Kelley’s Island House

Very disappointed in our dining experience here given the high ratings. Service was extremely slow. The restaurant refused to split checks for our group. The food was very underwhelming. We had a pork ragu dish that was extremely stingy with the meat and the pasta quality was poor. We also ordered a dish with a salmon spread and salad, which was pretty good. The best part of the meal was the selection of interesting ice creams. However, given our experience, the experience was not really worth the price or extremely long dinner service.

I’ve been reading most of the reviews for the ten or so eateries on KI and I am dumbfounded as to why so many people think it is beyond great that their restaurant of choice no longer «fries» fish? Frankly, that is why I stopped going to Red Lobster and based on all the reviews of different places, it seems there is the Casino and Village Pump that offer fried perch dinners that might be pretty good. How sad that people are going to these restaurants to eat boiled, broiled, seared or mushy type fish. Someone with a good wad of cash, and marketing skills could make a killing running an authentic seafood establishment on these islands with real fish baked, smoked and FRIED…

If you are absolutely tired of fried island food, this is the place to go. Nice outside patio. Menu contains interesting appetizers, small plates, sandwiches and full dinner entrees. Beer and wine list and bar menu. The appetizer sampler was nice, with good selection of smoke salmon and olive dips, cheese, meat and pita. The salmon was well prepared with very nice sides. Service was attentive. This place would do well on the mainland, and is very unique and good for Kelley’s Island.

Just awesome. Hit it up on a wet Monday night after the rain rolled thru. Had a party of 10 w 4 of us being kids under 9 years old. Fortunately for us it was pretty empty due to weather and being a Monday. I believe we scared the Bartender at the outside bar named Matt at first but the adults sat at the bar and the kids at a table and Matt was excellent. Half price wine night got the evening going w a great selection. Then came the food. It was incredible as we ordered as much as we could so we could all get a taste. Everything was delicious. Can’t remember the name of soup but it was the bomb. Bacalao maybe. I will be craving that for weeks to come. Steak was awesome. Kids got a couple pastas which were great. Could not have worked out better.

Best this place has been in years!!! Still a bit pricey but finally worth it! The breakfast is to die for! They are really going above and beyond when it comes to their menu this year! I’ll be seeing a lot of this place this summer! Xo

My husband and I enjoyed a lovely evening here for our anniversary this past June! The food was amazing and the service was great! Thanks to everyone there for making our day special!

Best restaurant on the island for sure. Went here and ate outside. We brought the kids even though it is a «grown up» restaurant. They were very accommodating and had high chairs. The server was working VERY hard (I think they were short staffed) but made no mistakes and was friendly. Right before our dinner came a huge rainstorm started and everyone made a mad dash inside. Instead of chaos it was actually really fun. Food still came to the right table at the right time. ½ priced bottles of wine (I think we were here on a Monday) was an awesome deal too.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Island House. Monday night is ½ off a bottle of wine. We enjoyed a bottle of German Resiling with out dinner. The service was good and the food is the best we had on the island because they do not serve the same it’s as the other restaurants in town. The three star rating is because towards the end is our meal our waiter was focused on the large party that was seated and instead of asking us if we wanted anything else, brought us our bill. It was too bad because I was prepared to have another drink and relax.

Tried to have dinner here last night at 7 pm on a Thursday night. Only 7 tables filled, which were being served by a you lady. Our waiter, a guy called in to work that didn’t want to be here, took 35 minutes to stop at our table to get us drinks and dinner. Again, NOT busy. He proceeded to tell us dogs weren’t allowed, we checked before we sat down, mind you, and were told it was okay. He then complained to his manager, who proceeded to throw us out, now 45 minutes after we sat down!!! Never had such a rude experience EVER !!! On the patio next to the gate, AND the bar next door served dogs. Run, don’t walk from this place!!! Used to be good last year, but has changed hands. The lounge outside is gone and the food is pedestrian at best Sushi rolls but no tuna tartare??? So where does that tuna come from??? Scary!

We were in the mood for a late lunch. We went along with the wait staffs recommendation and ordered the lobster roll. 2 large rolls toasted and stuffed with butter drenched lobster meat. Small platters of garlic green beans and spicy calamari. We met the chef who was a delight and recommended that we come back our last evening on the island for dinner. The chefs recommendations were fried green tomatoes, salmon grilled to perfection, crab cakes and wedge salad. All were excellent. Worth the money.

Certainly as good as food gets on Kelleys Island. If you know you are going to pay too much for food on Kelleys, why not get GOOD food in the bargain? You can get fried food anywhere on the island; give this place a try for creative combinations of ingredients cooked well.
We really enjoyed the fried plantain chips as the base for a cheese, black bean nacho-​esque appetizer. The mussels appetizer was fresh and well-​seasoned in garlic and white wine.
The tuna steak special was cooked perfectly (rare), and served with a grain (gana?) mixed with diced cucumbers and onions. It was flavorful and delicate.
Our server was very attentive and pleasant. The constant traffic down Division Street was entertaining.

