The Guiness was good but, based on my dining experience, the restaurant needs some work
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First of all, let me qualify this review by saying that I'm not a restaurant complainer. I seldom send food back, I always tip almost regardless of the service quality, and I think in three years and 150 reviews, I've only given seven Yelp reviews below 3-stars. I know restaurants have bad nights, but my experience felt more like status quo than an exception. Â
I should have stayed with just the beer when my server listed all the items that were 86'd. Â After seeing what was left, I decided on the ribeye steak, medium rare. Â I was intrigued by its description as being rubbed with tandoori spices. I also started with a bowl or their she-crab soup, which was quite good although very high viscosity, which detracted from the experience. Â When my steak arrived, it looked great...nicely grilled on the outside and it smelled great too. Â Upon making my first cut, I could tell this steak was nearly raw and pretty fatty, even for a ribeye. It's a darker restaurant atmosphere so one must also rely on tactile feedback and taste/texture. Â While I was waiting for the waitress to stop by, Â I noticed what looked like sliced, sauteed mushrooms on my plate but quickly realized were burnt little fingerling potatoes...not browned but burnt. I'm still questioning how both the kitchen and the server looked at these on my plate and said, "sure, these look fine." Â They were not edible. Â Once the server did her drop-by, I asked her to take the steak back for a couple more minutes on the grill, which she did without issue. Â She apologized when she returned and hoped this time was better, but sadly the steak still wasn't quite even hitting the rare level so I just ate a few bites and left the rest, paid my check and left.
Now, if I'd ordered this dinner from a Denny's (I never would, but I'm just sayin') I wouldn't have high expectations for the food or its preparation. Â This was a $26 steak so it should have been right, especially after the first send-back. The potatoes should never have come out of the kitchen in that condition. Â I took a picture of them but decided against uploading it. Â Hopefully someone in authority reads this and asks a few questions. Â I'm really frustrated because I wanted this place to be great. It does have an awesome vibe and the beer was perfectly poured. Â If they let me in the door, I'll try it again next time I'm there; I just hope it's better.
Having spent a summer in Ireland a couple of years ago, I was skeptical as I often am of an Irish pub in America. Â I have to say this is as close as it gets to being authentic. Â The staff isn't prancing about in too-short kilts blasting touristy Irish music which you so often find. Â The interior is stunning and architecturally fascinating (a renovated former bank - and yes, you can eat in the old vault). Â The staff is friendly and attentive. Â The menu features your classic Irish fare such as fish and chips (Haddock not Cod) and Shepherd's Pie - cooked to perfection and healthy portions. Â The true show stopper for our group was the seared scallops in a whiskey sauce. Â "Amazing" doesn't do it justice. Â The food was fantastic, the beer selection was perfect. Â So many great beers too choose from without being overwhleming, ... basically, we loved every minute of our meal here and plan to come back. Often.
Review Source:Every town should have a pub like the Gingernut!
This is a great bar and the food is excellent also.
Quickly on the food- they have a diverse menu that should deliver something for all taste buds. Â From casual burgers and salads, to finer entrees and excellent soups. Â You'll get that steak or whatever you have been craving after a day enjoying the town or water.
The pub is as good as it gets. Â Great beer selection, superb drinks and efficient bartenders. Â There is often live music, there's always a dart board, and you can usually find someone interesting to chat up.
This place is sized perfectly. Â Just small enough that it doesn't feel empty if there are only a few people at the bar, but enough nooks and crannies to hold a crowd. Â They're also usually open late which is very appreciated in a small town without much going on after sunset. Â It is nice to know you can walk in here at 1:AM and still find a party going on.
Love this place!
EXCELLENT! Service was great! Bartender even gave my husband a tour of the place (used to be an old bank). Food was great! I had the crab cake sandwich which came with homemade pub chips - mmmmmmmmmm!!! My husband had the lamb burger which he said was "unbelieveable." He also had the she-crab soup and as a foody/connoisseur, said it was "the best he's ever had!" Although we live in Norfolk, we would pay the bridge tunnel toll both ways to Cape Charles just to go to Kelley's! Â Fabulous decor as well! Definitely try!!!
Review Source:I really wanted to give this 4 stars, but the wait time on both visits was atrocious. While we were immediately seated, it took about 15 minutes just to get a drink, and another 15 to get an order in. Getting food took a solid hour.
However, the food was really delicious as many people have said--and you get a whole lot of it for the price. Sandwiches start at $9, including the crab sandwich, and it comes complete with a pickle, small serving of pasta salad, and your choice of bar chips, french fries, or sweet potato fries (favorite). The burger with brie and crabcake was also a huge portion. I had the fish burrito for $11, which was extremely fresh and scrumptious. Fruit medley was a refreshing non-alcoholic drink for a hot summer day, and was only priced at $1.50.
I very, very much wanted to love this place but spending 3 hours both trips for a lunch experience was a little too long for me.
I met a high school friend here for dinner. It is nicely decorated and the menu was surprising for the shore (a bit fancier than you'd expect). Despite that, it didn't seem pretentious, and the food was delicious!
They also have a great selection of beers on tap. I got a Sam Adams Summer Ale and really enjoyed it. We got an appetizer of fried pickles. I tried to order the fish special of the day but they were out of the fish so they let me swap out the type of fish but had the same accompaniments. So I had seared ahi tuna with green beans and cheesy but citrusy risotto. Very excellent! I would come here again for sure. Though it is sort of expensive.
