I went to Kelly's in Norfolk for the first time in a long time. Last time I was there was late night, but today I went for lunch on a Sunday. I'm blown away by how different each of the Kelly's are in Hampton Roads from each other. Obviously they all have the same essential menu, and I can definitely say that the staff at each place is well-trained, courteous, and helpful, but it's still strange how all the buildings' differences influence the overall vibe of each locations. In Ghent, Kelly's is in a smaller place with a quaint bar. It's cozy and reminds me of being in my grandmother's kitchen or something. They have a bunch of old pictures of Norfolk throughout the 20the century. Definitely interesting to look at. The food at Kelly's is great. I had a bowl of their white chili, which was very warming during an overcast, cool, rainy day. I also had a half-soup, half-sandwich combo with French Onion (pretty good broth and cheese, though I prefer bread to croutons) and a sliced turkey and cheese sandwich on wheat. Excellent food. read more

Great service by staff today. Will definitely be returning for future service. Very friendly atmosphere and not too loud.

It has been a few years since I've been back to Colley Avenue. I guess there are more dining choices throughout the City of Nofolk where people can go, so Colley seems a little boring now. Having said that, I recall Kelly's Tavern always being there. I was a bit disappointed that despite the 'Tavern' in it's name, the beer choices were pretty limited, and there were no beers served on tap -- really?? The food was plentiful, although not particularly flavorful. It was pretty greasy, so I ended up leaving a fair amount of it on the plate. I was kind of turned off by one of the staff members smoking just next to the screened-in outdoor dining area. Alas, probably no reason to revisit Colley Avenue, however, if I return, I'll probably seek out someplace a little more interesting... read more

Good burger, good wings, okay fries (loaded fries were pretty good) our waitress was okay. Not the best meal I've ever had but it was good & there was no wait so that made it that much better! Overall definitely worth a try. read more

Amazing food! We had the baby spinach salad with Tuna and the French dip sandwich. The salad was crisp and fresh and the sandwich was warm and soft. The meat on the sand which was moist and not chewy or dry. read more

Kelly's Tavern - American Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

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Foods average but the DJ and staff made a big deal about my birthday at karaoke. It was also my waitress birthday and she sang her heart out. Would come back just for the atmosphere! read more

My wife and I come here at least once every two months. We live near Lynnhaven Mall, so it's quite a trip to get out here, but it's well worth it. It's a very intimate, very friendly spot. I've always been a fan of Kelly's. For some reason, the Virginia Beach Kelly's locations just don't match up to Norfolks'. I've been to Pembroke & Hilltop and they both use FROZEN fries. This Kelly's on Colley Ave in Ghent use FRESH CUT fries and they load your plate with them. Their cesar salad dressing is also wonderful. Kelly's also has a beer of the month special going on as well. Their burgers are wonderful and there are many varieties. We've always been very pleased with Kelly's Tavern in Ghent. read more

The service at this bar/restuarant is excellent...the food, not so much. It's a good place to go to during the warmer months due to the outdoor seating. I did buy a cool bar t-shirt, though :) read more

Kelly's Tavern - $2.25 Land Sharks!! Tasty! - American Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

Oh Kelly's. So much great history. I want to still love you. But I simply can't. Sigh. I went tonight in search of a tried-and-true old favorite but, alas, you failed. I can't quit you Kelly. It was a chilly night so I ordered the half sandwich and cup of soup. The cup of soup was perfect. I ordered French onion and it was cheesy, beefy, and packed full of onions. But the half a sandwich? Please! Clearly on the menu the chicken salad came with lettuce, tomato, and bacon. Upon delivery it was a sorry, lonely solitary scoop of chicken salad on a cold and bereft piece of toast. I asked the waitress where was my lettuce tomato and bacon? She went to check. When she returned she replied that she could provide lettuce and tomato complementary but I would be charged extra for the bacon. I asked her for the menu. I reviewed it and confirmed that in the description the chicken salad comes with lettuce tomato and bacon. But I'm not gonna take that out on the waiter. So I politely declined. But I will tell you, Kelly's, nickel and dime your locals right out the door. What you gained with that 27 cent piece of bacon you lost in a ten-year customer. read more

Kelly's Tavern - Sad chicken salad missing lettuce, tomato and BACON! - American Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

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Great staff awesome wings fries wraps and burgers. Unbelievable drink specials... A must visit. Highly recommend.

