Kennedy’s Premium Bar and Grill

I’ve been coming to Kennedy’s for years — and have been experiencing a steady decline in food and service for the past year or so.
Most recently, my partner and I stopped by Kennedy’s on a Wednesday evening for dinner and a few drinks. We were seated on the patio — there were maybe 4 other tables with people at them. It took about 10 minutes for our waitress to finally approach us — and then we had a long wait between placing beer orders and actually receiving the drinks. It wasn’t busy, she knew we were there — I have no explanation for why were sitting there so long. Unfortunately, this level of service continued throughout the dinner.
For food, we both ordered salads. My salad came out with the wrong dressing and the chicken not prepared the way I asked. The server who dropped off our food did just that — dropped it off and left. We waited for a few minutes for our server to check in, but ultimately I went inside to get new dressing from the bar and ate the chicken as it was sent out.
I wish I could say this experience was an anomaly, but I’ve had similar experiences here before. I like coming here with a group for drinks on the patio, but I don’t hold high expectations for it anymore.

I only come here on Monday’s for the all you can eat crab legs. It’s the best deal in town. I nix the salad because that just takes up room for more crab. And I eat a few hushpuppies, which are quite delicious. But if you can’t tell, salad and hushpuppies come with the crab legs. The crab legs are delicious, they’re steamed in some delicious garlicky seasoning and they give you a generous portion. If you’re interested in partaking in the Monday night crab feast, come early, I think they start serving at 4:30pm. Parking is extremely tight so be prepared to park in the neighborhood and walk. Don’t park in the shopping center across the street, they I’ll boot or tow your car.

One of my favorite patios in Charlotte. It may try and pose as an Irish pub, but this place is just a good olé neighborhood bar.
This is going to sound odd, but this is a great spot for taco Tuesday. They do $ 1 street tacos (chicken, veggie, beef, and fish) for dine in only. No they’re not authentic or fancy, but they’re just some cheap and yummy tacos. The day of the week I end up here the most is Mondays. I am a huge fan of their all you can eat crab leg night. It’s $ 29.99 and comes with a salad (basically lettuce in a bowl) and hush puppies. They do get pretty busy on crab leg night, so get there sooner rather than later. It’s a pretty solid start the week when you can get down on some crab while enjoying a nice night on the patio.
Wednesday is trivia and ½ price burgers. They have TVs on the patio. If you come here on Sundays for football, just be aware that they are a Cleveland Browns bar. I’m sure they’ll welcome you with open arms if you are not a fan. What’s the saying? Misery loves company? Poor Cleveland sports fans.
The parking lot is kind of small. I’m not sure of the current rules with neighboring parking lots. Currently, the old Philosopher’s Stone is empty, so I’ve been parking there. I would just be sure to ask the hostess or manager on duty when you get there to make sure you’re parked in a safe place.

It’s not my favorite Restaurant for Irish Cuisine but it’s still very good and the bar scene can not be beat.
We were in the area today and stopped shortly after 11:00 for an early lunch. Being early, we pretty much had our choice of seating. Most of the seating is Bar Seating on stools but there are a couple of regular booths over on the side. We choose a booth.
My wife almost had a fit when we walked in because she is from Pittsburgh and this is a Browns Bar. I reminded her that Killington’s in Huntersville is also a Browns Bar and she relented and went in and in the end, had a great time.
Our server was very good and we did not want for anything. She took our drink orders quickly and gave us enough time to make up our mind on a very extensive menu.
She ordered the 7^th Street Steak Sandwich with Mac-​n-​Cheese as her side. I had Shepard’s Pie with Tater Tots as my side.
She enjoyed her Sandwich and proclaimed it to be one of the best she had had. My Shepard Pie was good although I am a traditionalist and prefer lamb. Plenty of beef however and a good savory taste with ample portions.
Another couple who came in later and sat on the porch had a yellow lab puppy with them and being animal lovers, it was a nice touch and added to what was already a nice atmosphere.
We have to go back down in a couple of weeks and this will definitely be on the table as a dining option.

The place of my people! Great service– Michaela was super attentive! As a business traveler, it’s always a little weird eating out for one. Great group of staff members– they gave me the insight on some of the local brews on tap, and let me try a couple!
Food portions are MASSIVE! Got the Kennedy Club– it was great, but they used the crappy Kraft style cheese. It was cold/​not melted. Go with a better kind of cheese and heat it up a bit! Would have taken the meal to a whole new level! Other than that, great atmosphere– they have a patio for warmer weather, too! Will be back!

