I'm a local, so I guess I'm able to see beyond the amazement that there's an actual restaurant aside from an Applebees amongst the rural Amish countryside. Â Really good food (the duck was killer). Terrible service. Our waitress was curt and seemed overwhelmed by what appeared to be only a mildly busy Friday night. My wine was vinegar-y. I expected better. Hesitant to go back.
Review Source:We were a party of 16 that was seated at a table that was suitable for 10. It took an extremely long time for our orders to be taken. The food finally started arriving after about an hour but just to the people who had ordered appetizers. After awhile another batch of food was brought out to a few more people. Another wait and another small batch of food until we eventually all received our food after another hour had passed. The food was good when it finally arrived but I was so irritated by the long wait with no explanation or apology, that it was difficult to enjoy it. There was more attention paid to keeping our water glasses filled than there was to getting our food in a timely manner.
Review Source:I had the privilege of being able to eat at this establishment again over the past week and I believe that they have only gotten better since I was last here. I know, I know, that sounds impossible; believe me it is true. The food is just as delicious, if not more so. Hands down some of the best crab cakes that I have ever had in my life. We even had a staunch "I don't eat crustaceans. Ever." at our table and the table cajoled him into having a bite. Guess what? Yup, he said, and I quote "Those are really good". That was coming from someone who would normally go hungry, rather than eat shellfish!
The drinks were fantastic too. I partook in the "Ginger Apple Fizz" that was made with Fuji Apple Vodka. So, so, so good! My boy had their pomegranate martini; it too was delicious, I told him that it was dangerous because it tasted like adult Kool-Aid. I could have drank a gallon and then burst through a brick wall yelling "Oh Yeah!". Fortunately I did not and their walls are all still intact.
This place is still as clean as if they had just opened yesterday and I noticed that they had renovated the restrooms since the last time I was there. Or they renovated the ladies room at least. The work that they did included putting in a new sink. The new sink is one of those that looks like a bowl sitting on the counter, but when you get up to the bowl and look in, it looks like a koi fish in a pond. This was so neat that my (future) mother-in-law and I sneaked our male counterparts into the ladies room so that they could see it. I apologize to Kelly Jae's for sneaking boys into the girls room, but you are the ones that made the room so cool looking, so really it is your fault. :)
Everything here was delicious but I have to mention the desserts. We ordered the molten Godiva chocolate cake with vanilla bean gelato and the key lime mousse cake. I should leave a big space here so that you can let your mind adjust to the amount of "Nom" that I just typed out there. Seriously. Â I really would have loved to pull a Mrs. Doubtfire and shove my whole face in that key lime mousse cake, but I kept it classy and used a fork to shovel it into my pie-hole. Â The molten Godiva chocolate cake. Shut. Up. It is really like hot chocolate custard that you will want to bathe in. i am salivating just thinking about it right now.
In short, this place is classy and quirky and full of surprises. I am now begging you, please come to Boston and open up a Kelly Jae's! Pretty, pretty please with a pomegranate martini on top?
A wonderful and unique restaurant in Downtown Goshen in the former Bluegill building. Â I like the whole concept of this restaurant. Â Yes it is a tapas restaurant, but unlike other tapas restaurants I've been to, this one incorporates fusion cuisine and larger portions. Â The idea is to have everyone at the table order a different item and then share with everyone. It is a great way to sample many different dishes and taste sensations. Â We went on a Tuesday night. Â They were jam-packed. Â We were not expecting this, but were grateful we made reservations. Â This is a fresh and wonderful place in Goshen. Â It was worth a trip from South Bend and we will definitely be back. Â Incidentally, I order the Pad Thai as my dish to share... It was absolutely amazing! Â Try Kelly Jae's, you'll love it. Â Order a few hot or cold starters and then have everyone order one main item. Share! Â Read the other reviews if you want to hear more samplings from their menu.
