Cleary’s Pub

Great place great food great atmosphere. Had the fire roasted red pepper and shrimp linguini definitely a must!

Solid food. Nothing spectacular. The waitress was very friendly and accommodating. Live music on Saturday night. I had a Italian sub with fries. The food fit the bill. We also had cheesy stuffed bread as an app, which was very good. I would probably try some other place in Chelsea next time just to see what else there is.

I had the Blackened Salmon & Linguini and I honestly can’t remember what my friend had. We were too busy ooh and aahing over the food. DELICIOUS and the service was great!!! Next yr. when I am here I will try the Fire Roasted Tomato & Shrimp Linguini because I had a difficult time deciding this time.

The two stars is for the very friendly bartender who was working her ass off. If it hadn’t been for her, no stars. Got the order to go. The French Dip sandwich was inedible: dry well done sliced beef on a pale roll that resembled an oversized hotdog bun. Basically paid $ 10 to eat fries.
I’m so hungry now. So I took back one of those stars.

This is my husband and I’s favorite place to go out to for dinner. The food is always great the drinks are always cold and the staff is always friendly. The atmosphere is great and sometimes they even have some type of entertainment like a singer…

My kids and I visited a few weeks ago and were very pleasantly surprised. We hadn’t been here for a couple years. My boys love ribs and were excited to see that they were on the menu. We have been to the place down the street and were less than impressed. My boys told me that the ribs here were the best they have had. They keep asking to go back. The cheeseburger sliders and the chips were also very good. I just wish they had a good veggie burger option like the one at Zukey Lake. The Dexter Pub also doesn’t have a good option along those lines, I’m not a fan of their turkey burger. The waitress was very friendly and we really enjoyed our visit.

A restaurant can be judged two ways:
1. With a Unilocal review
2. By the character of it’s nachos.
In this post I will judge Cleary’s in both ways as I complain about their poor nachos. First, the chips were pretty lackluster. They were like a standard issued chip from Gordon Food Service. Okay, it’s not a Mexican Place so what did I expect? Well, maybe something closer to the Tostito family.
Next, the salsa was bland and definitely not home made. It was 100 percent plastic-​bottled goodness from a bulk foods store.
Toppings were basic: there was beef, but no offer of black beans, chicken, steak, or pulled pork like everyone else has. Cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and a few jalapenos rounded out the plate, but they were all meh.
You can do much better than the nachos. Bar was cool though. Beer was well priced and you could do worse for dinner.

Pat, Meg and Joan have done this right for many years. Cleary’s Pub is a Chelsea icon with many faithful followers. The food, drinks and staff are some of the finest you’ll find. From salads to steaks and everything in between, you’ll find something appealing at Cleary’s Pub.
If you come on the 2^nd weekend of each month you’ll find a nice surprise in Tommy Foster, a musical legend around these parts!

It’s a pub, people. Don’t come here expecting fine dining — at its heart, its a pub. Try the burgers (yum), or the roast beef french dip (double yum), or the creative wraps and specials… then you’ll be quite happy.
While the service is not the best — they do seem to be chronically understaffed — have a beer and relax. Plenty of TVs, Keno, but those aren’t the features… the feature is really the beautiful wood bar.
A solid four stars, with reasonable expectations.

Definitely not impressed with the burger. Went here the other day with my parents, wife, and son. I had the Guinness Burger (described on the menu as «½ lb. of freshly Ground Burger mixed with Guinness, Onions and a blend of Herbs and Spices layered with sauteed Mushrooms, Bacon and a Soy Wasabi Mayonnaise on a Grilled Pretzel Roll») and asked for it medium. It came *well*! That should be the only thing I need to say about it. But also, if it *did* have the Guinness, onions and a blend of herbs and spices mixed in, I didn’t taste them, they didn’t add anything, and it seemed like just ground beef. The pretzel roll was good.
The House Salad was fine. No complaints, but nothing special.
The Beer Battered Pickles were good. Above average fried pickles.
The server described the beer well when I asked about it and it was good. I liked it. I can’t remember the name (it isn’t on their online menu), but it was the last draft listed and is an amber ale.
Overall service was slow and inattentive.

The atmosphere is definitely that of a bar/​pub, but the menu is more than pub burgers. Cleary’s is hidden gem of dining in downtown Chelsea. I am always amazed at the variety and creativity of items on the menu. I have never had a bad meal here. Sometimes there is a wait but it is well worth it. Highly recommended.

