Kelly Jae’s Lakeside brings an eccentric flair with creative dishes and vibrant colors and flavors to Syracuse, Indiana. Kelly Graff and Beth Grier opened the restaurant and bar the last weekend of January for friends and family and it has been a local favorite ever since.
Welcoming guests into the new space was a long time coming. The fine dining restaurant, although new to the Syracuse area, was well-known as Kelly Jae’s Café in Goshen, Indiana, for 12 years prior to closing in March 2020 due to Covid-19. When word got out in June that Graff and Grier were pursuing a bar and restaurant venture in the middle of a global pandemic, there were many questions about how it would all work out.
“People thought we were crazy,” Grier says.
But Graff and Grier feel they’ve been welcomed with open arms. They live in Syracuse, so the move seemed logical. Just 20 minutes from their previous restaurant, it offers a blend of old and new, with plenty of loyal customers making the trek for their food.
Customers can expect an easygoing atmosphere while indulging in extravagant dishes. Tables line the main dining area, and an adjacent bar section has additional table and booth seating. Wooden boat oars hang on the back wall and a wooden helm is mounted on the stone wall across from the bar, so it’s easy to tell you’re just a four-block walk from Syracuse Lake. Spacious windows offer early dinner-goers plenty of natural light.
The ambience in Kelly Jae’s Lakeside has been well-adapted to its new location and customer base. Graff says the palates of customers are different from her location in Goshen. “The soft-shell crabs I could never sell in Goshen, I sold out in a weekend [in Syracuse],” she says.
Graff hasn’t changed much from the previous menu; the same Asian-influenced dishes and famous tapas are found in Syracuse. However, new dishes are always being introduced to keep up with in-season produce.
Start with a soup or small plate like the Pork Belly Nigiri. Grab a Grilled Southern Peach Salad featuring arugula and goat cheese topped with prosciutto, pistachios and red wine honey vinaigrette. Or choose one of the large plates such as the seared scallops, served with sweet corn or mango salsa and black rice. For dessert, enjoy their signature Key Lime, White Chocolate Mousse Pie.
Although it entails a commute to pick up ingredients, Graff says she still sources a lot of their produce from the Goshen Farmers Market: salad mix and arugula from Sustainable Greens; sweet corn, asparagus and strawberries from Fish Lake Organic Berry Patch; and various other goods from the Horn of Plenty Co-op. Keeping those relationships with produce vendors is one of the many ways the longtime chef and restaurant owner stays in touch with her previous culinary home.
If you aren’t hungry, you can still enjoy a beer, cocktail or glass of wine at the bar in Kelly Jae’s. Drinks range from something as traditional as a bottle of Heineken or as unique as the Anguilla rum punch, which fuses tropical fruits with dark rum.
Whether you’ve been a loyal Kelly Jae’s customer over the years or this is your first time hearing the name, you can spend an evening fine dining in Syracuse any Wednesday through Saturday, 5 to 9pm.
110 E. Main St.
Syracuse, IN
574.537.1027
kellyjaes.com
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