10 Best Distilleries With Restaurants To Visit Across The US
After a long distillery tour with an ample tasting experience, there's nothing your body needs more than a meal to soak up the alcohol. Of course, while it might seem like an obvious choice for such businesses to have a restaurant on the premises for guests, distilleries are already a high-cost venture — making such eateries a less-common find on a distillery trail. After all, it's no secret that most restaurants in the U.S. tend to fail within several years of opening.
Now, while a distillery owner may feel that opening a restaurant is akin to moving two risky Jenga pieces in a row, plenty of renowned distilleries throughout the U.S. have defied the odds. From businesses located in the middle of Manhattan to smaller operations running in towns with less than 10,000 total residents, the best distilleries with restaurants provide visitors a quality spot to refuel on-site after imbibing — no matter the location.
Whether you're on a road trip exploring the Kentucky Bourbon Trail or live in Philadelphia (and need a new hangout in Fishtown), this list will come in handy for you. After considering (and researching) various reviews from social media and the press, along with an establishment's menu, ambience, design, and any potential industry awards, here are the best distilleries with restaurants to visit across the U.S.
Lula Restaurant Distillery
The only distillery with a restaurant in New Orleans, Lula is beloved by a wide variety of characters, including locals watching Sunday football games and tourists who hop off the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line. Located only a couple of blocks from the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, it's an ideal end-of-day stop for the foodie in your group. Visitors have access to a free distillery tour, free parking, and plentiful indoor and outdoor seating — making it one of the most accessible and flexible options on this list.
This micro-distillery produces hand-crafted, gluten-free, 100% sugarcane spirits. Both its vodka and rum won silver medals at the 2023 International Spirits Competitions at the American Distilling Institute, and each option has been raved about by visitors whether consumed straight or in cocktails.
Lula Restaurant Distillery is mid-sized and decorated with wooden accents, leather barstools, and a homogenous color palette — all of which lends to its natural and welcoming atmosphere. Plus, while dining on its shrimp boils, blackberry glazed ribs, or sugarcane pork skewers, you can feast your eyes on the copper distilling equipment in the back of the house. Lula Restaurant Distillery is open seven days a week, with varying hours depending on the day. It opens earlier on Sunday during football season, and serves brunch on weekends, as well.
(504) 267-7624
1532 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130
Maker's Mark
If you're creating an itinerary around the Kentucky Bourbon Trail — and want to visit one of the most renowned distilleries in the country — consider a stop at the home of Maker's Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and its on-site restaurant, Star Hill Provisions. Maker's Mark has expanded its operation to 1100 acres since its 1953 launch, where it houses a distillery, farm, restaurant, apiary, lake, and more. When visiting Maker's Mark, you can choose between more than a half-dozen tours and experiences, allowing you to explore all of the above areas. Use can use your visit to learn about everything from the double distillation process in copper distillation stills to the history of the signature red wax seal of its bottles.
While Bill Samuels Sr. is responsible for the original Maker's Mark recipe with red winter wheat, his grandson, Rob, is responsible for modernizing Star Hill Farm, and the opening of Star Hill Provisions in 2017. Similar to the ambiance of the rest of the property, Star Hill Provisions is rustic, down-to-earth, and chock full of farm-to-table goodness that has been known to serve scratch-made dishes like burrata salad and Kentucky poutine. While the distillery itself is open seven days a week, Star Hill Provisions is only open Monday through Saturday. There's plenty of parking available, but dining outside is the only option.
3350 Burks Spring Rd, Loretto, KY 40037
Copper & Kings
In the state that produces 95% of the world's bourbon, proudly producing American brandy will make you stand out. Located in the Butchertown neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, Cooper & Kings is such location — and it has a rooftop bar and restaurant, as well. The distillery is best known for its copper-pot distilled liquors (brandy, absinthe, gin, and bourbon) that are sonic-aged. This means that when you take your tour of the maturation cellar, you'll hear rock-and-roll music pumping through the speakers to produce frequencies that gently shake the liquor.
Tours are available seven days a week, with several different options available. This includes a bottle-your-own experience — allowing guests to fill their own bottle straight from the cask. Its restaurant space, meanwhile, has an industrial aesthetic with plenty of space to sip and relax. There's a conversation pit and tables for dining. Expect meat-forward Kentucky fare made to pair with the house liquors. It's open for dinner only from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with brunch on Sundays until 3 p.m. Parking is limited, so make sure to plan ahead for street parking around this popular dining neighborhood.
