Kelly’s Roast Beef Revere Beach: Menu, Prices and History

Kelly’s Roast Beef has been carving sandwiches across from Revere Beach since 1951, and the original walk-up stand at 410 Revere Beach Boulevard is still the place many New Englanders go when they want the real thing. About five miles north of downtown Boston and steps from the sand, Kelly’s Roast Beef Revere serves thin-sliced, medium-rare beef on grilled sesame rolls, fried clams, lobster rolls and frappes from a counter that opens at 11 a.m. every day. Here is what to order, what it costs, when it is open and why this beach shack matters to the region’s food history.

How a canceled wedding started Kelly’s Roast Beef

Kelly’s began as a hot dog stand. Frank V. McCarthy and Raymond Carey opened it on Revere Beach in 1951 and named it after a friend from Dorchester, Thomas Kelly, because neither partner wanted his own name on the sign. The two also worked at the Paul Rogers House, a function hall next door owned by the Carey family.

The story the company tells, and that the Boston Globe recounted in 2019, is that a wedding at the hall was called off that year, leaving several roasts with nowhere to go. McCarthy and Carey carried them to the stand, sliced the beef thin, piled it on grilled rolls and sold it through the window. According to Kelly’s own history page, the beef they expected to last all day was gone in about an hour.

Kelly’s still says it invented the hot roast beef sandwich as New England knows it. That claim has been debated, since roast beef on bread existed long before 1951, but the craze that followed is not in dispute. Dozens of imitators opened from Everett to Cape Ann, and Boston Magazine and the Globe both report that the founders of Arby’s, who launched their chain in Ohio in 1964, modeled their sandwich on the one they ate in Revere.

Kelly’s Roast Beef menu highlights and prices

The order that matters is the roast beef. Each Kelly’s location roasts its own beef through the day, seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked low for three to four hours to medium rare, then rested before carving, a process the company’s director of operations described to Eater in 2015. The meat is sliced to order, which is why the sandwiches come out warm, rosy and stacked high.

On the Revere Beach location’s online ordering menu this fall, a small roast beef was listed at $12.10 and a large at $14.85. The local favorite is the three-way: roast beef with James River barbecue sauce, American cheese and mayonnaise on a grilled sesame seed roll. Kelly’s now also sells an Onion Three Way on an onion roll with grilled onions, mayo and onion rings. If you are new to the combination, it sounds odd and tastes like a sweet, salty, creamy North Shore classic.

The rest of the board leans toward the beach. A lobster roll, North Atlantic lobster dressed lightly with celery and mayo on a split-top roll, was listed at $39.60. Fried whole-belly clam plates ran $41.25, a fried fish plate $24.20 and chicken fingers $12.10. Burgers start around $9.35 for a quarter-pound cheeseburger, and a Kayem hot dog on a New England split-top bun is a cheap add-on at $5.50. Fries, sweet potato fries with honey mustard, onion rings and seasonal frappes round it out. Prices on delivery apps can differ from the counter, so check the board when you get there.

Atmosphere: a walk-up window facing America’s first public beach

There is no dining room to speak of at the original Kelly’s. You order at the windows under the big green sign, wait for your number and eat at the outdoor tables, on the seawall or in your car facing the water. The company lists outdoor dining, catering and beautiful ocean views as the location’s amenities, and Wikipedia notes it is the one Kelly’s without a drive-thru.

The setting is a big part of the appeal. Revere Beach Reservation, run by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, was the first public beach established in the United States, according to Mass.gov. The National Park Service says it opened with temporary improvements in July 1895 and is now a National Historic Landmark. Summer evenings bring long lines; a sunny October afternoon is quieter and just as scenic.

Getting there and tips before you go

The MBTA Blue Line runs straight from downtown Boston to the beach. The state’s coastal guide says the reservation sits across the street from both Revere Beach and Wonderland stations, so you can skip the car entirely. Drivers will find parking along Revere Beach Boulevard, though spaces go quickly on hot summer weekends.

• Go early or late: lines peak at lunch and on summer evenings.
• Order online in a rush: online ordering closes before the 8 p.m. counter close.
• Bring a jacket off-season: the tables are outside and the wind comes straight off Massachusetts Bay.

If you are building a classic New England takeout tour, Kelly’s pairs well with Sullivan’s at Castle Island in South Boston, another seasonal waterfront stand with deep local roots. For a sit-down seafood meal back in the city, see our review of Legal Harborside in the Seaport, or work through our guide to the best clam chowder in Boston.

Is Kelly’s Roast Beef worth the trip?

Yes, especially if you have never had a North Shore roast beef sandwich at the source. Kelly’s is not fancy and it is not cheap for fast food, with seafood plates priced like a sit-down dinner. But the beef is roasted on site and carved to order, the view is free, and few places in Greater Boston let you eat a piece of regional food history on the same beach where it started 75 years ago. Order a large three-way, grab a seat on the seawall and see why the line never really goes away.

Sources

• Kelly’s Roast Beef: Revere Beach location, address and hours
• Kelly’s Roast Beef: Our story
• Kelly’s Roast Beef: Menu
• Kelly’s Roast Beef Revere Beach online ordering menu (prices)
• The Boston Globe: Where’s the beef? The North Shore fight over the No. 1 sandwich (2019)
• Boston Magazine: How did roast beef sandwiches become a North Shore icon? (2021)
• Eater: How Kelly’s Roast Beef soared from simple sandwich to state icon (2015)
• Wikipedia: Kelly’s Roast Beef
• Mass.gov: Revere Beach Reservation
• National Park Service: Revere Beach Reservation Historic District
• Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management: Revere and Saugus coast guide