Naive Latin Inspired Kitchen + Bar

I have been to this place before as maybe last year. This time, it had new owners as I believe and change things. I truly love the experience. I was sitting at the bar since I was the only one. The reason I went there because they have limited availability of fish day for Friday Fish (Lent). I want something healthy this time. I was welcome to the nice host and also greeted by a wonderful bartender. I tried the avocado Margarita, and it was so good. Just right. I had to try their chicken empanda and the Peruvian green sauce. It was so delicious and I love it when it comes out hot. The special day dish was salmon filet, and I really love it. It was so good! The zucchini was cooked perfectly, and I love the sauce. I ordered one more cocktail, which is Pineapple Passionfruit sour. It was so good and perfect to end for after meal.

An absolute gem! The vibe was great - we sat on the patio, which is beautiful. I loved all of the plants; the atmosphere felt inviting, warm, and hip. And the food!! It was fabulous. Some of my favorites were the tuna tacos, the blistered peppers, the hanger steak, and all three desserts. Pitchers of the fresh and spicy margarita were a perfect compliment! Not too sweet or spicy - just right. The owners were so kind and have clearly put in so much work to make this a truly special place to dine. I’ll definitely be going back!

Today at Naive, i sat at the bar with Cameron as my bartender. Service is super friendly and welcoming. The food came out quick. I ordered the broccolini and mushrooms, and one chicken empanada. OMG. I could smell the deliciousness as soon as it was sat in front of me. This place has the best broccoli and mushrooms I’ve had in a long time. The empanada is fantastic, it’s so crispy and yummy with unique flavors. For my after dinner dessert I had a cocktail, the pineapple passion fruit pisco sour is INCREDIBLE!!!! Everything from this restaurant/bar is so tasty and flavorful I will be back ASAP 🔥🔥🔥

Dined tonight with my wife and couple friends, sat at a table directly next to a service entrance in the back left, and was getting blasted with cold air for the entire meal. (Coming from behind a billowing curtain that contained a server station.) Our loose table top needed some attention from someone with a wrench, it rocked with our elbows the entire meal. Cocktails were good, appetizers were good--the tuna ceviche tacos were my favorites. For the entree, I ordered the whole branzino, looking forward to a whole fried fish. No hint of issues from the server about that order. Instead, I got two fish filets. The guy that ran the entrees to the table (head chef? owner?) brushed aside my confusion by saying he was having trouble with a supplier and that it was the same amount of fish as the whole branzino would've been. No real apology. My guy, a few frozen Gorton's fish filets would've been the same amount of fish, but you and I both know that wasn't the point. Why not just tell customers WHEN THEY ORDER that the item is unavailable? Very odd choice to expect your customers to be ok with that sort of bait and switch. Anyway, it was fine, but I guess when you order something verify that's what you'll actually get, instead of some half-assed surprise substitution. All in all, there are better choices in NULU.

Naive is a favorite restaurant of ours for great meals before soccer games at Lynn Family Stadium. Most recently, we had a wonderful early Saturday evening dinner there. The atmosphere & music are interesting & create a comfortable & positive vibe. Room size is just right, plus there is outside seating (although in Butchertown that can come with an … aroma). Our server, Sophie, was very nice, helpful & attentive to just the right degree. The pickle plate, olive & date “snacks” were outstanding. I had the Crispy Rice “larger plate.” It was beautiful, incredibly delicious & very fairly priced. Laura had the grilled salmon (as usual) & loved it. She also enjoyed two different Chardonnays from the nice wine selection. We split the Sticky Toffee Pudding dessert, which tasted heavenly, but was sinfully rich. It rained while we were there & it was lovely to watch it through the big front windows. All in all, a fantastic dining experience. Highly recommend.

Naive offers tasty Latin-inspired dishes absolutely worth checking out. We went for the fried zucchini flowers, Chile relleno, and grilled hanger steak. For dessert we had the Nutella Flan. The kitchen cooked and prepared everything to perfection. Highly recommend if you're in the Nulu/Butchertown area!

Cute interior/atmosphere and impeccable service, everyone working there was kind and welcoming. Very artistic beautiful plating, with each element of the dishes being intentionally crafted to create robust, memorable flavors. Main and a cocktail along with splitting an app and dessert was $58 which I feel like is reasonable considering the high quality. I especially liked the seared hangar steak and will definitely return in the future to try more menu items!

