Kentucky Artisan Center Cafe

Clever small cafe in Kentucky Artisan CenterVaries from 4 star to one star depending on cooks and managementBreakfast period should be longerVery pleasant seating area and food gifts in this areaNear large clean restrooms

The Artisan Center has lots of Kentucky- made crafts and nothing appears tobe made in China or other remote places. There are some beautiful (expensive) pieces of jewelry, hand painted silk scarves, bird houses, jams. etc. You get the picture We are at the cafe BUT on a Sunday, holiday weekend, there was only one lady serving. She only had some cold prepared sandwiches (i.e. ham and cheese, tuna) and vegetable soup. She said she had nobody to run the grill. I bought a tuna on rye, RRR tried the vegetable soup. My sandwich was fine, his soup was really good. Not a bad choice. If you decide to stop here I hope you have better luck with the food choices!

We really enjoyed our lunch at the KAC. They offer a wide variety of items from traditional meat and sides, a grill or salad bar (our choice).The desserts looked great, too.The Artisans Center has a large craft shop with the best artists from KY and usually a demonstration artist.Well worth the short drive off of the interstate!

Nice cafeteria-style cafe located inside the Artisan Center. You can order burgers, sandwiches, hot entrees such as chicken & dumplings and soup. Very reasonable prices. Plenty of seating.I tried a roasted turkey sandwich with a cup of vegetable soup - perfect for a cold (very cold) lunch while on the road.Afterwards you can browse the Center (separate Yelp listing) for gifts and such.

They close way to early for any of the locals to eat here! I love being able to get Spoonbread but I rarely can make it in time to get it!

Please understand that this review is about the cafe not the Artisan Center Shop.We drove over an hour to enjoy a Sunday lunch here and to browse the gift shop. The shop is amazing and worth the long drive but skip the Cafe. The folks are very nice and except for the sterile blue-white lighting (more about this later) the eating area is fine. But the unstocked cafeteria layout is terrible. There is a printed white paper list on a stand of what is available but no home style trays of food to look at. You order and watch as your sandwich goes from red to cooked before your very eyes. I would rather have eaten at home and watched a battery charge. You would be better grabbing a bite at the Pilot truck stop but any comparison to Pilot is unfair to truck stops. It's obvious why the large eating area was mostly empty. My wife got a hamburger and I decided on a tuna salad sandwich on wheat. Edible but boring. Subway without the flash. Reasonable prices but they may as well put in a sandwich machine and a microwave. What a waste of an opportunity at a first-class gift store! As another reviewer recommended just enjoy the art, but eat at a real restaurant in town.About the lightning: I once worked for a luxury real estate developer. The owner was so adamant about proper lighting at his properties that he sent detailed memos out periodically to EVERY employee. Heaven help you if you every placed a cool-white lamp in a building! It looks like the State got a deal on these miserable blue-white LED spots and tubes and are replacing the warm tone lamps. The eating area is partially saved by the presence of nice warm Edison type globes but the cafe line and gift shop is 100% Emergency Room. The color it projects on food gives it the appearance of yesterday's road-kill. Lighting doesn't resonate with most except on a subconscious level, but as we were in the business of staging for perfect ambiance It drives me nuts. Just another missed opportunity for an otherwise lovely place.

So disappointed today!! We have always loved stopping here. The workers were always so friendly and kind. As I walked in the doors, I was met with a young man at the welcome center whowelcomed me with his words but not his eyes..... he looked anywhere but at me, and I stopped and thanked him, but he was already looking down at whatever he was writing. We walked back to the cafe, looking forward to the homemade foods and we are met with an empty grill. No homemade foods, piles of chocolate bars have replaced the delicious goodies that once filled the counter. A young man leaning against his chair looking bored mentioned someone SHOULD be back there and we stood a bit waiting and reading over the grill items as there's no home style dinner to be had!!Finally a young girl came out looking a bit sheepish and ill prepared. By this time, realizing the older ladies aren't working, we really weren't interested in anything grilled by this young lady after her awkward greeting. There's NO WAY she would have the experience and ability to quickly grill up a burger, maybe the grilled cheese? Greatly disappointed, we don't see ourselves bothering to stop here again. You've lost all the charm of your Artisan center when you've begun hiring the least experienced with no mentors to teach them proper etiquette and good old fashioned customer service skills.

Come for the clean restrooms and cafe, stay to browse the local art! My dad and I came across this place totally by accident while driving home to Illinois from Florida up I-75. Ostensibly a travel center, it is so much more. For one thing, it is a huge, amazing building. It looks almost like a monastery or something from the outside. Inside it boasts commendable restrooms and a nice grill for lunch. I had chicken fingers with steak fries -- better than you'd get at your average fast food place -- and my dad got a ham sandwich and some thin but flavorful white bean soup. We didn't want to slow down our road progress too much but we couldn't help browsing all the beautiful, and stunninngly affordable, art by KY artisans. You'll also find books and food items such as local soda (Ale81), condiments (Makers Mark BBQ sauce) and more. Definitely a place to remember and return to on a future road trip!

One of the coolest roadway stops I've ever been too. Great place to see Kentucky artists and get a feel for some cultural crafts and food.Clean and friendly.

Warm and friendly place to shop for Kentucky arts and crafts. We swing by whenever we travel that part of the state.