For a romantic dinner in Bardstown, book the Rickhouse: a candlelit steak and bourbon room in the brick-arched basement of 1839 Spalding Hall, a short walk from Court Square. Toogie’s Table is the warmer, Southern alternative, with skillet-fried chicken downstairs and an oak bourbon bar and fire pits upstairs. Kreso’s suits a quieter, old-world evening, and Oak & Ember at The Trail Hotel covers Sunday and Monday, when the others close. Finish with a nightcap at Circa 1856 or a speakeasy, and reserve everything on weekends.
Date-night tables at a glance
| Restaurant | The mood | Price | Dinner nights | Book through |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Rickhouse | Candlelit brick cellar, steak and bourbon | $$-$$$ | Tue-Sat | Toast, online |
| Toogie’s Table | Southern comfort, upstairs bourbon bar, fire pits | $$-$$$ | Wed-Sat, plus Sun daytime | OpenTable |
| Kreso’s Restaurant | Family-run European, old theater building | $$-$$$ | Mon-Sat | Phone |
| Oak & Ember | Hotel steakhouse, fireplace, patio fire pit | $$$$ | Nightly | Hotel website |
| Old Talbott Tavern | 1779 stone tavern, live music weekends | $$-$$$ | Nightly | OpenTable |
| My Old Kentucky Dinner Train | Vintage dining cars, multi-course meal | From $76.50 | Mostly Fri-Sat | Online, required |
The Rickhouse: the special-occasion room
Find the cast-iron gates under the old stone stairs of Spalding Hall, head down, and the evening changes pace. The Rickhouse is a low brick cellar lit by candles and lined with bourbon barrels, and it’s the room locals pick for anniversaries. The menu is steakhouse with Kentucky touches: a 12-ounce ribeye or filet, bourbon blueberry salmon, grilled Caesar salad, “eleven cheese” mac and cheese, scalloped potatoes and a bourbon bread pudding for two spoons. The bar holds more than 150 bourbons, with flights and craft cocktails.
It serves Tuesday through Thursday 4 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 4 to 10 p.m., per the restaurant’s site, and it’s closed Sunday and Monday. Reserve online through Toast. One caution worth heeding: in February 2026, several Valentine’s Day reservations were lost without notice, so for a big night, call (502) 348-2832 a day ahead to confirm. There are stairs at the front entrance, and step-free access may be possible through the bar; ask when you book. Full details on the Rickhouse page.
Toogie’s Table: Southern comfort with fire pits
Toogie’s Table occupies the limestone building where Kurtz Restaurant served Bardstown for 84 years, and it has the easy warmth of a place built on family recipes. Downstairs, order cast-iron cornbread with the salmon or the meatloaf (ask whether the famous skillet-fried chicken is on that night), then share the bourbon caramel bread pudding. Upstairs, an oak tasting bar with plush seating pours from what Toogie’s calls one of the region’s most extensive whiskey lists, with small plates and outdoor fire pits. A drink by the fire before dinner is the move on a cool fall evening.
Dinner is Wednesday and Thursday 5 to 8:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 5 to 9:30 p.m., with a Sunday service from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Book on OpenTable. See the Toogie’s Table page.
Kreso’s: an old-world evening on Third Street
For a quieter, less theatrical dinner, Kreso’s at 218 North Third serves homemade Bosnian and Mediterranean cooking in the old Arco and Melody theater building: goulash of beef tips over homemade noodles, Wiener schnitzel, stuffed mushrooms and warm bread, with around 146 bourbons behind the bar. Reviewers in 2026 drove more than an hour for it and praised the homemade food, though some find prices a little high and gluten-free options few. It’s closed Sundays, and the published hours conflict, so phone (502) 348-9594 to reserve. More on the Kreso’s page.
Oak & Ember: the big-night hotel dining room
The signature restaurant at The Trail Hotel on New Haven Road serves seared steaks and refined Southern comfort food with a chef’s table, an indoor fireplace, an outdoor fire pit and a bourbon list the hotel says you won’t find anywhere else. Dinner runs Monday through Saturday 5 to 10 p.m. and Sunday 5 to 9 p.m., which makes it the dependable choice early in the week. It’s still new and uneven: a September 2026 anniversary dinner was called “exceptional,” while other reviewers reported long waits and cold food. Reserve, arrive with patience, and have a drink at the bar first. It’s a short drive from downtown, not a walk.
The dinner train and other date ideas
The My Old Kentucky Dinner Train leaves its depot at 602 North Third Street for a 35-mile round trip in restored, climate-controlled vintage dining cars. Dinner excursions run about two and a half hours from $76.50, the 21-and-over Bourbon Excursion with a guided tasting is from $149.50, and Valentine’s and New Year’s Eve runs range from $149.50 to $299. Regular trips usually run on Fridays and Saturdays. The site listed availability only through September 2026 when this guide was checked, so confirm the fall schedule on the dinner train page before you build a weekend around it.
For a daytime date, a long lunch at the Bar at Willett is hard to beat: classic cocktails, vintage pours and small plates in a brick building on a distillery hilltop, Wednesday through Saturday until 5:30 p.m. Book on Resy through Willett’s visit page.
And for history with your dinner, the Old Talbott Tavern puts you at a table behind two-foot stone walls from 1779, with live music in the bar on Friday and Saturday evenings. Come for the room and a shared bowl of burgoo more than for fine dining.
Nightcaps within walking distance
Downtown makes an easy after-dinner stroll. Circa 1856, Chicken Cock Whiskey’s bar in the big yellow house across from the Talbott, has a speakeasy-library feel and serves flights and cocktails until 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, per its site. Read more on the Circa 1856 page. The Volstead Bourbon Lounge hides behind an unmarked back-alley door on East Flaget, and Liam Ash Cocktail Emporium on North Third serves cocktails with fire, smoke and tableside flourishes until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The Volstead and Liam Ash guide compares them.
If you’re staying at The Trail Hotel, the Bourbon Vault is a 36-seat speakeasy reached through a door hidden behind artwork, open Thursday through Saturday 5 to 10 p.m. It charges an access fee, per the hotel’s bars page.
Pair dinner with an evening out
Build the night around the season. In summer, the Stephen Foster Story outdoor musical starts at 8 p.m. at My Old Kentucky Home, so book an early 5 p.m. table at Toogie’s Table, just down East Stephen Foster Avenue, and go straight to the show. In late October, the lantern-lit Shadows of Federal Hill tours at the same park (October 23 and 24 in 2026, $27 for adults) make a spooky prelude to a late dinner at the Rickhouse. From the Friday after Thanksgiving, Court Square is strung with Christmas lights, and a walk around the square between dinner and a nightcap is about as romantic as small-town Kentucky gets. On Friday and Saturday nights year-round, the Talbott’s bar has live music until late.
Tips for a smooth date night
Reserve two or three nights out for a weekend dinner, longer in October and during Bourbon Festival week. Check the day: the Rickhouse is closed Sunday and Monday, Toogie’s is closed Monday and Tuesday, and Kreso’s is closed Sunday. Stay downtown so you can walk home from dinner and the bars. The historic inns and B&Bs guide lists rooms within a few blocks of Court Square. For a whole weekend built around the two of you, see the romantic getaway guide.