Friendly staff but not impressed with the food. Fries where soggy and strips over cooked. read more

Kelly's Tavern - American Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

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Ordered the Spice Burger. Cooked to perfection, tasted amazing. Highly recommend if you want a thick, large patty with a side of exceptional fries. I will go back! read more

I received horrible customer service by a waitress on st. Patty's day. I had spilled a drink on my friend, and all over the table, and quickly ran to the bar for some napkins where I found a napkin dispenser. As soon as I began drying the table and my friend off with the napkins, the waitress ran over, and scolded me. She said you can't use these! The waitress picked up all the napkins before they could dry anything, and took them away. I asked if she could bring us something to clean up the mess, and she very rudely tossed us a filthy and disgusting rag from behind the counter. I guess Kelly's can't afford to give away napkins to its paying customers! read more

The only thing good here was the fountain, straight booze. And the beer...real talk rotten potatoes on my plate and dirt on my cabbage..and some bone or hard item found in my boyfriends Shepard's pie. The restaurant has a awesome atmosphere and look but the food was garbage and makes me question if the the place is even in health standards... read more

Terrible meal today at Kelly's on Colley. Fries tasted like cardboard and hard. Hamburger was tasteless and tough. Bun burnt. Overall a bad meal. Won't be going back there again. Used to be one of my favorite places to eat. Asked for extra napkins and got paper towels that you usually see in restrooms. read more

I came here happy...and left depressed. My food wasn't good at all...it was supplement thats all. The cheese was disgusting soo dont get anything with cheese its just so processed you taste it. :( read more

Colley Ave is chocked full of decent, do-able eateries. Kelly's Tavern is one of them. They're known for their delicious burgers, but I'm a baller and ballers eat Prime Cut Steak when they're at a burger joint, so that when people look over at my table with my $2 beer and paper napkin, they'll say, "Man, that guy's eating a steak. That's expensive. He must have money." And then lacy panties start flying towards me, and Jessica Alba licks the side of my face, and a Victoria's Secret model gets on the table and asks me to pick a song out of the jukebox because she just feels like dancing. Okay, just kidding, it wasn't that exciting in there. But I still had a good time! The servers were super friendly, attentive and present just at the right moments. The food is above average. There was a flat screen TV with some kind of game on at every sight line. And the bill that I grabbed, after feeding five hungry males, was very reasonable. I'm a fan. read more

Kelly's Tavern - American Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

Awesome restaurant! Great service and amazing food! Richard was very attentive and had an amazing smile

My previous post was "filtered" by Yelp, so I have copied and pasted it so that everyone can read wonderful things about Kelly's: Ordered fish and chips...fries were terrible, like they had been cooked three times over the past two days. One fish stick. $13 Frozen bags of fries brought out of women's bathroom (we assumed there is a storage freezer connected somehow...) Called a tavern, but no beer on tap... Poor service (had to wait 20 minutes to order with 5 tables seated) Rest of my group agreed with food quality: French onion soup was salty water with cheese on top. Stale bread inside was good though. Burgers were okay, but definitely not "BEST of Norfolk" as advertised on their menu. Will not go again or recommend. In fact, will tell people not to go there. read more

Ordered food to go, I paid the extra money to get sweet potato fries and they gave me a small handful. Definitely won't do that again

We love this place!!! Out of all the restaurants strung along Colley, this is one of the best! I love how it has a quaint feel to it, very cozy! The staff is always friendly and fast. They always talk to us and make us feel welcome. Mattie? Has been our server there the last 2 times. she is very sweet and speedy! Bar staff is always friendly. Food is always fresh, hot and fast! Restaurant is always clean and it has a cute little patio. I've been to other Kelly's and some are not so good! This one is a charm! A+ read more

This place is an alright place to meet friends and have some drinks. I haven't ate here so I can't help you with that. The restaurant is very small and a little out dated. read more

The service here has taken a dive in the past year. This used to be a place where I'd tell my friends any time of day, any night, you'll be taken care of...and that is so no longer the case. There is only one awesome server here and the rest range from "meh" to terrible. One, I think the manage, will frequently play on her phone and watch the televisions rather than watch her tables. The service has become so poor that I generally look to see who is working before committing to entering the establishment. I can't even remember the last time I really wanted to come here rather than a "Fine, we'll go here" type of choice. They also allow smoking on the patio and the smell frequently wafts in through the door and lingers. And the menu! They changed it, but I have no idea why. This place has a tiny kitchen and would be better suited to a smaller menu of things they can prepare fast and well. The new menu is a bit too long and has things that must be reheated. They usually only have one dessert and that is usually key lime pie. I liked this restaurant better when the menu catered mostly to the bar and happy hour crowd. It worked with the smaller facilities (small kitchen, small bar, two one-seater restrooms) without slowing things down terribly or overwhelming the staff. It also worked with the dark decor and having the fast to order food to sop up the alcohol. I really want to enjoy this place like I used to, but it seems to be suffering from a bout of poor managing and bad ownership. read more

