Thoroughbred Restaurant — Restaurant in Lexington

This place is special. It is what it is. and may not fit into some peoples aesthetic. It is a funky little shotgun bar with cheap drinks, a friendly staff, and good food. It is... my home away from home.

The specials change daily and consist of old fashioned southern comfort food. This is the only place I know that serves home fries, fried balogna sandwiches and knows how to make a Pittsburg rare steak. The regular menu is typical bar food of sandwiches with a side, seasonal soups, or the standard meat with two veg.

Hattie runs the place. She's funny and loud and corncob rough but everybody loves her, including me. It is pure entertainment to sit at the bar on a busy day and listen to her fuss at the kitchen staff while still calling everybody honey.

At lunchtime the place is full to overflowing. By four in the evening a group of predictible and likeable regulars have filtered in. They respect the dictum of no politics or religion and instead sit around the bar solving all the problems of the world.

Again, This is not right for everyone. If your looking for uniformed waitresses, ample parking, or something in the healthy, vegetarian, vegan, quinoa range then this won't work for you.

The room is narrow and dark; the walls are covered with ancient horse racing memorabilia. In the winter it is a just a little too cold and in the summer it is a few degrees too warm. It is small enough to be your own personal version of Cheers, where everybody knows your namd but it is not big enough to justify more wait staff so sometimes they get overwhelmed and you might have to wait a few minutes. Still, I love this place...

Stopped outside of downtown Lexington for a nite on our way to Nashville, After the long drive, we didn't have the energy to drive far for dinner. We called ahead to make sure they were open and were told that the kitchen was closing at 8 PM as they were having their oven hoods cleaned ( first impression great since they clean their oven hoods !) the friendly voice said , " come on over " .so we did and found a little bar / restaurant with warm, friendly service and good home cooked food a long with a selection of beers ( had a great IPA ) and a full bar. We ordered the grilled grouper with mashed potatoes and coleslaw. The fish was cooked perfectly , very tasty and felt like I had sat down at my Mom's table. I overheard the waitress talking to her adult son ( he came in to eat his dinner there too ) about a pie that he wanted her to make for him later in the week. There were no dessert items on the menu so I asked her about that pie...she offered us some of her homemade blackberry cobbler ( her grandma's recipe ) warmed up and topped with vanilla ice cream. Perfection ! The University of Kentucky basketball game was on the screens and the place was full for a Monday night . Will eat here again when...

I really hate posting bad reviews, but this place was flat-out BAD. I walked in and waited several minutes for anyone to acknowledge me. I was told to go sit out on the patio, and the person walked away. I had never been here before, I didn't know where the patio was, and I told my server that. He then asked me if I wanted food. Yes, that's why I'm here... he handed me a tiny little menu and stood there while I decided what to order from the limited selection. Later, I heard the table next to me ordering stuff that sounded a lot better from a (secret?) menu I wasn't given. I asked them about it. They told me it was on the wall in the main dining room. If my server knew I hadn't been here before (because I told him) shouldn't he have mentioned the other menu?? When the check came, I gave him my card and when it came back, there was a "customer copy" but NO receipt for me sign! That's odd... did he keep that copy to add his own tip?! Anyway, the food was mediocre at best, service was underwhelming, and the entire experience was a completely disappointing waste. I will not be coming back and I recommend you...