Traveling and dining experiences often go hand in hand and small towns like Danville usually have some delicious surprises in store for visitors. You’ll find an array of eateries here, offering everything from hearty down-home cooking to crafted entrées you won’t soon forget.
Here is just a sampling of what’s on the menu.
Copper & Oak
Drop-dead delicious gourmet meals and custom cocktails are what you’ll experience when you dine at this downtown restaurant, with indoor seating as well as covered tables along the new sidewalks outside. Lunch and dinner menu items range from sandwiches like the bacon jam burger and chicken cordon bleu to a cowboy ribeye and Maryland crab cakes. Make sure to find out about the weekly specials as well. And don’t miss out on Sunday brunch if you are around.
If you are traveling the Bourbon Trail, Copper & Oak is a great spot to sample America’s native spirit, some produced right in Danville. Order a smoked old fashioned and you’ll get a bit of a flaming show right at your table. And check their Facebook page to see when they have live music scheduled.
The Still at Blue Rook Distillery
While Kentucky is certainly known for bourbon and pairing it with food (and preparing food with it), Danville has a little something different to offer in the world of spirits at Blue Rook Distillery, which produces Brazilian sugar cane beverages like cacacha.
At their adjacent restaurant and cocktail bar, The Still, you can try some of the clear spirits that come from their copper still while enjoying entrees like their braised boneless short ribs or seared verlasso salmon. Come back for Sunday brunch and indulge in brioche French toast or croque madame.
La Cosa Nostra
Have you ever had dinner inside a bank vault with a 10,000-pound door? It’s an option at La Cosa Nostra, located inside a former bank in downtown Danville. Seating in the main dining area is also available, as well as out front on the sidewalk.
The elegant atmosphere inside this “Ristorante Italiano” certainly complements the Italian food they serve, with traditional spaghetti and meatballs and chicken alfredo as solid options, as well as other upscale dishes like seared salmon risotto and chicken saltimbocca.
Daniel’s Poke & Ramen
Your first question may be “what is poke?” This is a classic Hawaiian dish – pronounced “po-keh”) – served in a bowl with a protein (often salmon, ahi tuna, or shrimp), rice, spicy sauce, and vegetables like cucumber, cilantro, jalapeno, avocado, and green onions.
Daniel’s Poke & Ramen serves two different poke bowls – Texas Heat and the Rodeo Bowl – as well as four ramen noodle bowls from the restaurant on West Main Street, right next to the Centre College campus. If you are looking for an adventurous, healthy lunch or dinner while you are in Danville, a Poke or ramen bowl might just be the ticket.
Boogie Knight’s
This kitschy 70’s craft cocktail and bourbon bar serves up late-night eats from scratch right along Main Street, downtown.
Pick from favorites like the Ricky Bobby Ricardo, A Royale with Cheese, or The Admiral A.K.C.B.A.R. They also have regular specials, like Kung Pow Tots and Neil Diamond Sliders.
Come on the right night and you may get more than just a tasty meal. Boogie Knight’s is known to have themed events – like Grunge Night, costume parties, and even movie-watch parties.
Red Rooster Café
If you want to dine like a local on some southern comfort foods, you may enjoy a visit to the Red Rooster Café.
Order grits or biscuits and gravy for breakfast, or come for lunch and get your fill with a homestyle hamburger, some Momma’s meatloaf with pinto beans and mashed potatoes, or pick and choose from the buffet and get a little sampling of everything.
While you are waiting for your order, take in the Americana atmosphere with a mural, collection of old license plates, and folksy signs that serve as decoration.
Murrini Café
The Murrini Café is where the art of food and the art of blown glass come together. Located at the Art Center of the Bluegrass – and next door to the GLASS National Art Center – the café features small plates, salads, charcuterie, sweets, wine, and other specialty beverages in an artsy environment that sets the stage for a cool experience for the whole family.
You can also indulge in a delightful Tuesday afternoon tea at Murrini, where fine teas are paired with an assortment of finger sandwiches, scones, and sweet treats.
Other Eats
Danville and Boyle County have many other delicious and unique dining experiences to offer, from the seasonal ice cream and burgers you’ll find at Bud and Cheryl’s Ice Cream Shoppe to brick oven pizzas at Bluegrass Pizza Pub. You can find more information about these and many other eateries on our Eat & Drink page.
