Outlook Inn

I used to live in Louisville. I always enjoyed my time at the Outlook. The juke box was excellent and from the bloody Mary’s to the Falls City beer, I always had a great time. Looking forward to knocking back a few beers again sometime in the near future. Had some of the best times I’ll never remember there.

I went here with about 6 of my friends for a birthday celebration. 4 people behind the beer and 6 customers already drinking before we walked in. 4 of my friends stayed outside to smoke. The blonde bartender acted like we just ruined her whole night. When I asked her for a lemon drop she made a «ugh» noise. My friend John had asked if we could get the stuff to play pool after about 30 minutes of being there and she said «I don’t have time for this» and walked to the opposite side of the bar to flirt with some dude. Our drinks took more than 20 minutes to be made (we did not order at the same time) so we told her she may need a new profession and left. None of us will be going back.

Decent drink selection.
Diverse group of patrons.
Dark.
Definitely laid back.

This is always my go to place for the St Patrick’s Day Parade as well as when I’m in the area wanting a reasonably priced draft beer. Their staff are really efficient and friendly and they even had Ibuprofin stocked which was a life saver the other day. Check ‘em out!

Some reviews here call Outlook a «dive bar.» In my opinion, you can’t call something a dive bar when all the drafts are $ 5.50 or higher.
The bar’s atmosphere and service says dive bar. The prices say Bardstown Road. Take 2 $ off the prices and I’d be here twice a week.

Pretty solid dive bar. Decent selection on drinks, decent price. Good crowd. Girlfriend had wine, I had bottled and draft beers.

Super chill. Pretty decent seating. Drinks are priced well.
You should check it out.

When I lived in Louisville, this is a place that I liked to visit on quiet weekday winter evenings. During busy periods it tends to get overflow from the neighboring bars along douchebro row and, though I’m sure that’s good for business, it sucked for me. Jerry makes a mean Manhattan, so come when he’s there and enjoy it when it’s nice.

Outlook Inn is such a comfortable bar for me. I may only go there a few times a year, but when I do, it feels like home. (Maybe that’s where the «Inn» part of the name comes in.)
There is very much a come-​as-​you-​are feeling to the bar. It’s very laid back. I especially like the booths near the bar, which are nice for when you come to the bar with friends.
In the bar’s second room are a couple of pool tables, which also provide a fun way to pass the times with pals over a couple of beers. I remember having to get creative with how to position my pool cue — lest I jab someone in the stomach — due to the sometimes cramped confines of that space. But that just presents an opportunity to get to know the other bar patrons better.
I’ve never heard of anyone having a bad experience at Outlook Inn. I just wished I remembered Outlook Inn more when I’m deciding my night plans. I do need to go there more often.

Not a bad bar, but nothing too appealing about it. I live in the area and walk to it from time to time on weeknights. It’s fun for a relaxed weekday evening. Two pool tables, a few arcade games and relaxing environment.
However, on the weekends, it isn’t appealing. People pour out into the streets and motorcycles are parked all around the outside. Furthermore, with no dance floor, and few tables, it’s crowded even when it’s not crowded. Service is good. I’ve never had any issues. Bartenders aren’t too friendly but they get the job done, if that doesn’t bother you.

Where everybody knows your nameeee… and I mean that. I don’t live in Louisville, but but the OL is the place to go for genuine good times and pretty cheap (and delish) cocktails. Family run, great bartenders and yes, they remember my name. Great location, too.
Weekends also boasts a walking taco buffet and Megan’s Margeritas! (seasonal, I think)

A gem for it’s surroundings! Its in the Irish pub area of Bardstown rd– which is a pretty cool spot. However, the Outlook stands out for me. It’s the only bar in that area that isn’t your average college hookup bar filled with as many greek letters as you can count! It is chill, a great place to shoot pool, and they have the best bloody mary in town! So when you realize that youre not 21 anymore, walk down the the Outlook and thank god that you’ve graduated!

It’s comparable to The Back Door in the sense that it’s got pool tables, a diverse crowd and pretty stiff pours. Unfortunately there’s no food here and it’s the kind of bar that really just conjures up a craving for fried and/​or greasy bar food. When you feel that pang hit your stomach you can at least order a Bloody Mary. Hey, it kind of resembles food, right? Anyway, they’re consistently voted the best Bloody Mary’s in Louisville, but I will say the one I had last weekend was not the powerful burst of savory flavors I’ve had in the past. But the one thing that’ll never change is that the Outlook will always be an oasis from the Irish bars surrounding it.

One of my favorite bars in Louisville.
There’s no food, but there are reasonably priced drinks that aren’t poured with a light hand, and a regular crowd that is fun to know. Did I say they have some damn good bloody mary’s?
They have a good bar staff who you can shoot the breeze with on a slow night, the occasional pot-​luck dinner night for the regulars and neighborhood crowd, generally clean bathrooms and bar area, and a tendency to attract less of the external neighborhood crowds that make other local night spots unbearable and unpleasant.

