the troll pub under the bridge

i've eaten here twice. the beer cheeseburgerwas decent but not good and the philly cheesesteak was meh. i do like the atmosphere in the bar area, if i wanted to grab a drink in the waterfront area. however, i will not be coming back for the food.

they have a really good deal lunch, combinations between salads, sandwiches,burgerand soups. i order a half salad and half soup. the salad was good and the soup was really good. i will recommend.

friendly service, and an interesting environment. i ordered the pubburger(medium-well) - white american cheese, shredded lettuce and tomato, served with fries; 1/4 lb. steakburgerseared on a griddle and flash steamed with founders centenial ale on a fresh baked corn meal dusted bun. i also ordered a cup of the vegetable beef soup, which was delicious, except for all of that salt! 

a very solidburgerand fries; however, in my opinion, sidebar at whiskey row (which is right around the corner, but more expensive) serves a betterburgerand fries.

my family new we were headed to the louisville area so we hit urban spoon to find us a local restaurant to visit while were in town (family tradition). we all agreed, the troll under the bridge looked like a fun place to try. the atmosphere was spot on, we loved it!! the food was ok but in their defense it was during march madness & several home games had been played that week. the menu was basically empty so we only had a few choices. we all chose the beer cheese & pretzel rolls for appitizer & beerburgerfor dinner. we loved the appitizer but we were not so crazy about the burger. i think it was just beer cheese overload. i can't wait to try it again when the menu is full so we can have other choices.
another positive note is our service was very good.

good food - fun concept - daytime family friendly. while visiting friends on a sunday, we met them here for lunch at 12:30pm - plenty of available seating and no wait (it's a fairly large place and you get the feel that it is more of an adult evening haunt! we didn't mind as we were a party of 4 adults + 3 kids (all under 10).

beware: if not from the area, gps will have a hard time finding it - we kept getting routed through the yum! center via our gps (latest update for 2014 even). it is sort of an ally interchange/corner and while there is a decent sign and statue of a jolly troll, the doors in are not well marked either...but this added to the fun mystique of the place!

atmospheric highlights:
1) inside this former bourbon house you get the sense of the former barrel roll paths, etc.
2) nice thick exposed brick walls, troll themed art and statues...plenty to keep you or kids entertained while waiting to eat.
3) bathrooms were a decent walk so young kids may need an adult escort so they don't get lost along the way there or back. this actually might be a positive as it will keep kids busy trying to find way to and from with the chance to view art along the way...for adults (if drinking) it will be entertaining to see if you can "hold it" and make it, let alone in a drunken stupor - find your way around. ha!
4) hidden room (near the patio and between main eatery and bar area is a side room, hidden by a heavy bookcase door) - two flat screen tv's, two tables with chairs and booth seats - it'd easily seat 8-10 adults. we had this room and it was nice for keeping younger kids corralled, and with full use of remote for the directtv - they blissfully watched cartoons while waiting for their meals.
5) clean - although a dark, long, cavern-like space that is subterranean, it was noticeably clean and well-kept.
6) we saw the bar, but can't comment much since we didn't spend time there. seemed to be plenty of tvs and a fairly large arrange of multi-shelf liquors.
7) through a door and window, we saw an outside urban-courtyard patio with cute little lights and urban-chic aluminum chairs. had it not been a bit rainy, and had we been there sans kiddos, the adults all commented that this would be a fun place for some happy hour drinks before a bats game!

overall, we found the menu to be diverse, a bit imaginative, and reasonably priced. very friendly, polite, prompt servers - we all noted were accommodating to our kids.

our family of 4 ordered: hot brown (which flavor-wise was a 4 on a 5 scale but presentation-wise looked like a large deep dish of neutral colored sludge), chicken fingers & sweet potato tater tots (all your usual kid-fare, most likely from a wholesale, frozen restaurant food provider but good), breakfastburger(ordered only after learning that despite the brunch menu, the server regretfully announced that they had run out of waffle batter and could not produce their famed chicken & waffles - boo...and seriously, pull out the flour, eggs, milk, etc and make some new batter...it's not that hard, my 10 year old can make it on her own even!). we had 2 lemonades and cola...and our bill for 2 adults and 2 kids was around $63 including a 25% tip (yeh, service was that good).

