South Louisville 'hidden' gems: Here are 6 must-try restaurants, things-to-do in Beechmont

Even in such a great city for food lovers, it’s easy to get into a rut of where we eat and shop for food.

In a neighborhood-centric city like Louisville, when we find the places we gravitate toward, we tend to stick with them. To pull us out of those spheres usually takes something with a seriously powerful draw. To wit: Oldham county license plate tags are seen so often in the Vietnam Kitchen parking lot in the South End.

That longtime icon of Louisville’s food scene is certainly a magnet, but it’s far from the only place in the Beechmont community and surrounding areas that can — and should — draw those of us inside the Watterson Expressway in for a bite.

Over the last nearly two years, I’ve become a "part-time Beechmont citizen" as I’ve commuted a couple miles down Third Street where I’m renovating a Victorian home with my best friend and business partner. When I’m wearing my real estate entrepreneur hat, not my Courier Journal dining columnist one, on quick lunches and coffee breaks, it’s been impossible not to notice what a strong and vibrant food scene is unfolding in this southern pocket of the city.

Following the Beechmont neighborhood Instagram account has also offered plenty of inspiration on what places I should try — and made me wish I spent more time there.

To get a better look at the secret treasure hiding in plain sight in the Beechmont neighborhood, I caught up with the neighborhood enthusiast and food lover behind the popular social media account, Amy Talbott. Talbott is an artist specializing in house portraits, custom illustrations, and Louisville-inspired art prints. She moved here with her husband nine years ago, and has become an unofficial ambassador for the south Louisville community.

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Originally kind of a summer retreat from the bustle of the city, Talbott explained, Beechmont is now sort of a sleeper hit. And anyone who knows it, cherishes it. A diverse neighborhood with homes ranging from $500 a month apartments to half-million dollar (or more) historic houses, it attracts people looking for more than just a place to live.

So how did Talbott and her husband end up there?

“We wanted an old house,” she says, but with nothing affordable in the Highlands or Crescent Hill, “we started looking out in this direction,” and fell in love with a house. “I like to say that we came for the good price on a beautiful old house and we stayed for the community.”

And that’s what draws people here now, she says.

“People are attracted to this neighborhood because they're looking for a community," Talbott added.

If you're looking to explore Beechmont, here are some must-try restaurants, coffee shop and experiences that Talbott recommends that may become your go-tos, as well.

Vietnam Kitchen

5339 Mitscher Ave., vietnamkitchen.net

We couldn’t talk about the Beechmont neighborhood without the aforementioned love letter to Vietnam Kitchen.

"Vietnam Kitchen is one of those truly irreplaceable restaurants in this city. Long before many people began to recognize and appreciate cuisines from other parts of the world, this spot tucked into a strip mall in south Louisville brought Louisvillians in by the droves for their absolutely irresistible taste of southeast Asia," I wrote in a previous article.

"They also bridged a gap between those of us who won’t leave the area inside the Watterson Expressway and folks who live further out and stick to the Eastern zip codes. Any given night in Vietnam Kitchen is a pretty decent statistical sampling of Louisville’s population because if there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s a deep and abiding love for mock duck and crisp green beans," I wrote.

And it stands true.

Background: This beloved Vietnamese restaurant in south Louisville is here to stay. Here's what to know

Speaking of, can we swap out that tired “where’d you go to high school” question and instead replaced it with the Louisville greeting/question of “what’s your Vietnam Kitchen number?”

Talbott, by the way, is there for the pho, washed down with Vietnamese coffee or an avocado milkshake.

Valu Market Iroquois Manor

5301 Mitscher Ave., valumarket.com

In the same parking lot as Vietnam Kitchen in Iroquois Manor is a veritable mini version of Jungle Jim’s, the massive international market in Cincinnati. Valu Market is “probably the only major grocery store in the city that has a durian freezer,” Talbott says.

The large selection of ingredients from around the world readily available at this Valu Market location only makes sense. After all, in Beechmont, “if you walk down the street … you're very likely to hear people speaking a language that is not English,” Talbott says.

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Louisville’s south end plays host to an abundance of international markets well worth a visit, including La Piñata Grocery, 4028 S. 3rd St. for Mexican and Central American fare and Foods World, 307 W. Woodlawn Ave., for specialties from Myanmar and other points across Asia, but if you’re short on time, and headed to Vietnam Kitchen, wandering the aisles here can inspire a feast from points across the globe.

Colonial Gardens

818 W. Kenwood Dr., colonialgardenslouky.com

A few minutes’ drive south, a collection of older buildings once home to a dance hall has been revived as Colonial Gardens. Not in Beechmont proper (nevertheless the community likes to claim it, Talbott says), the cluster of restaurants including Biscuit Belly and El Taco Luchador has breathed new life into the space across from Iroquois Park.

The pizza at Union 15 is an unsung hero on the Louisville pizza front, according to Talbott (and I can vouch for that after digging into a scrumptious pie recently — the Sprout of this World, a white sauce pizza with roasted Brussels sprouts, caramelized onions, goat cheese, and arugula).

Her favorite? The Ballin’ Out, loaded with meatballs and fresh basil. And the burger at The B.A. Colonial is one of Talbott’s favorites in town.

Speaking of The B.A. Colonial, fellow Courier Journal dining columnist Lennie Omalza wrote about the history of that restaurant in a recent column.

"The restaurant’s name comes from B.A. Watson, who purchased the property, closed the zoo, and renamed the building Colonial Gardens Restaurant and Grill in the 1940s. The current logo — which features an ostrich — is a nod to the zoo," Omalza wrote.

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Sunergos Coffee

306 W. Woodlawn Ave., sunergoscoffee.com

Follow the scent of freshly roasted coffee to Sunergos Coffee, one of the “OG Beechmont places,” says Talbott.

With a bohemian air thanks to the mismatched vintage furniture, and fragrant roaster in the back, “Sunergos ruined me for coffee anywhere else,” she says.

My friend and I frequently fuel up there before heading to our jobsite, but I love the idea of hanging out in a comfy chair watching the neighborhood over a latte. Seeing people gathered around tables again was one of the happiest things, Talbott says, about life returning to our new normal.

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Louisville StrEatery

304 W. Woodlawn Ave., facebook.com/LouisvilleStreatery

Next door, a food hall — that I have serious neighborhood envy for — is gaining traction.

Louisville StrEatery, launched by the folks behind Fresh Out the Box in Logan Street Market, is home to enticing Asian street food and hosts a wide variety of pop-ups, Talbott says. Think everything from vegan nachos and southern soul food to Sunday brunch.

“It’s good to see that space used again,” Talbott says.

The best way to keep up with its offerings, she says, is to keep an eye on its Instagram page.

Beechmont Open Air Market

300 block W. Wellington Ave., beechmont.org/open-air-market

We do love farmer’s markets in Louisville, and the Beechmont Open Air Market at the corner of Southern Parkway and Wellington Ave. draws a loyal crowd on Saturdays through the summer. Enthusiastically run by neighborhood volunteers, the market is brimming with Kentucky Proud produce along with goodies like artisan bread, plants and flowers, and crafts.

When I’ve strolled through the petite but beautifully curated market before heading to get some work done, the energy is welcoming and happy, and I’d like nothing more than to load up a basket with seasonal veggies and cook something wonderful.

Tell Dana! Send your restaurant “Dish” to Dana McMahan at thecjdish@gmail.com and follow @bourbonbarbarella on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Restaurants to try in Louisville's Beechmont neighborhood