Old Seelbach Bar

I worked at this bar for years while I was in school. They have an amazing collection of bourbons, scotches, and whiskies; and they have Jazz on Friday and Saturday nights — or at least they did for as long as I can remember. I would strongly recommend it to anyone going to downtown Louisville. They renovated the space pretty heavily since the new owners took over, and I haven’t seen the results, but the hotel itself is awesome and will undoubtedly continue to add to the ambiance no matter the renovations.

The service was a little spotty. Sat at the bar and it took awhile for the bartender to find us and serve us when it was not too busy.
My friend’s drink got lost in the order but the food was very good and reasonably priced.

Quite and elegant. If you are looking for a fine bourbon offering this place is a must.

Decent stop-​off on the Urban Bourbon Trail. Great selection of bourbons. Bison sliders are worth a try as are the spicy green beans.

Big disappointment. Bar has no charm that you would expect. Bartender unfriendly and didn’t even know his own beer list. No ambiance at all.

Wanted to love this place but overall the experience was just blah… asked the bartender if they served cider and was told no… while I was looking at the wine list because they had no cider I noticed that there were bottles of cider in the fridge!!! I ordered one and there was no recognition on his part that he had mislead me, no moment of opportunity to break the ice and connect with a customer. I had an empty glass for about 5 mins before I flagged him down for another cider (there was only 5 people at the entire bar) and just overall it seems like the customers were more of an annoyance and inconvenience than an opportunity to up-​sell and connect with new people. I work in the industry so it was a missed opportunity on his part as we ended up leaving cos there was ZERO interaction to make us stay

The wife and stopped in at the Old Seelbach Bar for a nightcap before heading back to our hotel. We wanted to check out the iconic Old Seelbach Bar, where among other things, the classic Seelbach cocktail was created. The bar was located in the stately Seelbach Hilton just off of the hotel’s main lobby. It possessed a classy look and feel, but was largely empty and otherwise dead when we arrived around 9:30pm on a Thursday night. Its emptiness made finding a couple of seats at the bar very easy.
We were well met by the bartender who took our orders and made our drinks with obvious care and skill. When in Rome or, in this case, the Old Seelbach Bar it was a no-​brainer to have one of their namesake drinks, made with Old Forester Signature, Cointreau, Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters, topped with sparkling wine, and garnished with an orange peel. It was effervescent and as refreshing. For my second go, I asked the bartender for something with a bourbon cocktail, stirred, boozy and bitter. I didn’t catch all of the ingredients he incorporated into my drink or if it had a name, but suffice it to say, it captured everything I was looking for in my order. While I can’t compare drink prices here with many other Louisville establishments, it seemed exceedingly fair especially when compared to NYC, DC or Vegas. I left satisfied and would gladly return again the next time I’m in town.

This bar is 5 stars on ambiance and history! Loved the sitting at the bar in this historic hotel! We had a couple drinks and they were made well by a friendly bartender. We didn’t try the food.

This is a great little bar. First off, the service is outstanding. Our bar server, Bob, was great.
We also did a tour with Patrick the head of security and it was great. Patrick is a wealth of knowledge about the Seelbach. There is so much history and so many great stories to be heard.
We only ordered drinks but they were so on point.
The bar area is nice and so comfy. There is an area for lounging and tables and the bar that is long and full of top shelf liquors!
I give the Old Seelbach 4 stars because it is nice but it’s right off the street so people can peep in which is a bit creepy.

This bar was once a hidden gem in Louisville. Some d bag manager must have watched too much bar rescue and came in and decided it was time to remodel. They got ride of a perfect antique mahogany bar and replaced it with plastic. The seams on the fake marble on the back wall do not even line up. A damn disgrace. Still good bourbon choices but the ambiance is not the same. You can’t replace original. Some people just don’t get it.

Nice enough place, staff had a little attitude. Manhattan came out up when I asked for it on the rocks. Good drink after it was corrected. Friend ordered a martini that was also sent back, but again was great when it finally arrived. The staff warmed up on our second round. Would have given a 3.5 if available.

Amazing Hotel and bar/​grill in Louisville Ky. The appetizers were on point and the drinks were great. Go there and enjoy yourself !!

