Ever heard of Kentucky Native Café? No? Good, you shouldn’t have.

Kentucky Native is one of the most surreal hidden gems in Lexington. Located between East Maxwell Street and East High Street, behind Michler’s Florist, Greenhouses and Garden Design, the outdoor beer garden serves ale from four rotating taps (Stella Artois cider, West Sixth Oktoberfest, Blue Stallion Helles and Blue Stallion Dunkel as of Sunday). There are also artisanal foods such as pretzel and beer cheese plates, salads and baked goods, as well as  selections of non-alcoholic beverages including tea, lemonade and Ale-8-One, so that underage customers won’t feel left out.

The beer at Kentucky Native is great, but the wooded garden’s ambiance is what truly makes it a real gem. Soft conversation and insect chirping fill the air, along with the stimulating aromas of fresh food, beer and vegetation from Michler’s greenhouse. Natural light provides ample illumination during the day, but as the sun sets, lights strung between the trees flicker on, making the area look as if it was taken straight out of a fairytale. As an added bonus, there’s even a friendly feline who peruses the grove and will gladly sit still beside you for as long as you care to stroke behind its ears.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be making regular trips to most of my favorite drinking grounds, but the allure of Kentucky Native is nearly impossible to resist. Sometimes a quiet beer is not just what your body needs, but what your mind and soul are lacking. Unlike Thursday nights at Two Keys, Kentucky Native brings undeniable classiness to your evening of drinking. Gentlemen, if you’re at a loss as to where you should bring your new brew-savvy lady friend, look no further. By the time you finish your beverages, you’ll both feel nothing short of enchanted.

There will never be enough places to drink beer in Lexington, in America, or in the world. Beer drinking is the ultimate American pastime (but you already knew that). Non-snobbish beer drinkers will generally plant themselves in local bars, snobbish beer drinkers will inhabit local breweries and Greeks will gravitate towards noisy house parties. But Kentucky Native is just about as serene and inviting as one can get if one seeks a cold stein of delicious beer, a Bavarian pretzel, and a quiet place to reflect, study or chat with friends. Kentucky Native is an exotic and one-of-a-kind location for Lexington. Now stop taking my word for it and make a bee-r-line to Michler’s!