Kelseys Original Roadhouse Bowmanville

Will never return. Service was fine despite being a little busy. The food was just awful, one meal was barely touched, as it was both cold and tasted off. They did not take it off the bill. Also the drinks tasted off, a strong chemical flavour and was barely touched, they again apologized and they again were still on the bill. They gave us a coupon for an particular appetizer. Having given this location a couple of second chances now, I will not attempt again.

Yesterday, I realized that I have never had lunch in Bowmanville. I generally do shopping, perhaps get some sorbet (my former hangout closed a while back), and head home. I decided to get some lunch. Where do I go for a lunch bite? I drove across the street from Winners to Kelsey's. I haven't set foot in a Kelsey's in probably a good five years. I was breaking more than one streak. I arrived at around 3 pm. I had to wait for a minute before a man from the bar helped me out. Since it wasn't that busy, I asked for a table and selected a booth in the dining room. Hey, might as well go all out. Another person from the bar came over to take my order. I got a Diet Pepsi and the tomato basil penne with grilled chicken. My drink came out promptly. It helps to have folks working the bar provide you with a drink when you need it! Moments later, my penne was ready. The penne was odd. It had goat cheese on it. Typically, I don't expect goat cheese in penne. I don't mind eating it, but there was far too much of it in my dish. So, I put a lot of it off to the side. The other odd detail was that my grilled chicken had pesto sauce. I like tomato sauce with my penne and the grilled chicken also takes the same sauce. I also like pesto penne where the chicken accepts that it will be coated with pesto sauce. But, to have both sauces in the same dish? It was a first for me. My meal just seemed odd. I loved the spinach, fresh tomatoes, and grilled chicken. The abundance of goat cheese that I didn't exactly want, along with two different sauces in my dish has made me decide to never order this dish again! I wanted dessert. I ordered the go nuts donuts. Essentially, they are donut pillows full of Nutella. You have the option of dipping them into caramel or peanut butter sauce. I went with the latter. I was equally as excited about trying them as my server. She loved my order and said that it would not disappoint. She was right. Oh my goodness... exceptionally delightful! They are light and done perfectly. The powdered sugar married with the slightly salty peanut butter sauce made each donut so tasty. I was in heaven. I should have ordered dessert and nothing else! The go nuts donuts and my Diet Coke would make my review a five-star review. With the odd tomato-pesto-basil-goat cheese-grilled-chicken penne dish, I am giving this restaurant four stars. I was at this restaurant for 1.5 hours. It was a nice, leisurely lunch with wonderful service. (47)

Well I just spent $25.40 on fries and gravy! I ordered a half rack of ribs with a side of fries and gravy. When they arrived I was shocked that they called this little serving a half-rack. It was 4 ribs, and it was the 4 from the skinny end. Oh well, drop a star for serving size.... so now the taste test... OMG, they were so dry that the Crocodile Dundee knife I was given barely made it through them. One bite was all it took for me to confirm that these were the most dry ribs I've ever had. They were not edible, so ya, concentrated on my fries and gravy. I am not one to raise a fuss, but the waitress clearly saw that I hadn't eaten a single rib. I was expecting her to ask if something was wrong with them, but she didn't. Failing that I was expecting her to ask me if I wanted a take-out container, but no, she didn't do that. She gave us the bill, and left the table with my ribs still sitting there untouched. Odd that she cleared the rest of the table though.

Not sure why it has such low ratings. Came in for a light dinner and a couple drinks and I thought the place was very good. The ladies at the bar were attentive, the food was very good, and left satisfied with my experience.

Ouch, they messed up almost everything. Undercooked chicken, terrible wait time, bad service. It was a dreadful 2 hour and 15 minutes of my life, no exaggeration. I work at a restaurant and am very displeased with what happened tonight at Kelsey's. -Brady