Kellys Gingernut Pub

This is a fantastic place to go for the atmosphere. I’d give it a ¹⁰⁄₁₀ just on how cozy and eccentric it is upon walking in.
The food is also fantastic, and just the way I prefer it. The flavor of my she crab soup was quite bold, cream based, with a fantastic Old Bay style to it. I recommend getting the cup over the bowl, because even though the bowl «looks» larger from being in a wide, flat bowl, it’s volume is about the same as the cup when you’re paying double for it. It gets a ¹⁰⁄₁₀ regardless!
The crab cake sandwich was also delicious — crusty outside and warm flaky inside. It comes with a side of fries or chips, lettuce/​tomato/​onion on the side, and thousand island dressing in a cup. I give it a ⁹⁄₁₀ because it was a little underdone for my tastes.
Price-​wise, if you’re here for lunch it’s pricey. If you’re here for dinner… Still pricey. If you’re looking value in terms of the amount of food, it’s decent. For quality it’s also decent. For 4 of us, we paid 82 including tip. Only go if you’re prepared to pay for the quality.

Kelly’s used to be good, but not any more. The food is sooo lackluster. It has been consistantly average or below average every time we go, which is every once and a while when we don’t feel like driving to dinner. We really want to love Kelly’s, but between below average service and the super bland food, it’s just not worth the money. Their food usually comes out looking great, but, in general it is under seasoned and just so monotone. Also, I get its a pub and they aren’t usually very bright, the booths are sooo dark. Do yourself a favor and skip Kellys. I will amend this if they ever get a good menu/​chef back.

Although the menu was SEVERELY limited on the day my family ate there, what we ordered was very good. I had a goat cheese salad and I added a crab cake topper. The crab cake was delicious & was mostly crab meat, not filler. When the meal first came out, I thought I had 2 crab cakes but I realized 1 ‘cake’ was my goat cheese — it was deep fried! It was so delicious my children kept trying to eat it from my plate. This salad got 5 stars & the waitress was very good & personable. I took away a star only because of the very limited menu. We really wanted oysters and clams but they were out of both.

All around terrible! Slow service, food took forever to get to the table waitress never refilled our drinks the food wasn’t to bad but not to good either. I would not recommend to eat here.

Really lovely place but the service was awful. We waited an hour to be served and 45 minutes for our mediocre food. I paid 10 bucks for my burger but could have gotten a better one at McDonald’s for a dollar. Really a let down overall.

The accusations from the owner & staff show the lack of customer service this establishment provides. Customer is always right, but not in this establishment. We have 2 handicapped kids visiting that’s why we needed a To Go order.

Such a disappointment. We found this inviting, quaint pub in an old bank building while browsing the shops in Cape Charles. We went in and sat for a bit in the front looking at the menu (lackluster but sufficient) and soaked in some of its charm. We were so intrigued we decided to come back that evening for dinner and as I had taken pics of the interior to show others in our party everyone was looking forward to a great meal. 35 minutes to get a table and while busy they were not full. While waiting I got a couple half-​n-​halfs from the bartender and they were poured perfectly (the high point of the night). The waitress was indifferent bordering on angry, she would leave the table while people were still talking to her, the food took waaay too long, our drinks were never refilled, she refused to bus the table and my GF burger was burned black and charred on the outside. It took 20 minutes for another burger and when it arrived it was medium rare. My reuben was decent, Ive had better fish and chips here in RVA. She did remove the burger from the bill with out being asked and apologized for the kitchen. This place has SOOOO much potential if only they could get their service and kitchen in gear. Very saddening.

So this is my first ever negative review :(. I hate doing this, but people need to know. This place was unreal. We were sat and the server didn’t come for over 20 minutes. It wasn’t even close to full on a Saturday around 5:30 or 6. There was no soap in the men’s room. Our extra plates to share appetizers were dirty and when we told them, they didn’t bring new ones for another 10 minutes when we had to tell them again. When we asked to see a manager, they said that there wasn’t one on duty (dinner on a Saturday night?). They seemed completely out of touch and never once apologized. My iced tea was empty after the first 5 minutes and wasn’t refilled until the final check was delivered when the waitress asked if we needed anything. Anyway, we had eaten here in the past and it was fine, but dirty plates, poor service, and average food is not a good combo. When we left an hour and a half later, still no soap in the men’s room after I had told them. Makes you wonder, eh???

We ended up at Kelly’s and the stars were not aligned for a superb meal. We were greeted with the fact that a delivery truck had been delayed and nearly half their menu was unavailable. It was too late to try anywhere else so we knuckled down and went for it.
My wife got a soup which she said was good, though not spectacular. My burger was over-​cooked and under dressed. BUT, the shepherds pie that we got the kids was outstanding! I can give a pass on the pub food, but an Irish place better get the Irish dishes right, and they did in this case. I almost wished we’d gotten it for everyone.
I would give them another chance just to see if the missing menu items are worth it. I want to give more than 3-​stars but just can’t with the truncated selections. Maybe next time!

Worst service I’ve ever had at any establishment. Went for dinner with my boyfriend at 7:30 on a Friday. We were told it would be 20 minutes for a table. 45 minutes later, we were finally seated. 45 minutes after that, we still hadn’t seen our server. The server handling the tables next to us made eye contact several times and ran away before we could make a sound. We finally left and went to Top China for takeout.