I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews on this place. Honestly, I don’t get it. I’ve been here so many times and never had a problem. I’ve never seen anyone hopped up on steroids picking fights with patrons or encountered the owner being belligerent. I love this place. The drinks are stiff and inexpensive, the crowd is subdued and casual, everyone seems to mind their own business, the jukebox is great, the pool tables are clean, there is a nice outdoor area, I could go on and on. If you’ve been here once and had a bad experience, give it another shot. Maybe you just happened to be there on a bad night.

Outlook Inn is one of the few bars on Bardstown Road that doesn’t have live music, so you can go there with friends on a weekend night and actually have a conversation without screaming at each other – that’s always been the biggest highlight for me. Other than that, the drinks are strong, the prices are on par with what you pay at the surrounding bars, and the crowd is laid-​back and diverse.

One of my favorite random nights I saw 3 young’uns — guessing ripely 21, maybe 22 get handed cans of red bull with holes in them that they proceeded to shotgun. Yup. As I stared in wonderment as to why they would shotgun a red bull, I realized that I am clearly behind on the times… or Outlook Inn is waaay ahead of them. Shotgunning jäger bombs out of the Red Bull can. BRILLIANT! There will be one of those nights, where this seems like the best idea EVER and it won’t be pretty. Hello cab driver sitting there on Bardstown Road.
How is this great simple dive located right in the midst of the insanity (and when you’re in the right kind of mood — great fun) of Irish Row? Every time I find myself drinking here there is a different crowd, which is interesting to me, but I’m good with it. Hell, if I end up here having never gone home from work to change I might look a touch stuffy. Versus a night out in jeans and tennis shoes, so fair enough.
I do take one star because it could be cheaper for a dive, but hey, they gotta pay the Bardstown Rd bills! I always love a good juke box and there is a decent selection of fun rap and grunge music, which are usually the two types of music that are likely to strike my fancy. I also care for the pool tables. there are always people there, but I’ve never seen both tables taken, nor has it ever been crowded. A nice happy medium. Will this be where I ask all my friends to meet at 9 on a Friday? Maybe not. But pretty awesome end of the night bar to take it easy and just enjoy your company. And then at 4 a.m. curtain call roll to Spinellis or Papalinos. Yum.

Nice time-​tested tavern in the Bardstown area. It looks very old on the outside but it may have been recently renovated? I was thrown back when I went inside to find it to be pretty swanky in comparison with its dated exterior.
We enjoyed relaxed atmosphere and the volume conducive to conversation inside and on the patio outside. Very affordable beverages. This is my kind of place

I’ve never truly had a great time here. It’s a small room, where people are drinking, and one side looks over at Bardstown Road. I understand some people call this their home base bar, but I don’t get it. Much better dive exist only blocks away!
Going here in a group was a chore, and lack of space was a huge issue, quickly.
However, they DO have a nice PBR sign to the side of the building.

What happened here? In my day, the Outlook Inn was a fun, divey little bar at the tail end of the Bardstown Rd/​Baxter Ave drinkapalooza. It was the de facto meet up my for my friends & I during the holiday post-​eating rituals we had with our families. It was a little dirty, low key and fun. Not anymore.
Imagine my surprise to find the Outlook filled — from doorguy (a bouncer at the Outlook??) to patron — with huge meatheads. Que? No no no. This isn’t Molly Malone’s. This is the Outlook. The only _​_​_​_​_​heads that should be here are «pot» or «crack.»
With the change in clientele came a change in the music. I get it. I’m not 21 anymore. I shouldn’t expect to hear The Pixies or the Beasties on the jukebox while some of my friends play pool and the others catch up on gossip and avoid people from high school. I know. But, I shouldn’t be blasted out of my seat by whatever high decibel Garth Brooks/​Gwar hellmeld that was playing. No, Outlook. Bad, Outlook.
Frightened by ‘roidheads, deafened by the musical stylings of whatever that was, I attempted to get a drink. Nope. Person to my left. Served. Person to my right. Served. Person down the block at Cahoots. Served. Greatly annoyed and standing by myself, the bartender finally acknowledges me. «Oh. I didn’t see you.» Cannotstrangleherandgetarrested. Cannotstrangleherandgetarrested. Mmm, what? Oh. Sorry. That’s my version of deep, cleansing breaths.
Scared? Strike one. Deafened? Strike two. Thirsty? Strike three. You’re out and I’m out of here. I found out that the hipsters have fled the Outlook for Butcher/​Smoke/​Germantown. I can’t say that I blame them. Oh, Outlook, what happened to you while I was gone? They paved paradise and put up a parking lot — and stuck a syringe full of steroids in its ass.