Review: Theatre Square Marketplace

Soft lighting and good bourbon make for an elegant environment. (Credit: Erin Keane)

The Louisville Palace and the Brown Theatre are both great places to see a show, but the pre-concert cocktail and nightcap options in the neighborhood leave something to be desired. Some evenings you’re too dressed up for the dive bar and not in the mood for a pub. So where else can you go for a drink?

Theatre Square Marketplace and Wine Lounge on Fourth Street, just north of Broadway, is a mouthful of a name, but the circular bar in the back of this new upscale retail and food establishment (located in the former Kentucky Theater building) is a fine place to sip a classic cocktail or a nice glass of wine. Its location, halfway between the Palace and the Brown, definitely makes it a convenient stop before or after a show.

Tucked in the rear of a large space that also houses a deli and a bakery, the bar is chic yet comfortable. The lighting is soft, not dim — that’s an important distinction. The libations menu is extensive, including a well-curated bourbon list ranging from standards like Maker’s Mark ($7) to the 17-year-old Eagle Rare ($15). Bourbon is pretty important to me, so I was pleased to see some unexpected favorites like Rowan’s Creek and the intriguing addition of Willett Pot Still.

My boyfriend and I ordered off the house cocktail list ($7.50 each), a short selection of handcrafted classics. He chose a whiskey sour made with egg white and lemon that tasted nothing like the sickly sweet well drink I remembered. Feeling bold, I skipped the bourbon and ordered a pisco sour, which was sweet and tart yet light, with bitters providing an unexpected herbal depth. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can garnish your cocktail with a variety of savory treats like prosciutto-stuffed olives or pickled asparagus for an additional $2.

For beer drinkers, the list is small but balanced between mass-produced brews such as Budweiser ($3.80) and Michelob ($4) and craft selections like Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA and Widmer Brothers hefeweizen ($5 on draft). The shining star, though, is the winekeeper system, which allows the bar to pour a variety of reserve wines not usually offered by the glass. According to bartender Carrie Crouch, the Clarendon Hills old-vine grenache isn’t offered by the glass anywhere else in the United States. They also offer a variety of house wines by the glass and an extensive bottle list if you’re feeling flush.

Being fairly new, the bar hasn’t attracted a particular crowd yet, but its location makes it a prime candidate for creating your own scene. It’s open until 10 p.m. during the week and midnight on the weekends, but the hours might expand as the place picks up steam.

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