O’ Kelley’s

I keep giving this place a try and it’s just not my type of bar. I just think it’s dirty and loud. The drinks were weak and it was super crowded actually

Such a fun place to hang out with a group of friends of just a couple! Everyone who works there is awesome and try to get to know you. There’s food, drinks, a stage, pool tables, darts, I mean… you can’t not love this place!

Sports bar? I went there to watch a NFL playoff game. They a retirement party taking up all the seats in the front and in the back were about 6 tables playing poker. Finally found a table in the back and service was extremely slow and club music playing. Asked the waitress two different times if could get the sound of the game since it is a sports bar. She said they are working on it. So went to ask the bartender and rudely responded they play the sound of the game up front and music in the back. Clearly if there were seats in the front would of sat up there. I asked if this is a sports bar or a club. Response «any other complaints.»

Love it here! My family had been coming here for years and we love it here! Mark and Kelly are great people!

It is a low lit dive bar. While we went the service was not great. The biggest one that was temping to walk out was a cockroach went across the floor while we were eating. There was alot of sports on which was nice and I assume its nice to watch football at but overall not impressed.

Okay, if you like dive bars (I do) and you like a heavy handed bar tender that serves cheap drinks, you will love Kelley’s.
This is a dive bar to be sure, and there are always drunk locals sitting around in their usual spots at the bar and getting loud. But, if you want to run in for a few drinks, you will leave with money left in your pocket and a smile on your face!
If you are in the area and in the mood for some cheap, stiff drinks, check Kelly’s out.

Well, what can you say about O’Kellys?
Drinks, live music, dive bar. Wait staff can be hit or miss on the weekends.
Also I’ve never eaten here, but everyone I talk too says the food is good.
Average prices for drinks.

My favorite neighborhood bar. The people are friendly the food is good and the beer is cold. Live music, darts, OTB this place has it all. Great place to relax after work with some wings and beer.

Brittany bartender is horrible.
Service has really slowed down. 1 bartender for the entire bar. Not good.
Warm PBR cans.

Great live music and decent food/​drinks! Whenever I go to see a band play, the place is packed. It’s a friendly local pub with good spirits and good people. Overall, it is probably one of my favorite pubs in the valley. The service can be spotty, but as I mentioned before, it is usually really busy when I am there.

I like this place. I live down the street and walk there. Great «dive» bar. One issue — don’t listen to the «cheap drinks» reviews. I don’t know what they’re ordering but I just paid $ 32 for 4 beers.

Average food, average service, same 5 bands on rotation playing super loud 80s music. Manager is rude and just scowls at everyone. Clientele that believe it is still the 80s. Off track betting for the old guys. A handful of tweakers. A couple of homeless guys. What more could you want?

When I think of the East Valley these days three words spring to mind; tweakers, traffic and track housing. Long burned to cinders are my pleasant memories of the eastern suburban cities in which I spent my twenty-something’s. Now all I see are endless lines of rush hour traffic full of terrible drivers rushing slowly to get home to housing developments where all the houses look the same and every block has at least one clandestine meth lab that goes unnoticed as long as the occupants keep the lawn in accordance with HOA rules. There are very few areas in the east valley that feature any unique buildings old enough to be built of something other than plywood and plastic polymers and those precious few areas that do have long been since given over to the individual towns poorer segments. Whereas the bright lights of Phoenix have churned slowly towards re-​urbanization the East Valley has given way to suburban sprawl pushing the populace even beyond even the massive boundaries of Maricopa County.
The tiny island of Tempe aside I avoid interaction, travel and commiseration with 99.5% of all entities within the confines of the East Valley. On the rare occasions I am forced to venture into these areas I treat them as a quarantine zone; hostile, unwelcoming and hazardous to my health. At any turn I expect to come across a roadblock of burned out vehicles being manned by caricatures from «Deliverance» eagerly waiting to rob me blind of all worldly possessions as well as my anal virginity. While I have long abandon these enclaves to battle amongst themselves I do still have allies and safe houses here; proverbial oases where I can seek safety and sanctuary.
O’Kelly’s is not one of these places.
The analogy for this place, simply enough, is the Mos Eisley Cantina and when I walk into this place I’m one misstep away from some surly East Valley alien beating me to a pulp in the parking lot. I do, however, enjoy my time here as every time I come to this place I feel like I’m the Most Interesting Man In the World. Which is why, from time to time, I will stick my neck into this place that I don’t quite belong to get a feel for how those inside the quarantine zone are faring these days.
This is not a bad bar; the bar staff and waitress almost to a woman are young, attractive and even if they don’t truly mean it, they at least are self-​aware enough to smile and flirt to get better tips. The Irish themed fair is surprisingly legit and I wouldn’t dare drink in the place if they didn’t have Dos Equis on special (Monday nights in case you were wondering). The place is very spacious if not a bit low ceilinged with two separate rooms; one is your basic sports bar setup and the other has a fairly decent sized space for live music. Much to my surprise this is where O’Kelly’s shines… if you’re into the bands that grace the stage at O’Kelly’s that is. There aren’t any up and comers taking the stage on Friday and Saturday nights but I’ve personally heard a few good songs blaring from the stage side from time to time.
When I’m here and feeling like the most Interesting Man In the World I enjoy going to watch the people have stayed the course and to see reflections of what could have been. I very easily could have become trapped in this very same neighborhood as the high school I graduate from is only a few scant blocks away. I could have never bothered to embrace the microbrew craze and just drank some variation of Bud, Miller or Coors for the rest of my natural life. I could have been content with the sameness any sports bar everywhere brings and never bothered to try crazy dance nights, quirky themed bars and never, ever set foot in a gay or lesbian bar ever. I could have grown bitter and so entrenched in my day to day doldrums that I flew into a rage anytime a new comer dared sit in «my special» seat. But I did or didn’t do any or all of these things and as the Most Interesting Man In the World I’ve experienced and witnessed wondrous sights that most of the customers here have only seen through the flickering picture boxes gracing their living rooms. The reality that these folks could go out and live lives very different to those that they do now has never occurred to most of them. Occasionally I might regale some of the smokers on the patio on why I smoke American Spirits in the yellow box instead of Camel or Marlboro or the benefits or ordering a short cocktail compared to a tall one but for the most part remain silent and listen to the braggarts make outlandish boasts and the callow find enjoyment in the mundane.
But O’Kelly’s still holds just enough hint of danger and more than enough strangeness to warrant a visit from time to time. For when I’m the Most Interesting Man In the World don’t normally drink in the East Valley, but when I do I prefer to drink at O’Kelly’s.

