the troll pub under the bridge

cool concept, boring menu. i was really excited to try the troll pub. i had driven past it a few times and when a friend suggested we meet there for dinner/drinks, i was glad to try it.
the atmosphere is really cool. from the huge, castle looking door when you walk in, to the dim lights ...it's theme is apparent through the entire restaurant....except on the menu.
i did expect a pub menu, but something a little more interesting. themenuhad way too many selections. i think narrowing them down and concentrating on making those items more intriguing would be better. i was thoroughly disappointed by themenuand the prices of the food. i know it's downtown, but 16 dollars for one bud light bottle, a club sandwich and chips that i could have made at home is a little ridiculous. i'll be back maybe for a drink (they're beer list was impressive) but i will eat elsewhere.

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. themenuwas basically empty so we only had a few choices. we all chose the beer cheese & pretzel rolls for appitizer & beer burger for 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 themenuis full so we can have other choices.
another positive note is our service was very good.

if you were walking around downtown louisville, you would easily miss the bar hiding under the clark memorial bridge that leads to the north. except for the trolls. literally, peeking out from the underground bar, the goofy little mascots are a funny way to introduce you to the troll pub under the bridge. a dank little watering hole where locals love to go for pub food and a drink. the food here is good, and the atmosphere is perfect for the theme. it’s a funny place to see, and in fact, i think it’s overall a good experience.   the bar has amenuof your basic pub fare, with a ton of fried appetizers, pizzas, some steaks and pastas, fish and chips and more. the theme stays pretty close to your prototypical favorites, of course there are the burgers and sandwiches. i gave a try to the chicken salad sandwich, which is a pretty simple item, but the chicken salad is fresh, the chicken is real and large-cut pieces. the end result is a delicious sandwich with a bit of bacon that adds an element of saltiness to it. i love it, like many of the other bar food items, it has a simple charm. i have to mention a beer that is crafted specifically for this bar, termed the “card red.” it’s a light amber beer with a very simple flavor, a clean finish and not too heavy at all. it was perfect to try with the sandwich and i was a fan. if you happen to prefer one of the other brews, i might suggest one of the several dozen other beers, wines or bourbons on the menu. no matter your spirit, you’ll find a lot of different drinks to try. the atmosphere deserves mentioning. the restaurant reminds me a lot of an english pub concept, the dark interior has many recesses and small rooms where groups of folks go to congregate. mostly it’s good for small groups, though there is a central bar too. in all the spot seems to be popular both with the downtown lunch cr

have you been there?. seriously. have you? stop reading this if you haven't and go! my husband and i went on a whim, saw it on here, was up the street, and i love that place. first you are greeted by this troll statue, hence the name, then you go down the steps to the amazing wood door and go into this dungeon like restaurant. food was amazing and the beer choices are awesome as well!

*side note, get the beer cheese. it's the best. don't ask questions just do it.*

once you go you'll keep going back, it's worth it.


-----08 feb, 2014-----

great food, beautiful atmosphere!. great food, beer cheese is a must.menuselection was great, not overwhelming but a lot of options. parking was painful but worth it in the end. we will be back!

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 themenuto 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), breakfast burger (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!!!

pretty good at best. i met a friend here for dinner and drinks on a tuesday night. it was super cold outside so it wasn't busy at all. i really like the decor and ambiance of the place, very appropriate for the name.
the beer list was good, i would recommend the cuvee de troll, their signature beer from belgium, its delicious. the food was pretty standard. i had the reuben and my friend had a veggie pizza. i would say right above bar food quality, but not much.
they could definitely look into developing themenumore. but i'd definitely return.

a group of 4 if us went before a ball game. we were pleasantly surprised with how broad themenuwas. the angry alfredo was awesome as was the hot brown n reuben's. service was awesome. will most definately go again and again.

best in town. i have been there twice so far, once with my family and the other time for sunday football. when i was there with my family we sat in the main dinning room and the decor and concept blew us away. nice soft music playing over head and a very very friendly staff. themenuwas what i expected, pub food, but i did not expect the flavor that the food had. we were in a part of 6 and we all could not believe how good it was. a very nice unexpected surprise. three of us had the build your own burger, the angry pasta dish, the salmon, and i had a small pizza and wings. when i came back on sunday because they had the nfl ticket it was a very lively sports bar back in the pub section. every game was on, the staff was cheering along with us and it was just a great atmosphere to enjoy the game. you guys made a lifer out of me. i dont know what the lady above is even griping about, dont listen to her, she must have been on her rag.

themenuhas your standard pub fare with a hearty appetizermenuof loaded chips, pretzels with beer cheese, fried mushrooms, and wings. i was mostly intrigued by the build your own burger portion of the menu.

restaurant lacks focus on food quality.. restaurant​ has a goodmenuand 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 bison burger had 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.