I’ll keep it short and simple. My wife and I came in for a late lunch when there were very few people at the restaurant. The food was simply outstanding! The burger and fries, best I ever had. The coconut shrimp was excellent and I generally hate shrimp. The service was prompt, helpful, and overall just outstanding! For two people our dinner with three drinks was around $ 60 which i did not consider outlandish. If you come to the island, check this place out!

This guy knows how to cook! The burger we had was perfect 5 stars and the salmon with the curry sauce was to die for. We had some really tasty signature drinks and wish we would have gotten a bottle of champagne because the food was really that good. Prices were reasonable too. The service was especially nice. We later saw our waitress in a shop down the street, she remembered us and was like r u guys havin a good time on the island? She was sweet. Best place on the island, we will be back for sure. Thanks guys we loved it!

My husband and I escaped for a nice relaxing weekend on Kelleys Island and we kicked things off right with an amazing dinner at Kelleys Island House Restaurant.
Food: We started with the calamari and this is a must-​have appetizer as far as I’m concerned. The spicy and sweet Thai-​version of this dish was out of this world. The lobster sandwiches were another huge success. Two buns piled high with lobster and a side of clarified butter — how can you miss? My husband took a bite of the lobster sandwich and exclaimed to our server «Why did you bring me this butter! It doesn’t even need it!»…Silly boy. Just try the butter. He quickly recanted his statement and clearly misjudged the magical power of butter.
Drinks: This is a martini bar and the very nature of the beast is to make a quality cocktail. So bar service may be a bit slower, but the end result is well worth it! They call it island time for a reason! I tried a cucumber martini and the Thai-​Tonic (gin, lemongrass and basil and a few other things I can’t remember (imagine that)) and both were made with care and were perfect summer cocktails — light and refreshing, with a nice kick of course.
Service: Our bartender Mike was amazing. Truly the best service we’ve had in months and made our experience memorable, on top of the phenomenal food and drinks. I did get the impression that not all the bar staff was up to snuff (as I overheard a server come in and ask what was in a Sea Breeze), but we were there at the beginning of the season, so many of them had only started working there in the past three weeks (similar to the rest of the island).
Atmosphere: We sat inside at the bar as the wind off the lake was too strong to sit outside, although next time we’ll be sure to check out the patio area as it looked really cool with an outdoor bar. Interior of the place wasn’t my personal style and felt a bit dated (even though they are going for a modern feel with funky mirrors and unique glass pieces on the tables).
Price: Bottom-​line, this place is a great value! It probably has the most expensive menu on the island, but our bill would have easily been double this price at any other martini bar/​nice restaurant.

We took a day trip up to this tourist island, paying the EXORBITANT ferry fee to do so.
Based on Unilocal reviews, we decided to have lunch here. Some previous reviews gave this place 5 stars, BUT some were one shot wonders and another had only one previous review, so they were somewhat suspect. I think some have now been removed.
Having said that, we liked the place. We could have eaten outside, but it was hot so we opted for the bare table high tops in the bar.
Five of the seven of us had the lobster rolls and they were quite good; delicious, in fact. I think this is their specialty. The lobster had been frozen, of course, but it was still nicely prepared on toasted hot dog rolls. The fries that came with it were fat & soggy.
Overall, a fun place.
Location — 5 STARS
Service — 4 STARS
Food — 3 ½ STARS
Ambiance/​Décor — 2 ½ STARS

Really?! Either I had a bad experience or the other reviews originated from the owners. Or both. Even though the food was tasty, waiting nearly 50 minutes to get 1 salad and 1 lobster roll at 3 pm on the patio ruined an otherwise decent meal. But to really drive home my point that there is a systemic problem with management; I requested tomatoes with my salad and, I’m not kidding, I got what could not be more than a level teaspoon of finely diced tomato pieces. Not going back, sorry.

BEST meal we had on our August 2011 trip to Kelleys Island! We ate at several of the most popular restaurants in the main «downtown» area, and everybody loved the food here best! It was SO good — from the burgers to duck fat fries to calamari to Mac & Cheese to Caesar salad. We ate outside and loved the ambiance of the patio. We had our three kids, and they loved the food, too. I will definitely be eating here again when we return next year and HIGHLY recommend a meal (or two or three) if you’re on the island.

Well color me impressed!!! From the fun, friendly and very attractive staff to the mouth watering lobster rolls and fish so fresh it swam in the ocean last night, my mind was blown! How could anyone want to eat or stay anywhere else! The room was so immaculate I felt it necessary to tip the house keeper and stay an extra night at their lovely inn!

i imagine majestic dragons breathing fire in their kitchen to forge their mouthwatering burgers and jesus drying out all of the seas to collect lobster for their heavenly lobster rolls. you NEED to visit this place!

Kelleys Island House has the best food and drinks on ANY of the islands. The homemade peanut butter vodka in the «Beth’s Peanut Butter Cup Martini» is worth making a special trip to Kelleys alone! Every meal I have had there has been excellent and the prices are extremely reasonable for the size of the portions and the quality of the meals. The staff is very inviting and not only provides great service but makes you feel like you are hanging out with old friends as soon as you arrive. Kelleys Island House is a rare treat that everyone should enjoy at least once in their lives. My next trip to the islands, I am not just going to dine there, but stay at the inn attached to the restaurant. It is the perfect vacation destination!