Night owls rejoice! Louisville has several tasty options available for those who love a late-night snack. Here are a few of our favorite places in Louisville to grab bites past your bedtime.
The Back Door
1250 Bardstown Rd., Ste. 7, Louisville, KY 40204 • (502) 451-0659
Hours: Monday through Friday, 2 p.m. to 4 a.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 a.m.
The Back Door is one of the few local places open until 4 a.m. daily, often serving as the go-to last stop before heading home after a fun night out. Formerly a warehousing and storage facility, the 5,000-square-foot space is now filled with pool, darts, foosball, and arcade games, ensuring there’s plenty to do into the wee hours of the morning.
There’s also a full bar, and late-night bites include burgers, nachos, chili, wings, and more. Try the house special, Bombers, which are hand-rolled wontons stuffed with chicken, jalapeños, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese and served with sweet chili sauce.
A Reuben sandwich and chips at The Back Door, one of few Louisville spots open until 4 a.m. Image: Facebook
Hauck’s Corner
1000 Goss Ave., Louisville, KY 40217 • (502) 637-9282
Hours: Daily, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Germantown and Schnitzelburg residents are familiar with the spot on the corner of Hoertz and Goss Avenues. Formerly Hauck’s Handy Store — a place that served the community for more than a century — the space was renovated in late 2022 and is now a bar and restaurant dubbed Hauck’s Corner. In addition to an extensive offering of draft beers, cans, bottles, and spirits, Hauck’s menu also boasts a selection of sandwiches, salads, wings, and shareables. Try Hauck’s American Pilsner beer cheese — a considerable portion of beer cheese served with soft pretzel bites and brown mustard or housemade pork rinds sprinkled with Grippo seasoning. There’s a kids’ menu, as well as new brunch offerings that debuted in January 2023.
A lunch special from Hauck’s Corner: Shrimp Po Boy made with lightly fried shrimp, Hauck’s sauce, lettuce, and tomato on a toasted brioche bun and served with fries. Image: Facebook
Hilltop Tavern
1800 Frankfort Ave., Louisville, KY 40206 • (502) 742-2908
Hours: Tuesday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to 4 a.m.; closed Sunday and Monday
Located in Clifton, on the lower part of Frankfort Avenue, Hilltop Tavern is the epitome of a neighborhood bar — and it’s open late! Boasting a ping-pong table, board games, and foosball, the bar also has local art along its walls, with prices listed on each item in case you want to take a piece home after your late-night bite. Hilltop Tavern’s menu is comforting and unpretentious, featuring eats like jalapeño poppers, made with fried jalapeños and cream cheese, then served with sweet chili sauce, and a grilled cheese sandwich crafted with American, provolone, and muenster cheese on Texas toast. Don’t miss the housemade slushies, which can be served nonalcoholic or with a shot of booze.
The Nacho Average Hot Dog at Hilltop Tavern is made with a ¼-pound all-beef Polish sausage marinated in beer and topped with taco meat, queso, sour cream, and jalapeños on a hoagie roll. Image: Facebook
The Post
1045 Goss Ave., Louisville, KY 40217 • (502) 635-2020
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight; Friday through Sunday, noon to midnight
You can rely on The Post for New York-style pizza until midnight every day of the week. Pies are available in 12-, 16-, or 20-inch options, and you can choose from more than a dozen types or build your own. Try “The Lone Wolf,” topped with pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon, green peppers, red onions, mushrooms, and kalamata olives, or “The Italian Campaign,” with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. The menu also boasts subs, salads, sides, and calzones, but keep in mind that after 11 p.m., the only dishes served are pies by the slice.
The Chicken and Waffle Pizza at The Post is made with an olive oil base, mozzarella, hot chicken, waffle bites, bacon, and a syrup drizzle. Image: Facebook
Recbar
10301 Taylorsville Rd, Jeffersontown, KY 40299 • (502) 509-3033
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday, noon to midnight
Louisville’s largest arcade bar is also a restaurant, and it’s open until at least midnight every day of the week. In addition to more than 130 games, including pinball, air hockey, Skee-Ball, and Dance Dance Revolution, there’s much food and drink to be had at Recbar. Brunch, lunch, and dinner dishes are available, as well as a full bar with more than 100 bourbons and whiskeys, a wide selection of beers on tap, and boozy slushies. Follow the eatery on Instagram to learn more about weekly menu specials and fun events like Skee-Ball league games, brewery rep game nights, and bar bingo.
The Chipotle Chicken Grilled Mac at Recbar is an occasional special that boasts creamy white cheddar mac and cheese, chipotle-seasoned grilled chicken, BBQ sauce, gouda, and beer cheese on Texas toast. Image: Facebook
The Silver Dollar
1761 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY 40206 • (502) 259-9540
Hours: Monday and Friday, 5 p.m. to midnight; Tuesday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Silver Dollar is a nod to a 1950s Bakersfield honkey tonk, offering a modern take on traditional, working-class dishes that might have been served in the California town decades ago. Try the fried dill pickle chips served with Arbol ranch, the smash burger made with two crispy burger patties, American cheese, and caramelized onions, and the chocolate chip pecan pie served with a housemade bourbon sauce. The restaurant also offers a variety of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. And don’t forget about the full bar, with its roster of whiskey, wine, beer, and cocktail choices.
These chilaquiles from The Silver Dollar are made with salsa verde, cotija cheese, crema, and cilantro — as well as an optional extra egg and house-smoked chicken. Image: Facebook
Jeff’s Donuts
6401 New Dutchmans Pkwy., Louisville, KY 40205 • (502) 365-3299
6405 Bardstown Rd. – Unit A, Louisville, KY 40291 • (502) 384-4451
1985 S Hurstbourne Pkwy., Louisville, KY 40220 • (502) 365-3162
5420 IN-62 Ste. 300, Jeffersonville, IN 47130 • (812) 283-3636
Hours: Daily, 24/7
If your sweet tooth drives those late-night cravings, Jeff’s Donuts now has four locations open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With three in Louisville and one just over the bridge in Jeffersonville, sugary goodness is always just a hop, skip, and jump away. Every store boasts more than 40 varieties of donuts made from scratch. Aside from the $0.25 donut holes and the $10 extra-large Texas donuts that must be ordered 12 hours in advance, every other donut is $2.50 each. Both glazed and unglazed options are available with different fillings, toppings, and icings. Several types of long johns and a handful of menu items are listed as “not donuts,” such as fried hand pies, donut cake sticks, twists, and honey buns. The zingers — doughnuts topped with raspberry jelly and coconut cream filling — are especially popular.
Jeff’s Donuts has four 24/7 locations, each boasting more than 40 varieties of made-from-scratch donuts. Image: Facebook
Enjoy those late-night bites, Louisville!
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