My date and I stopped in before a movie and everything from the drinks to the salad to the entrees were just OK. My date had a Burger, we split a salad and I had the wasabi salmon. My salmon seemed to be missing the wasabi, it was just a plain piece of fish. The waitress assured me it was in there but I don't think I could miss wasabi. It was topped with a avocado relish that seemed like it was made a couple days ago. I ordered a yummy sounding martini and he had a long island. Â Not a bad dinner just not one I would repeat.
Review Source:Came here with hubby to watch a game. I didn't have any expectations, but this place was pretty good! Â We had the garden salad which was okay. The onion soup was just your typical ooey gooey onion soup would get this again! Â Also the chicken pot pie is probably the best I've ever tasted!
Review Source:I was introduced to this restaurant by a friend at work. A few of us has planned to go sit outside and have beers. She was negative about Geronimo, my go-to outside drinking spot. I thought she was mad. When I looked at Kelly's I thought, "It will be loud and dirty outside. Such a busy intersection!" I was wrong.
In the summer, the outside terrace is surrounded by plants and as long as you don't sit right on the Temple Street side, you actually do feel like you are in a park. You can hear the traffic, but you don't feel that you are downtown.
I actually had lunch inside for the first time yesterday and it was also really nice. Modern pub-like atmosphere. Lots of wood but no football shirts on the wall.
Beyond that, there's the menu (recently redone) which is basic sandwiches made a little funky, my favorite kind of lunch. I had an awesome cajun chicken sandwich. My wife loved her chicken salad sandwich with mozzerella and yucca fries. I was sorely tempted by the crab cake sliders. Actually the whole menu sounded good. Nothing overly exotic, but nothing boring.
The beer selection is also great. They did get rid of my Lake Placid beer, but  there are lots and lots of local beers you've never heard of to try, which is fun.
I'm not sure there's much to complain about. It's right next door to the Criterion so it's nice for a lunch and a movie or a beer and snacks after a movie.
We decided to try Kelly's after seeing a movie at the nearby Criterion Theater. It was a beautiful night and their outside patio was appealing. Â As far as being in the thick of things, this is a great corner. Â There is plenty of people coming and going and it adds a nice ambiance. Â
The service was a little slow. Â The food was acceptable but, by no means, noteworthy. Our friends had the beef tenderloin over greens. Â They said the tenderloin was good. Â The tenderloin appeared perfectly cooked. Â
My wife and I had burgers. The burgers were supposed to be 10 oz, but I think they were more like 6-8 max. Â
The place is alright for a quick bite but, if you have more time and the focus is on the meal, there are many other better places to eat in New Haven.
I went here for lunch with the girls, and it was pretty good overall.
The service was adorable - somehow they ran out of martini glasses, so he checked with me if another glass was ok, or if I wanted to change my drink. A few minutes later, he came out of the back, holding a freshly washed glass. He was attentive without being overbearing, and when we asked to see the dessert menu, he said "I am the dessert menu....oops." Good sense of humor, and the restaurant has a young, laid back vibe to it.
The food was very good. I had a reuben special, with sweet potato fries. I'm pretty picky about how my reubens are served - if they're not hot and juicy, I am very disappointed - but they did a pretty good job with it. My friend had a lovely stacked crab and shrimp salad, but for $15, it seemed a little on the sparse side. The presentation was terrific, though. The only thing I can think of on the negative side is that some of the fries were fully cooked, and some were slightly undercooked.
It wasn't the cream of the crop, but the service and the food, plus a nice day out for lunch made the experience pretty great, and I'm going back again.
We had our end of the summer staff party here in the back room.
The Pros:
- $4 house wines and most draft beers
- $5 special drafts (including a good pumpkin ale)
- Delicious breaded fish, fries, salad
The Cons:
- Cash only bar, at least in the back room for our party
- $7 for well drinks
Overall, good drinks, good bar food, and the staff was really nice to our large group.
I do like the venue, especially since they have outdoor seating. Â On the other hand, pretty much everything else is lacking.
