Review of Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint in Louisville, KY

My friends and I visited the recently opened Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint in Indian Springs. Martin’s is a popular fast casual restaurant with roots in West Tennessee.

We visited on a Monday night and we were able to order right away. We were handed menus upon arrival and ordered our meals at the counter. The set up was similar to Joella’s Hot Chicken. The menu offers pulled BBQ sandwiches, platters, chicken wings, ribs, meat combos, burgers and chicken. There are several side dish options such as baked beans, slaw, potato salad, hoecake, broccoli salad, baked potatoes and more. Martin’s also has desserts and a kid’s menu, which we didn’t order on this visit. They have a kid’s menu of meals that include a drink and a side – choices are hot dog, cheeseburger, grilled cheese, mini quesadilla, BBQ slider or chicken fingers. 

After ordering, we seated ourselves. The restaurant is large with ample seating. We sat on the outdoor patio, which was enclosed for winter, making it very comfortable. Each order has a unique number on the receipt and the employees bring the orders to the tables. They walk throughout the restaurant calling out the number. It was somewhat difficult to hear the number being called since we were sitting in the back. On this particular visit the service was a bit slow, however, this restaurant just opened a month earlier so they were probably still working out some of the kinks.

One unique thing about Martin’s is they make their meats fresh every day. They do not keep any extras frozen, so once a particular item sells out, it is unavailable until the next day. I wanted to order the baby back ribs, but they were out, so instead, I ordered a half slab of spare ribs. This was quite a large portion! The ribs were very tender and the flavor was good. There is an option of dry rub or sauce. I opted for dry rub. I did not think to ask for sauce on the side for dipping. There was Jack’s Creek sauce on the table, but this particular style is a little runnier than what I prefer. Next time I will sample one of the other sauces. For sides, I had the mac and cheese and broccoli salad, which were both good.

In Fall of 2017, Martin’s is expected to open a second Louisville location inside the iconic former Lynn’s Paradise Cafe building on Barrett Avenue.

By Guest Contributor: Nick