Very good food, for all kind of eaters. I am vegan and have to be gluten-free, the dishes I got here were full of various taste and really worth to try. I got hummus, sweet potato puree and cauliflower. It was extraordinary and these dishes can seem to be ordinary by their names but it was really the opposite. We also ordered lamb burger with potatoes and it was great as well. Very nice and friendly staff and atmosphere. Thank you for being open till 9pm because I wouldn't be able to get so great, clean and fresh food anywhere else at this time.

I really enjoy this place! Especially because of their happy hour menu and the margaritas are delicious! I stepped outside my comfort zone and ordered the Yuca fries, I opted for no pork so it wasn't much flavor to work with. But my friend ended up finishing them and she thought they were delicious. However, the empanadas are personally my favorite, so I will stick to those next time. Also the service here is amazing, they really make sure you're well taken care of even if you decide to sit all the way on the patio outside lol. Such a cute place to get some great pics inside and outside! I really love the decor and earth tone colors, makes you feel like you're in a beautiful garden!

I'm reposting a review stopped on for Happy Hour and an Empanada with a green Peruvian green sauce made with cilantro,jalapeño, sour cream, And more ... Had the happy hour regular margarita Service great ... Ambiance nice met some nice people in there. I wanted the spicy Margarita so will return to try again

I went back again as this time it was for my birthday. Again, they are so sweet to me. The bartender make the excellent avocado margarita which I love. I enjoyed the salad and shrimp cerviche. It was top notch. I did went there on Monday around 5 30 and I was the only one but it didnt bother me because I love quiet with hint of music. I enjoyed it.

Been to Naive a handful of times for happy hour, and it's incredibly good and amazingly priced. I highly recommend the Yuca Fry Poutine, though a warning that it is quite spicy. The margarita is also tasty, and they have a good sauv blanc on their happy hour menu as well. When the weather is nice, the patio is gorgeous, and the interior boho modern design is beautiful as well (I got a lot of inspiration for my own home design). Have always had great and speedy service. Looking forward to next time!

My favorite happy hour in the city! Great variety of small plates and drink options. My service is always great, whether if I am solo or with a group.

Had an incredible meal on the beautiful patio at Naive! The highlight for me was the amazing service and avocado margarita - an absolutely delicious, light and somewhat creamy margarita -, but all food was delicious, fresh, and unique as well. The Pavlova was a disappointment - but I was overly excited because when i saw this on the menu I was transported to summers at my grandmothers house. Pavlova was a specialty of hers, and like most recreations of iconic family foods, this wasn't what I expected. The sauce and whipped cream didn't work for me, though the texture of the meringue was perfect! If you don't have a past with this dessert, you should try it!

Have been a few times over the last several months. The food is inspired by South and Latin America. Started the meal sharing a bunch of apps across a large group. The Queso Fundido and taco Ceviche were top picks alongside a spicy margarita, which was more sweet and lacking some of the expected spice. For mains, we tried the hangar steak and pork shoulder. The steak was really delicious and tender. The pork shoulder was more like a pile of pulled pork. Both could have benefitted from sides. In terms of price, it was pretty economical for the combo of drinks, apps, and entrees. Services was fine. Last time we went they were rushing us a bit. This last time, the restaurant was empty, so we could slow down a bit.

Always always recommend everyone to this establishment! Never walk away upset or disappointed in service, food, and drink! They're killing it. And not to mention the amazing patio and vibe overall there!

A group of us came for late lunch + happy hour & couldn't have been more pleased. Food was amazing, service was top notch & the drinks delicious.

Fun, flirty, really freaking good margaritas. Naive is everything I wanted it to be in more. I think this is one of the best spots in the city to just sit and drink and eat with friends. Bar service was great. Both food and drinks were outstanding. The overall vibe is a 10/10. It was tempting not to order the whole menu. The empanadas were our favorite thing we ordered. We also got the Oaxacan queso, which was incredible, but note that it has to be eaten pretty fast or it'll congeal into one giant cheese blob (not that that stopped me from still eating it)

This place is very cute and small. We went on a Saturday morning and it wasn't terribly busy. That should have been the first clue. We ordered the cinnamon roll which was good. The entrees the breakfast burrito and sandwich left a lot to be desired. I wish I had taken a photo because it didn't even present well. Burrito was very dry and cracked after it had been wrapped. The bun on the breakfast sandwich was also dry and cracked where the top was mostly flaked off. The egg was scrambled on one side and all the bacon on the other. It was a mess. Very small egg and bacon pieces falling out. The side of potatoes with the sandwich and the potatoes in the burrito were warm but VERY hard but not inedible.

