Recently my wife and I had our foodie friends from Washington, D.C., visiting, and we decided to take them to Natasha's Bistro. When I called to make a reservation, the host asked whether we would be staying for the Gypsy dancers. Needless to say, my curiosity got the best of me, and after further inquiry I knew that I wanted to be at Natasha's on this night. Little did I know that we would be treating our friends to a dining experience unlike anything else I have experienced in the Bluegrass... More

The dinner-and-a-movie concept is getting a tweak this month, when Kaleidoscope Micro-Cinema debuts at Natasha's Bistro. The independent film Loggerheads, a 2005 Sundance selection and winner of the Nashville, Florida and Outfest film festivals, will kick off the series on April 6 at the restaurant, 112 Esplanade. More

Now this is what you call a full weekend. But that seems to be the norm at Natasha's Bistro and Bar, which has become one of the busiest — and in terms of the performances that now fill its calendar seven days a week, most versatile — venues in town. More

Life can be chock-full of stress. Some folks go to the gym, some meditate and some medicate for relief. How about going to a place where you can chill out and get a really good meal, too?...More

Natasha's Cafe is one of the loveliest new spaces I've seen in a long time.  Its interior is more like an art gallery than a cafe.  It's spacious, loftlike and very urban... More

Natasha's Cafe serves up adventure in dining...More

It's like a kind of kooky around-the-world Cracker Barrel, but just off the Internet superhighway...More

...In 2001, Natasha's opened a downtown café, and I reviewed it then, too. It was better — much better. It had found its niche. And ever since Natasha's opened on the Esplanade, the crowds have gotten bigger, it has expanded to include sidewalk dining, the import half of the business moved into its own space next door, and now, Natasha's has full bar service and live entertainment or something going on almost every night... More

Take a young chef from the Chicago area, a boutique selling crafts from around the world, an interior that looks like Sydney Greenstreet's Blue Parrot Cafe in the movie "Casablanca" (except it's a lot cleaner) and you have Natasha's Cafe in Lexington...More

Arts Across Kentucky

(Natasha) describes her cooking style as “not Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian, or Polish, but also somewhat Armenian, Georgian, and Greek, with a touch of Bulgarian travel, a visit from Chinese friends, and a dreamy flavor of my Cuban first love. More

Soho comes to the Bluegrass at Natasha's Cafe, with the funky-elegant atmosphere of a New York City bistro in a quintessentially southern city. Diners in downtown Lexington enjoy an array of original dishes in the cafe and can browse merchandise from around the world in the gift boutique. More

Kentucky Kernel

It's so personal," said Tara Atkins, the director of public relations, marketing and booking at Natasha's. "It is almost like a conversation with a new friend." The series helps KSA raise money, provides a venue for the storytellers...More

Christopher Jones On Music

Natasha’s story is probably worth telling, in the context of trying to figure out what still works for live music these days. Gene, Natasha’s owner/manager, started out in a strip mall in a former service station, with a gift shop and an improvised performance area. My Lexington family musicians who play out as Tall, Dark and Handsome, remember starting there when Gene would push aside some of the scarf racks and break out the folding chairs on music nights. More

Not everyone is in the mood for a loud, brash rock-and-roll show every night of the week. Sometimes the ideal setting to catch some live music comes in the form of decidedly more intimate surroundings. Natasha's Bistro and Bar, a centerpiece of downtown Lexington's independent marketplace for several years, is now stepping up to provide perhaps the city's foremost offering for live, intimate performances, music and otherwise. While primarily recognized as a new age restaurant and bar, it has... More

One of Kentucky's leading CEO recruits recalls that in the process of weighing whether to relocate to Lexington from one of the nation's major cities, he and his wife were "on the fence" and decided to discuss it over dinner. It was the experience of an evening in the cultural and ethnic-rich ambience of Natasha's Bistro, they said, that sent them over the edge... More

What does dark comedy have to do with one of the brightest spots in our downtown cityscape? Well, you could say, metaphorically speaking, that it relates to the challenges faced by Gene and Natasha Williams when they set their sites on becoming a Lexington landmark. More

"It wasn't long after moving our restaurant Natasha's downtown to a generous welcome by the downtown community, ample press coverage and great food reviews that we found ourselves taking up collections from friends to meet payroll. This was in 2002, and we needed to act.
Our plan had three basic steps... More

What does dark comedy have to do with one of the brightest spots in our downtown cityscape? Well, you could say, metaphorically speaking, that it relates to the challenges faced by Gene and Natasha Williams when they set their sites on becoming a Lexington landmark. More

"Collaborative soup." That's how Natasha Williams described the Balagula Theatre Company's recent partnerships with other nonprofits to raise awareness and funds. More

A bakers dozen of restaurant and bar owners in Lexington's downtown district say the good intentions of the city in holding large-scale events that force downtown street closures, have had unintended consequences on their bottom-lines. "We're asking them to categorically consider the weekend nights off-limits. That's our time. If you want restaurants and entertainment to be thriving you've got to protect the weekend nights," said Gene Williams, co-owner of Natasha's Bar and Bistro. More

Articles by Owners

In March 2010, Lexington will become a focal point of the American theatre community as it hosts the 61st Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Annual Convention, the largest regional theatre event in the nation. More than 4,000 theatre artists and enthusiasts, representing 10 southeastern states, will gather March 3-7 in Lexington to share, compete, present and celebrate all aspects of the art of theatre. The SETC Convention will hold five Theatre Performance Festivals presenting 46 theatre productions, as well as its "Job Creating Service," which features more than 80 companies looking to fill academic, administrative, backstage, design, front-of-house and technical jobs, as well as intern and apprentice positions. More

It wasn't long after moving our restaurant Natasha's downtown to a generous welcome by the downtown community, ample press coverage and great food reviews that we found ourselves taking up collections from friends to meet payroll. This was in 2002, and we needed to act. More

As Lexington prepares to host the Creative Cities Summit this month, Business Lexington asked local community and business leaders in a variety of industries to share their thoughts on what Lexington needs to become a more creative city in the future. Here are their responses... More