Pluses:
- Live music! This alone puts this place on my radar for a good time. Add Rock music and I'm definitely coming back!
- Lots of interesting people, especially military guys: take it or leave it, it's your preference.
-Drinks are semi-reasonably priced but selection could be better.
-Bathroom attendant is super sweet and she took care of my jacket when I accidentally left it behind.
Minuses:
-A heavily smoky bar: Lots and lots of cigarette smoke, mainly because there's so many military men present. I'm pretty sure I can almost claim to have smoked a cigarette that night.
-Seriously packed, kinda like a meat market.
-Can get a bit rowdy, but that comes with the crowd and from all the guys that fill this place.
-Can be a bit overwhelming, if you're a girl especially, so bring your cronies!
What happened to the burgers? Â The buns are the wrong texture and the patties are half the size. Â The fries have been inconsistent too. Â
And even though I'm a regular, there's one bartender who works weekday evenings that always acts like he's never seen me before.
On the plus side, if you go on Sunday, your bartender is likely to be Denver, who is the best!
Probably my favorite bar on the island. Music, Guinness and Jameson is all I ask for! Always have a great time here! Even when it's packed and full of rude, strange people. The best nights are when Master of Oz is playing. Love this place even though they once confiscated a legit state ID that belonged to a friend, which stopped us from going in and spending some money. Buzzkill!
Review Source:Packed & fun night! Cool live band that played pretty well! We were actually dancing and so were some other people. The people here were a little bit weird and mix of all crowds (old, young, ugly, beauties, etc). Drinks were pretty cheap, except my beer was kinda warm! But the band that perform that nice was pretty awesome.
Review Source:Dive bar. I'll be honest. I'm not much of a fan of this place. I only go because my friends (former Marines) love this place. I don't hate it. I'm usually entertained when I go. They have rockin' live music. Service isn't slow, but it's not speedy fast either. They have a good variety of beers, and it's a full bar. Great place to people watch.. It is a mix of mostly military guys, foreign collage students, some tourist, gold diggers, and very few locals. Smoking is allowed, so that's the biggest reason I don't like this place. Yuck!
Review Source:I have always had a really fun time here. The crowd isn't the most desirable, being that its a lot of drunk military guys...but the atmosphere makes up for it. The bartenders are friendly, and you can smoke inside. Kelly's is also big with tourists on the weekend, so its fun to go there and make drunken friends!
Review Source:I went here for the first time finally, BECAUSE they don't whine like bitches about lighting up a cigar. Â Not everyone agrees with all laws that are put on the books. They are after all, put on the books by a minority who were elected by a majority of idiots who believe that giving more power to their corrupt Government will better their "Planet" . Â -tangent complete-
So, I uh, allegedly enjoyed a nice Cuban cigar and a Guinness at this establishment, since those 2 go together so very well, and this is the ONLY establishment in which to enjoy it. One star lost cause beer was rather expensive during happy hour or my favorite brew doesn't get a discount?
Kelly's is the best bar in town if you like people watching. Â Seriously, all types in this place. Â That being said, everyone is usually very friendly. Â This is definitely not where you'll be finding the pretentious people. Â If you can't make friends at this bar then you should probably just call it a night.
There really isn't a dead night here, there's a live band every night, open late (around 3:30am), and there's never a cover. Â The only thing that sucks is that this place can get super crowded on the weekends. Â And not really the fun kind of crowded. Â Oh, and also they allow people to smoke inside so if that bothers you, well, you've been warned.
My wife's and I's favorite bar in Waikiki hands down. The stew and the cheesesteak are great and the rest of the food is good too. Good vibe and great prices. Not too many tourists as it sits back a bit from the new lewers section. We are not bar people but when we want to go have some drinks, this is the place for us. Night time they have live music.
Review Source:Great crowd mixture at Kelley's of I'd say 75% tourists to 25% locals (similar to Duke's Waikiki). Depending what time you go, of course. Good fun vibe, not much "what, like beef?" attitude in my experiences there. Even the bouncer seems cool, as long as you're cool.
I'm there at Kelley's primarily to enjoy the live music, where Masters of Oz ROCKS the HOUSE every Sunday and Monday night (plus other nights), playing hit late 70's, 80's through current rock, hard rock, metal, alternative rock, to raggae and dance rock, and let me say, this band is as good as the artists they're covering. Masters of Oz is one local band you don't wanna' miss if you're a rocker and visiting Waikiki, or visiting the island for that matter! Â
Kelley O'Neils is a cool Irish Pub as well. Reasonable prices for Waikiki, No question "divey", but with music playing that loud and rockin', who cares!
I love this place, so it's easy for me to write them a good review.
I work next door so this place is naturally a great place to grab some drinks after a long day.
At night, Kelly's can get pretty crazy, and with live music every night, it's a nice place to grab a pint if hard cider or Guinness.