The food is terrible. Â They have passable burgers, odd apps and an expensive list of entrees that I'm sure are never ordered (and therefore never fresh). Â They need to pick a cuisine and build a short list of the things that they can do really well rather than a random list of dishes from all over the map. Â
The service is terrible too. Â They have a relatively limited beer menu compared to their neighbors. Â Their waitresses are not knowledgeable about their drinks or their food. Â I've been here several times and have yet to have a waitress deliver the correct order.
If you really want to sit outside and savor a drink, this place is ok. Otherwise, keep your distance. Â Truthfully I'm thinking of copying and pasting this review for Temple Grill.
I really like Kellys. The big open floor plan accomodates large groups, bar crawls, and they have karaoke and open mic nights every week ( I love karaoke ). They have a beautiful fireplace that puts off so much heat in the winter months, and makes for a pretty romantic evening-despite the many 17 year olds strutting by in their mini skirts and 12 inch heels - and yes Im talking about their winter attire. (the only real downside is the location- right in the heart of "club land" . I guess new haven really does have it all. Other than that, this place is really chill and fun. I havent explored much of their menu, but their french fries are damn good. And their drinks are pretty reasonable as well. bonus.
Review Source:I had been to Kellys bar for drinks and hadn't been disappointed. I chose Kellys, therefore, for my joint graduation dinner with roommate's family because I heard their food was good. Let me say that I understand how busy they probably were on graduation weekend, but my disappointment not only lies in their food, but also in their management. Even though it was freezing outside, we were put on the porch. While I wouldn't have cared so much, we sat outside for over an hour with no sign of our appetizers. Moreover, none of our drinks were refilled. Our waitress was obviously stressed, and rightly so. Finally, a member of our party requested to move inside and Kellys did accomadate us. Nevertheless, we didn't receive our appetizers for another 30 minutes. They were fantastic, and at that point I told myself I wouldn't mind being there for 1.5 hours if the meal was just as good. Unfortunately we waited another 45 minutes and it had become obvious that they had lost our order.
The rest of the meal is really why I give Kellys one star. The manager came to us and offered us a free beer, when it was obvious no one was drinking liquor. After they brought out our main courses, one meal had still not come out. Thankfully, that meal was compensated, and we received free dessert, although we would have been more pleased with a discount. Having spent about 3 hours, we received mediocre food. Fifty percent of the orders were wrong. Furthermore, everyone who had order the lamb received food poisoning later that night.
However, I do have to say our waitress was wonderful, but the manager did not appear sincere in her apologies. Â
I had heard decent things, and so I am very disappointed that a restaurant was so underprepared for a weekend in which they knew they would be very busy. Hopefully Kellys prepares next time.
Either way, I would recommend students and otherwise to choose another restaurant when looking for a celebratory meal.
The view from the patio included construction but the patio was quite enticing. The lunch menu was equally enticing then disappointed much like the view.
The goat cheese croquettes had been so fried that the cheese was non-existent and even if the croquettes had cheese the ratio of croquette to salad was disproportional.
My house salad with grilled vegetable was tasty and served with crumbled goat cheese and a creamy balsamic. I added "shaved Parmesan" not realizing that it came with goat cheese. The "shaved" Parmesan from the Caesar description was really grated cheese and of the Kraft variety.
Wines by the glass as well as the draft list certainly didn't disappoint and helped the short comings of our salads.
Kelly's was certainly mediocre and with so many other great lunch places in the neighborhood I dock them another star for being just mediocre.
I've passed it several times and it always looked interesting. Clearly someone with deep pockets spent a lot on the interior so finally today I stopped in. The interior was beautiful and I loved the fireplace. The crowd at the bar was a bit salty for the downtown area but I decided to pull up a chair and get down to eating and drinking.
The bartender was really helpful in helping me to find a beer I liked - she poured a few samples and that's something I really appreciate.