(502) 561-0267
1121 E Washington St, Louisville, KY 40206
Pacific Coast Spirits
After soaking up the rays on the beach or visiting the Oceanside Museum of Art, Pacific Coast Spirits is an ideal place to kick back and enjoy California fare and spirits. Whiskey lovers will want to try its multiple-award-winning American single malt whiskey, but this distillery offers clear liquors (like gin and agave spirits), as well — plus a restaurant that's just as big of a draw as the distillery.
The patrons of Pacific Coast Spirits love its elevated comfort food and live music. Some of its special offerings include a happy hour selection, plus Sunday brunch (with bottomless mimosa and bloody mary options). Customers have raved about menu favorites such as the blue corn cauliflower tacos, blue lump crab cakes, and Baja fish tacos. Not only do these menu items help soak up the alcohol, but they're all excellent choices if you're looking to enjoy regional cuisine while on vacation.
Pacific Coast Spirits offers both indoor and outdoor seating, allowing you to choose between the casual, umbrella-covered picnic tables, or its comfortable and colorful lounge seating. Reservations are recommended, but parking is plentiful with its attached lot and street parking. Unlike many distilleries, this one is family-friendly, too, and also welcomes your pup if you dine on the patio.
(760) 453-7150
404 S Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA 92054
Junction 35 Spirits
Finding excellent food in a small town adjacent to a national park can be very difficult (depending on how secluded it is). But seeing how Pigeon Forge, Tennessee offers access to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Dollywood, and other attractions, at least one distillery (and restaurant) decided to take advantage of the influx of visitors: Junction 35 Kitchen & Bar.
As Tennessee's first distillery and restaurant — and one of the many distilleries on the Tennessee Whiskey Trail – Junction 35 Kitchen & Bar offers an array of liquors, such as moonshine, vodka, and rum (among others). There are no tours available, but two locations have opened as of 2024 (including one in Sevierville, Tennessee) for potential customers to visit.
When patrons aren't luxuriating in its lush leather booths or enjoying the commotion at its horseshoe-shaped bar while sipping a watermelon moonshine cocktail, they're raving about the smash burgers, smoked meat BBQ trays, and other southern comfort food favorites. Of course, while both Junction 35 Kitchen & Bar locations are family-friendly, each is often packed with both locals and tourists — so consider the timing if you have a claustrophobic or sound-sensitive person in your party.
Multiple locations
Cardinal Spirits
With roughly four dozen distilleries in Indiana, it's no surprise to locals that quality, award-winning distilleries exist all around them. One of the most popular options among those (and one that has a restaurant, as well) is Cardinal Spirits, which is located just outside of downtown Bloomington along the popular "B-Line" walking and biking path.
Cardinal Spirits makes a wide variety of liquors, such as its Pride vodka, which the company donates 10% of the bottle's sales to LGBTQ+ organizations year-round. Additionally, it offers two distillery tours: a standard tour with a cocktail and spirits tasting, or a VIP tour that gets you a mini cocktail class and bottle to take home, as well. After your tour, it's encouraged to stay for a meal and order menu favorites, including its everything bagel-inspired deviled eggs, dip board, flatbreads, or fries served with bourbon ketchup.
Outdoor dining is open to families and dogs, while the indoor is open to humans only. The restaurant is open for happy hour, dinner, and weekend brunch, and its casual environment and bountiful seating makes it a great option to take friends for a weekend brunch or after-work social.
(812) 202-6789
922 S Morton St, Bloomington, IN 47403
Great Jones Distilling Co.
Great Jones Distilling Co. is the first whiskey distillery to open in Manhattan since Prohibition, and is conveniently within walking distance of New York University, the Strand Book Store, and Washington Square Park. Nestled between two buildings much larger than itself, Great Jones Distilling Co.'s sleek black façade is eye-catching from the outside, and even more so upon viewing the atrium through the revolving door entrance. Up the winding staircase is the bar and restaurant where you can enjoy a menu featuring locally sourced ingredients.
If you visit during Prohibition hour (Tuesday through Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.), you'll have access to incredible deals on select cocktails and food items. Brunch is also a big draw for dishes like short rib benedict and house made monkey bread.
As for its in-house distillery, Great Jones offers guided tours that educate visitors about the equipment and showcase its distillation process. If you're lucky enough to have a New York state ID, you and your guests can access discounted tours. Regardless of whether you're doing the tour or visiting the restaurant, it's encouraged to dress business casual or casual elegant as its venue is an upscale lounge.