They serve food until 9. If you can get something ordered before then, try the Reuben. Extra thick and tasty.
The staff here are really cool, as long as you're not a drunk dummy then you'll have no problems here.
Ok, so you drank all day at the beach, you're primed and ready to go for a crazy night on the town. And when I say night on the town, I mean a rip roaring, singing on the top of your lungs to '80s hair metal in a tee shirt and jeans, shooting Jacky D and all his whiskey rock buddy's while a chick with pipes lower then your great uncle Bob blows smoke in your face. Well my friend, head to Kelley O'Neil's! Kelley's its a dive bar done right. Horrible booze served in thick glass wear that can withstand a tsunami, open until 4am, rock out with you sock, er socks off and have an absolutely fun time!
**Disclaimer: This review is not based on actual (sober) memories. It is an amalgamation of numerous occasions spent at Kelley's over the years based upon the pictures taken, texts sent and bits 'n pieces and flashes of memories of a helluva good time!
I have always passed by there never really wanting to go in but my friend who is in a band that performs there invited me to go and watch them so obligation set in to go. Â I went with a couple friends and now I know why so much people go there!
The atmosphere is great, its a place where people can just go enjoy music and just be happy everyone is nice to everyone and that maybe because drinks set in but hey I have been there a number of times since then and everyone is just friendly and the bartenders are great.
This is one of those pubs that stays open to 4AM...
So, if it wasnt enough to spend the whole night out drinking or dancing...places like Kelley O'Neil's exists just for you. Kinda seems like a meat market but just like anything else, if you have the right company with you...it's a good time.
Love the hot dog cart in front of the spot. Reminds me of Seattle's night scene.
Kelly's...always a bad idea:)
Believe me when I say this I mean it in the "best" way possible...LOL
I always seem to find myself at Kelly's after Arnold's, Irish Rose or The Tavern has closed. Â Hey my friends say "Let's go to Kelly O'Neil's!!"
What I like about Kelly's is that it's open late & there's always live music there at night & the crowd is always entertaining (a good mix of "locals", tourists, and industry types) . Â It might get crowded and a drink might take longer than it should. Â But what do you expect when you're elbow to elbow?
Another thing I like about Kelly's is that they have Guinness on draft! No "respectable" Irish pub will NOT HAVE Guinness on tap, let alone at least two or three Irish beers in house. Â If you don't have Guinness, then don't call yourself an Irish bar. Â
The few things that I don't like about Kelly's is that you're allowed to smoke inside. I always leave that place smelling like smoke! There have also been times where I've been burned by people's cigarettes trying to muscle my way to the bar or to the bathroom...OUCH! Another thing is that sometimes (I mentioned this earlier) is that drinks can take a super long time. Â Sometimes certain parts of the bar are neglected. Â I try to go to the sides where more girls are hanging out (male bartenders pay more attention lol), or where the cocktailer's drink pick up is, faster service:) Â
Outside of Kelly's is a hot dog/sandwhich cart. Â The cart sells pulled pork & beef sandwiches and also hot links. Â Perfect after a night of Guinness & Jameson shots.
Kelly's is also open during the day, but I have yet to stop by during this time. Â
I recommend Kelly's if you're looking for a different/fun crowd, good live music and plenty of good Irish beer. Â Don't come here though if you don't want to smell like you're grandpa's tobacco pipe afterwards.
Kelly O'Neal's is the place that I love to hate. See my previous 2 reviews. Now for this third update I'm increasing them by one star. Baby steps. Now 2 stars. Not exactly "Meh" because they have some things going for them.
Smoking: Note to the management. Guys just give it up. Give up the pretense that you are looking out for the rights of smokers. What I have noticed is this. Over the last 2 months  there are fewer and fewer smokers in the bar. The time is now. Just start enforcing the smoking ban law just like all the other bars. You are not going to lose customers. The world will not come to an end.
Music: Seven nights a week! You get credit for this. This is great for musicians and it is great for your customers and the community. I come here for the music on a regular basis. I like the place most of the time. I don't like the bogus support of smokers rights. Smoking in the bar is illegal. Get over it. Â By passively allowing smoking you are creating a negative vibe as well as endangering the health of your customers and employees.
At this point I think you are losing business because of the allowed smoking.
My boyfriend and I love this spot! It's a great place to grab drinks and listen to live music. Another great feature about this pub, NO COVER CHARGE!
Best beer to drink here? SMITHWICKS~!
Best drink? CAKE BOMB
The crowd that comes here is a pretty good mix of people. I see a lot of locals, military and tourist.
As for the service, I say they are good. Usually when we come here its always crowded and the bartenders are running around doing the best they can. So even though were waiting to order for a while, when they finally do take our order, our drinks come out fast and efficiently.