I had a great experience at Karaōke at this bar. I usually would go on Mondays or Thursdays for the Karaōke nights. The service is good. But also love the food there. Less than a few minutes from where I work. Also only less than 3 miles from where I live. I will be back again. Michael Katz from Chandler, AZ

Hmmmm this is truely a dive bar. I go here w/​my friend the days Sweaty is playing. I usually have no problem, until this holiday weekend. The funny part in this ordeal is, I wasn’t drinking.
I bought a pitcher of beer, gave a tall blond pretty waitress my debit card to charge it. Simple right? She came around a few more times 2 check on my friends n I n asked her 2 cash me out. So me being tired n assuming that I had gotten my card back.
Something told me to check my wallet in the am, that’s when I realized I didn’t have my card. I called the bar n was told the cards are locked in the office n I would have to ho by after 6pm 2 get it. I did go — no card. I was told 2 leave my info (contact) n theu would call me if they found it. 2^nd call = no card n told 2 call back at noon.
Checked my bank account n find out I have been charged $ 25 4 a pitcher of beer n a card they can’t find! So finally after a week n going to the bank 2 get a temporary n new card — the bar still couldn’t find it.
Not 2 self… when coming here pay cash no cards!!!

Favorite place to be! Great people, great music and a great atmosphere. Food is really good and they always have drink specials. Prefect place to end a stressful week.

If you’re looking for a great dive bar, you’ve found it. When I want to go out with a group of friends, spent a small amount of money, and drink myself stupid with pitchers of Coors Light, this is the place. The staff is friendly, and even though it has one of the most diverse crowds I’ve ever seen at a place like this, there’s never any drama. They have live music quite a bit, pool tables, a jukebox and some video games. Definitely a good spot!

Spent about 4 hours here during the afternoon on St. Patrick’s Day 2013. The reason I chose this bar was the fact that had live amateur boxing (and a real ring) set up in the parking lot area. The fights started about 2 hours late, but I watched about a dozen guys battle and one girl fight. Although everyone pre-​registered it seems, just picture a woman sitting in the crowd drinking a beer with her crew and then they call her name to fight. Out she comes and this was amateur style at its finest as she took a whooping as did several other less skilled dudes who got knocked around from better prepared opponents (in the same weight class of course). There was an outdoor bar serving green beer ($ 4.50), a large wraparound indoor bar with varying degrees of crowds and at least two live bands played while I was in attendance. They did have a food menu, but their kitchen looked tiny and cramped and corned beef coming out did not have that wow factor. The crowds were pretty friendly, but the only negative occurred right after one of the fights in the ring when a real fight broke out in the crowd between those fighters friends or family. All you saw (from my side) was a huge bunch of people hurling punches (girls too) and the mêlée went on for a good 6 minutes. A total of five Mesa cop cars showed up and three were led out in cuffs. Now that’s a St. Patrick’s Day baby! Worth the $ 10 cover.

O’Kelly’s is a pretty sweet bar. On the left, there is a ton of tables and larger TVs. On the right, is the bar, pool tables, dart boards, and arcade games. You choose what kind of person YOU are!
The food is good and… MODERATELY priced. Bartenders are bad ass.
That’s all I have to say about that.

Heard about this place for years, never went there until a few weeks ago. As a working/​gigging musician, I’d say this place is better than average as far as having a stage, enough room for people to enjoy themselves without feeling squished into a sardine can. Drinks were very cheap, sound was really good (not sure if it was a house system or the band’s P.A.). I’d like to play here, I’d like to back there.