I had the Calamari, which was almost certainly Sysco, known for its frozen, pre-made, edible but uninteresting food. Then I decided to try something new and got the Guinness pot pie. It's basically a Guinness Beef Stew with a pastry crust baked on top. After getting past the crust I found a bowl of gravy (which was pretty good gravy as it goes) and small chunks of extremely tough, flavorless meat. I think there may have been a few onions in there. It was pretty terrible basically and for 14.00, I dunno.
Downtown cash-cows are common enough so I'm not that suprised, and I'm fairly sure that I'd get the same level of food (and probably almost the excact same menu) at Black Bear, Wicked Wolf, or Cask Republic (all within a block), BUT, the term Gastropub drew me in, thinking I'd be getting something better. Oh well, duped again. Bartender was nice though!
Worst meal i've had in New Haven, period.
I was walking by Kelly's the other day and saw the "Express Lunch" advertisement outside. $7.00 for lunch, monday through thursday. I wasn't expecting much for $7, but i thought at least i could get a sandwich or burger and fries or a quesadilla or something.
The waitress had her head so far up her ass it was unbelieveable. She knew nothing about it. When she came back from asking, the only thing i could make out was a "beef casserole". So i decided to try it
When it came out, it was a small bowl of what looked like the filling to a shepherd's pie, there were more onions in it than beef and what little beef was in it was tough, gristly and just downright disgusting.
What a complete disaster. Unless you have a death wish, stay far away from this place when you're hungry.
--update 2/22--
Lisa,
I appreciate you taking the time to listen to feedback as most businesses are too lazy to do so.
I didn't comment to your bartender/waitress because she was so misinformed about the menu, I felt as if it wouldn't have done me any good.
To elaborate on my review, the bowl that i was served would be most accurately described as a "stew". Â However, there were no starch components to the dish, no potatoes, it wasn't served over rice.
The flavor to the gravy was pretty good and well seasoned, but there was more gravy in the dish than anything else. Â I was lucky to get 5 pieces of beef, of which cut i could not discern.
To address your comment, maybe i shouldn't have interchanged the americanized "shepherd's pie" with the more traditional "cottage pie". Â My bowl looked like the filling for a cottage pie, which is traditionally made with cubed lamb, not ground beef, hence the reference.
The beef was either improperly cooked, or improperly cut to be so tough after such a stewing process.
I would be ashamed to serve that to a guest in my home and If I were your chef, kitchen manager or waitress I would be ashamed to serve that to any customer. Â I feel as if the sign out front is just a false marketing ploy to bring in foot traffic in hopes of an upsell, otherwise your waitress would have known about the sign, and would have had a menu devoted to it. Â The sorry excuse of a dish that i was served was just a bad attempt at covering that up.
I did receive a call from 203-***-**** which a google search shows as your phone number, however, no voicemail was left. Â I would be happy to stop in and talk to you personally, or if you prefer you may contact me at 217-***-****.
Thanks
J.L
So I literally live less than a block away from Kelly's, but we only really come here if we're looking for a quick cheap drink or if we're really desperate for a cheap bite to eat for downtown New Haven standards.
They sell themselves as a gastropub, but the quality of the food is consistently mediocre. Â The space is actually really great due to the sheer size of the bar, with a whole big bar and room deep in the back plus a large outdoor patio that is great when it's warm out. Â With Cask Republic and Prime 16 literally steps away, food-wise this place is always an afterthought. Â I do like the party pours of Basil Hayden's that I get here, but again I only really come here if the wait is too long at the two aforementioned craft beer pubs in the neighborhood.
I was in New Haven overnight unexpectadely and needed food late night. I did a quick Google search and ended up with Black Bear Saloon, across the street from this place. I called, they said they had late night menu. I got there and after I was able to get the bartendresses attention she gave me the option of wings, maybe.... So, I ventured out again and found Kelly's. Lino at the door got me past the cover charge for a band on a wednesday night. He was paying attention and a good door man. I was able to get a pulled pork qesadilla and some Berkshire Brewing Cabin Fever Ale. And it was allllll good. I was so happy to find a place to get food late night in CT. Considering that getting beer at a store is impossible after 8p. Fuckin stone ages. Â
Kelly's is an urban feel for sure. They had a DJ and a band that night which was great. I was the only white person there basically, aside from the bartendresses. That was fine by me. Lino took care of me and I will definitely be back.
