Derby Cafe

Our experience of the Derby Café was slightly different as we did choose to sit at the bar with the one and only Johnny bourbon. If you know Johnny story, he's been bartending between Churchill Downs and the Derby café for over 10 years and he has lots of stories to share, but is also one of the most kind and friendly people we've ever met.The café has have a selection of sandwiches and other bites. We opted for the hot brown Panini and the turkey club. The hot brown Panini was perfect for a light lunch after a tour. It's the traditional classic hot brown with a fun little twist Turkey club was really good as well, nicely toasted.You order your food and they give you a number and they'll bring the food to wherever you are sitting. They also have the libations bar there where you can get a selection of premade cocktails that come with a signature glass for you to take home or can make you something different. There is a huge bourbon selection and some of those unicorn bottles that are hard to find are also there as well for your drinks.

Nothing to write home about. Used to be a great place for lunch. Now order at the counter and they bring it to you on a dirty metal tray. Soup was too hot and sandwich was cold. It's not horrible, it's maybe average, just don't go expecting what they used to have, if you remember that. If you've never eaten there maybe try Wagners across the street before you go.

Not a great experience, had high hopes, but they fell short. Really the only option at Churchill Downs for food. We arrived early and placed our order as we anticipated a rush. then we went over to get a drink from the bar area. Small inside, but a larger second room attached. Seats were extremely uncomfortable. Bar tender was very friendly and made drinks in short order. The ones we ordered were in a souvenir glass, but there was not station to wash them. I asked for mine in a plastic cup as to not have a sticky glass to deal with. All of this was good. It was the food which was not to par. First off, we waited, waited over 40 minutes after ordering. We asked the server bring food if he knew what was going on, he told us ours was next. another 20 minutes go by, we speak to the manager, apparently our order was lost, thus we did not get our food. Others in our party were finished by this time. the food finally arrived after another 10 minutes. I had the soup and the BLT, neither of which were spectacular. Toasted bread and a couple pieces of bacon, a slice of tomato and lettuce. the soup was better than the sandwich but was still pretty standard. I will say there were large chunks of meat which gave the soup texture variety. Words of advice, go for the Julep, eat lunch before or after somewhere else.

Good place to try all the classic Kentucky foods: Burgoo, Hot Brown, Derby Pie, Mint Julep. Affordable prices. Nice stop after the Derby museum.

I totally stopped here based on the pictures of the Kentucky hot brown because I have wanted to try one for years and have a mint julep because it's the cocktail of the Kentucky derby. I went off my travels to stop here and WOW what a colossal let down is a serious under statement. I felt like I was in the twilight zone after reading the reviews and seeing the great pictures because nothing I was served looked even close to what I saw.I ordered the Kentucky hot brown and a mint julep for just under $25 and I grabbed a spoon, fork and a knife that was all plastic and a complete waste. My $12 mint julep had no fresh mint sprigs in it and looked like a dive bar bottom shelf drink WTF. My fantastic looking open faced Kentucky hot brown was a pathetic/wimpy panini thing WTF, nothing like the pictures at all.Please look at the other Yelpers pictures compared to my experience, I just don't know what happened on my visit. Please save your self the let down and find a Kentucky hot brown and a drink somewhere else. I can't believe I was served such crap from a from the restaurant in the Churchill downs racetrack because it's super famous, totally a swing and a miss. I had one stop for lunch in Louisville Ky and man did I pick the absolute worst/famous lunch spot because Louisville has a great restaurant scene.

Say hey to my girl Kathen (yes that's spelled correctly) she doesn't suffer any fools - but she also makes an incredibly smooth Mint Julep and one helluva great burger.Great selection of bourbons and a great cafe space just off the gift shop area at the Kentucky Derby Museum.Great vibe / Great lunch!Thanks Kathen!

Stopped in here after our tour of Churchill Downs.Because, what's a stop to Churchill Downs without having a mint julep?And, derby pie?I actually didn't know derby pie was a thing until I was in the cafe, but now that I've had it, I can definitely see why it's a thing. It's an order at the counter sort of situation, which conjured images for me of plastic cups and a weak julep.Not so!My mint julep was well made, robust, and served in an actual glass. And, while tasty, the derby pie was the real star of the show. How did I not know about this? Sweet, buttery, nutty, and pretty much amazing.The service was lovely throughout. Our bartender even came up to our table and offered to take our picture for us (so sweet!).Get to it!

Very polarizing experience. The workers there could not be any nicer. The salad was okay. The mint julep was awful - the spirit was definitely bottom shelf stuff. I could not finish the glass.Since I came to have a mint julep at the Derby, I was disappointed.

Food was really greasy and not worth the money at all. Sodas were warm Service was ok. Nothing to brag about. I won't come back. I'd rarher spend my money elsewhere

we loved this place and Johnny the bartender is amazing and so friendly! will come back as we highly recommend!!