Toogie’s Table is where to go in Bardstown for a proper Southern supper: fried catfish, meatloaf with pan gravy, cast-iron cornbread and a slice of house pie, served in the limestone building that was Kurtz Restaurant for 84 years. Dinner runs Wednesday through Saturday, with a daytime Sunday service, and mains on the posted menu run from about $15 to $34. Book a table on OpenTable for weekends, then save room for the bourbon bar upstairs.
The Kurtz story, and why the name matters
For most of the 20th century, if you ate out in Bardstown you ate at Kurtz. The family opened the restaurant in 1937, built the two-story building from limestone quarried on their own farm, and became famous for skillet-fried chicken. It closed in December 2021. Weyland Ventures then redeveloped the roadside motel and restaurant as the Bardstown Motor Lodge, which reopened in fall 2022.
The new restaurant is named for Marilyn “Toogie” Dick of the Kurtz family, and its own site frames the menu as a tribute to her family’s place. That is the right way to think about it. This is not a museum recreation of Kurtz. It is a newer, somewhat more polished kitchen that keeps the comfort-food spirit and the stone walls, and adds a serious whiskey list.
What to order at Toogie’s Table
The current menu is short and Southern, which is a good sign in a kitchen this size. A few standouts and their posted prices:
| Course | Dish | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Country ham hush puppies with pimento cheese and Dijon remoulade | $13 |
| Starter | House-made beer cheese with local beer and assorted bread | $12 |
| Main | Meatloaf with sweet tomato glaze, mashed potatoes and pan gravy | $25 |
| Main | Southern fried catfish with hush puppies, chips and slaw | $22 |
| Main | Cornish hen with orange bourbon glaze and fingerlings | $26 |
| Main | Cast-iron salmon over risotto with beurre blanc | $34 |
| Dessert | Bread pudding, “House Divided” cheesecake or Kayla’s pies | $10-$12 |
Start with the country ham hush puppies. They fold two Kentucky staples into one bite and they are the kind of thing you won’t find on a chain menu off the bypass. If you want the table to share, the beer cheese is the other Kentucky classic here.
For a main, the catfish and the meatloaf are the most Kurtz-like plates on the list. The cast-iron salmon is the one reviewers bring up again and again, and the Cornish hen with its bourbon glaze is the most “Bardstown” dish on the page. There is also a gnocchi ragu marked gluten-free, which is the main vegetarian-friendly choice, and a Tavern Burger at $15 if someone in your group wants simple.
About the fried chicken. It is the dish that made Kurtz famous and the one reviewers still praise, but it was not on the posted dinner menu when this page was checked in September 2026. The site lists a Sunday special separately. If fried chicken is the reason you are coming, call (502) 275-0891 and ask which night it is on.
Leave room for dessert. Reviewers are close to unanimous that the cheesecake and the bourbon caramel bread pudding are the best part of the meal, and the rotating house pies (a chocolate pie drew praise in July 2026) are a direct nod to the Kurtz pie case.
What reviewers love, and the honest caveats
On TripAdvisor, Toogie’s holds a 4.2 rating across about 40 reviews. The praise is consistent: warm, professional service (one server gets named in review after review), the cornbread served with peach butter, the salmon and the desserts.
The complaints are consistent too. Several diners in 2025 found dishes over-salted or bland, one found the brisket dry, and a March 2025 reviewer noted limited vegetarian choices and the same sides repeating across mains. A few thought prices ran high for the execution. None of that makes it a bad pick. It means ordering matters. Stick to the fried and skillet dishes, which are the kitchen’s strengths, and treat anything you would judge against a big-city restaurant with a little patience.
The upstairs bourbon bar
Climb to the second floor for the bar, which the restaurant describes as an oak tasting counter lined with plush seating and “one of the region’s most extensive whiskey lists.” No bottle count is published, but the list leans on local distilleries with some rare finds mixed in. The bartenders are pitched as happy to guide beginners, and you can order small plates at the bar or eat from the full menu. There are outdoor fire pits for a cocktail on a cool evening, which in October is about as good as Bardstown gets.
The bar is a smart move if the dining room is full. It is also a good nightcap stop if you ate elsewhere downtown. For a wider tour of pours around town, see the best bourbon bars in Bardstown.
When to go, reservations and parking
Timing is the one thing that trips people up. Toogie’s is closed Monday and Tuesday, serves dinner only Wednesday through Saturday (5 to 8:30 p.m. midweek, 5 to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday), and runs a daytime service on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Those hours come from its listing, not a posted schedule on the restaurant’s site, so confirm before a special occasion.
- Book on OpenTable for Friday and Saturday, and well ahead for Kentucky Bourbon Festival weekend and the Arts, Crafts and Antiques Fair in October.
- A midweek 5 p.m. table is the easiest to get and the quietest.
- Sunday afternoon is the move for a late lunch after a morning at a distillery.
- The restaurant is part of a motor lodge on East Stephen Foster Avenue, so you can drive and park on the property rather than hunt for a downtown space.
From Court Square it is about half a mile east along Stephen Foster Avenue, roughly a 10 to 12 minute walk or a two-minute drive. After a bourbon flight upstairs, walking back to a downtown inn is the better choice. The page on drinking responsibly in Bardstown covers the rules.
Pair it with a show or a house tour
Toogie’s location is its secret weapon. It sits a short walk from My Old Kentucky Home State Park, where the last mansion tour starts at 4 p.m., so an afternoon at Federal Hill followed by a 5 p.m. dinner fits perfectly. In summer, the J. Dan Talbott Amphitheatre in the park hosts The Stephen Foster Story, and an early supper here before curtain is about as easy as a night out gets. Check the show’s schedule and book dinner at least 90 minutes before start time.
For a bigger evening, save Toogie’s for the comfort-food night and book The Rickhouse for steaks on another. If you are still weighing options, the ranked guide to the best restaurants in Bardstown and the shortlist for date-night dinners put Toogie’s alongside the rest.
Is Toogie’s Table worth it?
Yes, if you want Kentucky comfort food in a room with real history and a strong whiskey bar upstairs. The building, the cornbread, the catfish and the desserts are the reasons to come. Go in knowing that seasoning can be uneven and the menu is light on vegetarian mains, and you will likely leave happy, a little full and planning to come back for pie. For more on the regional dishes worth tracking down, see the list of Kentucky foods to try in Bardstown.
