Updated review July 19 2025. Our most recent visit to Kelseys Roadhouse was a bit disappointing. We had an issue with the chicken fried chicken. The chicken had an unusual crunchy texture. This appears to be a frozen chicken breast not fully cooked through in the deep fryer. The server was really nice and asked us what we wanted to do. We asked her to get the kitchen to make a new order. The second order came out piping hot and chicken cooked all the way through. No crunchy or rubbery pieces of chicken this time. The lemon pepper calamari was part of their summer menu. There's mixture of calamari, Jalapeños, bell peppers. The breading was crispy and tossed in lemon pepper seasoning. The breading was slightly too heavy. The best part of the meal was the beef tenderloin fajitas. The beef tenderloin was served on a sizzling skillet. This dish is good for sharing and filled us up. Overall, the service was really good and our server checked on us regularly. I feel the food didn't hit the mark this time around. Perhaps an off day for the kitchen today. read more

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This blue cheese pasta has made Kelsey's one of my favourite places to eat. It's the first time in years where something on the menu has actually grabbed my attention and my taste buds. The staff at this location were very lovely and accommodating. They were swamped with a hockey team that came in but still made sure to check on my husband and I. Our waitress even fixed the blinds because I was being blinded by the sunlight reflecting on the snow. We will definitely be back soon! read more

Kelseys Original Roadhouse - Beef Tenderloin Blue Cheese Pasta - Comfort Food Near Me - Ajax, Ontario

We went yesterday evening to Kelsey's in Ajax It was quiet for a Saturday evening which was nice The restaurant is your usual bar/comfort food restaurant chain We ordered to start the garlic toast It was okay....cheesy and done right My wife ordered the chicken fingers dinner She enjoyed it I ordered the bacon bourbon bbq burger The burger was hearty and tasty Bbq bourbon sauce was a nice added touch Service was a little slow to our liking but it was a Saturday before Xmas eve so I will give it a pass on that Our server was friendly and helpful I would go back again for a meal again here It's definitely a decent location read more

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Dropped in with a buddy for the $5 dollar 16 oz happy hour beer. Jays were on and the tv's were working, no dropping signal, no interruptions. The only problem was 2 centre tv's out of sync with the outer bar side ones, but tbh, seen that at Mackenzie's too. Just pick the right one. Still great service and nice atmosphere. $5 beer for happy hour beats most places. read more

We drop by b/c Kelseys was doing a promo on May 31, 2023 where you get 10pcs wings for free with a purchase of any beverage. As you know, it was super busy and packed but the wait wasn't too bad... Only about 20 mins or so. We got seated and waited on our server to arrive which was about 5+ mins or so. We were only given mild/medium/hot sauce with the wings. Beverage cost about $3.50 for sodas. The wings at regular price is $18 for 10pcs for your reference. We also got cajun spice shrimp app for $16. The wings came out fairly quickly about 10 mins or so and had a few celery sticks and one carrot stick along with a ranch dip sauce and your fried wings. Its not bad in size and tasted okay, although a bit dry in certain areas. The cajun shrimp were decent looking size that comes also with fried onions, jalapeno (which we didn't spot any), and red peppers. I counted probably around 8-10pcs of shrimp. The portion was not that big and the value didn't seem to be good for this one in general. We were given a feedback card where if we wrote a positive review we'd get a free spinach dip app of sort. We haven't tried anything else so this is just based on our only visit here. We've had better wings elsewhere for a bit lower price for sure. This is a rare time you see some corporate people come help out the regular service team. You can tell they're outcast b/c of their dress code and the way they move without a sense of urgency really. Food: 3/5 Service: 3.5/5 Ambience: 3/5 - A bit loud for a baby to be there. read more

Came for lunch with my friends and it was rather empty. Service was very slow. Food took over an hour to be delivered only for my plate (Cajun shrimp sirloin) to be super cold. Complained to the waitress who nuked it in the microwave and made my steak rubbery. The steak was possibly one of the worst I have had. It was just a slab of meat thrown on grill with no flavour. The drinks were on the sugary end. The pineapple ninja wheat ale and the four cheese dip were probably the only saving grace of my experience read more

Kelseys Original Roadhouse - Cajun shrimp sirloin - Comfort Food Near Me - Ajax, Ontario

