"I, like many of you, have formed an opinion of the dining transformation that has taken place on Tates Creek Road under the guidance and ownership of Bruce Drake and Brian McCarty. Not long ago they exorcised a Damon's Rib franchise into their Malone's/Harry's/Aqua trio. I can see by the traffic that it has been very successful.
Having a business lunch there can be in the private Wine Room for a group of up to 20, and small gatherings can hold discussions that are heard by those intended without "spilling over" to the adjacent booth or table. The main dining room offers a good number of both arrangements.
The food on my three visits was fine, with minor objections. I prefer to have bleu cheese dressing on the Lexington salad, which is their signature salad, typically dressed with a somewhat watery ranch. Before I write more about the food, a mention of the inconsistent service is necessary. Again, with universally fine experiences at the Tates Creek location, I was surprised to experience this. Upon asking one waiter if there were any specials since he hadn't mentioned any, his reply was 'Yes, but I don't know what they are.' After an extended time away, he came back with the answer. Then I pushed it further by inquiring about a private dining room and was told I needed to speak to the manager, but no one came by with as much as a business card.
During the second visit, my guest and I noticed significant wait staff traffic at the exit door. Driving around the building after lunch confirmed that it led directly outside, most likely for a smoke. This was one of the reasons I felt a third visit was necessary — no traffic at that door then.
I did learn something else on that visit: the menu for Harry's Bar and Grill (opening at 4 p.m.) is available to order from during lunch at Malone's. There are seven mini sandwiches on the menu ranging from mini burgers (5 for $7.99) and bacon cheeseburgers to mini fried fish sandwiches and chicken cordon Bluegrass sandwiches. The later was not to my liking, but the mini burgers are great right down to the hand-pattied burger.
Off the Malone's menu, I had the prime rib sandwich served on a fresh French roll. Setting the roll aside, I dug into the beef and probably had ten to 12 ounces of delicious medium rare beef ($13.99). My guest had the prime steakhouse salad ($11.99) composed of prime sirloin on mixed greens with dried tomatoes, gorgonzola, portobello mushrooms and grilled red onion, with his requested bleu cheese dressing. One other standout during lunch on one of the visits was the penne with blackened chicken pasta ($9.99).
Like its parent restaurant on Tates Creek, the kitchen is in good hands, but the inconsistent service and lack of detail suggests that Malone's at Hamburg, though incredibly successful, is still a work in progress.
Malone's at Hamburg
1920 Pleasant Ridge Drive
859-264-8023
Hours 11:15 — 3
Off-street parking
Major credit cards accepted
Overall Experience
3 out of 4
Value
3 out of 4
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