Oh Kelly’s — I wanted to love you, but I just couldn’t. The beer was warm and flat, the service was slow, the food was sad — especially the poor nachos, who arrived with their multicolored chips, sprinkled with dry ground beef, and dry/​unmelted cheese. Weirdest nachos ever. «Nachos»?
The steak and cheese sub was the only redeeming entrée.
The service was so slow… we actually watched several customers chase (LITERALLY CHASE!) the waitress down for their check. We overheard so many people complaining at their tables about the wait (including one little girl who talked through all of the steps, and times it would take, to make linguine — and speculating as to why hers was taking so long).
Maybe the food or the service would be better in the on-​season? I might not find out, since I will be across the railroad tracks at The Shanty. Sorry Kellys!

We are big fans of Irish Cuisine and Kelly’s did not disappoint. I found it hard to choose what to order since everything sounded so amazing but I opted for a signature dish of Irish Chicken Cordon Bleu (stuffed with Irish cheddar and corned beef) and I was pleasantly surprised by all the flavors the managed to put on the one plate. My husband ordered the Corned Beef Reuben and I was very impressed with the fresh pub chips, which after having a few myself I craved late into the night. We will return here in our next visit… And every visit after.

Super cute, friendly place. Wine and beer selection excellent. Go! You’ll love it. The bank renovation offers up plenty of cozy knooks and charm. I wish I owned this place.
Also, order the coconut cake.

The Shepards pie and she crab soup are amazing– same can’t be said for service but the food is worth it.

We were here several years ago and really had a good experience. This time the music was TOTALY to loud and the time to get your food was rediculas. About 45 minutes. I had a pub burger with cheese, wife had a crab and Brie burger, friends had a Reuben sandwich and a turkey wrap. All of the food was excellent. It’s just that the music was super loud and the service was SUPER poor. I saw only two other small parties there. I would return only because the food was so great.

Very very awesome experience. I eat at a lot of different restaurants thorough this whole state. Ate here for lunch. The atmosphere was really unique and the people were outstanding. The oysters weren’t technically on the menu but they offered to make me a basket for lunch. They. We’re. Amazing.

I have been stopping at Kelly’s for the past three summers as I make the long drive back to New York from another summer vacation in the Outer Banks. It is located about 3 hours north of OBX (which make it a good lunchtime stop). Even though Kelly’s is a bit out of the way (a couple of miles off of Route 13), I have been stopping here because I really like the little town of Cape Charles. It looks like a town that time forgot. Its uniqueness is charming. It is nice to see it slowly becoming revitalized.
As for Kelly’s, it has a lot going for it: unique space in a former bank building, interesting décor, a location smack in the middle of a rejuvenated Cape Charles, and I like that the owner is a native New Yorker. Yet, despite these pluses, I can only give Kelly’s three– stars. The reason? — slow service. On my last visit in 2013, our lunch took an eternity to arrive. While it was good, the time it took to arrive canceled this out. I was painfully reminded of the slow service over the Labor Day weekend. Again, it took a very long time for our food to arrive (about 30 minutes for simple sandwiches). Our waitress, who was very pleasant, apologized several times, indicating that they were busy. I was willing to let this pass the first time, but given that this has happened twice, I cannot give a higher rating.
I’m not sure if I will come back to Kelly’s again next year. While food is decent, the service needs to improve. I cannot afford an 1.5 hour or more lunch stop if I am going to make it home at a reasonable hour. If the service improves, Kelly’s might render a solid four stars, but until they speed things up, I will probably look elsewhere for my annual lunchtime stop on the Eastern Shore.

I really wanted to like this place… truthfully, I did. It has the look and feel of a traditional pub and I wanted to make this a regular hang out on my frequent trips to Cape Charles.
Unfortunately, the charm began to wear off as soon as we were seated. The table and seats were very dirty and sticky. The dinner menu was pretty meager but there was enough on there to appeal to my wife and two sons. We started with the fried oysters which were ok, but I found the curry lime sauce that they came with cloying and not very tasty. I had the chicken cordon bleu which was way too lemony and very salty. My sons had the pork chop and fish and chips, which were both passable but incredibly over-​priced for the small portions provided. My wife had the special, which was a pan fried trout. When it was brought to the table, it was so black that I thought perhaps it was cooked with a blackened seasoning, but we were mistaken. We notified our waitress who came back and indicated that she was sorry that it was burnt, but that she talked with the owner or manager who agreed to «take something off the bill.» When the bill came, I was shocked to see that this amounted to 10% off the price of that entrée only. So, let me get this straight… they burn and ruin a $ 17.00 entrée and their fix is to reduce my bill by $ 1.70!!! Not to mention that the service was so slow. As we were leaving, our waitress was yucking it up behind the bar with a beer in her hand. No wonder we hardly ever saw her.
Needless to say, I will never return here. Ever.

My wife and I just stopped by for a drink. Really liked the look of this place. The bartender was very friendly as was an emplyoee who was at the bar ready to go home that talked with us. The food smelled and loooked real good. Next time we’re in town this will be the place to go for dinner, As far a draft beer selection, there were a few. Being from Richmond, Va., there are many places with a large selection of craft beers.
Overall…a solid place to spend time with a drink and food.

Every town should have a pub like the Gingernut!
This is a great bar and the food is excellent also.
Quickly on the food– they have a diverse menu that should deliver something for all taste buds. From casual burgers and salads, to finer entrees and excellent soups. You’ll get that steak or whatever you have been craving after a day enjoying the town or water.
The pub is as good as it gets. Great beer selection, superb drinks and efficient bartenders. There is often live music, there’s always a dart board, and you can usually find someone interesting to chat up.
This place is sized perfectly. Just small enough that it doesn’t feel empty if there are only a few people at the bar, but enough nooks and crannies to hold a crowd. They’re also usually open late which is very appreciated in a small town without much going on after sunset. It is nice to know you can walk in here at 1: AM and still find a party going on.
Love this place!