Walked in at 11:45 for lunch. Ordered a little before noon, it’s currently 12:37, no drink refills, no food. Oh wait, food up, 38 minutes later. This place used to be an all time fav place to come. In from out of town, very disappointed. It’s the lunch hour on a Saturday, not dinner hours. If something is wrong, simple rule, come explain it to your guests.

I totally just orally raped a burger here. It even had wasabi mayo. A few bites burned my throat for a second but it was worth it. The sweet potato fries were to die for as well. I love sweet potatoes but I don’t like them with the brown sugar and butter. These definitely didn’t have any, but they came with really good dipping sauce. I want to go back, it’s too far it’s a bit of a drive!

I really want to be a fan of Cleary’s but I just can’t, until they update their menu. I can never find anything that sounds appealing from what they have to offer.
They have recently rennovated the store front and put in new banquette (booths) seating. The interior is much nicer and doesn’t smell stale as it used to. Better use of space and huge improvement.
Service is great. The ladies are always attentive and friendly.

The burgers are really good. I don’t know that I have had anything here but a burger, but the burgers are tasty. You can’t go wrong with the Blue Cheese and Mushroom burger, which I ordered on my last visit. I asked for it medium well and it was served that way, but was still juicy and yummy. It came with fries and was a lot of food. One of my dining companions ordered a different burger and hers came with chips — they were rippled and thick — not your ordinary out of the bag potato chips. There is a wide variety of sandwiches and other items on the menu. They have lunch specials during the week, as well.
Cleary’s is a typical Irish Pub. In addition to typical beer selections, they have lots of Michigan beer on tap — Dark Horse, Bell’s, Shorts. I like that. The service is really friendly and helpful.
There is plenty of parking behind the bar and a rear entrance in addition to the entrance right of M52. Downtown Chelsea has lots of shopping and restaurants. Cleary’s is definitely worth a stop.

Came to Cleary’s Pub after a gig in town for Sights and Sounds. One of the locals recommended the place over some of the others in town.
Now, it is a pub so I know it was going to be quite loud. But wow, it was pretty loud in there and hard to hear the company I was with, which is why I gave it three stars.
However the food was fairly decent. The sweet potato fries with the special sauce were delicious. But as I’ve said in other reviews, I’m a fan of the sweet potato. The food is your usual suspects on a bar menu– burgers, sandwiches and fried entrees. I got the pub sandwich with chicken. The sandwich is smothered in cheese, jalapenos and mushrooms and I quite liked it. I know that some of my group got the portabella sandwich and although they liked it, they wished the mushrooms were whole and not chopped up. The person who got the Guinness burger really enjoyed it and said it was delicious.
I think if you stick to your standard pub fare, you will be happy with this place. If you’re coming in here to watch a game, you’ll have more than enough tv’s to keep your attention, but if you’re coming in to catch up on old times you might have a harder time listening to each other.

Really frickin’ loud in here. And I hate House Recipe «Fancy» Ketchup. Ravioli was bland, but the cherry pepper relish in the steak stromboli was awesome.

What a happy-​making find. Cleary’s Pub is totally unassuming… it looks just like, well, a pub. But it actually has pretty good food. Not just that, CREATIVE food. It’s very rare I see a Guinness burger with wasabi mayo. Okay, actually, I’ve never seen it anywhere else. Stuff like that. Delicious-​sounding (and very good –tasting) meals that you won’t see anywhere else.
The atmosphere is fine – lots of seating, some music, some TVs. There was MMA fighting playing on almost all of the TVs; that was a little gross to watch while eating.
Why just a 3? We weren’t WOWed. We were impressed, and happily surprised to see that creative menu… but it’s not like we’ll be making special trips to Cleary’s.

Once it was the Woodshed, now Cleary’s (and has been for many years). A popular local gathering place, that’s exactly what it feels like. Pull-​tabs, lotto tickets at the table, sports on, and family and friends. The food is decent, the company better.
Chelsea has a lot of little gems, and Cleary’s is one of them.

Enjoyed. Will go back. Nice and casual. Lake perch was good. Black and tan was great.
This is definitely a pub environment with TVs. Service was great. Plenty for the number of tables. Great bar, lots of choices.