only downsides: a bit pricey * (then, we did tip well) but portions were fairly large and we took take-home boxes, a bit hard to find if not from the area (gps didn't help), park is in ally, on street around yum! center or city garage (we paid $5 flat rate there)...and time moves a little slower at the troll, we hoped to stay an hour and were there just shy of 2 hours.

good food. good service. fun eclectic atmosphere. family friendly. urban hip. relaxed feeling. kudos on the great restoration of this great old building! if we lived in l'ville, we'd surely look to rent it out for a company event! thanks troll, we'll surely be back!!!

awesome food. my wife and i stumbled upon the pub while looking for somewhere new to eat. we loved the atmosphere and the food was some of the best we have had in the area. the troll fries and beer cheeseburgerwere a nice change. the only real issue was the service, while friendly there was a lack of attention, drinks empty and just a long wait for the server. over all we will go there again.

not recommended.. my wife got aburgerand there was a long dark hair in the middle of it. it was really disgusting. i'm not sure how someone could make a patty and not see a hair that long. i know i'm not robert irvine but other issues with our visit were that the mac & cheese was watery, the sub sandwich was dry and could have used some marinara or something, the waitress wasn't around(i had to flag her down twice), and we felt the lunch was overpriced. for example, $2.50 for a childs drink seems high. our lunch was almost $50 for 2 adults and a child. i emailed the managers but got no response. i doubt we'll be returning.

beer cheeseburger. thisburgeris amazing, i could live on beer cheese considering i am from winchester, ky home of the beer cheese festival! i was skeptical, but thisburgerwas so good, and i would like to eat another one right now.

all around great!. the atmosphere is fun and inviting. the food is attractive to all ages. my son loves the pizza. my wife likes the beer cheeseburgerand i'm a fan of the breakfast burger. it has a family atmosphere as well as a place to hang out for drinks with your friends. all around great place.

go on sunday afternoon!. the location is perfect for this little gem. much like "hobbit" hole, it was tucked sweetly away under the 2nd street bridge. everything about the ambiance was just right. brick walls, concrete floors, big flat screen tvs, secret rooms hidden behind bookshelves (complete with the book that lowers to open it)..it was all there.

we went on a sunday afternoon (1ish) and were literally the only people in the restaurant. which was awesome as we had great service. our kids were treated to a little tour and our food was fresh and fast. they said that was the norm for a sun. afternoon.

ordered loaded kettle chips, beer cheese burger, and hot brown. i will have to say that the kettle chips were worth getting as a meal. their cheese sauce is one of the best in town. beats lynn's paradise cafe's hand down. hubby enjoyed hisburgerand i devoured my hot brown. i wished that there was more mornay/cheese on the hot brown...just b/c it was that good. we aren't "drinkers" so we had iced teas, which were right on.

this place was super for families, but i could see it being fun for dates as well. don't let the word "pub" keep you from trying it if you have kids.

our server was trent and he was just wonderful. managers/owner: he needs a raise. thanks for the great experience!

the menu has your standard pub fare with a hearty appetizer menu of loaded chips, pretzels with beer cheese, fried mushrooms, and wings. i was mostly intrigued by the build your ownburgerportion of the menu.

restaurant lacks focus on food quality.. restaurant​ has a good menu and overall atmosphere​ but the food falls short on quality. after waiting nearly an hour for our food my fellow diner and i questioned​ how much of our food was made in house as the mac and cheese tasted like a mix, the bisonburgerhad the texture of a premade frozen patty, and the tater tots and pretzel sticks also appeared to be heated from frozen. also, the great atmosphere​ was killed halfway through the meal by the sudden addition of surround sound television​ in the dining room (not the bar). if the owners start putting as much focus on the quality of the food as they have in the decorating​ of the restaurant​ then this could be a very successful​ restaurant​. otherwise i'm afraid that this will be a short lived run for the troll pub under the bridge.