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  5. Frankfort Ave - Crescent Hill
Varanese, Louisville, KY

Varanese

4.7
4.7
4666 Reviews
$30 and under
Contemporary American

Make a reservation

2 people
10:00 PM
Booked 21 times today
Experiences are available.

About this restaurant

  • Good for special occasions
  • Neighborhood gem
  • Great for live music
Varanese settled in Louisville because of its successful independent dining scene, and he believes that the people of Louisville will appreciate fresh ingredients, prepared with a creative flair and a culturally diverse menu. Varanese’s eclectic menu boasts an array of options from stuffed grape leaves, and fried green tomato salad, to new signature entrées: the seared boneless pork chop, and caramelized orange salmon. Finish with a fried banana accompanied by a house-made oatmeal cookie dough ice cream dessert. This New American style restaurant will comfortably seat 150 guests between its bar, dining room and four seasons patio. The four seasons patio of Varanese is an addition to the building, which has a dramatic 20-foot slate water wall. The space is enclosed by a serpentine of glass doors, which retract to offer an outdoor dining experience. Varanese is located at 2106 Frankfort Ave. in the Historic Clifton neighborhood

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Contemporary American, Seafood, Steak
  • Hours of operation
    Dinner: Sunday - Thursday: 5:00pm - 11:00pm Friday & Saturday: 5:00pm - 12:00pm Christmas Eve 11am-10pm Christmas Day CLOSED New Year's Eve 4pm-12pm New Year's Day CLOSED
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Parking details
    Varanese provides on-premise parking along with additional parking across the street at Nancy's Bagel Grounds along with street parking.
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    John Varanese

Experiences

  • 3 course Lent Special

    $75.00 per person

    Prepaid

    Mar 14, 2025 only
    Enjoy a three course Lent Spexila for two Salad choice Entree choice Dessert Choice
    3 course Lent Special Photo
  • Quilt Napa Valley Wine Dinner

    $75.00 per person

    Prepaid

    Mar 25, 2025 only
    Enjoy a six course dinner expertly paired with wines from famed wine maker Joey Wagner
    Quilt Napa Valley Wine Dinner Photo

What 4,666 people are saying

Varanese reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.7Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.5Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Central Kentucky

    Hot spot

  • Central Kentucky

    Contemporary American

  • Louisville

    Hot spot

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Varanese offers an exceptional dining experience with "fantastic food and ambiance," highlighted by live jazz music. Patrons rave about the "delicious food" and "attentive service," making it a favorite for special occasions. Although some found the noise level high, the overall atmosphere is "wonderful," ensuring a memorable visit.

4,666 Reviews
  1. Joseph

    Louisville2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Ambiance was perfect, live music was nice to listen too. Dining room is beautiful and the open air feature is great. The food was delicious, although the Alaskan rockfish was a bit dry. Servers were all super nice.

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  2. Robert VIP

    Louisville114 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 6, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We attended a special, Jefferson Reserve Bourbon event. The food was delicious that was paired with the bourbon. Service was spot on, attentive and prompt. Looking forward to the next event.

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  3. Sunday VIP

    Montana55 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 3, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    Second time here! Food is excellent, but portions are small to moderate. Drink was amazing! Would recommend, especially for special occasions!

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  4. OpenTable Diner

    Louisville1 review

    5.0

    Dined on March 2, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Food was great! We hadn’t been there in quite some time but We will back soon!

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  5. Liz VIP

    Louisville5 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on March 1, 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    Server had way too many tables. It was nearly 15 min before anyone came to our table

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  6. James VIP

    Louisville42 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on February 27, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Varanese never fails to impress… Another great visit. My wife had their awesome salmon.. I had beef and pasta. We enjoyed our salads… lava cake dessert… and a bottle of Rombauer Chardonnay. Great serofrom Drew.

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  7. TRACY VIP

    Louisville9 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on February 24, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Loved my evening at Varanese for 4 people. Service was excellent the food was excellent. We had the Orange Bourbon salmon , the steak , the roasted chicken and the Rockfish. Everything was prepared perfectly well. We also had the Brie appetizer it was delicious as well. They had the Jeff Sherman Duo , we really enjoyed the music.

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  8. Jillian VIP

    Washington DC21 reviews

    1.0

    Dined on February 16, 2025

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    We left after 20 minutes and no sever ever came to us.

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  9. Jan

    Louisville21 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on February 16, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Special valentine day menu. I ordered steak topped with crabmeat on mound of potatoes which was excellent and cooked to perfection. My husband ordered lobster ravioli with scallops. He enjoyed the dish but received one scallop. It looked kinda lonely on the plate. I love their avocado appetizer but the lobster bisque could use a few bites of meat. The dessert mocha cream brule was delicious.

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  10. Stephanie

    Louisville1 review

    2.0

    Dined on February 16, 2025

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 3
    We had the baked Brie and pistachio salad which were both decent. Our entrees were absolutely terrible I got the salmon, which was supposed to have some sort of orange glaze but didn’t and was incredibly dry and salty- on top it had three little tangerines from a can. We got the beef tip pasta as well, which was not any better. Our waitress was very nice.

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FAQs

Varanese offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (502) 899-9904.

Varanese is rated 4.7 stars by 4666 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
10:00 PM
Booked 21 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for Varanese

2106 Frankfort Ave., Louisville, KY 40206

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Contemporary American, Seafood, Steak
  • Hours of operation
    Dinner: Sunday - Thursday: 5:00pm - 11:00pm Friday & Saturday: 5:00pm - 12:00pm Christmas Eve 11am-10pm Christmas Day CLOSED New Year's Eve 4pm-12pm New Year's Day CLOSED
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Parking details
    Varanese provides on-premise parking along with additional parking across the street at Nancy's Bagel Grounds along with street parking.
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    John Varanese
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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