Im new to Norfolk, which I went out looking for good places to eat, hoping this would be good...if I could give this place a 0 I would, but let's start off with how we walked in and were approached by someone who was so thrilled to be there (clearly not), immediately asked if we were ready, so 20 minutes go by (we timed), she comes back saying sorry (which you could totally tell she forgot about us.... we got crab dip, which was good, our dinner entrees not so much. I got fish and chips, which came out barely cooked (the batter was white still), it would've made the experience better if we at least got decent service. I work in this industry and I never have been this furious with a place before, sorry not sorry. It's not even a place I'd give a second try. read more

Kelly's has amazing burgers and fries! Their burgers are huge and cooked to order. Their fries are fresh cut. I prefer to get Kelly's for take out because the atmosphere is dark, crowded and feels like the wait staff caters more to the regulars at the bar. read more

Out of the two servers one was on the phone for a half hour and other took our drink order and forgot about us until we simply had enough and walked out. We would have loved to have a burger there, the staff doesn't care enough to serve though. read more

Food was very good. My wife had the chicken cranberry salad wrap and said it was above average. I had the fish and chips and was very pleased with the fish, cold slaw and vegetables. The atmosphere was very pleasant for conversation with nice 70's music in the background. Beverages were perfect and wait staff was pleasant, helpful, and very nice. I recommend for a nice dinner out.! read more

I called them at 1:25 a.m. and they said they were not making any more food but don't close until 2 a.m. the lady was very rude and hung up in my ear I will never spend my money at this establishment ever again! read more

Eh. First time trying this location. We were in the area and it was a nice night and wanted to sit outside so we have here a shot. Either the waitress was new and nervous or been there way to long and could care less. Just all around awkward. The burgers had no flavor at all. The burger itself had no seasoning, taste just like ground beef pressed into a burger. Also, I'm still perplexed as to how a bar has no on tap beers.... They get two stars because it didn't kill me and the fries are pretty yummy. read more

The food is always good and the service is friendly. I love their spinach & avocado dip, the crabcakes are great, and the spicy cajun chicken sandwich is my favorite. read more

This a part of the chain that is throughout Hampton Roads. It is a good place for a burger or sandwich with friends. The outdoor seating is definitely preferable, as the indoor seating feels like you're in somebody's grandmother's house. The hot dogs and other dishes are nothing to write home about, but they are also not horrible either. I would describe most of the menu as standard lunch fare. The fries, however, are remarkable. They are home-made and are very good. read more

The burger and the service were great. The only beef I had with this place was the fries. If they hadn't been so terribly chewy, this place would have definitely received 4 stars and I would have been a loyal customer. I say if you're eating just a burger, great, but the fries suck! read more

Good american food; good drink specials. Kind of loud and pretty casual. Good for a quick weeknight dinner or happy hour.

Being that I've been here before I know Kelly's is a great place to eat, BUT they really need to up their staff during happy hour. I waited 30 minutes before I was even greeted and had egregious wait times for more drinks. Great place overall but management really needs to consider increasing the staff for happy hour. read more

Stopped by for lunch during a visit to Norfolk. Kelly's is a proper pub with patio seating, a full menu and groovy tunes on the radio. After a few extra minutes of deliberation I went for the fish & chips. My very cool girlfriend opted for a salad. More than generous portions on both orders. The fish (Cod?) was fried perfectly along with the fresh-cut fries. Her salad bowl was filled with a variety of good stuff - including onions which she requested to be be removed. Adequate service from our waitress. The positives? Full menu. Cool neighborhood with lots of people watching opportunities. Not too many screens. Negative? Odd bathrooms. That's about it. We will find our way here again, no doubt. read more

Great atmosphere, great food, great service, big taste for reasonable loot. The neighborhood lends to its charm esp in the spring or fall.

Nice Saturday spring lunch. I had the Turkey and artichoke sandwich. My wife had the Philly. Food was fast and they were very generous with the fries. Miss Kelly's since they left Pembroke. Also sat on the outdoor patio and it was a perfect day read more

Food was disgusting, pretty sure it's the worst I've ever had. Table was very wobbly, sever didn't even check on us more than once, never going back and never would recommend to anyone read more

The service was so great. The servers are real with you and give you their honest opinion if you ask for it. Felt right at home, will come back as a regular forever read more

Service is good. Small selection of decent beers. Food is mediocre at best. Putting this in the 'no' pile.