Lockbox: Redesigned
You may have heard about the 21C art museum/hotel in downtown Lexington, but did you know they also have one of the best restaurants in Lex housed inside as well? Lockbox is a gorgeous restaurant with a sophisticated-yet-relaxed atmosphere. They label their dishes as ‘artfully simple’ and are proud to include many local ingredients in their kitchen.
Lockbox is currently undergoing a redesign of their entire concept and honestly, I’m obsessed. Don’t worry, they’re not changing their entire restaurant up. They’re taking the classic restaurant they already had and are now putting a new bistro-style twist on it.
For starters, they revamped their interior’s design. They added some indoor plant life from Forage and scaled down the seating to make it smaller and give it a more personal feel. They even replaced their well known weather cloud install with two simpler but still very stunning chandeliers. The biggest change will be the addition of a new entrance on the side of the building. This will add a more open entrance straight into the restaurant, as well as allow for patio seating outside this door in the warmer weather. I can’t WAIT to check that out.
As for their menu, they’re also making changes there. They took some of their previously single order dishes and turned them into an easier platter option. Don’t wory, they still kept their hushpuppies. My favorite of their new entrees are the lamb ragu and the steak frites, but I am incredibly glad they kept their half chicken as well. Nothing beats it when you’re in the mood for a truly amazing chicken dish. Their fish of the week was the catfish, which came out looking just as incredible looking as the rest of the dishes.
Their is a specific oyster section now, with options that include raw, fried, and baked - The fried were our table’s favorite. The salads are as gorgeous as ever and the desserts y’all - WOW. They kept the classic olive oil cake but added a brownie sundae and a coconut cream pie and it’s a heavenly selection. They also changed up the cocktail menu. The new cocktails are amazing as always, but honestly my favorite is always their selection of mocktails. They are all incredible and maybe even better than their cocktail counterparts.
And a PRO tip for your future visits - you can reserve the private vault room for free! This room is an old bank vault turned into a dining room, and it’s so perfect for a fun get together with friends or event a nice family evening. It was superb for our girl’s night out. It seats up to 12, but we still had an amazing time with just 5 and it still felt just as comfortable. Definitely make a reservation well in advance, but we had no problem getting one on a weeknight.
Will you be checking out the new concept and menu?
