On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Loading...
Oh man, oh man. I have family in Louisville and every time I visit this restaurant is my first stop! The food here is soooooo good! And the bread... oh that delicious, delicious wheat bread! I could just eat that! Everything I've ever tried on the menu is amazing!
But the best thing here is definitely the Potato Leek Soup. Wowza! I am NOT a soup fan by any stretch of the imagination. To put it quite simply, I hate soup. But I LOVE me some potato leek soup! It's just so... scrumptious. Yep, that's my word choice and I'm stickin' to it because it's just so good!
I would recommend this place to any and everyone I know going to Louisville!
I have never had a bad meal or bad service here at the Rover. You can sit at the bar and drink and eat or you can be a bit more respectable and sit at the table and drink and eat. It doesn't matter.
Keep in mind, time has a tendency to put a rosy tint on everything and it has been about 10 years since the last time I patroned this place with one of my dearest friends, but after much thought, I can say with 100 percent certainty that I always had a good time here and I always ate great food here.
My dearest friend and I will be back in just a few short days and I plan on sitting at the bar with a Guinness in one hand and a scotch egg in the other. My gut tells me it's still going to be a good time.
Once I get cut off at a place do I ever go back. The Irish Rover is the exception. I moved back to Louisville in the mid-90's. I had been to New York and Dallas,places where you could find a decent Guinness. I spent most of my first summer back trying to find such a place in my old hometown.When one day I was driving down Frankfort and saw a new place called the Irish Rover.'They have to know how to pour a Guinness', I said to myself(outloud no less).
During the first pour, the bartender apologized for the amount of time it was taking.I explained that what little patience I have was learned from waiting for my Guinness.Because I found my oasis, I drank a few and then a few more when I was informed I was cut off by the owner who came by to explain why.
When I came back the next week ,the owner, Michae,l remembered me explained again why he cut me off and I thanked him and we have been tight ever since.I even had my rehearsal dinner there-aside from my son the best part of the former marriage. When my true love came back to town from L.A. the 'Rover' was tops on her list of places she wanted me to take her.
Apart from the perfect Guinness, EVERYBODY has to try the heart attack waiting to happen known as the Scotch Egg.It is the most decadent appetizer and is worth every calory and clogged artery.The rest of the menu offers great salads for the summer and comforting stews and soups during the fall/winter.One of the best in Louisville!
Another place that I have to visit every time I come home. The Guinness is always flowing and their soda bread is just like the stuff I had on the emerald island. I particularly love to visit in the winter and get the Guinness stew. The interior also so warm and cozy to me. I am looking forward to visiting again when I'm back in town for the holidays!
I spend a couple of weeks in Louisville every summer, and this is the number one spot I always come to. So lets forget that the Guiness is always served JUST RIGHT for a second. The bread that they serve before the meal with the Irish Butter is to DIE for! I mean it, I always end up eating too much and getting full mid- meal
As for the meal, I always try to order something different but end up gravitating towards the Potato Leek soup.. yum, yum.
Love the sign in front that says "All unattended children shall be sold as slaves" I always point it out to mine.
It's your standard Irish pub, with above-average food.
My irish sausage sandwich was good, and my wife enjoyed her Welsh rabbit. And, most importantly for an Irish pub, it served Guinness that was poured correctly.
So, I had been given info that the Irish Rover was the real deal and it was worth checking out. We came for dinner to a half-full restaurant.
Oh I should mention that this building used to be a saloon and grocery store back in the day. The saloon is still there, but the grocery area is now a dining room where we sat. It is just delightful with the old windows and woodwork. A charming space.
And aside from this table of 6 completely loud & obnoxious middle aged people that drowned out any other noise in the room we enjoyed our meal there. The service and the atmosphere was quite good but these people and their yap, yap, yap! The worst part was that they all seemed to be from Chicago, so I was terribly embarrassed. You could hear almost a collective sigh of relief as they paid their check and left.
We ordered the Blue Cheesecake to start, which was a "cheesecake" of blue and cream cheeses in a walnut crust, served warm with brown soda bread and pear vinaigrette. I highly recommend this appetizer. So delish!
I then ordered the Irish Smoked salmon as my dinner, which was served with lemon, onion, brown soda bread and Coleman's mustard. If you dont know what Coleman's tastes like, be careful - it has got quite a kick to it!
There are so many things on this menu that looked good, it was so hard to decide. But its a good reason to come back!
Stopped in for lunch with Andy P. during our road trip from Dallas to Connecticut, as Andy said, because the Bourbon Bistro didn't open until dinner.
We had bourbon, and it was good. Andy, being Andy, immediately yelled for everyone in the restaurant to shut up and started telling me how much he respected me (naw, that didn't happen). I had the shephard's pie, which was solid yet unspectacular. The best part was the potatoes, which, strangely, complimented the mashed potatoes well.
Really good, but not -quite- as good as I expected.
Ambiance: 20/25 stars
Food: 18/25 stars
Service: 22/25 stars
Bathroom: 20/25 stars
Probability of going back: 10% (I don't live in Louisville!)
