Scout & Scholar Brewing Co. is the place to go in downtown Bardstown when someone in your group has had enough bourbon for one day. It is a brewpub at 112 W. Flaget Ave., a block off Court Square, pouring its own beers alongside guest taps, with a menu of smash burgers ($19), Kentucky Hot Browns ($20) and shareable plates like totchos. It opens at 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and late morning Thursday through Sunday, closes Mondays, and welcomes both kids and dogs.
What Scout & Scholar is like
Tripadvisor calls it Bardstown’s first craft brewery restaurant, and the setting does a lot of the work: a renovated historic building downtown with an industrial feel inside, a bar where you can watch the room, and an outdoor patio that fills on warm evenings. The name honors William and David Bard, the brothers who founded the town, per Bardstown Main Street’s listing. The brewery’s own tagline is about sharing history while making memories, which fits a town where nearly every building downtown has a story.
The business has changed hands. Visit Bardstown’s roundup of what’s new notes new ownership with chef Newman Miller, who previously cooked at the Harrison-Smith House, the fine-dining room that once occupied the building now home to Circa 1856. Expect a menu that leans toward approachable comfort food rather than the more ambitious dishes of earlier years.
What to order: food and prices
The Untappd menu listing shows current dishes and prices. Highlights:
| Dish | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Classic smash burger | $19 | The dish reviewers praise most |
| Kentucky Hot Brown | $20 | Kentucky’s open-faced classic |
| Fried chicken plate | $19 | Hand-breaded tenders also get good reviews |
| Cuban sandwich | $19 | A lunchtime favorite |
| Cod sandwich | $18 | Lighter than the burgers |
| 16 oz ribeye | $44 | The splurge on the menu |
| Totchos | $18 | Loaded tater tots, built for sharing |
| House pretzel | $14 | A good table starter with beer |
| Chicken wings | $15 | Shareable |
| Sausage balls | $8-$15 | Priced by size |
| Bread pudding or root beer float | $8 each | Desserts |
Start with the burger. It is the dish reviewers keep coming back to, and a tip that shows up more than once is to order it with a side of spicy ranch. The hot brown is a solid way to tick off Kentucky’s signature open-faced sandwich if you haven’t had one yet; the guide to Kentucky foods to try lists other places in town that make it. Shrimp and grits and the pretzel appetizer also get good mentions.
On weekends, brunch specials run Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a breakfast burger ($22) and the S&S Breakfast Plate ($18). Menus rotate, so check the current menu on Scout & Scholar’s site before you set your heart on one dish.
The beer, and the bourbon
Untappd lists 36 beers, a mix of house brews and guest taps, including nitro pours. House beers have playful names such as Zero W-20, Bier Pressure and Bardstown Peggy, and the lineup rotates, so a flight is the smart first order: you’ll find out what’s fresh and what suits you before committing to a full pint.
This is still Bardstown, so there’s bourbon too. Reviewers mention private-select barrel-pick bourbons behind the bar, and there’s a short list of wines, spirits and cocktails. It makes Scout & Scholar a good compromise stop for mixed groups: the beer drinker gets a flight, the bourbon fan gets a store pick, and the kids get a root beer float.
Beer to go comes in growlers, crowlers and kegs, and the brewery sells shirts and gear through its online shop. Alcohol service is for guests 21 and over with valid ID, and if you’re touring distilleries the same day, have a sober driver or book a ride. The page on drinking responsibly in Bardstown covers the rules.
When to go and how to avoid the wait
Hours, per Scout & Scholar’s website:
- Monday: closed
- Tuesday and Wednesday: 4 to 9 p.m.
- Thursday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the kitchen closing at 9
- Sunday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Some third-party listings show Thursday opening at 4 p.m. instead of 11 a.m., so call ahead if you’re planning a Thursday lunch.
The brewery doesn’t advertise reservations, and weekend evenings get busy. Reviewers report waits of an hour or more after about 6 p.m. on weekends. The easy fix is timing: eat a late lunch after a morning distillery tour, or put your name down by 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Weeknight dinners are calmer.
Live music on the patio is part of the draw on some evenings. Check the brewery’s Facebook or Instagram, linked from its website, for who’s playing.
Kids, dogs and accessibility
Scout & Scholar is one of the easier downtown dinners for families. Kids are welcome, the menu has burgers and tenders, and the room is loud enough that nobody minds a restless toddler. It appears on the family-friendly restaurants list for that reason.
Dogs are welcome on the patio, which makes this a natural stop if you’re visiting Bardstown with a dog. Reviewers also describe the space as wheelchair accessible.
For parking, use street spaces on Flaget and the surrounding blocks or the public lot at 113 E. Flaget Ave., a short walk east. Downtown is compact enough that if you’re staying near Court Square you can simply walk, which is the best plan anyway if you intend to work through a flight.
Honest caveats
Scout & Scholar isn’t cheap for a brewpub. A reviewer noted that a family of four can easily spend $100 or more, and a few reviewers compare the value unfavorably with other casual spots in town. Longtime regulars also wrote in 2025 that the ownership change cut many previous favorites from the menu and left more basic fare at similar prices. Service gets mostly warm reviews, with staff often praised by name, but one reviewer described a slow, inattentive wait at the counter.
Prices and dishes also change with the seasons and the kitchen, so treat the table above as a guide rather than a promise, and check the menu online the day you go.
The fair summary: come for the beer, a good burger, the room and the patio, not for a chef’s tasting menu.
Pair it with
Scout & Scholar sits a few doors from Hadorn’s Bakery on Flaget, so a donut morning and a brewpub lunch can happen on the same block. After dinner, the downtown cocktail bars are a short walk away; see the guide to the Volstead and Liam Ash for a nightcap, or the full list of Bardstown bourbon bars and tasting rooms. If beer is your thing, the roundup of breweries, wineries and cideries covers the rest of the area’s options.