*Note* Review is for the Bar only
Kelly's is an interesting place for sure. Much like "The Cave Of Wonders" in Aladdin, it seems like only diamonds in the rough enter the place. This is not say that you won't have a great time when you go. I've been there on several occasions, and the bartenders that stand out to me are Gary, Ryan, Katie, and Mike. Gary is hilarious, Ryan actually listens to me when I ramble about random nothingness, and Mike brings the off-the-boat Irish humor. Katie is just a joy to be around and lights up the room. I go to bars solely for the staff, and this bar is star-studded for sure! With regards to pricing, it's typical of a downtown New Haven Bar location. I've never tried the food. But I enjoy giving my hard earned money to people that deserve it, and the hardworking, Â "Fantastic Four" at Kelly's certainly deserve every tip they receive.
This place has a great patio with a bar outside!! Â I went there for lunch with my labmates. Â The man who seated us, perhaps the owner or manager, was very nice and gave us some free beer samples as we sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine. Â The lunch menu is great and prices range from around $8-13. Â I had the crabcake sliders with zucchini fries. Â Delicious! Â Definitely more than enough food for lunchtime. Â Two of the people got the chicken sandwich and both could not finish it. Â A great summer time lunch spot and I'm sure it's a great night time pub. Â The bar and restaurant are very nice inside.
Review Source:Had lunch here on a recent Saturday. Â My first impression was a really nice little pub/restaurant with an short but impressive menu and a decent selection of beers. Â I ordered a steak sandwich, which has gorgonzola and caramelized onions on a baguette, with 'cajun dusted' chips (not fries). Â The steak part of the sandwich was a fatty sirloin with a thick vein of fat on one side. Â It would have been so easy for the chef to just cut that off before cooking it or to use a leaner cut of beef. Â I had to extract the steak and cut the vein off. Â The chips were kind of bland and plain fries with salt would have been much better. Â
The service was really poor even though the restaurant wasn't very busy. Â It took a while to order, when I finished my glass of water the waitress (who I think was Irish?) took the glass away instead of refilling it, and also brought us the wrong check at the end of the meal. Â Probably won't be going back.
My second time visiting this place. Â This is a low key Irish bar. Â Great place to get together with friends, enjoy a beer and be close the the fireplace.
I was surprised to find tuna tartar on the menu and I have to say that was pleasantly delicious. Â We then ordered the normal pub food, burgers and fries which was tasty as well. Â The burger was so big I definately had to share it with somebody else.
Overall
atmosphere 4.5
food 4
drinks 4
The four stars are all for the food. Â We liked both our choices: Orange chili glazed wings (a steal at only $5 for a dozen) and the BBQ pork quesadilla. Â Don't let the "small plates" menu fool you, those two plates were more than enough to feed two. Â On the other hand the burgers are almost too big, served on giant plates with huge fries (or a huge salad). Â I also liked the fireplace and the people seem genuine.
They get a star knocked off for service, and for atmosphere which managed to be loud despite not being full. Â I think a lot of people are not eager to go to this place because it always seems empty. Â Somehow they are missing the "cool" vibe despite being, I think, well decorated (in good taste, all around). Â Also it's nice and clean (which is a plus for me even though it also does not make it any "cooler."). Â It's a shame that more people aren't drawn in, because the food is actually really good. Â Maybe the problem is they're trying to do cheap bar food and fancy dinner at the same time? Â Too many themes in the restaurant? Â The entrees are a bit on the high side, price wise, while the burgers are not expensive, nor are the "small plates." Â Maybe this results in people not thinking of it as a go-to in either context? Â Hopefully people will go try the food, because these people seem quite nice and it would be a shame to see yet another restaurant fail in that space.
