich so eat slowly. The only bad thing is that sometimes there isn't room left for dessert.

Angel Hair Pasta with fresh tomatoes, basil, and a touch of garlic, topped with parmesan cheese. This one is good, too, and a little lighter.

Thai Cobb coconut shrimp with avocado, cucumber,mango, rice noodles, and a green curry dressing over mixed greens.

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I’m usually not up for chain restaurants, but Chili’s is typically my exception. I really have a thing for their southwestern egg rolls and their garden burgers aren’t bad either. Usually, the only time we end up eating there is after we’ve been to a concert or late movie showing in downtown Lexington and most other places have started closing. Let’s face it, Lexington has no shortage of good restaurants and we like to frequent them as much as possible. But for a late night eatery, I have never gone wrong at the Chili’s on Richmond Road. Consistency says something.

Favorite Dish: The last time I ate there I had a tomato basil penne pasta dish with grilled chicken strips. It was wonderful. I was there during happy hour so my guest and I both had strawberry margaritas. For dessert we split a chocolate volcano type of cake. In Austria it would be called a “mohr imd.” I love them. Everything was really good and we left so full we could barely walk.

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I LOVE this place. It's Carribean food at its best. Although the service is a little slow, and the food pricey, the taste all makes up for it. You should definitely go in the summer when you can sit outside on the patio. They usually have live reggae bands on the weekends.

Favorite Dish: Let's see...the coconut shrimp? Or the chicken breast stuffed with shrimp and spinach? The black beans and rice? Or the maccaroni and cheese? No, no, the rum berry cake. Oh, heck. It's all good. PS- try the B-52 as a shot fave. Not made with absinthe like in Czech, but still pretty darn good.

For a chain restaurant, you can't beat Carraba's-especially since I've figured out that there is a secret to it. In the beginning it was hard for me to find something to eat there because the dishes were so huge that I could barely get through a third of it before I was full, much less get to the dessert. All of the dishes were really detailed, too, and sometimes I just like a nice plate of pasta with plain marinara sauce. Then, after about three or four visits I figured out that they do SIDE portions of all of their pasta. You would think that a side item wouldn't hardly be bigger than a small ice cream dish, but it's not. It's about the size of a normal dish of pasta from any other restaurant-and it's only $3.95. You can still order a side salad or a (huge) bowl of soup if that's not enough.

Favorite Dish: They have the best dessert ever-the Dessert Rosa. It's wonderful. Layers of soft yellow cake, strawberries, cream, pineapple, bananas...all topped with a chocolate covered strawberry. Wonderful...