Get in line, cause Kelley's Row is worth the wait

Duffy's Tavern salad, left, and Cajun chicken with copious pub fries, right. (Lebanon Voice photo)

SOMERSWORTH - When iconic Dover eatery Kelley's Row moved from the banks of the Cocheco River in Dover, it was definitely Somersworth's gain when it landed on its feet on Route 108 just over the line from Rochester.

There, at the site of the former Sumner's and Gateway restaurants, it has become a dynamic player in the northern Seacoast foodie scene.

The first thing we noticed when we pulled in for lunch on a recent Wednesday was that the parking lot and restaurant were pretty well packed up.

Our waitress was very helpful and thoughtful with regard to walking me through the menu with a wary eye of gluten free offerings.

I picked out a Cajun chicken sandwich (off the specials men), with buffalo pepper jack cheddar, heavily seasoned, without the roll of course. Their fries had a flour dusting on them, so they gave me an order of their homemade pub chips. Entrée cost about $10.

She had a Duffy's Tavern Salad, featuring mixed greens, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and bell peppers topped with certified Angus sirloin tips, crunchy fried onion rings and bleu cheese crumbles for $13.99.

We waited about 14 minutes for our order, not out of line considering she wanted her sirloin tips well done.

While waiting we could easily see the restaurant was lively and folks appeared to be enjoying their selections.

When the entrees arrived it was easy to see why.

The Cajun chicken was moist and with some good heat to it. After first I thought it was a small piece, but most of the breast filet was hidden under a huge mound of pub chips, which were as crunchy as I've ever experienced.

How crunch were they? So crunchy that the next day I had them for lunch and without putting them in the microwave, they STILL CRUNCHED.

Meanwhile, her steak tips were perfectly seared. The onion rings were light and obviously cooked in extremely clean and hot oil. The bleu cheese crumbles were bountiful, but the bleu cheese dressing served with the salad was found wanting and somewhat bland.

One other caveat. Our server, while cheerful and friendly, disappeared for about eight minutes while we waited with forks and knives on plate after the meal. Nearby a frustrated customer waiting for his lunch sans beverage complained, "I'm dying of thirst over here" to another waitstaff.

As we left, we spied four or five waitresses whispering as they huddled around an empty serving area at the restaurant's entrance.

They could've been on break, but just the same, it didn't look good.

Still, we both agreed, the food was worth the wait.

Me: Three and a half of five stars.

Her: Three and a half of five stars.

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