Kelseys Restaurant

The bartender was great with us waiting in bar drinks for the kids right away busy but nice
The server was warm and friendly new the menu well Food was great and Timely

I have been to Kelseys in the past and never really liked it, so I haven't been in over a year. I went with a few people on the weekend and I have to say it was pretty good.
They have updated their menus and they have improved their burgers.
2 ppl I was with ordered the philly cheese steak sandwich and it looked really good (they liked it).
So I would have to say Kelseys has certainly stepped it up!

I have had two poor dining experiences at this restaurant; after the first experience I decided to give the restaurant a second chance I loved the Kelsey's in Ottawa and Kingston.

The first time, I ordered the Balsamic chicken and a pint of beer. The chicken was overcooked and dry and the mashed potatoes cold. Further, instead of the cold beer in a frosted glass I previously enjoyed at Kelsey's in Ottawa, I was treated to a slightly cold beer in a warm glass. When I complained, the server simply shrugged and walked away.

A few weeks later I found myself in Stratford again and decided to give the restaurant a second chance. When I sat at the bar, the server greeted me with a surly, "What do you want?". I should've walked out then but I was hungry and had been looking forward to dining out that evening.

This time, I ordered the Sirloin, medium, and substituted mashed for the baked potato. The steak was bloody - rare. The potatoes were again cold, as were the vegetables. Again, the beer was only slightly cold and served in a warm glass.

Speaking with one of the employees, they stated that business was way down and that people always complain about the prices. I suspect that said patrons are not upset about the prices per se, but at paying good money for terrible food served by rude or indifferent staff.

As for business being down, word does get around so that is to be expected. As for my business, I'll never go back. Should you find yourself in Stratford, don't waste your time and money here - there are plenty of great restaurants elsewhere in town and Kelsey's isn't one of them.

This place is located on Ontario Street between the Old Stratford Mall/Zellers and Zehrs.

Kelsey's is a large chain owned by the chain giant Cara Foods. Cara also owns, Harvey's, Swiss Chalet, Montana's, Coza Tuscan Grill, Milestones and yes Cara Airline solutions...yes this group even puts the food on planes..or at least what food is left on planes.

Kelsey's claims to be "Your Neighbourhood Bar and Grill" and frankly so does virtually every casual dining option these days. They never seem to be in my neighbourhood though....on reflection perhaps that is a good thing. The problem with these places is that they always play to the "formula" and the "lowest common denominator". Everything from the decor, to the music, to whats on the TV in the bar, to the menu is tested and retested and meets a certain demographic standard. That standard is never meant to offend, always come across as pleasant, casual and relaxed and has something for just about everybody. Despite what you might think of the place there is bound to be at least one thing on the menu you will like.

It seems odd to me that with so many good privately owned-non-chain choices in Stratford that this place is always busy. Both locals and visitors end up here and perhaps it is because of that formula that they feel it is a safe harbor for a meal. Well in my mnd it is and it isn't. Certainly you know what to expect and can rely on consistant quality whether you are at the one here or one of the ones in Calgary.

We ended up here on Saturday after the final game of the day was rained out. I was ready to make something to eat and had stopped into GT to pick up a couple things I needed. I arrived home and GF said she would take us to Kelsey's and not to worry about making dinner. So we went. The parking area was next to full and despite that we got a table quickly. The place was doing a brisk business. The inside has a bar area in the center separated be various paritial walls and what not with perhaps a dozen tables.... The usual TV's and chatty bar tender. The main area is split in two with dinning on the right and left. This was no doubt the standard design that would allow for the smoking and non-smoking areas in parts of the country that still have that....Quebec comes to mind for some reason.

Service was efficent and friendly and frankly I have not been in one of these places when it wasn't (save for the first couple of visits to Boston Pizza (reviewed at a later date)). We ordered our drinks, Rickards Red for me, Corona for GF and Root Beer for GF's daughter (GFD). They came quickly and we ordered when they arrived. GFD ordered the Brushetta off the appetizer part of the menu, GF ordered balsamic Pene Pasta, and I tried the nachos.

The decor has lots of wood, the usual fake old fashioned signs and a lot of old photo's of Stratford which I thought was a nice touch. The place was clean as a whip as were the bathrooms. Our food arrived and the portions as expected where more than ample. GFD tucked into her Brushetta and said it was great...a far cry from the disasterous stuff at Othellos (see previous review). My nachos had been descibed as having spiced ground beef, chilli, tomatos, onions, lettuce, cheese and tortilla chips with a side of sour cream and salsa. When I ordered she asked if I wanted Jalepenos....of course.

There was nothing terribly wrong with this at first but as I got into the 3 or 4th bite I noted that the chips and cheese were virtually welded to the parchment paper that lined the basket. It made it almost impossible to get a whole chip, further investigation showed that the cook must have used to end of a particular bag of chips as they all started to be about the size of a quarter. Needless to say it became a pain to try to eat. The ground beef seemed to be in big chunks instead of evenly distributed small bits throughout and it wasn't spiced...or at at least not that I noticed. The addition of chilli is a mixed blessing. It is good, but tends to make the chips soggy faster and with miniture chips it was even worst. I have been on a sort of quest to find a place that makes decent nachos in Southern Ontario....still haven't found a place.....although a hole in the wall bar in Brampton (we were there for a ball weekend) didn't do a bad job.

GF's pasta was a disappointment. The sauce...or what passed for the sauce was a wierd glutenous mix that had a vague balsamic taste. Obviously they used corn starch to thicken this and that was the wrong move. A simple penne with EVOO drizzled on it, fresh parm and balsamic would have worked wonderfully. They used to their credit halved cherry tomatos, cracked pepper, fresh basil and a decent Parm...but the sauce stuff just killed it. It came with a small ceasar salad and it was nice.

Needless to say with all the great choices in town Kelsey's is not high on our list as a destination. But it is relatively consistant, clean and friendly and there are things that are ok on the menu...we just didn't seem to hit them the other night.

2 hours to get mediocre food. Don't dare complain to the manager because he thinks it's OK to be in his restaurant for over an hour and not get served anything -not even drinks. Worst service in a long time.

Server was rude, our food was slow coming out,
The manager treated his female staff with an unacceptable manor, completely irresponsible.
The Kelseys in stratford on should be closed down & re-opened as a Montanas with all new professional management.

Good stuff