**Review for Taco Tuesdays**
When people ask me where to go for Taco Tuesday, I always recommend Kennedy’s. They are usually skeptical but don’t take my word for it– go! The tacos are delicious and they have drink specials as well. Tacos are $ 1 (or were the last time I went last fall).
I’ve taken my massive dog here to sit out on the patio and the service for both human and pup has been phenomenal. Now, I’ve also known others who have gone and had slow service but that personally hasn’t happened to me. Perhaps I eat earlier than normal? I usually go before 6:30 p.m.
I love the outdoor area when the weather is nice. In fact, I’ve seen the inside but don’t think I’ve ever eaten inside. That’s how much I love hanging outside Kennedy’s! I highly recommend this spot for an out of the box location for Taco Tuesday.

I was wanting some crab legs and Kennedy’s was about the only place in Charlotte that I could find that had an all-​you-​can-​eat crab legs, except for the Chinese buffets, which I don’t trust their food anyway. The atmosphere is very casual and fun. I arrived right at 5 pm which is when the AYCE crab legs starts. They were a little bit slow waiting on me for my drink, but once they started bringing out food, they were super good at keeping my plate full of crab legs. The salad was not worth having, it was just an iceberg salad out of a bag with some dressing. I liked the drawn butter and then the buffalo sauce was a unique twist. I preferred the butter, but dipped a few pieces of crab meat in the buffalo sauce and it was good too. Overall, it was a great experience and I plan on going back.

Visited for the first time and sat on the outside patio. Loved that is was pet friendly for my little puppy. We really only had drinks, nachos, and burgers. Our food was good. Service was pretty slow, however.

I love love the Chef Salad. It was actually more than one person could eat in one setting. The presentation was Great. The wings were awesome as well. Try it you will definitely like it.

Awesome chicken tacos! Taco Tuesday, you have the pleasure of getting fish, veggie, chicken, or beef tacos for $ 1 each!
The drinks were a little pricey, but oh my goodness were they delicious. I had the Chantilly Lace and a Charlotte Martini. Fruity but balanced. I’ve had awful drinks in different bars that either tasted like cough medicine or Kool-​Aid. Not here buddy.
Parking might be a bit tricky, but it was rainy and after 9 when I showed up. Our hostess was great. I’ll be back for Crableg Mondays:)

Patio– check. Beer– check. Bar food– check. Browns football– check. Sounds like a perfect place to me, but God help the Cleveland brownies. I swear every year is our rebuilding year. The reason why I bring the Browns up is because Kennedy’s is Charlotte’s Browns backers bar!!! I might be a little bias, but overall Kennedy’s is a great spot.
Like many restaurants in the Elizabeth area, Kennedy’s appears to look like an old restored home. I love it’s charm. The service sometimes is washy, but they have good happy hour specials (half off apps 4 – 7). Plus their taco Tuesday ($ 1) are surprising really good! Overall the food is bar food so don’t expect a 5 star meal, but you can never go wrong with fried pickles anywhere! Plus there wings are pretty good and they are half off during happy hour too. I recommend the barbalo sauce!

I have had a few bad experiences here. The food isn’t good and the service staff could use some very basic training. It took our server over 35 mins to figure out our checks because he didn’t write anything down for our group of 6. I would only return for drinks and the outside bar.

Lemon pepper wings were the best I’ve had in Charlotte so far. I enjoyed the Cleveland Browns Backers event. I am a huge Browns fans and having a Sunday afternoon football meet was awesome. Only reason I didn’t do 5 stars is the fact that smoking is allowed on the patio, as long as they are not under the tent but the smoke travels and the smokers smoke on both sides of the tent so let’s just call the patio, the smokers Hutt. Yuck… Outside of that, the mozzarella cheese sticks were yummy and the servers are so very nice!

Monday nights! I’m a crab leg fanatic and those crab legs are INCREDIBLE! I’m going to be a regular soon.

My husband enjoyed the all you can eat crab legs and my club sandwich was divine! I highly recommend this spot.

