Kelleys Island Brewery

Didn’t try the food, but the beer coming off that tiny little system behind the bar is top notch. Tried the Belgian dubbel, stout, regular IPA and the special DIPA they had on tap, and all were above average.
A tiny island can get boring fast. Having a place to go grab a good microbrew is awesome. The servers were quite nice as well!

Terrible service with rotating wait staff that failed to record orders correctly, served with a scowl. Uninspired menu. Flavorless food. The peach ice tea cocktail was promoted as made from home grown peaches, but was so weak the only thing peachy about it were slivers of peaches in the bottom of the glass. .. Priced at $ 7.00! Clearly they are using their position as a brewery– and the only one on the island — to take advantage. Don’t be.

2 stars for location. 0 for food. Bland & boring… no passion in the menu. Sounded good on paper. With a location like this they should really try to step it up! Disappointment…

Pretty nice place. Had a simple salad & some of the best French fries I’ve had in a while. I’m a fry snob, so that is saying something. Also had the Island Devil beer. Really good craft beef with nice, mild flavor. Good spot to stop & enjoy the view for lunch. Service was a bit slow, but good & attentive overall.

We stopped in during a bike ride around the island for some shade and some refreshing drinks. They were out of three of their drafts, but my husband enjoyed the IPA. I had the island punch, and it was a-​ok. Unfortunately, some guys were smoking cigars next to us at the bar & that chased us away sooner than we wanted. Not the brewery’s fault, but notable nonetheless.

RUDE and NASTY — we will never return (and our family visits often). One star is too generous but I had no choice as it’s the minimum. Our waitress is very nice and accommodating but the woman who sat us (and who is also a waitress) was the rudest, nastiest woman. We asked to put two tables outside together for our party of 10 but she so rudely and sharply stated, «We can’t do that.» Not even 5 minutes later she was moving two different tables to accommodate two other parties. She was sharp and short. Another party had the same exact reaction to her as she treated them the same. It’s unfortunate that she is working in a profession that requires you to be kind to others (i.e.hostess, waitress). She wasn’t even nice in her tone (it could have made a significant difference).
There are so many other choices of restaurants to go to on this island, choose another one.

Awesome beer. They only have 4 beers that are made in house. However, the house-​made IPA is absolutely phenomenal. If you are on Kelly’s Island you absolutely have to check it out.

My husband and I visited this tiny brewery on a Saturday around noon. We sat outside and it was a gorgeous day. We both got a sampler of the 4 beers and hands down loved the Island Devil. We wish the brewery was larger so they could sell this delicious beer!!!
Can’t wait to go back again this summer!

Had dinner and drinks at the brewery for derby day. Food was really great and the brewed on site beers were awesome. I’m a big fan of the Island Devil double Belgium.
Would recommend hanging out here because the lake views are the best on the island.

This restaurant by far has the best views on the island. My husband and I love to sit out in the courtyard, have a cocktail and just watch the lake. Also… I was so happy to find that they offer a Boca Burger! Being vegan, it is not always easy to find a place to eat. Be sure to stop by and enjoy one of their home brews and take in the beautiful views!

We decided to take the family over the KI for the day. We rented a golf cart and drove around the island and any time I see «brewery» I am in. Since it was basically «post-​season» we took advantage of the half empty place. They have this makeshift tent deal outside covering the bar and it was pretty ratty.
One of the servers told us to just pick an avail table and we did. I seemed like forever until one of the servers decided she’d suck it up and take another table which would have giver her two… I had the Dawg Biskit Brown ale and it was goooooooood… the wife had the Anglers Ale and she loved hers as well. I just wish it were colder.
I know we are on an island but the menu was surprisingly sparse. I wanted a grilled chicken sandwich; hoping it was prepared with love and assembled with care. I got a piece of grilled chicken, slapped betwixt two pieces of toast with a limp leaf of lettuce and an anemic tomato. Had I known I would have brought them 4 dozen of the tomatoes I don’t know what to do with in my garden.
The saving grace? The beer battered fries. Wife had the sweet potato fries. we could have split them.
Kids had a burger and grilled cheese; no complaints from them.
The major downer was the $ 81 tab. For lunch. Ouch.
Alas, while you are on KI you are all vacation modey so it’s kind of expected. If this place were on the mainland it’d be closed in a week; however given the location I guess it’s okay. Go for the awesome beers and eat a sleeve of pringles later.

Okay beer and not very good food.

