Mike Kelly’s Westsider

Best reuben you’ll find anywhere. The atmosphere is laid-​back and friendly, the food five-​star. Check out this duo playing May 19, 2016:

What a great bar. The boneless hot wings are phenomenal. The servers are great, and the atmosphere fun. We’ll be back, especially when there’s live music.

A neighborhood jewel. Went there during Lent and had the best fish and fries ever. Service is friendly and quick. Everything on the menu is reasonably priced and there’s a wide selection. Definitely going to return. Very impressed!

Solid bar menu and some of the best staff in the city. The owner, Mike, is almost always on sight with the great tender Martin and Heather near by. Live music virtually every night and late jam sessions at the tables are quite common. A lively street view out front and a great neighborhood.

SWEET POTATO FRIES!!! I search high and low and these natural cut, sweet potato fries are some of the best around.
I typically have the burger which is always tasty… not a SUPER large meat patty, but it’s definitely fair sized.
I’ve also had the Tuna. Not as in Tuna salad, but fresh cut Tuna… and it is tender! Melts in your mouth.

As a first-​timer to the Westsider, I must say that I was pretty impressed. The hubby and I arrived early to grab some dinner while waiting for the band to start playing. My hubby had a mushroom sandwich and I couldn’t help checking out the $ 12.95 KC Strip. My hubby loved his sandwich and the sweet potato fries on the side and my KC Strip was pretty darn good. Was it a top quality strip steak made from a cow that had been fed only the finest grasses whilst being massaged by monks? Eh, maybe not. But it was flavorful enough and not terribly tough and only a tad beyond the medium rare that I ordered, so for under 13 bucks, it hit the mark. It came with home-​made garlic mashed potatoes that were really good and had nice little chunks of potatoes giving it the perfect texture. I also had a side of green beans and they were your typical canned green beans cooked with bacon. Overall, our meal was really very good for the price.
Beer and drink prices are also very reasonable. The band was excellent (love the Allied Saints!) and the cover was only 5 bucks.
Service was a bit slow, but the place was hoppin’ and our waitress was very helpful and likeable.
Someone commented in their review about there being too many older people. I would say the average age of the crowd was probably upper-​40s with the youngest folks there in their mid-​30s. Since this is my demographic, I felt right at home. It looked like everyone there was having a great time and it really didn’t seem like the kind of place where anyone of any age would feel uncomfortable, but if you want to listen to the latest Bieber, Gaga, Cyrus or other similar music, this is probably not your venue.

Never had food here but the drinks are reasonably priced and all the staff are friendly. Far enough away from Westport so it is mostly «locals.» Definitely the place to go when you just want to kick back have a few drinks.

Tends to be a bit older crowd here, but a good place to hear/​see some live music. When it’s busy, like on the weekend, plan to not be able to move around much in there! Tiny place.

Friendly service… I had the salmon that was a little overcooked and needed more seasoning. Dining partner had the fish and chips which was very tasty. I’ll get the fish and chips next time.

Pork tenderloin sandwitch. I hade to use the top and bottom bun and make it open faced it was so huge and so tasty! they also do the «i-​gift-​back» app so you can earn discounts.

Had never been inside until I started working in the neighborhood recently. A. Mazing food! The burger is one of the very best in town! And home made fries (regular or sweet) complete the meal. I’d love to see them do some more creative specials, but the menu itself is a great bar menu. Oh… and lest I forget… Mike’s ruben would give the Peanut’s ruben a fight worth watching! DELISH!

Okay for drinks, but the food is way good. The reuben sandwich is one of the best in town. Good burgers too, made from scratch. Tasty fries. Decent prices. Try it and see for yourself.

What can I say about Mike Kelly’s. Dark, run down, plain and sort of a clean/​dirty, all in a good way if you know what I mean. Flops, a T-​shirt are AOK!
It feels like a neigborhood corner bar with a sort of cool urban flair to it. Mixing friendly locals and suburbanites sick of strip mall cookie cutter sports bars. Just a relaxing place to avoid big crowds and get your drink on.
If you are into the club scene Mike Kelly’s aint for you… which is another reason to love it. Great local live music (No Covers!) and the sound isn’t over the top, so you can still have a conversation.
Really good sandwiches at very good prices.

