Hall’s On the River

Great place to escape… I’m impressed that this place can stay in business considering its location.
Cold beer, great relaxing deck, nice views, wonderful breeze… how do u put a price on all this has to offer?
Keep charging what u have too in order to stay alive… a gem in the central Kentucky river valley.
Please fix the door leading from the deck to the bar… Annoying when it is slamming closed…
Come ready to hammer down some cold beer and scarf on beer cheese and great food.

Stopped at Hall’s yesterday (01−30−16) afternoon for an early dinner. Ordered catfish ($ 14.99) and girlfriend ordered salmon ($ 15.99). Catfish was dry and very thin cuts X2. Baked potato was good. Slaw mediocre. Girlfriend enjoyed the glaze on her salmon but not the sides. Hall’s offers no bread while you wait or with your meal. Our wait for our food was extended. We hadn’t made any complaint and felt that it was nice when the Manager «Ryan» came to our table and apologized for our wait explaining that they had an issue with their printer «going down». He stated that he would send us out some complimentary beer cheese with crackers and celery. I will add that a small beer cheese plate had previously been a staple complimentary pre-​meal offering at this restaurant for many years. Not any more. The «sorry you had to wait so long» beer cheese was never sent to our table. That aside, this restaurant is just a shell or its former self. Great atmosphere and history can not make up for the overpriced, mediocre food offerings and apparent poor management that Hall’s has fallen into.

Beer Cheese,!!!
This is the best reason to go, the food is better than average but I would not make the trip out of town just for the eating experience, I grew up in Lexington and it brings back great memories… it’s a great drive just a few minutes out of town through a beautiful area of Kentucky.
However, you will not find a better beer cheese on earth, we like to eat beer cheese until we are sick and then ship some more home!!! Which they will gladly do!!!
It has a very quiet peaceful setting outdoors especially the during the cooler months on the river, when it’s really cold the fireplaces give it a cozy feeling,… years ago (35 years) this was a very popular nightspot because of the downstairs bar that featured a glass covered dance floor with fish swimming underneath… no more
My guess is there is some federal law now that prohibits dancing over the top of fish encased in a Lexan dancefloor with flashing lights!!!

The atmosphere is cool and the point of really going, in my opinion, is for the drive out by the Kentucky River on a nice day and sitting on the deck, as the view is awesome. I had the fried mushrooms which tasted great but the price was too much for the portion size. My dad had a bowl of pasta that was $ 13 or $ 14 but the portion size was about $ 8 or $ 9 worth maybe and the pasta was okay. We had a laugh about the overpriced food, but the view is beautiful. I recommend going on a very nice day when you can sit on the deck and look out at the creek. There aren’t too many vegetarian options, so I’d say this place is best for those who just love seafood. It’s still a cool place to go, they just need to step up the food game or price it accordingly.

Visited Hall’s several times, always friendly staff and excellent entrees. The atmosphere is excellent, short drive to really feel like you’ve gotten away from town.

I read a few reviews here before going out there, but I didn’t want to have a franchise chain dining experience, so we took off for this place. If you go out 418 from the interstate, its a real nice drive (for those of us not from around here). Narrow and curvy road, so I’d not drag the 5^th wheel. Food was just OK. Pulled pork was a bit dry, sauce from a jar, fries from the freezer, but the greens were done right! The prices were high for the food quality, but I knew that coming in. Don’t be fooled by the «pub», the tap lineup was mainly the bigs (B, M, C). They had two local taps, Cougar Bait (a clearly flawed beer) and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, an 8.2 abv amber that they called an English Strong, with a hint of the barrel (an ok beer, I guess) The can of coconut porter from a Lexington brewery was really good though. Service was friendly, but not super professional.

The main reason to come to Hall’s is for the atmosphere. It overlooks the river and is off the beaten path. It’s a nice place to go on a lazy day for a meal. From the setting to the food it just feels very Kentucky to me.
For the most part the food is pretty ordinary country dishes that focus on that savory taste. The only dish I found exceptional was the friend green tomatoes. I had the beer cheese burger with fried banana pepper. It felt like the flavor left the banana pepper when fried or the banana pepper and beer cheese canceled each other out too much as it mostly tasted like I was just having a burger. The catfish was good but not better than what you would cook in your own home.

Great place to grab a bite after you hike the trails next to it. I got the chicken burger with turkey on it. It was really good and I loved it so much. My buddy got the catfish and wasn’t too pleased because for $ 15 they only give you 3 pieces… Kinda sad that it’s such a small about for that price. But I guess you learn what to not get there. The view on the deck is what got me sold on this place. I like how much this place reminds me of old Kentucky living. Happy someone told me about this place.

I went here with a group of 4 and the food was disgusting. This place has really gone downhill.

We found Hall’s via Unilocal and absolutely loved it. We ate on the deck and enjoyed watching the ducks and fish. Our waitress, Erica, was so fun and sweet. She made great suggestions and we were thrilled with the catfish and hot brown. We couldn’t decide on just one dessert so we split three of them! The bourbon caramel sauce of all of them was amazing. Such a fun place to visit on a little weekend getaway!

