A Glittering Lunch at The Glitz in Bluegrass Country

Lunch at The Glitz begins with a small flourish: a house welcome refresher touched with apple, clove and cinnamon. It arrives before the courses, setting a gracious, slightly theatrical tone for an afternoon spent below one of Kentucky’s more elaborate antique galleries.

The Glitz occupies the lower level of Irish Acres Gallery of Antiques, out in the Bluegrass countryside near Nonesuch and Versailles. Getting there means horse-country roads and open rural scenery; once inside, the outing shifts from pastoral Kentucky to glittering chandeliers, layered tablescapes and rooms arranged with a cheerful sense of occasion.

This is not a quick sandwich-and-go stop. It is a set-menu lunch served in courses, followed—or preceded—by time wandering through an antiques collection large enough to make the whole visit a several-hour excursion.

The restaurant’s décor is unabashedly dressed up. Visitors have compared the surroundings to a fairytale, a winter wonderland and a palace, which gives a useful sense of the scale and sparkle without quite capturing all the visual activity in the room.

The look is elegant rather than spare, with decorative objects and formal touches that make an ordinary weekday lunch feel a little more festive. The dining room is carefully kept, and the surrounding gallery carries that same polished, collected quality.

You can dress for the occasion if you like. A birthday lunch, family gathering, girls’ day or daytime date all fit comfortably here, though the room does not demand formal attire. It simply provides a more glamorous backdrop than most lunch tables manage.

The meal is prix fixe, with guests choosing an appetizer, entrée and dessert from the current selection. Instead of relying on a sprawling permanent menu, The Glitz changes its offerings about every three weeks. That gives repeat diners a fresh reason to book another lunch, and it makes the menu tied closely to the date of a reservation.

Courses come out one at a time: the welcome refresher, coffee or tea if desired, an appetizer, an entrée and dessert. The pacing encourages people to settle in rather than rush through the meal, and the food is prepared and presented with the same care seen in the rooms around it.

Menus have included dishes such as Golden Harvest Bisque, Chicken Pistachio, Paella, Shrimp and Grits, Parmesan Chicken, Beef Tenderloin Sliders and Spinach Triangles. Those are examples rather than promises; the changing menu is central to how the restaurant operates.

The final course is not an afterthought. Pumpkin Cheesecake, Strawberry Champagne Sorbet, Berry Trifle and Ice Cream Hot Fudge have all appeared among the memorable sweets, giving the meal an appropriately indulgent finish without turning it into a heavy feast.

There is a charmingly named Nonesuch Kiss among the dishes associated with the restaurant, too—a reminder that this is a place comfortable with a bit of whimsy. The portions are filling, but the course-by-course format keeps the lunch from arriving as one overwhelming plate.

The apple-and-spice refresher can follow you home in a more literal way: bottles are sold in the antiques gallery as souvenirs. It is a small, distinctive memento, especially for anyone who wants something more useful than another trinket.

The restaurant visit begins by entering through Irish Acres Gallery of Antiques. Before lunch, it is easy to drift through room after room of merchandise, then head downstairs when it is time for the meal. After dessert, the route naturally leads back upstairs for another look.

The collection ranges across jewelry, ceramics, carvings, musical instruments, books and furniture, with souvenirs mixed in. This is browsing with plenty of variety: a decorative object in one room can give way to a piece of old furniture or a shelf of books in the next.

The gallery occupies multiple levels and rooms, so the browsing can take far longer than a quick pass through a gift shop. An hour and a half of looking before lunch would not be an unusual way to spend the time, particularly for antique hunters who prefer to inspect the shelves rather than merely admire the sparkle.

Family ownership is visible in the day-to-day atmosphere, and the service has a notably personal cast. Staff members are attentive without making the meal feel overly choreographed, which suits a room where people often stay at the table to talk and look around.

The hospitality can be practical as well as polished. An especially hungry guest has been brought an extra entrée, a nice illustration of the generous spirit that gives the place its welcoming reputation.

The room is generally easy to talk in, though a large celebratory group can add some welcome energy. Either way, the pace leaves room for conversation, a second cup of coffee and a lingering look at the decorative details.

Reservations are strongly encouraged. The Glitz can fill up even on weekdays, and the current prix fixe menu is associated with the reservation date, so it is worth checking the offerings when making plans.

Vegetarian requests and certain allergy-related needs have been handled with advance communication during the reservation process. Because the menu is limited and rotates frequently, dietary questions are best raised before the visit rather than assumed at the table.

There is a free parking lot at Irish Acres. The restaurant is downstairs, reached by stairs, and stairs have also been reported around the restroom area. Guests with mobility concerns should confirm access arrangements in advance.