I consider myself reasonable in forming an opinion on eateries. Unfortunately, this restaurant shows signs of not even trying.
The menu is rather pricey and I come to expect that on the island. I assumed the food would be at least OK, but it is undebiably sub-​par. I ordered the short rib sandwich. I received a hamburger bun with a minimal amount of roast beef that tasted similar to the crock-​pot roast beef I made in college. I like that kind of thing, but I expect much better if I am paying to go out to eat. I’m the type of eater who likes to eat just enough, and not too much. I finished this «sandwich» in less than 5 minutes and was still hungry. The price was $ 10.
The biggest slap in the face is what my kids ordered. Mac and cheese was on the menu for $ 5 per serving. They each had one, which came to a total of $ 10. I am not even exaggerating when I confirm that the Mac and Cheese was instant mac. At that point I just felt like the restaurant was laughing at us. There is food that is bad and then there is food that is an insult. Going to a restaurant and paying restaurant prices for instant mac is kind of infuriating.
I suppose I’m a little baffled by the laziness with the food. The service was fine and the atmosphere was clean enough. This was my first time on Kelley’s Island and I assume there are other restaurants on the island that try to do a good job with their food. I felt like Kelley’s Island Brewery was shamelessly upcharging poor food and making no effort to play it off.

This place has one thing in its favor: location. If you are staying at the Venture Resort next door, you can walk here. It also has nice lake views. Breakfasts are basic, but overpriced. Expect to spend over $ 10 for breakfast and a beverage. Quality is OK, value is poor. Then there is dinner. There are a variety of appetizers — most of them fried. The only good one was the sweet potato fries. We also got served pretzel bread, which was nice. The entrees were poor. My fried perch looked and tasted like something you would expect in a cheap dinner buffet. Overly breaded, overly cooked with the flavor of the perch destroyed. On this island, you can get a perch dinner just about everywhere, and anywhere would be better. Other entrees were not great. Unflavored grilled chicken, roast beef with unbelievably thick gravy. The servers mean well, but are really not as inspired as the help at other locations on the island. Then there is the beer. They list four local brews, but they only had two available when we were there. I wonder if they were the less popular ones because mine was not great. Unfortunately, our bill ranked among the highest at any place we ate on the island. So, there are better places for food or drink on the island, for much lower prices.

Only had three of the home brews on tap, all were tasty! Good place to chill and play corn hole. Check out the unique bar, worth a stop! Bartender was army vet, really cool guy!

When we went they only had three beers to sample. But they were very good. My favorite was the Island Devil and my husband liked their IPA. The staff is very friendly and the service is pretty quick. They have events on saturdays, like beer and chocolate tastings.

Pretty much everything on Kelleys has a vacation-​y rose-​colored haze around it for me, but I have genuine affection for this place. I’ve passed several summer afternoons or evenings enjoying the beers here, either inside or in the lovely beer garden (beer lawn?). The beers are all very drinkable and most are geared toward summer sipping for those most accustomed to Bud and Bud Light. The two real standouts for me are the Dawg Biscuit Brown and the Island Devil, a Belgian ale.

My advice, don’t come here expecting much and you probably won’t be surprised or disappointed. There are limited culinary offerings on the island so it’s not like you’ve got a lot of choice in the matter. We showed up here for this reason and because I wanted to try their beer. More on the latter later.
We were spending the day on the island with my wife’s mom and her stepdad. It was mostly wandering around in a golf cart stopping in at shop after shop of cheap island-​themed, Chinese-​made tchotchke. We stepped off of the ferry around 1pm and headed immediately to the Kelly’s Island Brewery. When we arrived the place was practically empty. This was to be the shot over the bow.
It’s something like you’d expect from an island that makes most of its money from drinking, 20-​somethings, and bachelor/​bachelorette parties. The main restaurant looks like they’ve taken design cues from the inside of a 1980’s Winnebago. Linoleum, formica, Naugahyde, stickiness and the sinking feeling that the experience just won’t be that good. We wandered out back to sit on the patio.
The outdoor seating area isn’t that much better. Save for the amazing weather we were blessed with that day it was underwhelming to say the least. A bar (of course) covered in a vinyl party tent with two taps decorated with concrete and stones (try sitting your glasses on that). Out from under the tent were a handful of plastic umbrellaless picnic style tables complete with plastic chairs. And before I forget, there were some cornhole games, too. I could almost hear the slurred speech wafting from the ghosts of frat boys past.
The menu is your basic bar fare with chicken sandwiches, burgers, nachos, you get the picture. There are also three, count ‘em, three entrees from which to choose if you’re looking for something a bit more substantial. Here’s what we had for lunch:
Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich — Your basic chicken salad. Mayo, chicken, cranberries and almonds served on whole wheat bread. Not bad. It comes topped with raw white onions and tomato slices. The side of potato salad was reminiscent of many a 4^th of July family picnic.
Grilled Chicken Salad — What a disappointment. The menu states «a generous portion of Romaine and iceberg lettuce». If by generous you mean a handful and by Romaine you mean more white, anemic iceberg lettuce. The chicken was cubed and tasted frozen. The Gorgonzola vinaigrette and the salty Feta cheese did help it a bit.
Sweet Potato Fries — The best thing I ate that day. The fries were cooked all crispy and caramelized. They came with a dipping sauce more like a butterscotch caramel sauce than a condiment. Too sweet for me but the rest of the table liked it.
Our service also suffered several setbacks worth mentioning. I was excited to try their beer sampler but, unfortunately, it was not to be. After waiting for about 20 minutes for our server to come back with our food she told me she forgot the beer. She did apologize but I was annoyed and told her not to bother. She also brought out a chicken salad «salad» the first time instead of the sandwich my wife ordered. She then stated «that’s what you ordered» before reluctantly agreeing to take it back and bring out the correct order. Never tell your customer they are wrong. Just smile, apologize and fix the problem. Server 101, right?
I was pretty disappointed by my experience here. Had I been able to try the beer, had the server not stumbled, just so many maybes that could have added another star. Whatever. Even if the beer had made light beams shine through the clouds prompting angelic choirs to sing this place is no more than a 3-​star joint. Maybe if you come here already drunk, maybe if you’ve never experienced a really good brewpub. Maybe.

