Kelsey's Neighborhood Bar & Grill

Good food, or not, can make, or break a restaurant.In addition to the food quality, there is one more fact that is common to both franchise restaurants and mom-and-pop-type restaurants in connection with being a success, or not.That is the quality of staff and its service.Being in Markham, just north of Toronto, recently we decided on a familiar brand of restaurant when it came to stopping for dinner. That brand is Kelsey's, a company which has many locations and bills itself as the original roadhouse.Four of us stopped for dinner, two of us adults and two teenagers.We were seated in a booth and then an amazing thing happened.We met Branden, our server.He came to our table all smiles and cheerfully introduced himself.Branden took our orders without making any notes and we were concerned that there might be a food mixup, or something forgotten. I had a Messy Fish sandwich with a side order of onion rings ($15.48), my wife Nancy had a Chicken Caesar Wrap with fries ($13.99). One teenaged boy had Roadhouse spaghetti ($16.99) and the other teenaged boy had a Breakfast Burgere with Poutine ($18.48). Additionally, we all had non-alcoholic drinks and our total invoice, with tax, was $80.15.The food arrived to our table all at once. Which is nice because then everybody gets to eat simultaneously. The spaghetti had a bit of a kick to it (meaning it was a bit spicey) and the fellow who ordered it enjoyed it. The portion was hugh and he took some away in a take-out container to enjoy later.The burger was devoured by teenager number two, who pointed out that the Poutine had shredded cheese on it, not cheese curds. But that did not stop him from wolfing back the Poutine!My Messy Fish sandwich was hugh, but I got through it, with the onion rings ordered more out of curiosity than need. I love onion rings and wanted to know what these Kelsey rings would be like. They were fine, as was my fish sandwich.My wife's chicken-caesar wrap was supposed to be mild when it came to sauce. She found it too spicey and I tried a bit and decided that “spicey” is in the definition of the person who eats an item. Perhaps this dish when ordered as mild is truly mild. But the restaurant's definition of mild might be hotter than our taste buds' definition.The meal was enjoyable, but Branden's cheerful service was top-notch. He came back to check on us more than once and was very helpful when I asked for directions.Kelsey's at 7710 Markham Road in Markham is fortunate to have a staff member such as Branden and the quality of their food was fine too.We think they will be making patrons happy for years to come.

Location is pretty good.. only usually come during Thursdays 1/2 price wings. Broccoli cheddar soup is pretty good. The funnel cake fries are the best.

Located in a large plaza so you have ample parking. Service is good. Just changed menu. Nice bar area with lots of TV's.

Always fast and friendly. Go to place for lunch in Markham when you do not want to eat Chinese or Indian in the area. Kelsey's is by far my favourite place to go for this type of restaurant.

The three of us all had salads with grilled chicken. They were very good and delivered very quickly. Our server was very attentive.