Cafe Lou Lou-Highlands

Love the food and atmosphere at the Highland’s Café Lou Lou! Fantastic and super fast delivery service too!

Dined here with co-​workers on a quick lunch break and wasn’t impressed. The food was decent, but our waiter seemed to be the only one working that day. He was running around frantically trying to cover/​serve several patrons. My hummus trio was light, yet filling so that was a plus.

They had an excellent selection of beer on tap (found the coveted Dragon’s Milk here) and an excellent menu. Full bar was available for those that aren’t fond of beer. I found the most difficult part being able to choose a dish as so much looked good!!!
The wings were good. The lasagna was even better! They also has pizza, salad, and other typical Italian dishes. The bar manager Justin knew his stuff and was very nice to all the guest. He helped a guest carry a stroller up stairs!!! He even sat down and chatted with us for a bit as we finished our drinks. This is a good place for drinks or a lunch or dinner. It was very quite today which was just what we needed for a Sunday.
We will for sure be back for another visit soon! Great staff, great food, and great drinks!!!

I was out at a bar with a patio and ordered Café Lou Lou to be delivered for dinner. I’m torn whether to give it two or three stars solely based on a delivery experience but opted for two. I ordered the Mediterranean ravioli ($ 17 for the larger portion). I was less than enthused with the result for two reasons:
First, with tax and tip, my dinner cost several dollars more, and, for $ 20 something dollars, I was hoping to get dinner and enough for lunch the next day. Even if the pasta was homemade, which I’m guessing it wasn’t, the amount of money I paid was not worth the amount of food I actually received. The ravioli was hardly «jumbo» as advertised. The meal did look great: ravioli with pine nuts, asparagus, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and goat cheese. And it came with bread. But for only five ravioli and considering the price, I was not impressed. I kept wondering «If the dinner portion was five ravioli, what is the lunch portion? For five dollars less (the cost of the lunch portion), do you only get three ravioli? Or, if you get four, why would they possibly charge $ 5 for the difference?» Just a thought. Anyway, I ate all five ravioli and don’t have any leftovers for lunch.
Second, the brown sugar and lemon sauce was a good thought. Except my meal overwhelmingly tasted like lemon. I tried dipping the bread in the sauce but even opted against that because the lemon was on the edge of being overwhelming.
Anyway, I’m not sure I’ll be back considering all of the other food places available for delivery in the area.

Dear ghost,
You are a great server. We don’t know your name and rarely see you but somehow you’ve told us the specials, we’re never without a drink and our food was excellent and timely. My gf swears you don’t exist. That’s not true is it ghost? How else has this been has this been such a great dinner? Keep up the excellent work ghost, wherever you are.

I love all things buffalo. Wings, pizza, nachos you name it. When I heard this place had buffalo chicken pizza I wrote it off and didn’t believe that it would be good. I was right because it’s amazing! Probably the best that I have had. Working down the road from them is dangerous because they promptly deliver after you order and the food is delicious. They also have a veggie pizza that’s great as well. Definitely a fan!

My roommate set out to Bardstown Rd (as we normally do) to find a place to grab dinner before heading to the waterfront. When we got to Douglass Loop, we remembered Café Lou Lou and decided to give it a shot. My roommate had been here once and said she enjoyed it. Of course when I asked her what they had all she said was «Well I don’t completely remember, but I liked the wrap I got.»
So going into this place only having recognized the name, I had no idea what to expect. We walked in and were greeted instantly and then sat right away. It was just after 6 o’clock so I had prepared myself to wait a bit before being seated.
There was a bar at the front of the restaurant and it looked like they had a decent selection, although we did not take advantage of it. Our waitress greeted us within seconds of us taking a seat and she got our drinks to us immediately.
The menu was full of things that I really wanted to try and I was STARVING, so I felt like I needed about 4 different entrees. I opted for the Turkey Delight Sandwich with pasta salad. An excellent choice for sure! It came out warm, cheese melted, and bread crispy. The sandwich was giant, so as hungry as I thought I was, I still ended up taking half home. The pasta salad was good, too, although not what I had expected. It had some sort of cream sauce and what I’m pretty sure were roasted red peppers and mushrooms. Again, I did like it but it was different from any pasta salad I’ve ever had.
Now let’s get to the reasons for the 3 stars. I loved the meal, so that’s one star. The restaurant itself had a good feel to it– a different bright color on every wall, some art, and a nice flow from the setup. The greeters and the manager were all extremely friendly. So that’s the second and third star. Our waitress wasn’t good, so no star for that. She took our drink order, food order, and gave us our checks. Other than that– she did not come to our table at all. It seems like everyone else there is great, though, so don’t let our waiting experience turn you away. And then I just didn’t feel a «wow» factor while I was here, so that would be the other missing star.
I would probably order delivery/​take out from here, but I’m not sure that I will go out of my way to visit again. I just don’t see myself having a big craving for anything on their menu.