I don't know how much minimum tabs are here, cause we always do cash. Honestly I feel it's safer to do cash in bars because a lot of places mess up your tabs or charge you for the wrong drinks. It's just so frustrating sometimes. Cash is just so much easier =)
One thing that I found odd is I noticed people could smoke in here. I honestly hate second hand smoke -_-. In the state of Hawaii, they passed a law saying you can no longer smoke inside public areas and that you have to be so many feet away from a door too. I don't know how they don't get in trouble for this. Honestly hope they don't, because I really do like coming here, even if people are smoking inside.
Quiet with a full pub menu during the day (fish and chips, yum!) and then rowdy and fun at night with live music every night - rock n roll most nights, Irish on Wednesdays.
Darts in the back available week nights, happy hour from opening until 8 pm and then nightly specials including liquors and beers for the rest of the night.
They have website where you can check out any special events and the music calendar - <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Firishpubshawaii.com%2Fkelleyoneils%2F&s=6a7d69fe0c16b9e2e2a7da7d2ca14e217f25c81e63884f4a46a91a6bae9246e2" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://irishpubshawaii.c…</a>
Last call isn't until the wee hours around 3:30am, so there's no reason to miss it! Â :-)
Went there last night for my friend's going away party: Â
Sassy Kat chicken wings: awesome-sauce.
$4 Irish whiskey everyday: that's Feckin' right!
Dancing to the Irish band playing Dropkick Murphys: Oi Oi Oi!
Good to know: to open a tab, they do initiate a $50 preauth on all credit cards. Â However, the charge goes away in usually a day. Â Good times :)
All right, really, people can get over the smoking or not patronize the place. It enhances the classic, dark dive-y feel. Not quite a dive, O'Neil's is good & fine sans standard arrogant boys who think they impress. Whatever, get over yourselves, get on with your darts game.
But the burger was tasty, from what I recall. Their 7&7s come with a pretty pour of bourbon--or not so pretty if you're the toilet later that night. The bathroom has a dark green glow.
We left before too much band-playing kicked in.
I would give more stars if it wasn't for the fact that it's "okay" to smoke inside. I'm not a fan of the days when I get home late in the evening from a bar and have to take a shower to get the smell of cigarettes from my hair. So, I don't go here that often because of that reason.
I'll admit however that the times I've been here I have had a great time. It's always crowded and there's always been live music, which I love.
And oh, remember to get some drunken food from the food thing outside, Â I promise you won't regret it.
This place is growing on me. I personally hate it when it's super packed because the patrons are a little frayed around edges but on a weekday and when you get a decent band playing, it makes all the difference.
I got a guiness that was on tap among others (Smithwick's etc), you can smoke inside, you can people watch some very interesting meth-head looking peeps rock out.
But on the flipside, with the right person, you can share a good moment.... haha
Pretty sketchy, but pretty awesome. Besides being able to smoke inside about 5 minutes into my visit a a dude sweating his balls off offered to trade me drugs for my baseball hat. I politely declined...Go Padres!
The other deets..
-They've got great live music
- Booze is pretty cheap
-Crowd is a mix of military, locals, tourists,
-There's an awesome food cart outside for prime drunk food
It's open till 3:30am which may be a bit past your bedtime especially if visiting from the mainland, but if you find the dude sweating bullets and decide to trade your hat to him Kelley O'Neil's isn't a bad spot to ride the rest of the night out.
Why do I always end up here when I go out to Waiks? It was Friday night around 11p and it was crowded....Next time I'm asked to go here, I will remember these things and AVOID IT:
1. The Band that night sucked...The one playing at Rivals was WAY BETTER!
2. SMOKEY. There are so many bars that enforce the no smoking rule, why do I come here? I want CLEAN AIR!
3. STICKY FLOORS. YUCK!
4. OVER PRICED BEER. Are you really charging me $6.25 for a pint of Longboard? I'll have my $3 bud lights at Rivals!
5. Clientele. Now this can actually be pretty fun people-watching, but still, white trashy! :)
I would normally never call a place a white trash hell hole but this dump is. This makes all the other so called Irish pubs classy and reputable. This is just where all the weak drug addicts (yeah, I'm talking about cigarettes) and trashy youth who always waste their weekends in Waikiki basically go to since they are under the illusion that this is somehow a great hip place. Go to Chinatown for a decent Irish pub  with bands who actually play their own compositions instead of constantly playing songs by Weezer.
The only good think was that there was a sandwich cart owned by the hysterical guy who's usually outside of O'Toole's Pub. Unfortunately, it was manned by him since it seems like he doesn't even like to go there. If I remember correctly he even said he enjoys being at O'Toole's the most.
