Woodford Reserve Bar & Grill

Reviews

• B T.

  star star star star_border star_border 27 May 2026

  This is now named Book and Bourbon. And has just rebranded within the last month. Therefore I can't be too hard on the kitchen.
  
  Since it is new, it has plenty of room to grow. Jennifer was my server and she was great. The food however, needs some time.
  
  I ordered the basic Caesar. The chicken was freshly grilled - and that is where the good news ends. The lettuce was wilted, the parmigiana was scarce and the cornbread croutons were without crunch.

• Jeff H.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 22 May 2026

  Waffling between 2 and 3 stars
  Pros:
  - probably the best place for food in Louisville airport (that is not saying much)
  - decent selection of brews and spirits
  - a variety of food - will have something for most people
  - a few healthy options on the menu
  Cons:
  - mediocre food
  - slow service
  - prices, while not horrible for an airport eatery, are noticeably higher than decent places in the Louisville area
  - annoying bartenders and waitstaff
  
  It is outside security.  This is really neither a pro or con - yes you have to stumble through security after a couple Manhattens, but the lines at SDF are usually very slow (plus I get Pre-Check so I breeze through).
  
  I was leaning on 3 mainly because there is no other decent place to eat (KFC, Chilis).  but just couldn't do it.
  
  Notes on my experience - I sat that the bar, no waiting for a table.  I decided on beer (Goose Island) and a Salmon Caesar salad with dressing on the side.  At least they called it a Caesar Salad - it was just a big bowl of lettuce with a decent sized hunk of Salmon on top and a smattering of parm cheese .  No croutons, no pepper, etc.  I had to ask twice for the croutons and pepper for my salad - the initial response was "hmmm, no one asks for those."  huh?
  
  The bartender talked non-stop and offered much unsolicited advice.  The part next two me (two attractive girls in early 20's and a guy) received most of his attention.  They were flying off to Vegas so he kept telling them how to gamble.  His advice on Blackjack would be hilarious if it weren't that these poor souls were listening to him and were going to lose their money by following his advice.  He kept setting up scenarios and then saying things like "since you know the next card will be a face card ..."  If you KNOW what the next card is, then why are you working as a bartender at an airport bar?  
  
  When I politely tried to point out the fallacy in his advice (you can't know for sure the next card is a face card, no matter how good you are at card counting), he argued with me that he didn't say it, looked at the other three and rolled his eyes, then told them "if you follow what I said, you can be pretty sure the next card is likely a face card."  Well, "pretty sure" and "likely" are a far cry from "know".  I sure hope they didn't follow his advice.

• Evan M.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 21 May 2026

  This place looked cool but that was about it.  The service was VERY slow and apathetic.  The food is just average.  My waitress didn't want to be there, and the bartender would leave the bar for 10 minutes at a time.  The hostess was on her cell phone the whole time.  
  
  If properly run, this restaurant could be great.  The Woodford people should be a little embarrassed to have their name on this.

• Chris H.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 14 May 2026

  This place has an upscale atmosphere yes, but everything else is horrible.
  
  This airport is slim pickings on everything so I went to the most diversified non fast-food menu and ate two meal here after being stuck in the airport for 9 hours. I sat down as self seating was indicated in the morning and it took forever to get waited on. I figured it was morning it things weren't all up and running so I cut them some slack.
  
  Next I went back for lunch, could not understand the accent on the waiter, service was still slow and a bit rude.
  
  The food was decent in the long run. Here is the kicker:
  
  The only place I used my debit card on this trip was on the way home in the airport, when I got to my connecting flight in Las Vegas I had a call from my bank about credit card fraud and had about $87 left in my account, everything was wiped out.
  
  I would give a -10 stars if I could.

• Kathy A.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 5 May 2026

  My husband and I stopped by to have a drink while waiting on our daughter to come in on a flight. There were four other people in the whole place. It was around 10:00 pm. I was denied service because I was not carrying my id. My husband tried to order the drink for me with his id and was denied. Okay I'm 57 ( and look it) but if that is their policy fine.
  The bartender proceeded to lecture me on carrying my id. We left. I was going to ask to see a menu but it wasn't worth the pain.