Café Lou-​Lou is a fun, Cajun-​inspired place in a great location in the Highlands. I had previously visited their St Matthews location and was glad to check out this place as well.
The restaurant is tucked just behind the Heine Brothers, Havana Rumba and Graeter’s near Douglass Loop. Parking just in front of the restaurant is on the skimpier side, but — never fear — behind the restaurant there is a lot that can be used to park your car.
I’ve visited twice recently and was seated immediately both times. That had me anticipating speedy service, but both times it took a while for our server to bring us water and take our drink and food orders.
Speaking of the food, it’s very inventive and flavorful. I’d previously only stuck with the Cobb Salad when I visited the St Matthews location, but I branched out and split some dishes recently when I visited this new (to me) location.
For appetizers, the Drunken Mussels are fantastic! I’m a mussels fan, and would highly recommend the ones at Café LouLou. The IPA gives just the right zing of flavor for the broth and is a nice departure from the typical mussels in wine. The Hummus Trio is another one that I licked clean (ok, not literally, but almost) when I visited. Finally, try out the signature Blue Cheese Polenta if you want to try something that’s original and flavorful. Believe it or not, on one visit we made a whole meal out of splitting those 3 appetizers!
Another meal had us trying the Combination Pizza. I wasn’t a huge fan of the crust — something thinner and crispier might have suited the pizza better. And I would recommend not getting anchovies on it; they are optional, and I like them in other dishes, but not on this particular pizza. For dessert I was thrilled to see that Bread Pudding was on the menu, as it’s something I almost always order when it’s available. It’s kind of the ultimate comfort food dessert for me; something like a cross between a Cinnabon and Monkey Bread, with a dash of Bourbon flavor.
Unfortunately, something was seriously amiss with their Bread Pudding that night. The loaf itself was less than impressive and was a little dry, but the sauce was definitely not right. It had a savory tang to it that we tried to identify before I suddenly said, «You know what? It tastes like soy sauce.» My companion agreed. Instead of a rich bourbon flavor covering my bread pudding, I was reminded of Mrs. Butterworth’s with a side of Kikkoman.
There’s enough to please on the menu that I’m sure I’ll return, but I’ll plan to wait and will definitely skip the bread pudding!

My wife and I order delivery from here from time to time. The food is always tasty. Tonight, we ordered and realized as we were eating that the calzone we received was not what we ordered. It wasn’t a big deal, so we didn’t think twice and went on with our meal, not bothering to inform the restaurant. ½ an hour later, the general manager, Kevin shows up to our door with the right calzone and a gift card as an apology. This kind of service is what will keep me a loyal customer. Thanks Kevin!

Ordered the full size shrimp baci tarragon and when I got home and inspected my order I noticed it was very small compared to the other time I’ve gotten the exact same thing. Called in and talked with a manager, he apologized and gave me a discount for next time! Great customer service!!! For that you get 5 stars! Great Pasta!

AWESOME! This place gets my vote for best food for the money in Louisville! Must try the chicken portabella roll, BBQ chicken pizza, Greek salad! Amazing beers on tap. Great art on the walls. Friendly, knowledgeable staff! I take all of my out of town guests here. If you want local flavor at a great value, Lou Lou is the place!

