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Last Update: Jan 28th, 2021
Kellys 2019

Kelly's Landing

1305 SE 17th St
Fort Lauderdale FL, 33316
(954) 760-7009
Overall Rating
2.4
Food
Service
Ambiance
Value
Last Review
03/15/2019

Details

Hours: M-Th 11:30am-10pm, FriSat 11am-11pm, Sun 11am-10pm
Attire: Casual
Parking: Private Lot
CC: Yes
Alcohol: Beer and Wine Only
Outside Dining: Yes
Reservations: No
Delivery: No

Pros

NE Seafood Menu
Good Clam Chowder

Cons

Too many bad Recipes
Clique-ish Ambiance

Critic's Review

While I've wasted a lot of money on bad lobster rolls in this city, I'd never had one at Kelly's Landing. So I stopped in on my way to Publix for a lobstah' roll.

The place was pretty crowded at 2:30; there were too many people at the bar for me to sit there so I grabbed a table. "Sit anywhere you want". They don't have any booths, so it really doesn't matter where you sit.

Kl wide

so
The crowd here is markedly older; 70 and up mostly. A 90yo behind me ordered franks and beans. It's a whole different mindset here.

Kelly's Landing Bar Area

No view, no real ambiance. They have outside seats with a view of nothing. Who dry docks their boat in Fort Lauderdale?

Kl view

Servers here are older ex Bostonians as well; no kids working here. My server was a jittery gentlemen who seemed like he should be doing something else. Maybe accounting. I new what I wanted so it didn't matter.

They have lobster rolls 2 ways; Maine style and Connecticut style. Maine is cold and Connecticut is hot. Write it down. There will be a quiz later.

I ordered it CT style, which should be warm lobster on a buttered roll. Nothing else.

No bread or crudites as Kelly's. You just wait for the food.

Kl tea 2019

7 minutes later the food comes out.

Kelly's Landing Lobster Roll

The cole slaw is pedestrian with a bit too much sugar for my taste, but edible.

No buttered roll and no butter to pour over the lobster; I could have asked for some but I didn't. Apparently they saute the lobster in butter.

Kl roll eaten

Pretty good stuff. Maine lobster roll is sneered at as "lobster salad" by the CT style crowd. There's no doubt this is real lobster that isn't from a bag. With the cold stuff you can never tell.

Kl done

A few bites and your done. $18 bucks and out the door.

Conclusion

Kelly's is where people from New England who've escaped the weather go to get a taste of home. I've had some decent stuff here, and some pretty bad stuff too. The banter at the bar can be unbearable here, particularly if you're a Yankees fan. And unless you crave some Bostonian recipe or feel the need to mingle with NEers, there's not a good reason to come here.

Review 8/21/2015

Kelly's Landing Fort Lauderdale

I hadn't been to Kelly's in almost 3 years, and I needed to go somewhere close. I like they're NE Clam Chowder, so worst case I'd get that and an appetizer. There were 2 tables occupied and a few seats available at the bar; the usual girl wasn't working so I thought I'd see what was new. If you've never been here before; this is a regulars place, where people from New England exchange tall tales of yesteryear. I ordered a tea and took a look at the menu, which doesn't seem to have changed since the beginning.

Kelly's Landing Bar

On Fridays they have Fish Chowdah, so I thought I'd try that instead of the clam chowder. Looking for something else on the small side, I went with the "Baked Stuffed Quahog", also known as a Stuffy in New England or a big stuffed clam to the rest of the country.

Kelly's Landing Tea

Not much going on; Little League baseball on the TV, not much in the way of music. The place is pretty quiet in general. No Fox News playing today on the TV.

Kelly's Landing Dining Room (from Bar)

The only sounds were the unbearable banter at the bar. A women drinking wine at 2pm and apologizing that she can't come more often; a guy recommending that the bartender's son skip college and learn how to fix Air Conditioners, because driving around replacing $9 capacitors for $200 for people who don't have a screwdriver is a lucrative business. I recommended Computer Programming, just because every job today requires use of a computer, except maybe A/C repair.