Review Source:Portions were perfect, flavors fresh and fruits and vegetables organic. The menu offered appetizers, salad, main courses and desserts . Plan to share. Could this possible be in Goshen Indiana? More like California fare. Seasons 52 move over! Read the special board at the entry you might find a featured $10 bottle of wine. Be patient with the wait staff. At times everyone was pitching in and other times no one was available.
Review Source:I stayed in Goshen for one night on a roadtrip and found Kelly Jae's to be an unexpected delight in a town of diners and fast-food joints. Â The interior, with its backdrop of brick and twinkly lights, sparkles. Â The food had some good glimmers too.
We ordered four tapas; that was a perfect number for two people who don't like to repeat the same order and are willing to share. My corn-crab chowder had a satisfying creamy texture but was a little bland, in need of salt. The Jae's Salad of greens, pears, and spicy nuts was a reliable combination of tastes and textures but had too many nuts for my taste, and I really like nuts. Â The duck with cherries and peaches was moist and delicious, and was our favorite dish. We enjoyed the simple combination of artichokes and cheese.
We ended the meal with gelato, which was perfect.
On my first visit here I stopped in with a friend of mine for some drinks and wasn't really in the mood to eat. That was until I had had a few drinks and had worked up an appetite. The bad news was that the sushi chef had already packed up and left by 9 pm. This was a little disappointing but didn't deter me from returning later in the week to make another attempt. I ordered the Shrimp Fresh Roll which for all intents and purposes is a spring roll not unlike the ones found in Thai and Vietnamese restaurants. The Thai peanut sauce said it was spicy but I had a hard time detecting any heat. Maybe instead of trying to be eclectic they should stick with the traditional sweet plum sauce served with spring rolls. The shrimp contained within the roll were cooked quite well and all the other ingredients were fresh and tasted wonderful. The bar selection is quite diverse as is the total menu and the bartender is quite personable. My biggest complaint about the place is the price of the items which are more on par with Chicago than Indiana. I am looking forward to my next visit to try the tapas.
Review Source:Pretty good! - cute restaurant in quaint downtown Goshen. Here is what we ordered:
*Dates stuffed with duck sausage - pretty good - I've never had anything like it before - they were wrapped in prosciutto.
*Golden beet / strawberry salad with a vinaigrette and crumbled cheese - very good!
*Seared scallops were EXCELLENT - cooked perfectly!
*Peppercorn flat iron steak was also good but a huge portion.
*For a drink I had the mango rum tini - very sweet and good but was served in a kiddie sized glass :(
Overall this place was very good, hip and cozy. The tapas sizes are very large which is different - generally tapas are pretty small - but I would say each tapas plate was 3 times larger than I've had at any other tapas restaurant (especially the steak) so we made the mistake of ordering way too many plates for 2 people (4 dishes) and had plenty of left overs. So the prices are more than the usual tapas I've had - I would prefer if the portions were half the size for half the price.
I actually signed up for Yelp just to write this review - THAT'S how great I thought this place was!
I live in Chicago, but I'm in Goshen quite a bit for work, and as a vegetarian and a relatively healthy-eater, I'm typically not looking forward to mealtime. It's almost always hard to find a tasty, healthy, vegetarian item when I'm out this way.
Not anymore.
I crept in here on a whim and a wish, and I'm so glad I did.
This place just oozes class and charm, from the amazing space (exposed brick walls, loft ceilings, and a tin ceiling!), to the friendly staff, to the great food.
I really have nothing bad to say.
I'll probably eat here every single time I'm within 20 miles of Goshen from now on.
This is a very cute restaurant, with great atmosphere. There aren't many restaurants with this kind of attention to decor in this area, so it is worthwhile to stop by if you'd like to go to more of a "date" atmosphere. I am subtracting a star, because I didn't think the food was that memorable (all the dishes we tried tasted a little salty). The ravioli and shrimp dish was probably the best of what we tried that night. I would return to try it again.