After visiting downtown Ajax to get groceries, I was hungry. I have my usual places while in the city to eat, but I wanted to try a place that I have never been to. I have visited this plaza for years. Best Buy and Old Navy were and still are my most frequented stores here. I knew about this Kelseys, but never went in there until yesterday. I got a decent parking spot close to the front door. I walked in and was immediately greeted by a host. She asked whether I wanted the dining room or bar. I normally go with the former. I saw the game on between the Flyers and Devils, and chose the latter instead. I got to choose my booth. Nice! Out of all the Kelseys that I have visited for the last 1.5 years, the staff here are the friendliest. They like one another and it shows. I got a wonderful server who got me my Diet Pepsi and asked if I needed any refills throughout my meal. I ordered my favourite, which is the original (ten) New York style wings in sea salt and black pepper. I got ranch dip for my celery and carrot sticks. As usual, these wings are consistent no matter where you go. These were yummy. The man who brought my food asked if I wanted any additional dipping sauces for my wings. It was a nice touch. I would have given a perfect five stars. The problem is that I had ordered the takeaway cookie for dessert. Instead, I got the messy cookie sandwich. It is essentially double the number of chocolate chip cookies, except that they are heated up, and the whole dessert comes with vanilla ice cream, and chocolate and caramel sauces. Even though my order was wrong, this dessert looked so good that I went with it. The verdict? This dessert worked for me. I didn't have all the chocolate sauce, as the cookies and ice cream were sweet enough. The scoop of vanilla ice cream was perfect for my needs. It was all yummy that I am glad that this mistake had panned out. The women's washroom is clean and looks like it was recently renovated. Frankly, the entire restaurant looks like it had a makeover. The bar area is cozy, especially when you are seated at a booth. I had a great time watching the hockey game. The Flyers won in dramatic style at the end of the third period. I'd come back here again, as it's a relaxed place to dine. It's nice that I can finally say that I have dined here. (374) read more

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Worst visit ever! Been coming for more than 11 years more than monthly. You may notice my post from over 3 years ago. I don't know what their system is to handoff from host to server but it's broken. Sitting there for 15 minutes, not a peep or eye contact from anyone, and another table gets seated right next to us and their server comes to take their order in less than 90 seconds. Pfft! We got up and left, and what's worse, NOBODY gave a hoot even though plenty of staff were around to see it. Pfft! read more

I got the Chicken Fried Chicken and it was delicious. Nice and crispy breading on the outside and juicy on the inside. I also tried the strawberry rhubarb lemonade. A bit on the sweeter side but refreshing. It was a cosy and friendly atmosphere, there were also a lot of families when I went for dinner and it looked quite busy. So I was surprised by the fact that we had several employees checking up on us to ask us how the food was. Overall, a really great night with family but I regret not getting dessert. read more

Kelseys Original Roadhouse - Chicken Fried Chicken - Comfort Food Near Me - Ajax, Ontario

Came here with a friend on a weeknight - newly renovated so it's very nice inside ! The staff was friendly and checked on us quite a few times. It was also on the quiet side, not a lot of customers this night. We ordered some appetizers between the two of us, since we weren't that hungry, so we got the flat half pan nachos and garlic cheese twists to share. The nachos were actually decently large for two people which is great! It came with salsa and sour cream as well, they were pretty good! I just wish they had layered the cheese throughout instead of just piling it all on top - leaving plain tortilla chips at the bottom. The cheese twists were good as well and came with marinara sauce. PSA to students: they take SPC, so take advantage of your discount! read more

We came here with a group of five on a Friday night, the service was average, as was the food. They have recently changed their menu, and they do not offer as many vegetarian options as they used to. I also came here on a Saturday afternoon for lunch, sadly it was completely empty inside. The service and the food were both below average. read more

I usually pop in here when my focus is food, not sports, beer and typical pub-fare (there are plenty of other spots close by that cover those areas very well). In over a dozen visits I've never had a mediocre meal (try the Thai Green Curry with chicken or shrimp!) or a mediocre service experience. Though not a "screen-centric" environment, there are some massive screens around should you choose to catch a game there after lunch or dinner. Highly recommended! read more

Kelseys Original Roadhouse - Thai Green Curry with Shrimp - Comfort Food Near Me - Ajax, Ontario

I've just left the restaurant. I went with my partner and we sat down. Waited for over 20 minutes. There were two waitresses and the section was pretty empty. However, they never came to introduce themselves or even apologize in advance for the fact it would take a while to serve us. Anyways, we will never be back. read more

Horrible. I ordered the chicken parm with alfredo. Chicken parm was extremely overcooked. Alfredo sauce was underneath the spaghetti at the bottom of the bowl and was not poured on top of the meal which we first seemed was odd. We sent back the meal and ordered doritos cool ranch chicken fingers instead. Which was a mistake. Now feeling very sick with food poisoning. Never eating at any Kelseys restaurant ever again. read more