Also, I'll be back for drinks on the patio once it's nice outside. Â How long until spring?
I think this place is getting better and better. Â A fireplace roaring in the winter, sports on the TVs, happy hour specials, and friendly bartenders... what more could you ask for in a New Haven bar? Â
The food is deceptively good, too. Â I assumed the food would suck, but it's always been satisfying. Â I recommend the salmon sandwich-- it was perfectly cooked. Â the BF loved his steak & fries in curry sauce (or some rendition of that name) and pulled pork quesadilla, as well.
Great atmosphere. Â My girlfriend and I spent a night in New Haven and grabbed drinks here at the bar. Â The bartender (and owner) was one of the coolest, nicest, and best bartenders I've ever had! Â Great conversation and tasty appetizers available at the bar-- try the coconut shrimp.
Nice beer selection on tap and some good wines as well. Â We had an excellent french blend recommended by the owner. Â He even gave me a free drink while my girlfriend nursed her glass of wine! Â If we're ever back in New Haven, we will definitely stop back in here. Â A gem on Crown Street!
I like Kelly's. I like it quite a bit, actually. I've been here probably about half a dozen times, and every time, whether I've eaten or not, I've had a very enjoyable time.
Kelly's is deceivingly large inside. While that's a plus because it can accommodate a lot of people, this is a small problem when it's not particularly busy, as it can seem desolate. However, the bartenders here do a great job, so that can make up for it somewhat. Which isn't to say it's always empty, it just has been during the off-hours that I've been here.
My favorite thing about the place, though, is that it is not a night club. When Marius closed, it took its crappy techno side-bar with it. Kelly's is a place for normal people, which is something that downtown New Haven needs more of. Thankfully, it's also not an Irish Pub, although it gives off the appearance of being one.
Calm down Irish people. I'm not saying I hate Irish pubs, but we certainly don't need another one in the area. What I like about Kelly's is that it has the Irish pub feel to it, but, as opposed to many Irish pubs whose beer selections stop at Guinness, Harp and other UK banalities, they actually focus on craft beer as well. I can just as easily walk in there and order a Bud Light Lime (look, I'm not proud of it, but it's happened) as I can a Smuttynose IPA, Kwak, or Rogue Dead Guy.
One complaint, however... Kelly's, if you are going to do live music, please don't make it suck. I was in there the other day, early evening-ish, and there were like 7 people in the whole place, and my buddy and I were having a good ol' time. Then some boring 3 piece band started playing crappy versions of songs I was happy listening to over whatever music service you subscribe to. Having live music just for the sake of having live music is kind of annoying.
The food at Kelly's is pretty solid. I've had many different things. My least favorite was probably the shepherd's pie, and, at worst, I'd say it was passable. Everything else I've had there I've been very pleased with.
When you consider that they also have outdoor seating, there's no reason why this place shouldn't be packed all the time...
My favorite meal during our road trip came on our last day at our final destination. Â After unloading the car at my friend's new place, it was time for lunch. Â I called around looking for a restaurant with outdoor seating. Â I understand that this is big challenge given the weather in CT. Â Not finding anything via Yelp :o( Â we got back in the car to drive around some more and came across Kelly's. Â They have a large outdoor patio, perfect for bringing your dog!
I tried some of my friend's 7 ONION SOUP AU GRATIN (sweet and good) and her VEGETABLE STACK, with grilled zucchini, squash, carrots, peppers, onions, eggplant, roasted garlic and a basil vinaigrette (delicious!).
I had the Soup du Jour, which was a TOMATO RICE (comfort!), and the ALMOND CRUSTED TROUT with vegetables (fish was still fork tender; a great dish!).
Their starter rolls came out piping hot and were very yummy. Â Will definitely come back when I'm in town for a visit.
Kelly's has been open since March and there are still less than 10 reviews?! Â I'm also surprised by the low ratings...
Was here for the first time a couple of weeks ago when the beau and I traveled down to see his brother and some friends. Stopped here for some drinks and some dinner with the boy's friends......