Our order took a while to come, manager tried to rectify that by giving us complimentary cheese and crackers. Food tasted good but I am probably not coming back, due to distance from Lexington, and price of food. Also, this is not my type of food, most were fried or battered. We sat outside, overlooking the river.

Hall’s has been a favorite of Central Kentucky diners for more than four decades. Located approximately 25 minutes from Lexington in nearby Winchester, Hall’s is legendary for its «beer cheese» dip — one of the most popular brands in Kentucky.
I had not been to Hall’s for several years but decided to check it out to see if it is still worth the trip. I am happy to report my experience did not disappoint. The drive from Lexington is scenic and due to the somewhat remote location, Hall’s is definitely more of a destination restaurant than an impulse visit.
On this particular evening, the weather was ideal for outside dining so I opted for a table on Hall’s large and spacious deck which overlooks the Kentucky river. Hall’s is large and can easily accommodate crowds and large parties of 8 – 10. Watching people canoeing along the river and the perfect weather definitely added to the experience. In addition, my server, Ashley, was warm, friendly, and attentive. The manager (owner?) also stopped by twice during my visit to make sure everything was OK.
I ordered the Fried Banana Peppers – a Central Kentucky favorite for an appetizer. They were served hot with cocktail sauce and were large and tasty. If you like Banana Peppers, you will definitely like Hall’s version.
I also ordered the Cornbread Salad and instead of the recommended dressings I chose the Bourbon Orange Vinaigrette. This salad consists of mixed greens with homemade cornbread, scallions, and bacon. Two thumbs up!
For my entrée I went with the Fried Frog Legs with «Smashed» Potatoes and Onion Rings. I was curious about the onion rings and they were lightly breaded and delicious. The potatoes were also quite good with bits of potato skins throughout. The frog legs, four of them, were plump and also lightly breaded and very filling.
Hall’s is clearly Southern comfort food and I enjoyed everything I sampled and had lots leftover. The combination of good food, scenic view, and excellent service makes Hall’s worth the trip and I plan to go back soon and try other items on the menu.
I was somewhat surprised that Hall’s apparently does not offer desserts. I did not see any listed on the menu. Nor do they serve any type of bread with the meal. A bit surprising for Southern comfort fare. I would recommend that Hall’s consider serving their cornbead with each meal. It was a nice touch to the Cornbread Salad and would make for an excellent stand alone offering.
If you have never been to Hall’s, the beer cheese platter is a must to indoctrinate you to the true Hall’s experience!

The charm of Hall’s on the River comes from the restaurant’s location on the river, beer cheese and fried banana peppers. It is a central KY tradition. The prices and food, however, beyond the beer cheese and fried banana peppers have been high and meh respectively. Great place for a drink and appetizer though.

This was my first time to Hall’s. We didn’t really have any expectations going in. The fried banana peppers were great! I tried the frog legs, which were also good. Prices weren’t awful. Service was good. Sitting on the deck makes for a great atmosphere. My co-​workers had the catfish and shrimp and grits. They had no complaints either. Nice place to go when you want something different.

Excellent food and drinks. My first tim there and after a great day of hiking at Natural Bridge, it was just what the dictor ordered. I had the seafood platter, fried to perfection and the spinach was out of this world delicious. My friend had the frog legs and mashed potatoes. The frog legs were huge… anyway we are having the leftovers today because the serving size was too much for one sitting. No complaints!
P. S. to the bartender yesterday afternoon, excellent service and sorry we dropped the glass! Wink wink

Drove here for dinner tonight & wow; what a pleasant surprise. Beautiful rustic building on the river; large facility; varied menu & friendly service. Terrific fish dinner;have to return & try the steak! Best surprise this month!

Great service and manager. Had wings, ribs, hot brown and crawfish cakes. All really good! My date loved it too. Coming back!

We had been to Halls on previous trips to the Lexington Area (My daughter went to college there) so when we camped at the local state park on our return from Vacation we wanted to go back.
I think it’s gone downhill in the last few years — the location is still great but the sea food has gone «frozen, pre-​breaded». I had the sea food feast — the shrimp were all bread, the scallops tasteless and the clams hard (probably because they were cooked in the same fryer with everything else and being smaller need to be cooked a shorter time). The catfish was the only fair item in the «feast» and it was just OK.
My wife had a pork chop however that was fabulous — it was smoked with a deep smoke flavor and was HUGE. She was very happy which is why I gave it 3 stars.
There were only a few tables in use when we were there — and the place used to be packed every night a few years ago. Sad, I wonder what happened?

This is a once great place that has slowly went down hill. It a sad shell of its former self. There honestly is nothing really good about this place anymore.
Even their beer cheese that they were once famous for isn’t up to par. I guess the yearly floods with the rich history is all this place has left.

I enjoy coming here for the atmosphere. This is one of the places that I like escaping to when I feel the need to get away from urban Lexington. The restaurant is located alongside the confluence of a creek and the Kentucky River. It is a fairly short and nice ride to get to this restaurant from Lexington.
On the other hand, the food is pretty average in my opinion. The beer cheese is good and the fried catfish is just okay.