The Village Idiot

No Longer In Business

Solidly above average joint in downtown Lex. Cozy refurbished bar with low ceilings (i.e. very noisy) and a comfortable vibe. Smart, attentive service and a nice range of taps (heavily slanted towards local offerings, which suited me) and quite good food. Wasn’t up for their house burger (which has a slab of beef, pulled pork, and a big-ass onion ring) but I dug the food I ordered. Nice place, well recommended.

Early dinner. The menu is way too esoteric for this guy- too many "fancy" items on the menu, I’m speaking of the food by the way. Food prices sucked. Selection was ok, I’ve seen better in this town during my visit. I would only suggest to stop in if you like really fancy food with your beer.

Stopped in after visiting Country Boy on a Friday evening around 6 PM. Street parking is available, but having parked at country boy, didn’t worry about that. The building is located on an off shoot of main street, and fairly easy to find. Outside seeting is available, but we opted for inside. We had about a 10 minute wait Grabbed a seat at the bar and had a 3 Floyds bottle that was new to me. Served in proper glassware. The bottle was a little pricy, but their tap prices were more in line with expectations. One thing of note, they have a lot of Orval paraphernalia. Not for sale, unfortunately. Service was attentive, and food came out quickly. I had the duck and waffles and my wife had the lamb sliders. Both were awesome. We split an order of fries, and they were good as well. I would recommend making this a lunch or dinner location if visiting lexington. I really enjoyed myself here.

Great place located in what I think is downtown. I’m pretty sure it is. I’m from Louisville, but surprisingly, never made it out to Lexington much. With that, I don’t think the parking was difficult, or ridiculous to pay for. It’s $5, and in Seattle, you’d easily pay that much for parking, if not more, in some places. Plus, the parking is adjacent to the building, so the convenience factor is great. The draught selection was quite nice. The service was nice, too. They appeared to have some decent bottles, but I didn’t catch a look at that menu. The food was fairly good. In my crab mac and cheese I found some crab shell, but that’s a minor complaint. With that, this place was great, and I’d easily go back.

Parking sucks, it is on the street or paid parking lot. The street parking was taken on a Saturday, so I used the parking lot, it was supposed to be $1 an hour, however on the weekend it is just a flat $5. The parking lot is supposed to be self service, but there is some kind of code that is based on your first three characters of your license plate, so a guy walking around entered it. We called ahead and was told they weren’t taking reservations. Had a 45 minute wait, I was able to get a beer at the upstairs bar even though it was packed, because the downstairs bar it was not possible it was so busy. The downstairs bar area was quite loud, the upstairs was not quite as loud. Mix of college kids and 30s and 40s. Twenty taps, not too many Kentucky brews, and nothing special on tap, although they did have one beer I tried. Bottle selection was pedestrian, I asked for a Majaraja (their website showed they had it), but they didn’t have it. The decor was new industrial meets old wood. The bathroom situation was interesting the sink where you wash your hands was outside the restroom. My burger was good, but my wife’s chicken stout was dry. The service was slow, the place was busy. The price for the food was a little high, beer prices were fair. Glad I tried the place and it was okay, but the wife wasn’t impressed, so I probably won’t be back.

PROS: Really nice update of a classic Lexington space into a Belgian-themed space; service is friendly and mostly knowledgeable; Selection is diverse and mixes local with national and international along with examples of beers across styles; food was spectacular (had an oyster benedict and even my friend’s chicken wrap was prepared with the upmost care); food and beer are priced well and worth the price. CONS: Parking situation sucks (not their fault, but it is what it is)- you will be paying a good chunk of money to park in the area on a weekday. My server couldn’t answer simple questions about some of the beers (hops used, etc.). The first two beers I requested were out, yet still on the board as available. Also, I expected a bit more out of the bottle list, especially more Belgian beer from a place that wishes to be a Belgian gastropub. OVERALL: Some minor tweaks are needed here and there, but this place is definitely worth a visit, and should be on anyone’s list on a trip to Lexington.

I met an old friend at the bar - bartender made good suggestions for local brews (as well as other venues to seek out), gave promt service, quietly checked on us regularly, offered above average appetizers. I was there late on an overcast weekday afternoon; inside was a warm respite from a blustery autumn day. I think I’d like the place anytime

An awesome pub in downtown Lexington. I came here for brunch alone and it was well worth it. They have about 15 beers on tap, mostly regionals such as Founders, Great Lakes, Three Floyds, Brooklyn, etc. Not much in terms of the local scene. A large bottle collection. Nonetheless, the food here is awesome and I’d be back just for that (the duck and waffles is orgasmic).

great service (friend of mine came in dripping wet from chivalric move during a storm and the staff gave him a shirt and dried his clothes letting him sit in his boxers). Staff was not knowledgeable and bartender "cheated" on his admission by looking up info on his smart phone. great food. decent value. great selection. On your way to the bathroom, you will see some obscure beers behind a cage and you cannot have any.

20 taps include rare beers from FFF: Zombie Dust and Robert the Bruce. ice but limitd bottl selection fvors Belgian ales. Good variety. The duck and waffles is nearly as go0d as sex, with perfectly cooked, near crispy duck that pairs fabulously with th maple syrup. Friendly and knowledgeable service.