Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is a popular city in Kentucky! They are known for the University of Kentucky, horses, good food spots, and is an up and coming city! We love a lot of the food options and surrounding cities near Lexington. This is a great day trip location if you are in Kentucky or a weekend getaway spot. We have tried a lot of spots in Lexington, but we do have lots more on our list to try! Here are our favorites so far in Lexington Kentucky. 

Evan's Orchard and Cider Mill is our top pick for the Lexington area. This is technically more in Georgetown, but we hit this on our Lexington trips. I don't know what the other times of the year look like here, but our favorite is the fall time! They have pumpkins all over the land, a pumpkin patch, kids activities, and the best is the food options at the store. We love their apple cider floats, it comes with whipped cream and caramel drizzled on top. There are great photo ops all around the grounds and just great views of fall. I am assuming the fruits and veggies throughout the year are just as great as the fall time items. 

Spalding's Bakery is one of the first stops we made in Lexington! It is an old fashioned donut shop that has great options! The storefront is super cute, but is small and busy. The donuts aren't all up front so be sure to ask what they have on the racks in the back. We got the cream filled donut, powdered donut and the vanilla frosted cake donut. They were all really good, but my favorite was the powdered donut. I don't think I had ever had a homemade powdered donut and they are so much better than the store bought donuts! This is a super fun spot if you are looking for old fashioned donuts. 

Futile Bakery is one of our favorite Lexington food spots! They have cinnamon rolls, cookies and scones. We love the cinnamon rolls the best! They have an original flavor weekly and then there is another flavor that rotates. We try to go when they have the French Toast cinnamon roll. The hours are quite early so be sure to check the times before stopping by! The cinnamon rolls warm up super well and it makes them even better! 

Buc-ee's is about a thirty-minute drive from Lexington, but is so worth it! It is a must stop by for us anytime we are in Lexington. We love the vibes of the gas station and just the fact that we have a Buc-ee's in our state! I love the beef jerky, Beaver tail, Kettle Corn and their Chocolate Milk. They have a lot of great food options and tons of treats! We have seen the Buc-ee's mascot the last couple of times we have gone which is super fun too! 

North Lime Coffee and Donuts is one of my favorite coffee shops! I haven't been to the Lexington location yet, but I have gone to the one in Louisville and love it! They have both coffee and donuts which is so much more fun! They have a really good square glazed donut and then their holiday donuts are the ones we have tried and liked! The pumpkin steamer or peppermint hot chocolates are my favorite from North Lime. I would assume the Lexington location is just as unique and cool as the other two locations in Louisville. 

First Watch is a favorite brunch spot for my husband and I. We had this in St. George, Utah our first time and we're so excited that Kentucky has so many locations. Lexington has a First Watch restaurant too! We haven't gone to that location, but the one in Mount Washington is super fancy and nice. I bet Lexington is just as nice! I love their potatoes the best! It has really good seasoning, crispiness and some cooked onions that just make the flavor and textures pop. The waffle is another favorite item that I get almost every time!

Old Kentucky Chocolates is a must stop by if you are in Lexington just to say you got to try Kentucky chocolates. It isn't my favorite chocolate shop in Kentucky, but it is a great option if you are in Lexington. They have a huge store with lots of varieties of chocolates. They had samples we could try and the employees are so helpful! We tried the chocolate covered potato chips, truffles and the chocolate bars. The chocolate is good, but just a little simple for my liking. 

If you are driving from Louisville and take the Lexington Road highway you will drive right past the Castle in Versailles. It is visible from the highway or you can drive through the town to see it up close. The castle is a hotel that you can actually stay in! It is beautiful and neat to see. I was impressed with how large the grounds are and the beauty of the place. It's a fun addition to the drive to Lexington. 

Red State BBQ is known for Lexington! They have billboards for it and it has been on every blog I have read about Lexington. We went and tried it this fall and sadly didn't love it. We got the brisket, ribs, homemade French fries, mac and cheese, green beans and corn bread. Out of all of that we liked the French fries the best! The brisket was cooked well it just didn't have a lot of flavor. They do get credit for having quite the variety of BBQ sauces which helped the meat situation a little bit. I think you go here for the atmosphere. It is a little restaurant with peoples names written all over the walls and ceiling, it was super busy and the service was very quick. I was glad we tried it, but we probably won't go back.

Biscuit Belly has a few locations around Kentucky. We haven't tried the Lexington location yet, but we did just go in Louisville. Biscuit Belly is known for their bonuts and biscuits. We tried the sausage gravy and the mushroom gravy over biscuits. They both have really good flavors. The biscuits are a little doughy and remind me of a store bought biscuit rather than a homemade biscuit. It was super good though! The star of the show was the Bonuts! They are biscuit dough fried like a donut with a berry dipping sauce. If you sign up for their rewards, they are free your first visit.  

The other places that are still on my to try list are: 

-Old School Coffee House: An old school house turned into a coffee shop. Looks and sounds adorable! They have Spalding's Bakery Donuts on Saturdays available as well! 

-Parlor Donuts: This looks like the coolest donut shop. They have tons of unique flavors to pick from. 

-Crank and Boon Ice Cream: I have seen this claimed to be the best ice cream in Kentucky! I can't wait to be the judge of that!  

What spots do we need to try in your city?