Brasserie Provence (Louisville, Kentucky)

For a taste of French cuisine in Kentucky, visit Louisville's Brasserie Provence. Here are our top picks from the menu!

Exterior of Brasserie Provence restaurant.

Brasserie Provence is a French restaurant on the east side of Louisville. On a quick weekend trip to Bernheim Forest, we stopped here for dinner.

Chair and bench placed in corner of Brasserie Provence with black and white wall art and round table with magazines.

We absolutely loved some of the food we got here, and would return just for those items. Other menu items were more of a miss. More on both below!

You can see the current menu and pricing, as well as the daily specials, on the Brasserie Provence website.

What We Loved at Brasserie Provence

We got the mussels as an appetizer and they were fantastic. They were well cooked (tender, not chewy), and had a delicious creamy white wine and garlic sauce.

I also appreciated they were available in appetizer size, so that we could try a few mussels instead of having them as a main (although that is an option too).

Mussels served with cream sauce and grilled baguette. — Mussels Appetizer

My husband loved his lamb shank entree, and said it was better than the one he had in Iceland (which is known for its lamb dishes).

The meat was so tender that it fell apart easily, and the knife wasn’t even needed. He also really enjoyed the polenta and sauce that it was served with.

Lamb shank served with carrots and polenta. — Lamb Shank

What We Probably Wouldn’t Order Again

The swordfish: I think this one might be on me, because swordfish can be hit and miss for me. Sometimes I love it, sometimes, not as much.

I do think that the swordfish was prepared well. It had a nice steak-like texture and wasn’t overly chewy, and it definitely wasn’t dry. The cognac cream sauce was also delicious, as was the brussels sprouts risotto. I just didn’t love the combination of the three together.

My husband ended up finishing my swordfish, and agreed that it was well prepared but he probably wouldn’t order it again. (But also, he’s not a huge peppercorn fan, so this might have all been a flavor profile issue.)

Swordfish with cream sauce and peppercorn topping. — Swordfish Steak au Poivre

The cocktails: Again, maybe this is on us because we ordered American cocktails at a French restaurant. But Louisville is deep in the heart of bourbon country, so I didn’t think twice.

It should’ve (maybe) been a clue that the cocktail menu was at the very end of a large, extensive wine list. At any rate, the ones we tried weren’t good.

The Bison Manhattan was better flavor-wise than the 1789 (their version of an Old Fashioned).

However, both were odd, as the Old Fashioned wasn’t made with bourbon and didn’t taste like it was sweetened at all (it was heavy on the bitters), and the Manhattan was served on the rocks instead of neat, with bourbon instead of rye.

Bison Manhattan cocktail and 1789 Old Fashioned cocktail.

My recommendation would be to stick to the wine list, or choose one of their specialty beers. (We did see a few Belgian beers that we like on their list.)

Flourless chocolate cake: In the past, flourless chocolate cakes I’ve had were fudge-like and creamy. This one was crumbly (like a cupcake texture) and was (sadly) a bit dry. I wouldn’t order it again.

I wondered (but didn’t ask) if by flourless they actually meant that they used gluten-free flour, and thus the texture issues. But I’m not entirely sure.

However, the topping was delicious.

Small round flourless chocolate cake with cream topping. — Chocolate Cake

Is Brasserie Provence worth a visit? I can highly recommend the mussels and the lamb shank, and think those two dishes alone may make it worth the stop!

Indoor dining area of Brasserie Provence, with evenly spaced brick pillars.

For a meal closer to the downtown area, we recommend the Cajun restaurant Lou Lou on Market. And Quills Coffee is a nice place for a snack break!