Address: | 350 W Chestnut St, Louisville, KY 40202, USA |
Phone: | +1 502-631-4180 |
Site: | 8uplouisville.com |
Rating: | 3.8 |
Working: | 6–10AM 6–10AM 6–10AM 6–10AM 6–10AM 7–11AM 7–11AM |
VI
Vivian Ruth Sawyer
First, Erica on the rooftop and Jeremy inside were excellent servers. None of this applies to them. We started outside, but were moved after 45 minutes due to a private party. We had one drink and an appetizer on the rooftop, but we were told to move twice -- once very courteously by Erica, who said we could finish our drinks, and then two minutes later, rudely, by another woman. Since they knew about the private party, they should have roped off the area so no one would sit there. Inside, we tried to order a bottle of champagne, and the server (not Jeremy) could not answer our questions about two with identical descriptions. After choosing one randomly, the server disappeared for a long time and returned to say they were out of champagne except Prosecco. We expressed disappointment, and he shrugged and said, "Weve been busy!" No apology whatsoever; he could not have cared less. As for "busy," at 7 p.m. on a Saturday evening there was hardly anyone in the restaurant. We ordered the Prosecco, he brought it, and started to pour it into the big wine glasses already sitting on the table. No champagne flutes? "It would take me too long to polish them." Again, no apology -- and it had been plenty of time since we had started asking about champagne for them to "polish" champagne glasses. The Prosecco was actually wonderful; the food was ordinary, but had the service been polite and attentive, we wouldnt have minded so much. 8 Up is a beautiful location. Evidently that fact has resulted in the management losing sight of what every Louisville restaurant needs to offer: excellent, personable service. If this restaurant werent attached to a Hilton hotel, and didnt have the beautiful roof garden, it would be gone in six months. This was our second visit, and because of the roof garden, its possible that we might take out-of-town guests again, but we will never go ourselves. The architect is to be commended. The restaurant management, not at all. Id give it a 2/5
RA
Randy Hudson
Dined on 2/26, Friday evening. The atmosphere is exactly what I expected which is to say fantastic. The restaurant was very clean and the open grill reminded me of the old Azaleas on Brownsboro Road before it inflicted death upon itself. I had the special which included 1 Makers Mark Cocktail, a salad, and choice of Steak or Fish as an entree, and a desert. Im not sure if it is customary or not, but as this was our first experience at 8 Up the Chef sent over a plate of Fried Pimento/Jalapeno appetizers which were very good. When our server arrived he did not announce his name, he had what looked like a dish rag over his arm and I actually thought he was a Bus Boy. The first thing he did was turn his head and cough without covering his mouth/face...turned to us and asked simply "are you ready to order". OUCH! not a good start at all. The only Makers product on could get in the aforementioned cocktail was the standard Makers Mark, one could not upgrade to 46. I ordered mine on the rocks and it was served nicely with one large cube, no surprises here. The food: Salad was very good, the steak was very average, one could get a better cut of meat at Texas Road House. The only reason I say this is because at 8 Up you will be paying a premium price and in my opinion the steak should be at least of similar quality as one would find at Mesh. I do not expect Jeff Ruby quality unless I am actually at Rubys. The garnish which saved the meal was a sampling of vegetables with small potatoes. The Creme Brulee which my wife ate most of was as good as it should be, just not my thing. The bar area looked fantastic and I would imagine this is a great place to spend an evening in nice weather. I cant totally throw the visit under the bus. We had a very marginal waiter, the steak was nothing special but it was still a pretty decent visit. I think it definitely deserve another shot however at premium prices one is justified in expecting premium service and quality.
KE
Kenashia Glenn
I went yesterday and was nervous from what I had already heard about the restaurant. The environment and atmosphere is beautiful. The service is pretty attentive. The fried cheese bites they brought out was a surprise and delight. The reason why they only get two stars is because the food was absolutely terrible. I had gotten the ravioli and it was like biting into rubber and tasted like it was just warmed up in the microwave for a few minutes. In addition to that, I had only gotten three ravioli and that was $8. The attire for the servers at this "upscale" restaurant is atrocious. When the server came to greet us I had honestly thought he was apart of the dish team in back or a busser. It made it feel as if i were in a dennys. On top of all that, my friend that was with in our group had ordered the most expensive thing on the menu (steak), medium, and when it came out it was raw. She was to nice to say anything and just ate what she could of it. But to even bring out a raw steak is crazy to me considering Im a server and if I were to see that my guest steak was not to the temperature that they had asked I would stop it from going out. Then, when I tasted her steak it was so plain and hard to eat like a $7 sirloin from Kroger. Moral to this story, dont go here to eat. Only go for the rooftop experience and get drinks. Im not sure how expensive the drinks are or how they taste because I dont drink but my friend had gotten a free birthday drink from there and said it was pretty good.
CA
casey shumate
I recently took my girlfriend to 8UP and planned a proposal dinner before the Luke Bryan concert on her birthday. Betsy, the evening manager was awesome and helped me prepare for the night. They were more than eager to help set up the night my way. The atmosphere was perfect, they gave me my table I wanted, saved flowers for me that I was able to bring to the table, brought out wine in a special glass I had made and even recorded the proposal on my iphone for me. The drinks were made perfect, and the chef even offered an amazing appetizer as his appreciation and honoring my special night. We started off with the mac and cheese appetizer which was out of this world, and she ordered a prime rib which was cooked perfect along with my hanger steak which was the best I have had in awhile. We didnt have to wait too long on our courses and it was perfect. We finished the meal with a cinnamon roll bread pudding with cream cheese icing and roasted pistachios which we devoured. The night was a perfect start to my memorable night and I highly recommend to everyone. oh and she said YES!!
DR
Drake Hatfield
The view and vibe are very cool. Rooftop bar with a very interesting menu. Unfortunately the service was absolutely terrible. On top of that after waiting for 30 minutes for lettuce wraps (we tried to pick an interesting appetizer that would not require all day to cook) I approached our server. At this point she tells me that she never received a food order. I have never had a server smile and look me in the eye while placing an order, only to find out it was literally never put in. Lets give it the benefit of the doubt, maybe it was an off night given how busy they were. Ill try to revisit this summer and give them another chance. Although many will not care, you will likely notice the pricing. $10-$18 for appetizers is a bit on the high side. You can expect to spend the same per drink unless you are grabbing a beer. Our drinks were both on the small side which is very frustrating. I had an Angels Envy old fashioned and there was very little bourbon in the drink. As in small serving + unbalanced.