This has quickly become my favorite restaurant. The food is incredible, the cocktails are excellent, happy hour menu is just right. I could sit at the bar all day and eat and drink. The staff is so welcoming. The patio is lovely. Get the queso! Get the yuca fries! The chicken is superb.

Our group of four enjoyed an absolutely wonderful dining experience at Naïve last night. We had heard great things beforehand, but our visit far exceeded even the highest expectations. From the warm welcome at the door to the attentive service, expertly crafted drinks, and outstanding cuisine, every detail was perfection. We loved it so much that we're already making plans to return for another dinner soon!

Food 10/10 Service 10/10 Vibes 11/10 If yall haven't been in here yet you're missing out big time. I had had the tuna ceviche tacos, the roasted cauliflower and the salmon special.

Opulence and Elegance and the Foods Great Too! I was in the East Market Butchertown area looking for new places to eat as I've been all over Louisville and Jeffersonville trying out local establishments. I heard about Naive Kitchen and Bar from colleagues of mine who had eaten there and decided to give it a try. Naive is a very chic, boutique-style eatery with fine decor, attentive staff and wonderful food. On my visit, early on a Friday night, I had some time before the place started filling up to take some time and decide what I wanted to eat. They had a feature that night of Sous vide Watermelon and I decided to start with that. The watermelon 'steak' was packed with flavour and the surrounding elements like the cabbage and the pickled watermelon rind were outstanding compliments to the main dish. I then had the Chilled Shrimp Lettuce Wraps made with Poblano pepper, cucumber and lime which was a very light a refreshing dish for a humid summer night. The star of the night was the main course, a locally sourced Pork Tenderloin duo again surrounded by complimentary flavours. The tenderloins were, very tender and had just enough flavouring that you still taste the pork itself. The food was fantastic and I washed it down with a Doc's Hefe Wheat Beer from Gravely Brewing. Overall a fantastic meal in a very stimulating space.

We stopped in between lunch and dinner service so the menu was limited. BUT they did not disappoint! The empanadas were melt in your mouth delicious. The tuna tostada was great and the taco was also delicious. Definitely will be stopping back in for dinner or lunch!

10 dollar beer bucket and unlimited mimosas on Sundays. A warm and welcoming atmosphere and the service was fantastic. I ordered the steak and eggs. $30 Presentation appeared solid going in, but I was in for a surprise. Firstly, I ordered a steak, not steak tips and definitely not a steak that appeared to be cut up by a toddler with safety scissors during homeroom. I very much like to have a steak that I cut on my own as it cools slower and typically has more consistent texture. The menu just said Steak and Eggs with no further description. The eggs were conveniently draped over the monstrosity of the cut up job which got persistently worse with every bite. The underwhelming chimmcurri sauce did little to improve this dish. Nor the bowl of thick vinegar that was brought out as the housemade hot sauce. Thankfully, the pieces of egg shell allowed for extra texture and calcium. The saving grace, I had access to a gift card so I really only had to pay for my drinks and the tip. Again the service was excellent. I really wish the food had been better, but when your offering could be outshined by the vacuumed sealed "ribeye" from the Dollar Tree cooler section, maybe you need to reevaluate some things. Service 5/5 Food 0/5 = 2.5 stars rounding down to 2 because I had to leave the house for this...

As far as taste goes.. The food was great in that aspect. Now to the bad. Our waiter asked if we wanted water . We said yes, they said "we have still or sparkling." The way it was phrased made it feel like it was free. We all got sparkling and it came at a charge. How naive of us.. We ordered two appetizers because the server admitted the dates are tiny, but good. They were quality taste, but $5 for 3 dates is a shame. We also shared the salmon appetizer with the couple we ate with. All of the main dishes are overpriced and not a lot of food. Pork shoulder is $23 and it is only a handful of meat and that is it. I believe in transparency so I'll tell you the cost of the bill. We paid $111 for something that should have cost $50 (we only had water, no alcohol). Here's the cherry on top. There is a charge on every bill for "employee healthcare" at 3%. As an optional charge, I would understand if you'd like to support the business. To make it a mandatory charge just doesn't seem right. I should not be paying for employee healthcare. This is the responsibility of management at the restaurant, not the responsibility of patrons. I am all about "supporting local" but local let me down on this one. Go to Ten20 down the street and enjoy a beer and some tv.

