W C.
Yelp
We came here for dinner for our only night in Louisville because when in Rome, you must try the original Hot Brown. Driving up from the main street, the hotel looks like she's seen some better days, but once you make the turn in, it's a lot more pretty. And when you go up the stairs to The Lobby Bar, you can definitely feel that old world mystique though there are indications that the place is not what it once was.
We were disappointed not to be sat in the main dining room (allegedly entirely reserved) but the bar area is nice enough other than the keyboardist (not even a real piano!) that was a bit too loud. For drinks, one is us got an old fashioned, which was delicious, and one of us ordered a mint julep, which was essentially a cup of ice and not much else.
For food, we ordered a Hot Brown, of course, as well as a French onion soup and a kid's cheeseburger. The soup was very good--tasty and cheesy and hot--but the bread was already mush by the time it got to the table. Our daughter's burger was pretty impressive for being a kid's version and we liked the fries it came with. As far as the Hot Brown, we liked it! What's not to like about turkey, bacon, bread, tomatoes, and a gravy! It was excessive, but that's the point, so we were there for the experience. Dessert was a pretty sad derby pie a la mode that didn't taste particularly homemade or impressive.
Overall, we're glad we came and we had a nice enough time, but we were not particularly wow-ed by anything. This place is really 3.5 stars, and while one of us thinks it should be four stars, we're ultimately settling on 3.