Went to Kelly's Gingernut Pub while visiting my grandparents this weekend and had a great time.  The building is very cool -- it used to be a bank and has been remodeled -- and the atmosphere is fun.  We had  calamari, burgers (regular and bison burger), and the turkey panini, and all were delicious.  And the owner is incredibly nice.  So glad to have a great pub on the Eastern Shore!
Review Source:I'm torn what review to give Kelly's, because it's a cool place, but the food quality and selection varied from day-to-day and dish-to-dish. Â Even the service was uneven. Â We went two nights in a row and had fairly different experiences. Â My first night, I was struck with how incredibly un-Irish everything was. Â About the only Irish thing in the place was an ad for some Guinness. Â But I'm not all that into Irish pubs anyway, so it didn't really matter to me that it was basically a pretty standard Virginia pub masquerading as an Irish pub. (Went in, and the first thing they said was, "We're out of Chicken Pot Pie, Shepard's Pie, and pretty much everything Irish.") Â What did bother me was that the restaurant was trying to fancy itself up and be something a little more "high-falutin'" than I would argue the little town of Cape Charles needs ($18 duck salad? Â $26 salmon with blood-orange reduction whatever sauce? My shiny red hiney, I say to you, good sir). Â Note to the owner and the cook: when you get a good dish that works and that people like, GO WITH IT. Â Stop trying to be what you're not and get REALLY good at what you are. Â Be the best little Virginia pub on the Eastern Shore, not some pseudo-sophisticated wannabe!
Anyway, there were highs and lows. Â Fabulous ambience (except for the whumping of some low-frequency air system that was undeterred by a tv in the bar -- no music). Â Beautifully restored, left rough, this old bank building has charm to make up for, well, most of the food, like two lame salads I ate (house one night and goat cheese the next - both kinda sucked). Â Calamari was bland and overbattered, but the shepard's pie (on the night they had it) was DELICIOUS! Â Clam linguine was pretty good, but there were a paltry number of clams, and they served it with only these two tiny toastlettes, which didn't let you sop up the good stuff that makes clam linguine good. Â Husband liked his beer (big surprise). Â The cajun shrimp was incredibly spicy but delicious, but again, is there a shortage of bread across the Chesapeake? Â Because again with the teeny toastlettes - give a half dozen of 'em -- they're just bread!
So, high points, English waiter guy (FREAKING hilarious, makes an amazing creme brulee), nice brunette waiter gal (sweet, her dad's a clammer, friendly), great atmosphere, and the beer.  Low points, the food, the waiter we had the next night, and the ladies bathroom has a creepy statute of a mother and child in the one stall (whereas I hear the guy's bathroom has a topless chick and a picture of the Urinals of  Ireland -- now that's bathroom decor!)  Overall, pretty good.
what a gem this place was to me! I can only say that i have been to this pub only a hand full of times, but everytime i had stopped by this fine pub, i recieved the best service ever! I love the selections of  fine beers and foods. This place has the most relaxing environment ever! I used to drive two hours to sit there at the bar and have a nice meal with a large cold one. If i ever visit Virginia again i would diffanetly make a trip out to Cape Charles just to visit Kelly's Gingernut Pub
Review Source:Although the food was more uneven here than in other places we ate in Cape Charles, if I lived here, it'd probably be my favorite place to go on the strength of its nice beer list and really cool space (a former bank with nice nooks and crannies, and a spiral staircase going up to a second-story loft).
Food, however, was a bit uneven. My steak salad was quite good, and made with spring mix as opposed to romaine (I'm looking at you, Old Fire House). Meals for the rest of our group ranged from great (shepherd's pie and salmon) to eh (fish and chips).
If you find yourself in Cape Charles and fancy a beer, I'd go here. If it's food you're looking for, try some of the other restaurants first.
Most of the food here was good. Nice dark pub-y atmosphere made it feel appropriate for both the older couple that was all dressed up for a Night Out and the just-off-the-beach groups as well. There's a bar section and restaurant section inside. The hostess and waitress were both nice.
I dug the fried pickle spears, definitely an appetizer big enough for 2-3 people. & good fried green tomatoes that far north is a find!
The entrees were tasty, although I got a clam linguine with a few clams closed. Not all stirred into the pasta- these were placed, on top, meaning someone in the kitchen picked them up and put clams closed tight onto a plate to serve.
The side of veggies was 7 green beans... 7. & when  we got a Boston Cream Pie to go it was handed to us looking like someone picked it up and threw it into the box.
Hopefully it was someone in the kitchen having an off night- as I said the food itself tasted good- but I wouldn't return for more than drinks.
My wife and I got into Cape Charles at around 9:30. We were hungry and Kelly's was the only place still serving food. What a pleasant surprise! The menu we saw online made it seem like they had a limited bar menu.
Their menu is actually pretty substantial. We started off with a crab bisque which was pretty good. The Crab Cake sandwich my girlfriend got was amazing! Lightly breaded, not too oily and full of fresh crabmeat. The Fried Oyster Sandwich I got was also delicious. The cole slaw both sandwiches came with was fantastic. Â
We substituted our regular fries for sweet potato fries. Maybe the best decision we've ever made. These jokers were dusted with the PERFECT amount of cinnamon and sugar. (Sigh)........So sweet............ So good.......... So many memories. Â
Their beer selection was very good and my girl informed me that the Cosmos were impeccably made.
I thought this was a former church, but the website tells me it was actually a bank. Â In any case, it's a great space. Â Lots of little nooks, old brickwork, and vintage pews for seating. Â They have a good selection of beer (impressive for the area), and food was decent. Â There are also darts available, if you're into that. Â If I lived in town, I'd make this my local.
Review Source:
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