Last week, during my vacation, my family headed out from Waterford, Michigan to have dinner at Kelly’s Island Brewery in Lake Erie… only a two and a half hours drive — well, we did stop at the Toledo Zoo first :0)
As a craft beer fan, I searched for breweries near Toledo and Kelly’s Island Brewery popped up. Beer on an island, and at a brewery… SOLD!
We took the ferry from Marblehead with our car on board, and my two daughters (four and two-​years-​old) loved it. My wife and I did too :0)
We headed right to the brewery and grabbed a table outside for an al fresco dinner with a view of the lake. It was a perfect night… sunny, warm and relaxing.
We promptly ordered some beer that included their Anglers Ale, an English bitter; and a special Anniversary Ale. Both were delicious, crisp and smooth. However, the Anniversary Ale was a hit for us. We even brought home a growler of the Anniversary Ale. I came prepared too. Had a cooler in the back of the car for the brew in the growler to survive the trek back to Michigan. Of course some ice helped too.
With our brews we had the perch dinner and my daughters had the chicken fingers, which they didn’t eat (they never eat dinner so nothing new here). We also ordered the sweet potato fries and a very unique and strong tasting hummus with feta cheese in it. This was good, but only if you like strong flavors.
We’d definitely go back. The staff was very friendly too, which is always a big selling point.

Pablo E. sounds like a delight, doesn’t he? Can’t imagine why the staff would have been rude to him.
The brewpub is alright with me. The staff has always been very friendly to my family and myself. The food is decent (and includes the only veggie burger on the island that I’m aware of), if not slightly healthier than most of the rest of the barfood on the island. I usually get either breakfast or the veggie burger.
The prices are fine. It’s $ 8 for a cheeseburger. $ 7 for a veggie burger. Want McDonalds prices? Don’t get on the ferry.
If I had kids, I’d probably feel more comfortable about bringing them here on a weekend evening than almost any other establishment on the island. Being a mile away from downtown, the Brewpub is not within staggering distance for the hardcore party kids or hardcore alcoholic boater fellas.
I mostly enjoy this place for its outdoor patio with a lakefront view, right next to the old Neuman Ferry dock (RIP). Awesome to watch Island Fest fireworks from.

A week at Kelleys Island gives you ample opportunity to try everything the island has to offer. I was extremely excited to sample some beer brewed there. Sadly, by the time I left the island’s only brewpub, I felt like squatting down and dropping a nice big deuce on the dining room floor to express my sentiment.
There really is little or nothing good about this place. The food is absolutely awful and is the prices are WAY WAY out of line. The service is awful and staff is condescending. The décor is reminiscent of a hospital cafeteria. The bathrooms were disgusting.
I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich, fries and a beer sampler plate. The chicken sandwich was the kind that you’d get out of a vending machine and then have to find a microwave to nuke, complete with a sorta-​wet bun. The fries were soggy and cold. The beer sampler plate, cutely served on a chunk of wood shaped like the island, only had three beers in five slots. I was told that there might be more beer next week, after my vacation ended. Hello? This is fucking tourist season! Have the fucking beer ready! The worst part: the beer I drank was pathetic. I’m not talking, this isn’t my kind of beer bad. I’m talking like the recipe must be bad, because one of them (the darkest) was actually separating. I’m not even sure how you do that, given the process of brewing.
Grand total for the food alone? $ 12. I know there’s an «island premium» on food prices, but I also know that $ 12 at any of the dozen or so other eateries actually gets an edible meal. The ³⁄₅ of a beer plate was $ 5.95, which yes, I got charged full price for despite my arguments with the manager. And after dinner, we had to find more to eat somewhere else.
STAY AWAY. Unless you like setting your money on fire for fun.