I want to like this place. Â I'm originally from the east coast, and well... I love irish bars. Â I usually pop into this place once a week or so, usually if I'm having a night out, but I usually can't stay here too long because this place gets crowded, and it's one of the few bars that allow smoking in Waikiki. Â
They have a great bands that play here, no cover, and it's laid back (I'm not a clubber), but I just can't give this place a great rating. Â It's small, crowded, it allows smokers, and the beer selection is nothing spectacular. Â Overall, if you're looking for the whole laid back, irish bar experience, I'd recommend going down to Chinatown and checking out Murphys or O'Toole's. Â This place is only good in small doses.
Given my last review, you would think I would stay away from O'Neils, but when you are subject to the celebrating graduate's drunk decision of where to drink, you don't question it and follow.
It was a Friday night and as expected, crowded and smokey. Thank the gods that there was no cover, which is why they even get one star.
Generally we had a great time. The bands are alright, saw a mini fight happen, an old lady popped open her shirt while dancing. Service was doing pretty well and everything was fine until.....
We review our bill on our credit card statement a couple days later. We got billed twice and the second one did not follow our usual pattern of charge. Shoddy and unprofessional. Will be contesting the charges and avoiding O'neils from now on.
My friends and I ended up here because we knew someone who was part of a band that played Celtic music- bag pipes, flutes and such. Â Oh the pleasantries... of Irish folk music. Â
This place is not for folks who have issues with breathing in smoke.
There's smoking- smoking inside and out. Â Seriously, I didn't want to be the party-pooper and protest how much I didn't like breathing the carcinogenic air- Â I just sucked it up and toughed it out. Â Besides, I was in the company of great friends and after a few drinks, I had a really great time. Â The drinks are decent and the staff are pleasant, too.
Oh and they have one of those fortune telling machines with a robotic Leprechaun? (pardon me if I'm wrong, I can't remember clearly since I did it on my way out of the place), I think I paid 2 bucks and got a fortune print out. Â I was a bit disappointed because these fortunes were catered to their military patrons, which I am not.
Loved the tunes. Â The band (Masters of Oz) plays this venue fairly regularly and they are a talented lot with a penchant for eyeliner.
The drinks were cheap and easy to come by. Â The crowd was *mostly* a rowdy, fun bunch. Â There were exceptions, of course.
This would have been a four star review if I didn't smell like a dirty ashtray when I got home.
Ugh!!! There's a reason why there was a smoking ban put into effect! So people like moi, who has asthma, don't need to breathe someone else's pollution. Â I had no idea that this place applied for the exception to the law until I went in. Â I stayed there for 5 minutes and had to leave! Â Good for smokers, but unfortunately, I won't be coming here anymore.
Plus, within those 5 minutes, I saw a lot of T & A on the dance floor that I didn't need to see. Â It made me a lot a bit uncomfortable...
I liked this place but can't give it the minimum 3 stars b/c of the smoke. Â For non-smokers like me, I can't take it. Â I felt like I smoked a pack from the 2nd hand smoke. Â
Another star reduction b/c domestics are kinda pricey @ about $4-5 but the atmosphere is kinda cool. Â There was a live band doing covers and the corner had a slew of dart boards. Â
While it's not a horrible place, I probably won't return b/c there are a lot of other pubs that have a similar atmosphere w/o the smoke.
This Irish pub sits across the street from the much more popular Moose's. The crowd leans to the older side and there were quite a few military types. There was live music but they didn't play anything except covers. Â
Oh yeah, for added entertainment keep an eye out for the MP's as they make their rounds looking for drunken sailors that need to be kept in check.
I loved this bar and if I lived in Waikiki, I'm sure you would often find me here. Â Big bar, big place, lots of good beer on tap.
I was here on a Friday night and a Tuesday night and there was a huge difference in the size of the crowd. Â Friday night it was packed solid. Â Lots of tourists, locals and military. Â Tuesday night was half full with mostly locals. Â Live music on both occassions. Smoking in Waikiki bars is not allowed, but for some reason smoking is encouraged here - weird. Â
Well worth a stop.
I went with two of my best friends to visit a third living in Honolulu for 6 months and this was her Hawaii friend group's fav choice for a night out after work (the awesome Yard House up the street). We went here probably three of the eight nights we were visiting and had a great time.
Attentive bartenders, live bands nightly, an Irish bar near a tropical beach (being from Boston, I'm used to my bars being Irish!)...Kelley's definitely stands out on Waikiki and offers a fun night out.
**When you stumble out at 4am, be sure to grab a hot dog with garlic sauce from the cart across the street! To die for.
I like that they have live music every day. Â They have a lot of options on their menu. Â It's fun to go to one of Hawaii's only Irish bars (there are 4 that I know of).
Parking can be expensive if you park in a lot. Â Look for street parking as far away as Ala Wai Blvd. & walk back.
I was surprised people were smoking in the bar today. Â I thought the new laws prohibited it. Â Maybe because they sell cigars it's OK?
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