Ahhh "the Rover," home to one of my favorite appetizers of ALL TIME. The Scottish Egg. This little delicacy is a hard-boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, dipped in batter, deep fried, and served with a spicy mustard. It's roughly the size of my fist. Anytime anyone in my family mentions The Irish Rover, I immediately think of this and begin to salivate...
The Irish Rover is an authentic Irish Pub located in Louisville, KY. Therefore the menu is isn't overly sexy and wow-ing but it is still tasty and hearty. Lots of meat and potatoes such as the glorious Bangers and Mash entree also good with spicy mustard....
If you're lucky enough to eat here on the weekend you will find a very loose ensemble playing some tight Irish music. They always sounds fantastic and add to the overall ambiance.
I am not a big fan of eating here during the summer months and most of what I like to order is relatively hearty and filling, but during the winter months... DAMN. There is nothing like peeling off your heavy coat as you escape from the cold and sitting down to a Guinness and a Shepard's Pie. A wee bit o' heaven....
No pretense. No "fusion" anything. Just solid, good food and beer.
Oh, and whiskey. Love the whiskey.
Closest thing I've found to a pub in the US yet, and the best Guinness pour I've had outside of Boston or NYC. The crowd and staff are always good, too. They don't serve lots of Ketel Red Bulls, ergo low probability of douchebags.
The food is good, hearty pub fare. Always good - the only suggestion I'd have is to price it more like an English pub (say, $7 fish and chips instead of $12).
Recently, Randy S. and I were in Louisville and trying to get drunk before noon on Bourbon. Unfortunately for us, though, we miscalculated the hours on the nearby Bourbon Cafe and ended up needing a recommendation for lunch on Louisville's lovely Frankfort St. The recommendation we got was Irish Rover. I like Irish food, so I was all in for it and Randy was game as well.
We started off what was a pretty excellent lunch with some Pappy Van Winkle (the name makes me cringe a little, but it is at least nominally authentic, so fair enough) Bourbon to accomplish our goal of getting drunk. Randy has a more developed insulation from the effects of alcohol, but I--on the other hand--am a cheap date and so after downing this lovely Bourbon, I ate lunch drunk.
I generally love Irish food and so was psyched to see that this Irish place had lots of actual Irish food (see my review of Black Finn in Dallas for an opposing experience). I had bangers and mash. Its not the most exotic thing to have, but it was really good. The bangers themselves were truly outstanding, and they served Colman's mustard along side which was also wonderful.
Randy's food, I'll let him review, but definitely seemed good and the whole standard of the place was of the type where you wouldn't really be afraid to try anything, because it all looked good and certainly seemed that the people responsible for the Rover truly care about what goes on there.
The food was very solid, the atmosphere was lovely and the service was very good. I wouldn't hesitate to come again and I'm sure if I lived in Louisville, I'd end up there quite a bit. Really a lovely place.
Oh how I love the Rover.
True im Scottish and not Irish, but its the closest I can get to home.
I love their fried Cheese starter, although the Scotch Eggs come a close second.
Best Potato and Leek soup ive tasted here in the states, and almost anything from the entree menu is to die for.
All thats missing from the menu is some Black Pudding and/or Haggis.
Their range of Irish/British Ales and Lagers on tap is the best, and its great being a small girl finishing off a nice pint of Tennants before the men folks.
Baileys Cheese cake or Guinness Chocolate cake to finish off your meal and you will be in heaven.
When the weather is fine and I feel walking to a pub, this is where I go. I like to sit outside and order appetizers.
I had tried food at Irish pubs in the past and nothing compares to the Irish Rover. Great atmosphere, service, and excellent food. Their menu is completely Irish. It is not the typical Irish pub that has burgers and chicken fingers and then adds corned beef to the menu so that they can call themselves Irish. I have tried many things here and have been very pleased with everything. My favorite is an appetizer called a scotch egg, it is incredible. For something different, give them a try!!!
A very authentic Irish Pub, owned and operated by a guy from Ireland. EXCELLENT food and extremely reasonable in price. Absolutely the best fish and chips in town. Scotch Eggs (don't ask about fat grams though) are a must for an appetizer. Service is usually decent, quality of food is always great.
The food at the Rover is so consistently good, it warms my heart to think about it. I don't eat meat other than fish, and I was amazed my first time here at how many great things there are on the menu for me. The smoked salmon & potato gratin is my all-time favorite, I also dig the shanagarry fish cakes, and the welsh rabbit (aka toasted cheese sandwich) is bigger than my head. This is my favorite comfort food, and I love that the atmosphere is so inviting, and the perfect pours of Guinness so picturesque. They are always hoppin, we even got a reservation on St. Patrick's Day (gulp!) when folks were packed in like sardines and I still thought the service was great.
Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Louisville, KY
Category: Restaurants
Louisville, KY
Category: Pizza
Want to take a fun-filled and slammin trip to our…
I needed to makes some improvements on my condo in…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
20 years! 20 Freaking years! These are the places…
Andy P. and I took a road trip from Dallas to…