Food was great and service excellent. I ordered the goat cheese and bear salad with salmon. The flavor was bursting! Salad was to die for and what surprised me most was the salmon. Had a nice firm texture with an incredible smoke flavor. Would definitely come here again! read more

Kelseys Original Roadhouse - Comfort Food Near Me - Ajax, Ontario

It had been awhile since I had eaten at this Kelsey's location since we had a bad service experience almost 10 years ago. I used to love Kelsey's fajitas when I was younger so took a leap and went with my wife and young son. I ordered steak fajitas and I was sorry that I did. For $20 the quality was horrible with so little steak (Cut into cubes instead of strips) and small amount of toppings. The shredded cheese looked like it was the powder at the bottom of a store bought bag. The wraps were practically glued together into one large mass. Not enjoyable at all. I should have just stayed with the basics and gotten a burger. The other thing is this place looks like it's right out of the late 90s/early 2000s with outdated photos of celebs. I thought the service was good but the food wasn't. Too bad. read more

The service blows! I'm still sitting here waiting for the waitress to come and take my order. If I finish my beer before she comes back, looks like we'll have a drink-n-dash situation on our hands. *Quick update: Waitress arrived in the nick of time to avoid a drink-n-dash. However she's already declared she wants the minimum tip with her minimum level of service. read more

Unfortunately we ended up paying mostly for great service and a decent ambience. The Truckstop burger was a disappointment as the chicken was fried dry. The Messy Fish sandwich and the Wings were good without being great. So if you are looking for amazing food, this may not tick the box. You can get better food at half the price. But if you want great service and an overall happy dining experience - then this should not disappoint. read more

I showed up to a practically empty restaurant and was told there was a 45 minute wait for a table! The foyer was packed, at least 15-20 people! The manager said that the kitchen was too busy to seat tables. Luckily I was not one of the people who had been waiting for more than 30 minutes already! I suggested they at least seat the guests to be comfortable and the hostess rolled her eyes at me! After being seated (even with the expected wait for food), the restaurant was filthy AND the servers were rude - treated us like we inconvenienced them. Worst Kelsey's / Cara experience ever!! read more

Amazing customer service, quite decent food, prices rather high (especially for smaller plate of fajitas than they used to have). The server was extremely helpful and treated my friend and I amazingly. She checked up on how our food was, and kept doing periodic table-checks to make sure everything was still good, referring water and what-not whenever required. I did notice however that the size of the fajitas had gone rather down, yet the price had gone up. Not the fault of this specific location I suspect, but more-so a general Kelsey's thing, but I still feel it deserves dropping a star as not only do I get less bang for my buck, but I'm charged more for what used to come with a lot more for less. All-in-all, based on the customer-service, I'd definitely return to this Kelsey's for another bite to eat. read more

Came to try the"Everything but the kitchen sink burger". But when I ordered it with no bun (I have a grain intolerance) I guess the kitchen interpreted that as "Everything but the kitchen sink and but the lettuce and but the spicy mayo too". Food was a little slow coming out but the server was very pleasant. read more

We were shopping, I had gift cards, we were hungry and, more importantly, thirsty for a day off beer. It's a chain restaurant so not going into detail. Server was enthusiastic and efficient. Our shared bacon cheeseburger was not that great although the overall bacon flavor was delicious. Side salad average. The Missus loved their bacon cheddar soup. Pound of S&P wings to go and they were just ok too. Beer, cold and perfect. Overall, was thankful we had gift cards. read more

Everything about it was mediocre. The wait times were a bit long - we waited avoid 20 mins for a starter Caesar salad. Boyfriend has the steak and I had the chicken. Nothing was great, and nothing was terrible. Overall an okay visit. read more

I was given one of those dine-anywhere gift cards and decided to use it at Kelsey's. Overall it was a typical franchise restaurant experience... food was good, service was standard, and prices were decent. I ordered the peppercorn burger which was delicious - the 2 onion rings that came on top were more decoration, but the burger itself was juicy and well-seasoned. I would definitely recommend it if you're in the mood for a good burger! For dessert I'd highly recommend the funnel cake fries with strawberry sauce and vanilla ice cream :) read more

Kelseys Original Roadhouse - Funnel cake fries with vanilla ice cream and strawberry sauce. - Comfort Food Near Me - Ajax, Ontario