The Soup came out quickly.

Kelly's Landing Fish Chowdah

My first sip started the disappointment: loose, bland and boring. I had some trouble distinguishing the fish from the potatoes. I loaded it up with salt and it was ok; In my younger days I would have loaded it up with the crackers but I didn't think that was what I wanted today.

Just as I was finishing the soup, the Stuffed Quohog was served. The NE dude next to me recognized it immediately "Ah, a Stuffy".

Kelly's Landing Stuffed Quahog

Usually this is served with lemon wedges, hot sauce and an oyster fork, but there was none of that here.

Digging in, I experienced more blandness. Variations of this have portuguese sausage or chorizo; a place in boston uses ritz crackers. It should at least be flavored with onions and garlic. This appeared to be nothing more than a chopped clam and bread crumbs.

Kl stuffies close

Very disappointing. All you need it to add some butter to the bread crumbs to make this really good, but this was nothing I could ever recommend to anyone.

Conclusion

Other than the Clam Chowder, I can't say that I've liked anything I had here. Mediocre to bad soups, awful mussels, a bland Stuffy. Add to that the feeling that you're an outsider if you're not a NE Patriots fan, and this may be my last time here.

Review 10/10/12

Kelly's Landing is a place to get New England Style Seafood, watch a Red Sox or Patriots game, or just hang out with ex New Englanders who now live in South Florida.

I hesitate to call this place a sports bar; but the people who come here are generally Red Sox or Patriots fans. I don't like to sit at the bar here; most of the people in here are regulars and the banter can be intolerable.

The place is painted Fenway Park green with Fenway Bricks and it's decorated with various New England sports memorabilia; they play good music; the beatles, Van Morrison; it's not a bad place if you don't mind the accents.

Kelly's Landing Interior

On Wednesdays they have the seafood chili as the Soup of the day, so I thought I'd try a mug of that. I'd forgotten how small the mugs are; for $2 more the bowl is at least twice as much.

Kelly's Landing Seafood Chili

I wasn't too impressed with the seafood chili. It has a chili flavored broth, big chunks of tomatoes, a lot of kidney beans, clams and little shrimp. Not bad, but nothing I'd order again. I also ordered a dozen littleneck clams; I've had the mussels here before, but I didn't like their marinara sauce; it tasted like a bloody mary to me. You can also get Ipswich clams here, but they're way too much work for me.

Kelly's Landing Little Neck Clams

Little necks are pretty small; I always expect more; Cherry Stones are bigger and better. When I was finished with this I was still hungry. Not hungry enough for a lobster roll. But I love the clam chowder here, so I ordered a bowl.

Kelly's Landing Bowl of Clam Chowder

Every time I order a mug I wish I'd ordered a bowl. This stuff is fantastic; as good as it gets. Just thick enough, not too many potatoes and just enough clams. If you come to Kelly's, you have to have the chowdah.

Massachusetts is one of the most liberal states in the nation, so I was surprised to see fox news on the TV.

Kelly's Landing Kitchen Area

Red Sox fans that watch Fox News. Go figure.

Sunday Brunch 6/5/11

Kellys brunch

Sunday Brunch is often just a euphemism for "expensive breakfast", where for twice the price you'd usually pay you can have access to way more food than you would ever want to eat. The last few brunch buffets I've tried have fit that mold. Kelly's is a bit different; just a down-home brunch where most of the items are $10, including coffee. The menu is very simple, with 3 standard items and 2 specials each week.

Kellys brunchmenu

The first thing you need to know is that they only serve brunch until 2pm; their website says 3pm and the first time I tried to come here after 2 it was over. The second thing you need to know is that if you're not a regular, you may not feel particularly welcome.