I came in here for a pre dinner drink and will have to say the experience was great. We sat at one of the high tops in the bar since the actual bar was full (at 6:30pm on a Friday). Our waitress/​bartender was great, she even sparked up conversation in a friendly manner and added a stamp to my urban bourbon book. I ordered a dirty martini and it was made just the way I like it. My friend ordered the Horse’s Neck, which was a very well done bourbon drink. I’d recommend this bar if you’re around the area. It’s worth taking a look!

Horse’s Neck is worth a try. I loved it!

I am astounded that this type of service exists in this so called classy bar. The bar was not busy this past Wednesday night. There were two open seats at the bar with nothing in front of the seats indicating that they were unavailable. Before we even approach the seats, the bartender immediately states that these seats are taken. I ask how so, since they are empty and no drinks or food are present in front of these seats. He once again says that they are taken and did not even provide an answer or explain that we could sit elsewhere in the bar. His attitude was pleasant and definitely not customer oriented. So we grab a seat at a table, the server was nice and efficient. This bar is completely overrated. It is simply a basic hotel bar with overpriced drinks. $ 13 for the seelbach cocktail, I don’t mind paying a higher price for cocktails, but make it so that your customers are treated with respect. A waste of my time and money. Do yourself a favor and skip this bar, you will find much better service and better quality drinks at other bars in this city.

Used to be great, now lit up like Wal-​Mart and a drink list like you’d expect from, well, a Hilton. Quite a fall from grace for a classic. Ought to be a busy late night spot but instead it’s lit up like it’s time to vacuum.

I take a lot of my out of town friends to the Seelbach Bar for a drink. One drink… then we leave. The Seelbach is a gorgeous piece of Louisville history, and the hotel and the bar share a great architecture and décor. The rathskeller downstairs is worth walking through even though it’s normally empty. But the bar is kind of pricey and it’s catering to an upscale crowd that just isn’t what I’m into. If you haven’t seen it, stop by for a drink on your way to the Palace or Marketplace or something else nearby, and at least you can say you’ve been.

I keep stopping back by this place even though the experiences are mostly average. There were two servers working the bar area, but neither one of them appeared to be interested in working very hard.
If you’re paying $ 20 for one domestic beer and one glass of wine, you should expect your server to check in with you a couple of times vs. just disappearing until you have to flag her down to get the check.
It’s definitely one of those «must try when in Louisville» places, but it doesn’t really live up to the hype. The hotel lobby smelled like the hotel was having a problem with their plumbing, if you know what I mean. I also heard guests complaining that they were trying to check in at 5 PM and they were told that their rooms still hadn’t been cleaned yet.

It was a Saturday night, and I wanted to take my 94 year old grandmother to the casino– I mean hell, that is like our favorite bonding time. However, she was nowhere to be found (I later heard she was at a carnival at her church, I should have looked there!). With that being said, I headed back to the hotel, to go drink my sorrows away.
I heard the Seelbach had a famous bar (I vaguely saw it when I checked in earlier…), and I decided to check it out. What was there to lose? Oh yea, there were 2 weddings going on that night, all of the rookie drinkers flooding the bar.
Thankfully, I was able to get a table, facing the TVs (there were 2, one at each end of the bar). I was greeted after a few minutes, and I didn’t really look at a menu, I just went straight for the ol Makers n Coke. It came out quickly, and I may or may not have ordered a handful more.
One thing I will tell you about this place is that the chairs are pretty damn comfortable. I mean like really comfortable– as in I almost fell asleep in it. But there was too much eye candy keeping me awake. Let me rephrase that– there were too many girls stumbling up the ramp, and it was too entertaining for me to close my eyes.
Speaking of stumbling, I almost did the same damn thing, but I power hour’d my drinks. Even though I didn’t get to see a menu, I saw they do serve food there. Wish I got to try it, as room service was only ok.
I would have to say this is one of the higher end bars in the city, as it usually gets on highly regarded lists. With that being said, I would like to see it busier on weekends– and not with just wedding parties…

I just stopped here to sample the local tipple, bourbon, and I was duly impressed! Besides ever bourbon ever brewed, they had an excellent lineup of Scotch too. One of my favorites that I used to bring back from frequent trips to Glasgow, Glenfarclas, was surprisingly represented.
It’s a nice setting, and I left it up to the discretion of the bartender to hit me with her choices… and they were all good!