Buds Tavern

Friendly, comfortable, and an awesome bartender on the night shifts! Plus the live music was fantastic. Can’t wait to go back.

We often pick lunch up at Bud’s Tavern during the work week and we’ve had them cater for us before, too. It’s decent food made by decent people. A lot of the people eating there when I go in to pick up the food are regulars and the staff gives the place a family feel.
I usually get the burger but they have excellent grilled and fried pork chops, they have several iterations of chicken (fingers, wings, sandwiches) and all of them are good. I love their pulled pork but because I am usually dressed up at work I am skittish about getting sauce on my clothing. I could invest in a bib but my man-​child vibe is already too strong.
You should skip the fries anyway but especially skip them here, they’re never good dining in or carrying out.
Also, this isn’t where to go if you’re looking for a quick lunch. You’re thinking of the places with pick-​up windows where one doesn’t get out of one’s car. They are slow and proud of it, and that’s okay. You shouldn’t rush good food.

Great bbq! And my husband loves the grouper sandwich! Sometimes the ribs can be a little over cooked, depending on the day

Definitely try the fish fingers and pulled chicken BBQ they are amazing. They are very well maintained it’s like a local dive but we loved it. The waitress was very very nice. I think the best waitress I’ve had for a long time.

I love this place. Very friendly atmosphere. Great to support local!!! i think the fish is one of the best around. Bean soup is good too. I also love the chicken salad. The place is clean so don’t be scared by the outside.

Sorry but the kitchen lost us, we had to leave. Food was cold onion rings cold and grease. Sent all back. I never saw my order. Also watched others have the same problems. Tea was good, but left with no food. Buds need to take a look at the kitchen. It has a long history of a local bar, and maybe needs to forget the food.
I hope you can come back! Hope they just had a bad day. Good luck

Very very friendly employees — order the fish basket you will not be disappointed. Also don’t let the outside fool you.

My wife and I were just leaving the tour at Bulleit Bourbon around the corner and needed some filling. I jumped on Unilocal and looked up anything local. Bud’s Tavern popped up and the reviews looked like it was worth a shot. Boy, am I glad that we stopped. We both ordered the pulled pork sandwich. It comes with chips. Beers were $ 1.50 a shell. The pork was fabulous. It comes with your choice of three sauces on the side. All were tasty. We were in a bit of a hurry and our server was spot on. She was helpful and courteous. I would go here every weekend if I lived nearby. Outstanding food and good service in a comfortable local bar. Keep up the good work, Bud.

Great bbq. Clean place stop in every year when I do a trade show at convention center. Lots of locals.

Ever been to Bud’s Tavern on Dixie? Went there yesterday and had a great BBQ pulled chicken platter. Chicken was flavorful, the potato salad is made with red skin potatoes and was very good. The green beans were very well done and flavored just right.
Don’t be afraid because it’s called a Tavern, there’s plenty of table seating in the rear. The BBQ is good, plentiful, and reasonable. Good place for somewhere different.

I drove by here on my way to the hotel and noticed they advertised BBQ. I read the reviews on Unilocal,and every good comment was true! This place is definitely gonna bring me back!
GrEaT BBQ! GrEAt service! Friendly people!
If your in town, hungry, don’t want to spend a fortune, and just want some rEaLLy great food, EAT HERE!

On my recent visit home, I wouldn’t have imagined I would hit every dive bar in Louisville. I am not complaining, I had some of the best food every on this trip. It was good enough to go back a second time with my son and his wife. However, it was like night and day difference, so it might matter which night you go.
The first night we went, I think it was Friday or Saturday and the place was busy, but not bad. We ordered pork ribs, slaw, green beans, fried green tomatoes and bean soup. It was really good, all of it. I am not a major fan of pork ribs, but wasn’t going to be the fussy one in the group and got them. They were not at all greasy, the smoke flavor on them was perfect and I loved them. The sauces are on the table, so I tried a smidge of all four and liked them for the most part, as much as a non BBQ sauce fan can.
The fried green tomatoes were not overly greasy and had nice thick cut to them. The bean soup had huge hunks of ham in it and sort of a sweet flavor. My husband loved it, as did my daughter in law.
We went back with my son the night before Thanksgiving and we barely found a table to sit and it was so loud with a band, none of us could hear each other talking. It was funny to watch the drunk middleagers dancing on the floor, so it sort of made the ear splitting noise worth it. If you go on a night like that, don’t judge the service on that. The first night the girl was right there, the second time we didn’t see her for long long stretches and she told us it was only her and one other girl in the entire place. The food was good and I wasn’t sorry we went back. Try them for good BBQ at a reasonable price.

Great tavern style food! Big menu, lots of things to choose from. The only reason I didn’t give them 5 stars is because their service seems to take forever. We order out a lot at work and EVERY time we’ve ordered from Buds, they tell us, «Ok will be ready in 20 minutes» 20 minutes later, go to pick up the food and you end up waiting in the Tavern for 15 – 20 additional minutes.
This place is definitely worth a try if you’re in the area.

As I’ve been tasked to write 100 of these reviews within the next few months, I must go back into the memory vault to expand my repertoire. So, it’s been a little bit since I first visited, albeit, not so long that this critique will be faulty.
I’ve lived in or around south Louisville for the past 12 years or so, and Bud’s has been sitting on Dixie the entire time. I can honestly say that I’d driven by hundreds of times, possibly thousands (granted low-​thousands) with little thought to entering the establishment and giving it a try. It just seemed to be the standard local’s bar, nothing particularly striking about it, and not a place that I would generally frequent. I’ve aged past the days of regularly sidling up to the bar for a brew and a few late nights.
But Bud’s over the last couple years has done a few renovations, adding an outside deck to accommodate smokers, adding a smoker to accommodate BBQ lovers, and it seems more inviting, even though the exterior has changed little.
After hearing good things, I decided to place a takeout order, and try the BBQ and some sides. I wasn’t disappointed. The food was good, not such that I would claim it to be the best since sliced bread, but good enough to come back for more. And the interior of Bud’s is far more expansive than what I would have thought from the outside. The service was extremely friendly, even though I wasn’t a regular, as sometimes it can be difficult to enter a local place without getting the occasional evil eye. Of course, I’ve never really allowed that to stop me before. I’m not particularly superstitious. Love the song, though.

I go to this restaurant every time I’m in the area. They have good BBQ at a fair price. The service is alway great!