Varanese

My wife and I loved the environment. Seated with lots of attention to detail. Calamari was amazing appetizer. The beef tip's tortellini was unbelievable. The sauce, mama Mia!
My pork chop was super tender, and had a awesome glaze.
Drinks were stout and tasty. Music was cool and chilled.
Staff extremely nice and professional.

Always impeccable food, service is on point and easygoing. Thoughtful wine offerings and cocktails. Indoor outdoor space is inviting and features live jazz many nights

This is my report from a recent work-related dining experience at Varanese:

Good bits:
- Friendly hosts and servers.
- Servers were very attentive to the group's dietary preferences and requirements.
- Chef John's Vegetarian Dish was 100% delightful (roasted veggies including squash, asparagus, and mushrooms served with either red potatoes (vegan) or cheese grits (vegetarian).

Bits that could be improved upon:
- The private room although separate from the rest of the restaurant was not very sound-proof, and the other diners were loudly enjoying their evening, which made it difficult to focus.
- The private room was quite warm; I tend to freeze indoors, so this is significant.
- Paucity of vegan appetizers.
- Candied pecan and apple salad was lacking in creativity and execution. There was lettuce. And apples. And cranberries. And pecans. And that's it - nothing memorable about the dish.

Overall Varanese was fine, but if I'm going to pay $21 (at time of dining) for some roasted veggies, although they were VERY tasty, I expect more than fine.

The service was friendly and quick which is the only reason I'm giving this two stars otherwise it's a hopeless restaurant.

It supposed to be fine dining, but everything is made with ingredients that are not fresh and I would suspect come from a warehouse. For example, the house bread are bread sticks that are connected to one another, leading me to believe the bread was not baked in house or locally (also didn't taste good).

The salads were totally uninspired and the ingredients were not fresh. Everything was totally over salted (likely to mask low quality ingredients).

I would have taken photos as proof, but as this was a work dinner that would have been inappropriate.

If you like good food, just don't go here.

Finally was able to try this spot after living here about 3 years. Every time it would be either closed or packed which always seemed like a good thing.

It's definitely a small restaurant, with packed tables which makes it pretty loud inside. Some may be fine with that, while others would fine it annoying so keep that in mind. There was live music when we were there too which added even a bit more loudness as well.

The food was overall really good and we would probably order everything we got again. The cheese curds were a special and they were very tasty, but a smaller portion size than hoped. Their ranch was amazing though and I just want a tub of it lol. The side mac n cheese was some of the creamiest and best I've had in a while! That is a must get and the portion size was well worth it for the price. The pork chop entree was also solid too. The chop was cooked perfectly and the chutney was fantastic. Fries were a bit soggy (Although still good) and the veggies were fine but nothing special..

My only issue was the waitress took forever and basically forgot to take our check but it was a busy night for them.

We'll definitely be back when it's nice out for some outdoor patio seating! I'm excited to try some other things next time around.

I visited for the first time in March. My sister and her husband are moving to Texas and he was leaving first so we threw him a going away dinner.

Im usually in charge of finding new places to visit and planning the get togethers. I pass this place up all the time and always say I want to try it out and so I took a chance for this event. We were all so glad that we went. First of all, the inside is intimate and super cute, then there was a live jazz band playing which was like the perfect touch, and the food was really good.

One of my big influences of coming back to visit an establishment again is the service and we had a great waiter. Wasn't waiting long for food or drinks and was paid very close attention too which is is what I love.

Will definitely visit again for special occasions or even just because! The pasta dish was delicious!

Varanese was our location of choice for Saturday night dinner.

We began with a round of drinks .
The Smashing Pineapple
-Herradura Tequila Tamarind, Pineapple, Lime Juice, Agave, & Jalapeño.
Espresso Martini

Both drinks were great. The Smashing Pineapple is one of my favorites in town. It has just enough heat and not too sweet. The espresso martini was good, it was just missing the 3 beans. We won't count that against them since the flavor was there.

We went for the soup and salad.
-Lamb and Lentil Soup
-Fried Green Tomato Salad
Fried green tomatos, Bibb Lettuce drizzled w/ buttermilk dressing, crumbled goat cheese, & crispy prosciutto.

I love lentils. I fell in love with them while on our Honeymoon in St. Lucia. The lamb and lentil soup here reminded me of a burgoo. Nick's salad was great too.

Entrées
-Certified Angus Strip Steak
Grilled strip steak served w/ roasted garlic whipped potatoes, zesty brussels sprouts and natural reduction. Nick added on a few Shrimp.
-Pan Seared Hawaiian Butterfish (Walu)
Pan Seared Walu w/ Butternut Squash Risotto, Finished w/ Pecan Butter Sauce & Toasted Pumpkin Seeds.

Both times we've been to Varanese the fish special has been amazing. Tonight it did not disappoint. It brought out the flavors of fall with rich buttery fish and the squash in the risotto. Nick says the NY Strip here for price rivals the ones at the bigger steakhouses.

My all time favorite restaurant in Louisville. I think I've been 7-8 times and have never been disappointed. You just can't beat the variety of daily specials paired with the live jazz duo. Already planning my next visit!

When we arrived in Louisville we visited Varanese for dinner.  The service as good, the food was great, and the ambiance was exceptional!

From the service to the ambiance to the food, this place is not only classy, but worth going out of your way to experience.  We enjoyed everything we tried, and plan to return again the next time we're in the area.

Highly recommended!

Perfect place for date night! We were greeted right away from the nice hostess as she seated us in the romantic dining room. Our server Drew was very nice and attentive. We started with a bottle of wine and the BBQ Duck Eggrolls. They were very crispy and delicious! For dinner, I got the Caramelized orange bourbon salmon and my husband got the Alaskan Rockfish. Everything was cooked perfectly and tasted so fresh! Love Chef John's dedication to local farmers. Can't wait to go back again!