Hammerheads — Restaurant in Louisville

Gourmet food in a dive bar! SERIOUSLY!

What a great dinner! My son and I stopped in at Hammerheads for the first time in a few years last Saturday evening before a Lou. City soccer match.. and remembered what we had been missing.

Get there early - they open at 5 pm and do NOT take reservations, strictly first come first served. The joint is located, seriously, in the basement of a small, history old house in Louisville's blue collar "Old Highlands" neighborhood, near Germantown.

Ceilings are low and the space is kinda cramped and dark, a big, solid bar dominates the right side of the room, and perhaps 2 small tables are scattered about. True "Dive Bar" digs.. awesome! Great place to drink a PBR out of a can, while you watch a game, or choose from a large selection of canned and draught craft beers, and a limited list of wines and cocktails. Several Bourbons also available.

There are 2 or 3 picnic tables available for outdoor eating and drinking, facing the busy residential street. Views of several "Camel-back" houses no extra charge.

The FOOD is the star of the show here though, despite the humble digs, the cuisine is world class! - Honestly, I think the relaxed, low key vibe makes the food even better.. no stuffy atmosphere at Hammerheads..

Our server was Annette - she was great - friendly, kind and efficient.

I had no doubt I would be ordering the duck, I always order duck when I can. Duck Tacos specifically - super great - tons of super tender smoked dark duck meat on corn tortillas, including crunchy veggies and a lime-sauce. Amazing!

My son had the elk burger, which he polished off while I was still working on the "Best I have ever had" fries - garlic herb hand-cut fries cooked in duck fat. They came to the table piping hot, perfect with the "Hopsecutioner" IPA draft I had selected.

For an app we shared the cheesy 'grit-tots' (they them!) - a generous portion, even when split between 2, including fried pickles on a bed of greens.

We were way too full to even think about dessert.

This is definitely a meat-centric place, but they did have a couple of vegetarian options on the menu I noticed, including a mushroom "burger" - so you can bring any vegetarian friends along, and they would not ENTIRELY be missing out..

MOST highly recommended as a unique and relaxed 'fine dining' experience.. like I said, get...

Hammerheads is a bit of a hidden secret, and to be honest with you if it weren't for Yelp I would have never discovered it at all.

To find Hammerheads you will need to head out of the core downtown area a bit into a residential neighborhood and look for the two-story house with a Hammerhead shark hanging outside, but be warned as there is no sign other than the shark. Hammerheads is located downstairs, and honestly, it's a bit of a dive restaurant/bar however that adds to its character. Be advised that it can get busy so arrive early or be prepared for a wait. Seating inside can be crowded during peak hours however you are more than welcome to grab a drink at the bar and wait outside where you will find a few patio tables.

The food here is top notch and well worth a visit. The group that I was dining with couldn't resist starting off with an order of the Mac & Cheese Balls, which are prepared with three cheese battered and then deep fried before being served with Hollandaise sauce. I couldn't tell what three kinds of cheese they used, however, they paired perfectly and were nearly enough to be a meal themselves. As far as my entrée goes, I was torn between the Chicken & Waffle or the Elk Burger. I ended up with the Chicken & Sweet Potato Waffle which was served with three MASSIVE chicken wings and a side of real maple syrup. After tasting this massive plate, I can see why it's one of their signature dishes. The waffle was like no other, and honestly, it set me up for disappointment the next morning as I dreaded going to get my pathetic hotel waffle. One major plus of dining with friends is that I was also able to sample some of the truffle fries and they did not disappoint either. In addition to quality food, Hammerheads also has a large beer selection with a fair number of beers available on draught however other options are available in cans.

Overall the service here was awesome, prices were extremely reasonable, and I do look forward to returning next time I am in Louisville. Hammerheads is a real winner for dinner...

Hammerheads is highly recommended by a lot of Louisville locals. My girlfriends and I went on Friday at 5.30p. We were seated immediately in this very hip and ambient hole in the wall. I heard the elk burger was the item to try.

We shared the fried mushroom app, croissants with beer cheese, truffle fries, garlic herb fries, and I got a duck taco and a brisket taco. One friend got the elk burger, another the brisket taco and the pulled pork taco.

Mushrooms were way overdone and almost burned, both fries were all over fried, but the croissants were amazing. Beer cheese was good and made the fries somewhat edible.

Now, let's talk brisket. We all love brisket. Hammerheads served us tough, uncuttable with a knife brisket. I was dumbfounded. The lovely waitress told us they were known for their smoked meats, but this was so disappointing. I left half of my taco uneaten because it was so hard to chew.

The duck taco tasted just like the brisket, except it was nice and smooth and melted in my mouth. Just not enough duck in the taco.

Pulled pork was basic, nothing to brag about.

The elk burger. Star of the show! I had never had elk, but it was amazing. I realize now why everyone says to get the elk burger. Maybe last night was an off night for the chefs, but the elk burger was really the only redeeming quality about Hammerheads.

I'm glad we tried it, but I won't be back. There are far too many amazing restaurants in Louisville to be serving mediocre food. Again, maybe we went on a night where the quality wasn't consistent with their norm, but it's unfortunate that their consistency would be this off.

The waitress was fabulous, though! The whole staff was friendly and patient, and you could tell they enjoyed being there. So kudos to Hammerheads for having a great...