I walked in at 1:45pm and sat down at the bar. There was a Red Sox game on and I secretly rooted for Oakland; this is a Red Sox bar and I know enough not to mention the Yankees or wear anything with an NY logo on it. I've been here a few times before, and they always just seem so uncomfortable serving people who aren't regulars here. There's almost a "what are you doing here" look in their eyes. I asked to see the brunch menu and there really is none; just a card on the table and a big neon sign with the specials. I asked for coffee and viewed the menu, although I already knew I was having the prime rib hash. They don't have coffee in the dining room and they have to go into the kitchen to get it, which is a little weird, because they have clam chowder in the dining room in a big pot but no coffee. So I order the hash and I settle in with the sunday paper on my phone. I'm about halfway through my coffee and some dude sits 2 seats down, obviously a regular, and he orders the hash also. Didn't think anything of it.

Just as I'm finishing my first microcup of coffee, the dude 2 seats down gets his order. Say what? I've been waiting a good 15 minutes and I ordered a good 10 minutes before him. Now if my server got upset thinking that they gave my order to the other dude I might understand; but there was none of that. There was also no checking the coffee. So as this dude is chomping away at his breakfast, I'm waiting, and waiting, with an empty cup and not a word from my server. Now realize I'm at the bar, so my "server" is standing 5 feet away chatting it up. Finally she spins into the kitchen and comes out with the other dude's order and places it in front of me. She doesn't notice the empty coffee cup, so I have to bark at her as she turns away to get another cup.

Kellys hash

It's said that Sunday Brunch is a way of getting rid of your weekend's leftovers, and that may be the case here. Kelly's serves prime rib on Fridays and Saturdays only; so it's probably no coincidence that they have prime rib hash on Sunday. It's unique enough that it caught my interest, and its pretty good. Chopped prime rib with onions and skin-on red potatoes with 2 poached eggs. The miniature special "muffin" serves no purpose; cornbread with shrimp cooked in seems a bit odd and it didn't do anything for me. I also have no use for fruit with my meals; you really shouldn't mix fruit with meat and potatoes, but that's another article.

As I left nobody said good-bye or Thanks. It's just that kind of place.

Review 6/22/09

New Englanders rave about this place, and it is the place to go to watch Red Sox games as they get NESN via Satellite. While they have the sports packages, they only have 3 TVs, and when the Red Sox or Patriots are playing, that's all that's on. The decor is drab New England sport barish; painted Fenway green with Sawx and Patriots paraphernalia. It has a pubish feel and certainly isn't a place you need to dress for.

Kellys inside

If you're from Boston you know what Ipswitch clams are, and you probably know if you like them or not. Having grown up on Cherrystone and Little Necks, I don't like them at all. If you've never had them before, be forewarned that they are different from your basic Little Necks. They're a lot of work to eat and just plain not worth it if you ask me. So beware.

The New England Clam Chowder is fantastic. It's creamy and loaded with potatoes and clams; if you get the mug I promise you'll wish you ordered the bowl. Mussels Marinara are ruined by an awful "marinara", which isn't marinara at all. Frankly, it tastes like Bloody Mary mix. Do try the lobster roll, which you can get cold or hot. Its unfortunate that they don't have a lobster roll suitable for lunch; it comes with 2 sides and its $16, which is a bit too much food, and cost, for lunch.

On weekends they have Prime Rib, and they have 5 or 6 daily specials. They have Sunday Brunch; you can read my review here.

This is a real regulars place, and you may feel a bit out of place if you're not one of them.

Comment Policy Add Comment
erik nilsen
Reply
Never order the fish and chips all your get is a thin tail with no meat on it.When I orded I told them no tail I was willing to pay whatever it cost for a normal piece of fish .I got a thin tail .I don’t Tec one d this place
Jake
Reply
You've gotten a lot better at this over the years. Sitting at the bar in this place you risk having your head explode.
Marcy
Reply
Delightfuly accurate! Can't wait to get back down there!
CaseyR
Reply
Thanks for the review. Very informative!

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