My husband and I were lured in by the great patio! Unfortunately that’s all that I have nice to say about this place. THE SERVICE WAS SUBPAR! Very slow and our food order was incorrect. The servers were to busy playing with a patrons dogs while serving food. GROSS! We will never come back. The food was just ok… nothing to write home about.

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the historic Elizabeth area of Charlotte to Kennedy’s Premium Bar & Grill. This pub is tucked into a neighborhood friendly area that boasts many family restaurants and has a huge outside deck. Dora here. Wish the sky hadn’t been so overcast because I would’ve enjoyed sitting outside on the gorgeous deck.
We started with the Pretzel Bites appetizer served with Queso and Dijon mustard dipping sauces. Dipping in the Queso took the pretzel bites from OK to good. The server warned us that the Dijon mustard was spicy and she was right. Dora here. Phew! Have a tissue handy. The mustard sauce will clear out your sinuses, but I liked it! I was expecting these little nuggets to taste chewy and soft, but instead they were a bit crispy.
I chose the Shepherd’s Pie with Guinness gravy, layers of beef, mushrooms, carrots, celery, and onions topped with mashed potatoes along with a side of tater tots. The meat was tender and the vegetables cooked so that they still had a crunch. The mashed potatoes were creamy and the tater tots outstanding. My biggest issue with this dish was that it was only lukewarm, causing the flavors not to mix well.
My wife had the Fish & Chips, deep fried Haddock, battered with Harp lager, an Irish beer. Dora here. Since Kennedy’s is a pub, I had high hopes for this dish. The fish was lightly battered, flakey and tender. The sweet potato fries were a bit lackluster, and the slaw was just average. Nothing really tantalized my taste buds. And the iced tea? A total loss. Bummer. But then I’m quite sure people don’t frequent this establishment for the iced tea. :)
I would rate this restaurant 3 forks out of 5 forks for a family friendly restaurant serving good food.
Ernie & Dora Hiers, Fiction Faith & #Foodies Blog

If all you can eat crab legs doesn’t make you try them, then their new patio and willingness to accept large groups will.
Monday night, I was expecting dinner with my immediate family, but was surprised by a group of friends to join. 90% of us ordered the crablegs (which are awesome and hot). Kennedy’s was offering a short menu for dinner.
Overall I was pleased by their willingness to sit us before our entire party arrived, even giving us options (indoors, outside, or upstairs). Staff seemed friendly enough and were prompt with requests.
FYI:It’s walking distance from all the cool places in plaza midwood area. Parking is limited.
Sometimes they offer live bands. They offer free games to kill time if you have to wait.
Dress casual and expect a good time.

I am going to state the obvious and say that the parking is dicey. But, my driveway causes my friends to scream in horror as they back into the big tree or run all over my neighbor’s yard, so I can’t be too critical.
Our server was sweet. Bless her heart, though. I asked for a Sauvignon Blanc, and she brought me a glass of red wine and said, «here is your Sauvignon Blanc» (I think that it was a Malbec). The beautiful thing was after I placed my order, I regretted not ordering a red wine. Telekinesis, perhaps? Then, bless my heart. I happily drank that red wine and then, I drank one more.
My man ordered the fish tacos, which he described as «ok.» My portabello mushroom sandwich? He should have ordered that. It was served on this soft, squishy bun, complete with roasted red bell peppers and some kind of special sauce reminiscent of Thousand Island dressing. And the accompanying fries? Served up nice and hot. A sprinkle of salt, and I was happily munching away.
So, I definitely like this place. Good food and a server with mind reading abilities. Kennedy’s, I am glad that you are close by.

Ok, since I’ve already written a review for Kennedy’s a few years ago, I’m gonna give you the low-​down on this place from the start. This is absolutely BEST PLACE TO WATCH A BOXING MATCH in the Charlotte area bar none! First, there is no cover charge at the door. There is plenty of seating both inside and outside on their expansive patio area, and the typical bar food is always great tasting and very affordable.
Being a native of #Rochester NY, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that they offer a #Garbageplate — the only place where you can get such a dish anywhere in the Charlotte area.
The only and I mean only, negative I can think of when it comes to Kennedy’s is that parking can be very tight especially on Friday and Saturday nights.
Otherwise, Kennedy’s has everything us Western New Yorkers need to feel right at home here in the Queen City!