Cardinal Hall of Fame Cafe

First things first.  This is a SPORTS BAR, not a cafe.

We sat at the bar.  It wasn't that busy for a Friday night, I was surprised.  

The food and drinks aren't cheap, for the quality they are a couple of dollars off the sweet spot, it gives you the impression it's more of a "Tourist Trap" pricing than a locals bar (no - NOT Café!).  $7 for a beer.  Really?

By biggest concern are the ribs.  My half rack had already been hacked with a machete before being put on the plate.  Now, the meat on the ribs?  Very tender.  Fall off the bone, but whoever is out in the kitchen isn't slicing these portions, they are literally smashing them with a meat cleaver.  There are bone fragments everywhere.  Instead for 4 of 5 clean ribs I ended up around 15-20 pieces of varying  sizes of bone, and some were quite sharp too.  

This is a serious choke hazard, especially for small children.  You don't expect to bite into rib meat and find shards of bone.

I told the girl behind the bar, who pretty much shrugged her shoulders and said she didn't know.  I STRONGLY suggested she tell a manager, but I'm guessing she didn't as no one stopped by to ask about it.

The rest of the food?  Ehhh, I've had MUCh better.  The fries were limp, the wings over breaded, the coleslaw was warm on top because someone had left it under the heat lamp with everything else.  It just makes you think they are just going through the motions - and I'm guessing the main bulk of customers are transient, staying in one of the nearby hotels, like we were, and unlikely to return anyway.  

Let me save you the trouble.  Don't go in the first place.

Cardinal Hall of Fame Cafe has somehow become the "go to" place of my parents recently. I've been a number of times over the years.  It's a convenient place if you're at UofL or an event at the fairgrounds (Kentucky Exposition Center).

My favorite part is the UofL theme.  (If you know me in "real life" then that's a big fat DUH!). I am actually even in one of the pictures hanging up in a display window.  There is also a small gift shop with UofL paraphernalia if you're interested.

The food itself is okay. I like one of the salads quite a bit; I can't remember the name, but it has blue cheese & strawberries. The steamed vegetables are a healthy side option. Most options are average or can be hit-or-miss.  To me, it's overall what I expect from a sports bar & grill.

The service has varied in my experience. Sometimes it is on point.  Other times it is not. Sometimes it even varies within the visit. I have waited here before, but on my most recent visit (a Saturday around 6 pm), we were seated immediately.

Also, they have some large rooms if you have a large party. (You probably have to book those in advance, but I don't know how that works.)  There are also plenty of TVs; some tables even have their personal TVs.  It's a nice place to watch a game, though I would imagine it gets busy for big UofL games.

Basically, Cardinal Hall of Fame Cafe isn't bad generally... It's not amazing though. I was wavering between a 2 and 3 star rating on this, but since there's not a 2.5, I like the UofL theme win me over to give it 3 stars.  Go Cards!

Very clean, nice atmosphere, great attitudes friendly staff.  I ate there 2 nights both nights quality was above average.  It is bar food and is over priced with that said I will return on my next visit.