See, I’m not a sandwich and pasta kind of gal. This place has much more to offer than those selections, but I just found myself wanting. It’s a medium-​sized restaurant packed with seating and sound. I’m happy to meet here with a friend if they really love the place, but I’m not likely to return on my own.

The diversity of opinion presented in the other reviews here is interesting. Some find this place good but expensive, while others find it cheap but mediocre. Not sure what to make of it, other than that everything is relative, I suppose.
Personally, my one experience here was completely positive. I had the lunch special blackened tilapia sandwich ($ 9) with a side of sauteed veggies, and it was delicious. The bread was a rare balance of crisp crust and soft crumb, the veggies on the side were cooked just so, and the fish was seasoned perfectly. My only complaint is that the quantity of fish was a little lacking relative to the size of the sandwich.
I look forward to returning to try the calzone that others have highly recommended.

The smoked «chicken» and Marsala bowtie dish only contained 2 – 3 small bites of chicken. Additionally, the dish had a flavor more similar to dog food than creamy Marsala.

Great location. Parking not so great. So for those counting carbs not such a good place however they do have salads. Menu options include pasta, sandwiches and pizza. Extensive beer list. The experience was just ok. Don’t think we need to hurry back anytime soon with all the other really great local restaurants in our city. Not sure what all the hype is about. We ate dinner and walked next door for dessert and more drinks.

I went to Café Lou Lou with a group of girls to start out the night for a friends Bachelorette party. We got there early — 5 PM on a Friday, but to be safe we made reservations. Good thing we did! While they weren’t busy when we first arrived, they already had the tables set up for the reservations that were rolling in starting around 6.
I got the meatball sandwich with a side of veggies. It was pretty good. Nothing stellar, but a good meal. I must say the portions are really big for what you pay.
All in all, I thought everything was «okay.» I won’t be in a huge rush to return, but I wouldn’t protest it if a friend wanted to go either.

Although Café Lou Lou does not make a traditional meatball hoagie, it does offer up a tasty and trendy alternative.
Enter the Café Lou Lou meatball sandwich (see pic). First off, this sandwich was big enough to split with a friend or save half for later. The meatballs are made fresh everyday and they were juicy & flavorful. The focaccia bread was different and worked well with the other ingredients. The garlic aioli came on the sandwich and was interesting.
Overall, this meatball sandwich, although different from the traditional meatball hoagie, was very good. I still feel like Anselmo’s makes the best meatball hoagie in the Louisville area.
My current meatball hoagie/​sandwich rankings for the Louisville area follow:
#1 — Anselmo’s
#2 — Café Lou Lou
#3 — Ghyslain
#4 — Diorio’s (not good)
The search for the best meatball hoagie/​sandwich in the Louisville area goes on. Send me a message if you tried one that was great.

Usually a good experience but I’ve noticed over the last 2 yrs the wings are have become smaller and blue cheese runnier. Bummer!
Pricier beer and wine, but good selection!
3 GF cider options.
Service is also good.

I don’t really understand why everyone seems to love Café Lou Lou. I’ve been twice and have found their food to be good, but not remarkable, and a little overpriced.
Positives: the calzone is good, ambiance is cozy, and location is convenient and walkable for me.
$ 12 for a bowl of cajun pasta and $ 7 for a pint of beer (that you can spend $ 4 on down the street) isn’t worth it to me. Especially with all the great spots that have opened up nearby recently. I will admit I do need to give it another chance to see if this pizza is worth it, though!

Amazing pizza! I tried ordering other things off the menu and wasn’t as happy. Stick with pizza and you’ll be good to go. My favorite is the potato pizza.
I had tried the chicken shawarma wrap and was disappointed. It was good, but was made with curry and was kind of spicy. Not a traditional Mediterranean way of serving it which is what I was expecting.
Tip– Great Flood Brewing is around the corner. Go grab a beer and have Café Lou Lou deliver food to you. You wont be disappointed.