I Just don't understand why the food at this location is way below average. I have convinced my self to try it 2 times and the 2 times we went there food was horrible! Their steak came rare though my husband asked for well done, the side veggies were so cold as they just tossed them into the pan right from the freezer. Their fajitas is nothing special, the beef fajitas also came rare even though we were not asked for our preference on how we like it to be cooked. The tortillas that are supposed to be steamy hot and fresh, came to our table cold and sticking to each others. Its ridiciulously bad quality food for the amount we paid. Never going back. read more

I've had better, I think it's the same quality as Applebee's. I ordered a chicken salad, the chicken fillet was rubbery, and the salad was drenched in dressing. I would have appreciated Swiss Chalet more. But the good news is it's not that expensive, and I thought the decor was nice. Seems more like a bar, because all their specials had to do with drinks. read more

We came in for lunch on a Saturday and the place was empty. We asked for a booth and he sat us at one that the cushions were held together with duct tape even though there were 5 others available. The pictures and memorabilia on the walls had a good layer of dust all over it. Our order was taken in good time (chicken fingers and nachos) but it took 20+ mins to get. Our server was Nicky and she was great and the food was good and as we expected. It just seems like maybe there is a management issues. If it weren't for Nicky and the reliable food, I would have scored this location lower. read more

Me and my dad come here constantly. Always giving the benefit of the doubt with service wait times. CONSTANTLY. We came here today and we had to wait 15 minutes for someone to acknowledge we were there. They are so goofy. Always have 1 person working when we've been there and they apologize profusely for it. You guys are mental if you think one server serving the bar and dining room suffices for the weekend. Kelsey's has good food, amazing drinks but the service almost anywhere you go, is slacking. I feel like you guys should all have a meeting and discuss this issue (if you even care). We had a party of 10 walk in after us, so we instantly left. There's no way service was going to get better if we walked in and you didn't notice us there, nevermind having a table of 10. Literally unbelievable. You guys need to smarten up. This is a competitive industry, with it being food and me being someone who loves recommending places.... just saying. Word of mouth goes further than you guys think and I waited about 5 times to write a review because I was trying to give the benefit of the doubt but this is something that needs to be addressed . I'd love to meet the owner who's probably relaxing in his backyard today not giving a flying..... must be nice bud. read more

I came here the other day and it was a great experience....the food is the best especially the wings and spinach dip...thumbs up!

Good food. Lousy service. I would have liked a cup of hot tea, I would have liked an offer to add boiled water to my cool pot of weak tea, but nobody came around to offer such, only to give us our bill and take our cash! read more

Good place to eat. friendly staff and good food. I tried their Phillie Sandwich and Man!

I heard back from Kelsey's management. Was impressed by their quick responses. We will give you a try again!

Been here a few times and the Thursday night wings are A M M M M A Z I N G....you must try it soon. I also got sweet potato fries well done. Just believe me and do try the wings OK. read more

I had a mushroom burger which was excellent. I'm a carnivore and the burger surprised me! It was beyond delicious. I'm craving it we speak. The portion was an average size and$13.99 with a side. Unfortunately the service was lacking. The server we had was very nice and friendly but she forgot a few things we asked for like butter and ketchup. She also took forever to check in with us, we had to wait about 20 mins for her to refill our water and bring the things we asked for. It didn't seem that busy. I will try going to another location for the burger, hopefully service there will be better. read more

The worst customer service I have ever had. The server was not helpful, pushy, and forgot to bring my drink to me! I have been here a couple times and never had such bad customer service in my life. I would definitely not recommend this location at all. The was good but the service was terrible. read more

Enjoyed a nice lunch at Kelsey's. The fish burger is exceptional. Two battered pieces stacked high on a really nice bun. With the coleslaw inside. Nice hot fries on the side... with gravy too. Big enough meal, I took some home. The server was really great. So accommodating and helpful. She made our luncheon experience a delight. read more

Love coming here for Thursday's All Day Half Price Wings! :) The servers at the Bar area are fantastic and attentive (service can be slow during peak times but this applies to all restaurants)! Definitely will keep coming back in the future! read more

Not a fan of a few menu changes, the wings sauce seemed to change for the tangier side, and the chicken fajitas do not come with rice anymore, but what looks to be an entire bag of onions, (it was still good though). The staff are friendly but seem to have a lot on their plate because she seems to always to be in a rush. read more

sat at the bar the lady was friendly but slow ordered beer and wings beer was great but how can u fuck that up wings were horrible half sauced sloppy job vegetables still had stems coming out of them one of the grossest wings I've ever ordered read more