Bites Nearby: Chelo's Hometown Bar & Grill

For this edition of Bites Nearby, I chose to dine at , a Woonsocket staple since 1984. Chelo's offers a variety of delicious cuisine served in a unique, cozy atmosphere. As an added bonus, Chelo's is quite kid friendly, with fun and interesting decor, a great kids menu and its famous coin-operated miniature train that circles the main dining room. 

Upon entering Chelo's you can't help but notice the decadent assortment of desserts in the front entryway, with trademark choices like "Best Of Rhode Island Chocolate Fudge Cake." It's  hard not to be tempted to skip dinner all-together and head straight to dessert.

In the spirit of the task at hand, we resisted the urge and started out our meal with two soft drinks and the appetizer special. This is a combination of potato skins, mozzarella sticks, breaded chicken fingers and buffalo chicken fingers, which had a pleasant little kick to them, served over a plate of fresh tortilla chips. Kudos to the chef on this appetizer special, it arrived promptly, was perfectly crisp, extremely hot and very delicious.

My husband, being the frugal fella he is, ordered the "famous shepard's pie" from the $9.99  'Dinner And Dessert' menu, which offers the diner his choice of four main dishes paired with a side and dessert. For myself, after mulling over a few choices, I decided to go with the philly cheese steak wrap.

Not too much later, I received a large portion of hot and  juicy grilled shaved sirloin steak with sauteed onions and peppers, covered in melted american cheese and wrapped in a fresh tortilla. Served with pickles and some awesome curly fries, my meal did not disappoint in the least. It was delicous, and piping hot. I will even reveal that my husband was a bit envious, but lucky for him I couldnt finish it ( I knew I needed to make room for dessert,) and he got to take half for lunch the following day.  

As for the shepard's pie he ordered, it was a hearty portion and tasty enough but I must admit, it left us wondering why it was so famous.

Now, on to the best part, dessert. I ordered the 'Willie Wonka Cake' which is a warm Toll House cookie pie covered with walnuts and smothered in hot fudge, and  topped with real whipped cream. In a word, it was heavenly. My husband chose the 'Outrageous Brownie Sundae,' a warm homemade fudge brownie over vanilla ice cream and topped with hot fudge, real whipped cream, walnuts and a cherry.

According to my husband it was the highlight of the meal.

All in all, I give Chelo's a thumbs up. If you wondering about the service, I will tell you it certainly fell short in personal touch. We started out with Crystal who was pleasant enough, then mid appetizer we were passed off to Samantha who was actually quite nice and very attentive, then eventually we finished off the evening with Ashley. After inquiring, I was told we happened to arrive during the wait staff's dinner break time. Had I not asked why this happened, we may have been left wondering if we were undesireable guests.

Dinner and dessert for two at Chelo's

• 2 diet sodas: $5.78
• Appetizer sampler: $10.99
• Philly wrap: $7.99
• Shepard pie special: $10
• Ultimate brownie sundae: $1 ( as part of the $9.99 dinner and dessert special, two specific desserts have an additional $1 charge )
• Wonka Pie $0 (I am now noticing they did not charge me for it ......... do I go back?)
• Total with tax: $38.61.
• To that I say: "not bad!"

Chelo's Hometown Bar & Grill
490 Clinton St.
Woonsocket, RI 02895
Phone: 401-769-6622

HOURS OF OPERATION
Sun 12-10 p.m.
Mon-Thur 11:30 a.m. -10 p.m.
Fri 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Sat 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.