Waterloo — Restaurant in Louisville

My girlfriend & I went to the Waterloo tonight.

We had passed by it this summer and thought it looked nice. I imagine during the day, the atmosphere is 100 times better.

I'll Get straight into my review, broken into 3 parts, Atmosphere, Service & Food. Enjoy.

I wouldn't eat here again, but I would drink here and down below are the reasons why.

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere has what it takes, the decoration is a bit.... themed and I would say dated, but at least you know what the owners are into. Johnny Cash. (I don't necessarily know how it ties into their food, it's just decorated everywhere)

Lighting.

They have atmospheric lighting, but.. Unfortunately it's drowned out by the puck lights, overhead, etc... it casts awful shadows and unfortunately takes away from any feeling of privacy or being in a cozy atmosphere at night.

Recommendation: Get rid of the overhead/puck lights 100% (outside of cleaning) and ad more table specific lighting, allowing people to feel more intimate and not EXPOSED.

During the day, as there aren't any mirrors in the far back, its' nice up front, but the far back is dark and gloomy (plus it's right in the way of the bathroom hall.... Meh... I wouldn't put tables in this area at all... (AND, I would re do the entire table set up entirely. It needs to feel more cozy)

-Recommendation:

Don't be lazy with decorations. Clearly you're idea of a restaurant is a place with table and johnny cash surrounding you. PERHAPS, ad mirrors, actual decor, and make it a place you would want to spend quality time in. OR hire a professional. It seems very BRO'd out.

Service:

The service is actually great, the people who work here are very nice, they work really hard, and deserve a lot of credit. I imagine they don't always hear the nicest things working in this location. Excellent service. I would consider hiring the people in this restaurant for a restaurant I would put together. B/C if I put up a burger joint, it would dominate every restaurant in louiseville downtown. Rivals: Five Guys.

Food:

Ok, here's my biggest complaint. A place that's a Johnny Cash bar, a kind of modern but mostly rustic mixed with vintage feel. Should be known for it's burger right?

The burger I received was a frozen patty before it hit the grill. It wasn't home made. And it cost me $17. The cheddar cheese was non existent. I mean, it's $17 throw a thick piece of cheddar. The burger was CHEAP. No love, and the frozen patty's the used were without flavor and tasted more of water.

If you're going to charge $17 for a burger, be prepared for a serious critique.

I can go to the store and spend $8 on a LB of delicious burger meet. I will use like 25 cents of eggs, and how much for seasoning? Throw in a jalepeno into the burger meat... Shape it up and make a $10 burger in less than 10 minutes and, dear lord. That is fresh.

So, Waterloo buys frozen food and charges us to heat it up. 100%

Waterloo is not a restaurant. They are a microwave with beer. Which is sad. If I had a restaurant in oldtown Louisville. I would take so much pride in my work!

Conclusion:

Waterloo unfortunately is not worth the money for food. As far as a decent place to grab a roof top or patio seat during the summer and grab a drink at, this is a great little spot.

But as far as a place to think about when you want to eat out instead of cooking.... Definitely not a place as are most of the places in old town louisville. The reviews must be left by people who don't cook....at all. Or everyone has bad taste?

Folks, don't go out and buy frozen food for your night out. Buy food from an actual Chef who loves their job. This place could be so much more, it could be a destination if they had the right Chef. unfortunately it's probably already seeing less and less customers and can't figure out why.

Waterloo, it's because your food is cheap. I'd honestly prefer a mcdonalds double cheese compared to the flavorless "Waterloo Burger"

If you decide to go fresh and use a real chef, I'll come back and consider revising...

REVIEW UPDATE: Our server last night was lovely. Good at her job. After a handful of visits throughout the year, last night we finally got to order the Texas brisket. It's often sold out. Bottom Line: AVOID! It pains me to say this, because the meat was cooked perfectly and you get a generous portion. The seasoning was ungodly salty. In an effort to get that crust there is a lot of seasoning on the outside. Unfortunately this seasoning contains a horrific amount of salt. As a Texan, I can say that Waterloo puts in the effort. The meat is served with white bread, and there is no sauce. This is all good. But there is much lost in translation. I had to ask for sliced jalapeños, and they were brought freshly sliced, not pickled. There was no raw white onion. Had to ask for hot sauce. Had to work around that oversalted crust. It was difficult to find a good bite. The bite toward the crust was flaky but hard and overcooked. I love burnt ends, but this was not good. When the waitress asked, I told her about the salt on the crust. Her cheerful response was, "Yeah, it's one of those dishes where you have to work to find a good bite!" NO ONE should ever have to "work to find a good bite!" Also, we ordered the banana cake (it has delicious icing on top) and the flavors are SO good, but it was pretty dry. Likely past it's prime. I wouldn't serve that to my customers if I wanted an excellent reputation. I still stand behind how enjoyable I find the place, overall, but was super disappointed in that brisket!! A few minor adjustments would make it stellar, leading me to think there is a lack of quality control going on over there. So, yeah. It's a decent place, and fun, but I wouldn't bring someone visiting from out of town there. I'm old. I've frequented Texas BBQ all over my home state, including the famous one (Kreuz BBQ, Lockhart, TX) If I brought my Texas relatives here they would never stop teasing me!

I DO think this place could be so much better. A relaxed management attitude is fine, and maybe that pays the bills, but with rigorous quality control you could be famous all over Colorado. I didnt go out on the patio, but I hope you got rid of all the mice in the bathtubs. An attitude of, "Oh, that's our outside garden and we have wildlife, nature, etc." is not cool. Seriously. You're a food establishment. The squirrel I understand, but mice infestations are disgusting. I still think the potential is there!

What a fun place with absolutely great food and drinks! Bartenders 5 stars, but the table server we had was criminally neglectful. Although, I told our table her issue was a recent breakup of some kind, which was affecting her terribly that night (I pick up on these things). Sure enough, on our way out, she was deeply entrenched in a lover's quarrel with one of the bartenders. So...yeah...that sucked for us. Otherwise, I'm sure that was a one-off, and we will...

TLDR: I don't recommend this place. Burgers are mediocre. Kitchen quality is inconsistent. Service and atmosphere is great

I really had high hopes coming into this place but it was a major let down. Stepping inside the space is quite nice. I love the theme and it's aesthetically pleasing and welcoming. The service was pretty good. I had a server by the name of Jackson who did a pretty good job. The first thing I ordered was a tomato bisque soup and it was good appetizer to start off with. The grilled cheese was solid, but the tomato bisque itself needed a bit of salt but was still flavorful. I then proceeded to order a medium rare bison burger with a side of mac & cheese and this is where things started to crash. I got my food and the burger ended up being medium well. Not a problem, I gave the kitchen a chance to correct it. I ate the mac & cheese in the meantime since I didn't want it to get cold. It was a pretty nice serving size. By the time I was done, they brought out the bison burger and it was medium rare. Great, but more disappointment came when I realized the mushrooms and bun were cold. It just threw the whole burger off. At this point I didn't want to send it back because I was hungry so I asked Jackson to get me a side of fresh grilled mushrooms. I didn't have to necessarily wait long for that as the bison was still warm. When I finally got to eat the burger, it was really bland. I paid full price for everything (no complaint about that) because I didn't want a discount, just everything done right. The quality of the burgers isn't it and the kitchen's consistency is lackluster. Overall, I'd steer away from the burger section. I won't be recommending this...