Kelly's Cafe & Bar — Restaurant in South Island

Wandering around the oddly warm 17° Ashburton winters afternoon, I had stopped to look at the old railway station access bridge, under the the gas lit East Street (although in the day) strolled down the slick looking Burnett Street, and strolled through the Ashburton Arcade, wondering what immense commerce took part in its heyday, before Amazon, Temu and Shein took over. I rounded back onto East Street and was welcomed with the black painted façade which beckoned an Irish Pub & Café. Stepping inside I was greeted by an interior that would be described by, clean, but I'd those walls could talk, they would have more hilarious(read horrific) stories than a tipsy father-in-law at some family gathering. I approached the counter, greeted by the lovely bartender(ess) and ordered the customary Guinness and was delighted to find that it was only $10! Note: YMMV with pricing and inflation may be a thing Seated in their outside in the lowering winter sun, protected from the cars on East Street by the glass barriers, my fine Guinness arrived, perfectly poured, complete with a Shamrock etched on top, one which would rival coffee art. They also have mints if you're a little whiffy.

TDLR: Go buy a Guinness, and...

Popped in for Bfast on a Sunday morning, and we're blessed with very welcoming staff. They were prompt with their service, and the food arrived in record time. My partner had the eggs bene with bacon, and there will never be any complaints about lack of bacon in that dish. It tasted amazing. I decided to order off the all-day menu and am super happy I did. I ordered the Beef Schnitzel and Chips. This has been a hit and miss for me over the last couple of years, but not today. Schnitzel was perfectly cooked, chips were perfect, and I didn't realize it came with an egg and salad. I went for the gravy over the mush sce as I am always ordering that, and I am glad I did. The gravy wasn't too thick, so it went well with the chips as well as the schnitty. We also had a coffee and a coke. Normally, I would expect to pay at least 60-70 $ for this meal, but I was pleasantly surprised that the bill was only $53. Portion sizes were on the above average size, so this place has blue for money in spades.

If staying in Ashburton or just passing through, it'll be worth your while to pay the team at Kelly's Cafe &...

My family and I were excited to visit this cafe and we had it saved to visit on our way to Christchurch for the entire day. For people who had been driving for hours some of us wanted to use the bathroom while the others ordered like any human would. After ordering, the owner of the establishment waved us over with one finger so condescendingly. Then, she proceeded to tell us that we weren’t allowed to “come onto her premises to use the bathroom” without ordering which we had already done. She then asked us how long we were going to be in her country for, and started asking personal questions about our stay which was so inappropriate, and it was obvious she was saying this because the color of our skin was darker than hers. Please do not come here if you do not want a racist owner lady yelling at you for being a paying customer at her own restaurant. This is crazy behavior for white people who colonized this land that wasn’t theirs and never belonged to them in the...