I like coming here because I can wear ratty jeans and a t-​shirt, listen to jam band music, drink too much, and pretend I’m back in the 90’s with all my hippie Phish and Deadhead friends.
I have eaten here a couple of times too, and I had the pork loin special both times, and it was mighty tasty. Very surprised at the quality for it just being bar food.
It’s a nice change of pace if you don’t want to battle the crowds at Westport and Pennsylvania.

Abandoning the mission of going to Boozefish (it was waaaaay to bright in there) we could tell that the Westsider was our kind of bar.
It’s dark, the PBR is $ 2.00-$ 2.50 depending on when you get there and it is cold and frickin’ refreshing. Missed out on the live music but it was definitely cool to see the regulars at their best. Everybody was super chill and ridiculously cool, but not in a hipster douche kind of way.
This place has a FULL bar and the drinks are cheap! The regulars next to us were thoroughly enjoying their $ 9.95 KC Strip and Garlic Mashed Potatoes. It smelled fantastic! All of the food we saw looked great. I’d love to go there again and try the food and see what the sitch (situation) is all about.

It’s dimly lit, drinks are reasonably priced, there’s frequent (nightly?) live music and no cover, and it was *full* of people of every age range on Saturday night. Those are pretty good indications of a great bar, if you ask me.
We stopped in to meet some friends, as they wanted to see their friends’ band play this weekend. This was our first visit to Mike Kelly’s but I’ll say right up front that it won’t be our last.
The first thing that I loved was that there was no cover charge. The next thing that made me happy was that my Jameson & Diet Coke was priced reasonably. And the service was excellent, especially considering that there was quite a crowd. Mike Kelly himself was there, serving drinks and clearing off tables — greeting the patrons like they were old friends (which I’m sure some of them are). The band was decent, and everyone in the bar seemed like they were having a good time.
This isn’t a fancy place, but it’s comfortable and welcoming — and a pretty good place to see a local band. (As my husband would say, it’s a local bar, for local people.) Nothing wrong with that!

The Westsider seems the kind of place that should have a «Beware of Pick Pockets and Loose Women» sign prominently displayed. So yeah, my kinda place! (I assure you, I’m neither type that the sign warns you about).
On a Friday night, the last thing I want to do is be part of a *scene* when all I want to do is get my drink on. My pals and I stopped in a couple places that were either too crowded (we like seats!), too bright (we like dim!) or too loud (we like conversation!) I don’t expect most bars to be able to accommodate this, so I was willing to settle for two out of three. Mike Kelley’s fulfilled all three of my persnickety needs that night and on top of that? Fabulous, attentive bartendresses, cheap drinks and decent music. Add in the company of friends and you’ve got the perfect neighborhood watering hole. But beware of the spirits of thieves and whores, of course. (Kidding!!)

Have you ever wondered where people hang out once they reach 50? They obviously don’t stop drinking, if I am to trust the advertisements on television.
I have found the place, and that place is Mike Kelley’s Westsider.
Maybe it’s the location. Maybe it’s the music. Who knows. But this place definitely has an older clientele. An older clientele that l-​o-​v-​e-​s Celtic music. The love for this music is sort of scary for a first-​timer. They sing along, they clap, they dance (badly). They are having a great time, and it is almost infectious. Almost. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to bother the regulars too much that you aren’t having as great of a time as they are. Definitely a place you can go and have a drink without being bothered.
Live music and no cover is a plus. The beer prices are not as cheap as you would think, but I think this is the premium you pay for getting to listen to music for free. Your mileage may vary on how much you enjoy the soothing sounds of Eddie Delahunt. St. Patrick’s Day every Friday!

How many times have I passed this place and never stopped? Part of the reason might be that it used to be one of my favorite restaurants– Ki Ki’s Bön Ton Bistro. Miss ya Ki Ki’s.
I am ready to stop grieving. I returned to my favorite space to see it almost identical to the restaurant of so many years ago. All that was missing was the painted wall alligators.
There was a live band and no cover, which was cool. the bartender was a really sweet guy, maybe the owner? He was really attentive and we noticed that he was recycling all the empty bottles and cans as he served. Wow, how many bars do that?
The crowd was so diverse it is hard put your finger on the type of crowd that is drawn to the Westsider. This is part of the charm. It is a place where everyone feels welcome.
I’m glad I returned. Besides, they serve sweet potato fries just like Ki Ki’s.

Stop in for happy hour on Friday nights to see Eddie Delahunt play celtic music. Also, Thursday night blues jam is pretty popular.