Review Source:AWE-SOME!!! My expectations of Goshen were of horse and buggies and rural roads. The outskirts (yes, there ARE outskirts) of Goshen are typical Walmart-BurgerKing-Applebies-NAPA-Dollartree... BUT! 'Downtown" is cute. There are a bunch of rehabbed storefronts with charming facades and interesting shops.
Kelly Jae's Cafe is on a corner on Main Street. When you enter the restaurant, it has charming string lights that seem tree shaped along the brick walls on both sides of the dining room. The high ceiling would be an acoustical challenge in many places but the noise is muted and we were able to chat at our table with out raised voices.
The wine list takes up a page and is well thought out and undaunting. I had a nice Malbec at $6.50 a glass.
There were three of us and we shared the crab won-ton appetizer with an incredible seedless blackberry sauce. Each of us chose an entree to share. I would not consider Kelly Jae's a true tapas restaurant but portions are not large and served in a sharing friendly format.
We shared the hanger steak with blue cheese fondue, duck with apricot and crab cakes. The steak was nicely seared and rare. The duck was pink in the middle. I would have preferred the apricot sauce be less chunky but it was a bit tart which was a nice balance for the duck. I'm not a huge crab cake fan but these were moist and came with a spicy
Remoulade sauce. We voted and the steak won with votes for both the duck and crab cakes.
We did share a dessert. OH MY GOD! Molten chocolate fudge cake and vanilla gelato to die for!!! I generally don't care for dessert but did manage to down a few bites.
Kelly Jae's was not inexpensive. It was an excellent value for the food and friendly service. Our bill came to around $100 plus tip for three glasses of wine, an appetizer, three entrees and a dessert.
And get this! Kelly was busing tables and chatting to the guests. She is self taught and from Goshen.
AH-MAZE-ING!!!
If you ever get to Goshen, (yeah, I know) do not miss Kelly Jae's.
I visited Kelly Jae's Cafe for the 2nd time on Saturday night and was once again BLOWN AWAY by this place! Â Who would have thought we would have such a fabulous restaurant in downtown Goshen?
First off, I NEVER get to Goshen. Â Ever. Â I had heard about Kelly Jae's back when it first opened a few years ago but had never taken the time for the drive to check it out. Â Kelly Jae's is a tapas style restaurant, which I love and we currently only have 1 other in my area.
I finally got the chance to visit them with a foodie group of friends this summer and again with family this Saturday night. Â The cafe itself is adorable - great decoration, awning and a few outdoor tables and inside, beautiful high ceilings, brick walls and tiny, white lights from floor to ceiling. Â There is no separate bar area and no waiting area either, just a tiny hostess table in the entrance.
The wait staff is so attentive, friendly and upbeat. Â They have a big job - on top of the regular menu items, they always have a large list of delicious specials they must memorize. Â My only suggestion to Kelly Jae's would be to provide guests with a printout of the specials - the list is always long, hard to remember and only visable on a chalk board sign outside and right inside when you walk in the door.
The other big draw for me for Kelly Jae's is quality of the food and  the uniqueness of the dishes.  Kelly Jae buys fresh, local ingredients to support the local economy and farmers and provides this information on her menu.  If you have time to check out their website, you will also see her tasty dishes has been complimented in a number of magazines and even by Liv Tyler!
I have tried almost half the menu and each and every item is savory and perfectly prepared. Â So many great things to choose from, it makes it an exciting place to eat! Â My favorites so far include their filet mignon special, which a dinner companion said was the best steak they had ever had and seared Maple Leaf Farms duck breast. Â It literally just melts in your mouth. Â For dessert, I recommend the key lime white chocolate mousse cake. Â Such a great combo!
Prices are very reasonable but be sure to keep an eye out for the specials and if concerned at all about staying within a certain price, ask ahead of time before ordering them. Â Our bill for 4 on Saturday night with 1 alcoholic drink for 3 of us, 3 appetizers to share, 4 main dishes and 2 desserts was $180 including tip.
Kelly Jae's Cafe is worth a special trip to Goshen, IN to enjoy some of the best food you can find in the Michiana area!
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