(332) 910-9880
686 Broadway, New York, NY 10012
Philadelphia Distilling
Situated in a refurbished old warehouse from the late 1800s, Philadelphia Distilling is a Fishtown neighborhood gem that isn't close to many attractions (though it is next to a few light rail stops). Philadelphia Distilling opened in 2005 and was the first craft distillery in Pennsylvania to open since Prohibition. It's become known for winning multiple gold medals for Best Gin at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and for receiving endless love from the press and locals for its alcohol and food menu options.
In house, it produces gin, vodka, absinthe, and liqueurs. If you're looking to try a distillery that experiments and innovates with spices and botanicals just as much as the base grains, this is the place for you. Come try its Philadelphia-inspired cocktail menu with cocktails aptly like the Pensylvania punch (which is deliberately misspelled, as it is on the Liberty Bell).
Now, Philadelphia Distilling has one of the smaller dining spaces and food menus on this list, but there's flexibility with both indoor and outdoor seating (and reservations are encouraged regardless due to its popularity). Its aesthetic is modern meets industrial with its grand high ceilings, brick walls, dangling orb lights, and comfy leather couches. Philadelphia Distilling provides distillery tours that include a flight tasting and a welcome cocktail. If you're interested in learning how to make your own craft cocktails, it also offers classes in its cocktail lab.
(215) 671-0346
25 E Allen St, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Drift Distillery
As one of the U.S.'s top surfing destinations, it's no surprise that San Clemente, California attracts high-performance athletes. But it also attracts folks on the other end looking to relax in a restaurant scene of seafood, craft beer, and distilleries. Drift Distillery and its approachable farm-to-bottle approach fits right in with this scene. While it's a few miles from the beaches, its location is absolutely worth the drive if you want to be away from the busier part of town.
Drift Distillery offers a variety of liquors, including unaged whiskey and agave spirits. Its food menu is concise and approachable, as well, featuring appetizers, sandwiches, and meat plates. It highlights southern comfort food and smoked meats, such as loaded tots, pulled pork, and brisket (which is the perfect pairing for bourbon).
What makes Drift stand out amongst its peers is it keeps its sourcing within the family. The grains used in its distillery are harvested from the owners' family farm in Bison, Kansas, and its tasting room was built using the materials from a 100-year-old barn from the family's farm. With its business park location, both parking and outdoor seating are plentiful, though it's not a kid-friendly distillery or restaurant. Come here with your partner to relax under the twinkle lights or celebrate the end of a vacation with your unaged whiskey cocktail in hand.
(949) 388-0700
940 Calle Amanecer Suite K, San Clemente, CA 92673
Nelson's Green Brier Distillery
Nelson's Green Brier Distillery has an incredible origin story. In the late 1800s, Charles Nelson owned one of the most successful whiskey distilleries in Tennessee, and one of the first to sell whiskey in bottles (in lieu of jugs) and sell its product internationally. Though it was forced to close during Prohibition, Nelson's great-great-great grandchildren, Andy and Charlie, decided to revive their family's legacy after being shown two bottles of the original Nelson's Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey in 2006 – reopening the distillery along with an in-house restaurant.
You can learn all about the history of Nelson's Green Brier Distillery when you book one of its tours, which includes a tasting of its modern-day rye bourbons, a pecan liqueur, and its own interpretation of the family's original whiskey recipe. After your tour, stay for lunch in its dining room, or stop in for brunch on a weekend. No need to worry about parking, as there's both a lot and street parking available. With its convenient location in Marathon Village, visiting this distillery is an easy addition to your plans for downtown Nashville.
(615) 913-8800
1414 Clinton St, Nashville, TN 37203
Methodology
As a travel writer for the past decade, I've had the opportunity to visit many distilleries and wineries across the country. Consequently, I can say the need for a nearby restaurant at distilleries is crucial; you never know when you'll be gifted with a kind tour guide with a heavy pouring hand, after all.
The above distilleries with restaurants have been selected based on multiple qualifications. Whether you're visiting just for the tour, for the restaurant, or want to spend your entire afternoon lounging around and enjoying everything a location has to offer, this list guarantees your experience won't feel sub-par (and will be Instagram-worthy).
Each list entry ranked highly on social media websites, especially Yelp and Google. Each restaurant included had plentiful seating, as well, preferably in a stylish and intentional design that feels true to the brand and its location. Additionally, every distillery included must have won some sort of industry award (and critical acclaim) for its liquors.