We sat out at the outdoor patio which was actually really nice and we started with a couple of brews while we chatted and decided if we were going to eat there.
Decided to finally eat there.....the burger the boy ordered came on a really nice and appetizing looking crusty herbed bread. Â I had the chicken club sandwich and the sandwich was on good quality white bread, but just very thick so I had to eliminate the middle slice of bread from the sanwhich. However, the chicken was nicely cooked and tender and juicy and veggies were fresh on the sandwich. The fries looked appetizing, but could tell they were cooked in old oil that had been reused so much the temperature was not being maintained so that fries retained a lot of oil in them and tasted greasy. Â Only other complaint was the the waitress was slower than molasses in bringing cold water back to the table a couple of times...like taking 15-20 minutes at a time. I realize we were there for a couple of hrs eating and drinking, but still....c'mon.
Overall, not a bad experience and definitely has some potential. Wait service was very nice and the food was ok with potential.
Get the crab cakes! I'm VERY picky about crab cakes, nothing ever measures up to home made.. These do.
Food takes a bit longer to get to you, but everything is hand done, so worth it! Prices are reasonable for the quality of the food. They need to add some more wait staff, only two waitresses for the whole place on a Friday night?!? I felt sorry for them, but they were very good and nice.
I'll definitely be back!
A group of six to ten of my friends gets dinner every Tuesday. Â One week, after we had been treated particularly poorly at Prime 16, our usual destination, we decided to check out Kelly's. Â The consensus was that it was passable but not worth a revisit.
The good news is that the place is huge and welcoming, with a nice patio for the few days in the year when God smiles on New Haven. Â The service was also friendly and pretty attentive. Â We were the only customers, though, so take that for whatever it's worth. Â It was refreshing, though, since we're used to the awful service at Prime.
The food took a little while to come out, which was surprising considering how empty the place was. Â The slowness was far from shocking, though, and the general accommodating attitude of the staff made up for it. Â As for the food, though, I'm not sold. Â The bread was actually quite good, especially a dark soft raisin bread that was served warm and fresh. Â I think my visit here must've been on a fat day, because instead of a burger, I ordered mussels in coconut curry broth. Â This was mediocre. Â The mussels were decent, but the broth was really sweet. Â I also think that it should have come with some bread. Â I know I shouldn't judge a place like this from its mussels, but even so, I don't think I'll go back. Â My friends who got burgers all seemed to shrug in response, so that was probably our last group dinner here.
In a sense, I guess you could liken our trip to Kelly's to a revenge fuck against the abusive Prime 16. Â But like so many victims, we've since gone back to our abuser, and poor sweet Kelly's has been forgotten.
So Kelly's is now New Haven's version of Appleby's: decent food, affordable prices, somewhere you would go if you didn't really want anything else. Â It has a vaguely Irish twist (mmm beer and fish and chips), but is overall strongly cemented in the American camp. Â Sandwiches, salads, burgers, random Irish food, and curiously interesting appetizers (the kind of fusion-y apps you'd see elsewhere in New Haven).
I came here with a large group for lunch, and tried a lot of different appetizers. Â I don't usually like crab cakes but I adored the ones here, flaky, light, and flavorful served with some sweet sauces. Â Skip the chicken spring rolls (not so good) and the PEI mussels in coconut curry broth (waaay too sweet) and the coconut shrimp (shrimp is cooked well, but I just don't like sweetened flaked coconut covering my seafood). Â The pork quesadilla app is big; I'd eat it for lunch if I felt like slightly interesting American food.
Cobb salad was fine, grilled chicken sandwich was tasty, burgers and fish and chips were huge portions. Â The menu doesn't feel too cohesive, but service was good and we had some bottles of forgettable white wine. Â Both appetizers and entrees in the $10 range; we didn't ask about desserts.
That's just the problem with Kelly's: it's forgettable. Â I'd love to see them either a) get more Irish, b) get more interesting, like their appetizers, or c)give up on the Irish/interesting and go for classics. Â Then maybe we could remember this place.
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