Milkwood Restaurant
| Address: | 316 W Main St, Louisville, KY 40202, USA |
| Phone: | +1 502-584-6455 |
| Site: | milkwoodrestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Working: | Closed 5:30–10PM 5:30–10PM 5:30–10PM 5:30–11PM 5:30–11PM 5:30–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 11
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Emily Davis
On a quiet Tuesday night, I had one of the best meals of my life at Milkwood. I have dined at many inventive restaurants across the United States and I honestly never expected to have such an amazing experience in Louisville, Kentucky! The Milkwood cocktail - described as umami in flavor - was perfectly balanced and absolutely beautiful. The grey sea salt sprinkle added beautiful texture and flavor to the cocktail. The octopus bacon was not exactly bacon, but very tasty nonetheless! Octopus is sautéed in bacon drippings and served over fingerling potatoes with a smear of sour cream. Super tender and yummy! For our entrees, we ordered both the fried chicken and seafood ramen. Wow. Both totally knocked my socks off. The chicken was not greasy, but very tender and crispy. The portion was perfect with a small leg and two thighs served atop an amazing biscuit with a side of salty sweet ponzu sauce. Definitely ask for some of their homemade hot sauce to go with this dish - and take a bottle home for $6! The seafood ramen was amazing - not oily at all like some ramen tends to be. There was a large piece of lobster atop the ramen and a nice portion of seemingly flash fried catfish. I am not sure if the noodles were made in-house, but they were perfectly curly and tender. The broth was also perfectly seasoned in this dish - no need for any additives, but I did try the hot sauce for fun! And took two bottles home! Overall, Milkwood is a must try spot in Louisville. I cant wait to get back or to try one of Edward Lees other restaurants. Thank you!!
JE
Jeff Miller
Iconic? More like "ironic." I get that all the cool kids are cooking with pork belly and ox tail. But if you try TOO hard to inject different cuisine into your menu it feels like the fat kid trying to be cool by playing the tuba - just odd. The tempura pickled vegetables were so sweet it was like a dessert and dripping with oil. Like a bad oriental restaurant type dripping. The pork belly was mushy and had that "Im eating something I shouldnt be eating" feel. The alligator was seasoned poorly and had enough sriracha drizzled on it as if to hide the fact that it had nothing else to offer. The gem of the night of dim sum items on Sunday was the shrimp and noodles. This offering felt as if it wasnt trying too hard. The oxtail egg rolls were marginal - and again way too oily. The summary of this experience: A note about the service. When I am not finishing several items on my plate, instead of simply asking "Are you still working on that?" - HELLO, its a small plate menu - maybe ask me if there is something wrong and perhaps suggest a replacement menu item. Perhaps the staff feels "iconic" as well and that they dont need to ask such things. Better customer service was had at Chick-fil-A. When in Louisville go to places that are exceptional at what they do, not trying so hard to be unique that they are exceptionally off the mark. I shall pass on Milkwood in the future and stick to other local favorites that get it right. Try El Camino, Doc Crows, and the like.
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Jason Clark
My wife and I have eaten twice now at MilkWood Restaurant, and both times have been a treat. Its Asian-inspired Southern food is completely unique and delicious. I was nervous to try the Fried Chicken and Waffles appetizer, but that dish resembles nothing like you would expect in Kentucky. Light, crispy small bites of chicken drizzled with a spicy sauce. The waffles bit are more like crackers sprinkled on top. I could talk about it for days. Its my new favorite thing. If you go for cocktails, they are also unique, delicious, and dangerous. Drink a few! Full Disclosure - My company designed the brand identity & menus for MilkWood, and also design and manage the website for Actors Theatre, although Im doing my best to be unbiased. Id be a fan anyway.
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Nate Hubbard
Holy $#!7. This place is amazing. Inspired food, perfectly made in an awesome setting. In any other city people would line up to pay twice as much. The Milkwood Ramen and the fried chicken are their best known dishes, and for good reason. Our group also had the steak which was nearly perfect (the prep, seasoning, and cooking were perfect, but the butcher really screwed them on a cut with some deep flaws. The sous chef should have caught it, but it wasnt bad, it just wasnt a $30 cut). You cannot go wrong here. We will be making it a point to stop whenever we are in town.
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Ashley LeBourveau
First time at Milkwood though I hope it wont be the last. Our waiter, Brian, was super-friendly and helpful, especially with my boyfriends gluten allergy. I didnt like my first cocktail so he exchanged it for a glass of wine at no charge. The food was excellent, with small but flavourful portions. Everything was cooked just right. The cocktail menu is interesting in the sense that it shows you the taste (bitter, sweet, etc) for each drink. Overall a great experience and definitely worth the price.
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Anna Hautzinger
Milkwood presents local ingredients in interesting, asian-influenced ways. The menu lists cocktails by taste experience, thus enabling pairing with your meal. The food items were all quite good, though the scallop dish is quite scanty. Our waiter was very attentive, though the drink service was slightly slow for a slow evening. The restaurant is in the basement of the theater building, and was quite noisy due to sound echoing. A good stop, definitely if you want to try Edward Lees cuisine.
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Caroline Fernandez
INCREDIBLE FOOD!! The service was GREAT at this restaurant. The server I had was very, very knowledgeable and accommodating. We had a gluten intolerant in our party and Edward Lee came out to discuss options with him. It was great! I had the Ramen (delicious and spicy) and corn. The corn CANNOT be beat. It is the best thing Ive ever had. This restaurant lacks in desert, but the great portions and delicious flavors make up for it.
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Jose Simbulan
This new-ish restaurant that is literally "under" the Actors Theatre of Louisville features Southern food with an Asian twist. Owned by "Top Chef" alumnus Chef Edward Lee with Chef Kevin Ashworh in the kitchen, the menu features everything from a deconstructed version of Chicken and Waffles to a hearty plate of Pulled Pork Shoulder. Be sure to check out the wine, beer and house cocktails.
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John Lee
Menu is not long but its diverse enough. I really enjoyed the variety of spices, sauces and flavoring but didnt mask or hide the main ingredients. Based on taste, quality of ingredients and presentation this place is a real gem and the menu is priced very well. I think the organic pork burger is my favorite. I think the wine list can be expanded a bit.
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Kimberly Clark
We were there on Saturday and it was absolutely fantastic. The cocktails are delicious, the wine list is unique and the entrees were outstanding. Both the pork shoulder and the lamb were perfectly cooked, and the flavor and texture combinations were delightfully surprising. This is a wonderful restaurant and well be returning often.
DA
Dave Hollingshead
Good food and helpful staff. The location is pretty cool and there was some good little watching the night we were there (although Madonna was also having a concert across the street so that probably had something to do with it. Try some of the cocktails, pretty interesting combinations that you will not find somewhere else.