We had a wonderful experience at Naive. Excellent food and drinks. The server recommended getting an appetizer, a couple of sides, and splitting an entree, and it was perfect. The chicken samosas and walleye entree were especially good. Highly recommend!

love the food, service and drinks!!!! Definitely top of my list!! We return often!!! the Abidance is stunning!

I went on a date to this place and it was absolutely delicious! The food was so good and the service was wonderful. Highly recommend this for anyone to try, so tasty!!

This is a must stop!! NEW ownership & NEW menus just reopened this week. Great date spot. Outstanding food & presentation was beautiful too. Enjoyed some craft cocktails and they were also fantastic, very balanced. Service was great and can't wait to visit again!!

I don't normally go out of my way to review but our experience here was so amazing that I just want to tell everybody. My husband has celiacs and we were going on a trip to Louisville. I looked for anywhere with gluten-free options and Naive had a unique seasonal menu and great atmosphere. I asked questions about gluten and cross-contamination. They have a dedicated gluten-free fryer, the chef came out to discuss with us, and I felt like his experience was really safe. That doesn't even begin to say how fantastic the food was. The flavors and textures just popped. We had Salmon Tiradito, Confit Half Chicken - adobo rubbed with roasted Verde, mole, and arbol crema. A lovely mixed greens salad, sweet potatoes with whipped cheese, pepitas, and agave. Dessert - Nutella Flan with toasted coconut. The value was amazing too. We split the entree, but with an appetizer, entree with a la carte side, dessert, and drinks it was only $80 for a super fancy date. The next time we are in Louisville we will definitely be back.

Food and drinks were creative and delicious. Spiced just right. Good intro to Latin inspired cuisine if you are not familiar with it. Chicken at dinner was moist and flavorful. Patio is lovely and accessible Happy hour is a bargain.

Amazing food, fresh and flavorful. Highly recommend all the appetizers and the roast.m chicken.

Delicious meal. Yummy cocktails. We ate inside and then ventured out on the expansive back garden patio. What a great area with couches, chairs, tables, beautiful plantings. More people need to take advantage of this outdoor area because it was awesome.

This place is amazing. Jessica and her husband, as owners, have crafted what is going to be an award winning restaurant. Drinks, food all fresh, creative and delicious. Highly recommend.

Wonderful food, so many great veggie options. Potatoes and cauliflower were to die for. They told us that today was the last day the restaurant was open. Keep an eye on where the chef Andy and his sous chef go next. They are worth following.

The food was unique; however, the portion sizes were so small that we all left hungry. The pork shoulder had no flavor. The old owners had a great menu and this was not. The waitress asked if we wanted water or sparkling water - turns out that the sparkling was $3 a pop and they never told us. Finally, they charge a fee for "employee health care" which is just not the responsibility of the customer to pay at the tab. It was honestly shocking leaving a place spending $100 for 2 and then still being hungry? (We didn't get drinks)

Had the tuna tacos, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts. Also had the avocado margarita. I had gone here prior to the new menu and it was ok, but the new menu is amazing. So fresh & light but also delicious. Service is great, food is great, drinks are great. Love this place since the revamp!

Food was delicious- we had the salad and empanadas. loved the courtyard. Would absolutely go back!

Super cute and place! Has a small menu so be sure to look beforehand. Very aesthetic and boho!

Had high hopes but very disappointed. Was offered "still or sparkling" water when we sat down, but didn't realise we all had to pay till the end of the meal. The food had good flavor, but the portion sizes were ridiculously small for the price (literally $24 for a small cup-sized potion of pork) with no side. We were all still very hungry after, and spent $80 for 2 people for a starter, 2 of their cheapest mains, and a side. We also had to pay for employee healthcare as part of the bill. Shame.

Not a welcoming ambiance. When we walked in, nobody greeted us for a few minutes. When we were sat down at the bar, nobody came to us us or offered a chance to order. Upon asking a waitress, she said that we had to order from the bartender in a condescending tone. We left because nobody served us.

Made a dinner reservation for my wife's birthday. We waited 30 minutes for our drink order. Our drinks were watered down. Our food came directly after our drinks. The food was overcooked, cold, and the vegetarIan burger was extremely salty. No one checked on us throughout our meal. When we asked for the check, our full plates were still not cleared. When we left we told the manager about our experience and were told, "guess we had an off night".