Rusty Pelican Review

This restaurant is the most well-known and often visited in my neighborhood. You will leave with a smile on your face because of the excellent service. The food here is absolutely incredible; the textures, flavours, and tastes are unlike anything I've ever seen. It comes highly recommended!

One of my favorite restaurants went for a private event. Great view over looking the water had some apps that were given out and mojitos

Food is amazing, make sure you valet or your car will get booted/towed valet is the only wa yg your allowed to park

It is a very elegant, pleasant place with very good services
I congratulate you

Rusty Pelican is a traditional restaurant in Miami. The view, the view is outstanding! Romantic place where you can enjoy a beautiful venue with your special one. The wagyu meat is amazing, the mashed potatoes are delicious and the salmon is great. The prices are on the high side but I would recommend it to anyone going to Miami

Sitting outside is perfect, nice view. I liked the food and the service they gave us.

RESERVATION: I called 3 times but no one picked up the phone even they have a dial options for reservations. I would understand, If I was on hold due to high demand but literally no one answers. I had to reverse the table thru third party app.

VALLEY: It was the only good thing about this place.

RECEPTIONIST: We arrived 5 min before reservation time and receptionist told me that they have 45 min wait time. I asked her why they confirmed the reservation if people have to wait for almost an hour, she said she could arrange a table if we wanted to sit immediately. Than she said if we wait another 45 min she can give us a table with better view. If she had told us our table was ready but better view tables will take another 45 min wait time I would understand her offer. She just did it opposite way! Why? Why do you want to upset people where you had to welcome most!

TABLE: It was clean, set up was acceptable.

SERVER: He was really polite, came on time and asked for drinks immediately. We selected (2) appetizer, one of them took 35 minutes, yes 35 minutes (for oyster) and the other one (octopus) did not even came on our table. He completely forgot. About an hour and half after we sat on the table we had our main courses. Food was definitely not in the caliber of this place. I can get the same fish and steak in half price in anywhere in town. We did not even ordered any coffee not to wait for it until midnight. As a sea food lover presentation, taste, temperature, texture, sauce and etc of both appetizer and main course were below average

Finally, we asked for the check. As I expected octopus was in the bill. I asked for correction and server did it immediately.

CONCLUSION: If you are visiting Miami, have tons of time to wait for your table+food, don t care about the quality of the food and want to see breathtaking Miami skyline it s a good place for you. You will never miss this restaurant but will always remember the view.

If you live in Miami, come on nation, we have way better places in town!

Great place to spend a nice afternoon with fantastic views of Miami

Food was a 5/10. Very expensive and not too much food on the plate. We ordered a spinach side dish and we couldn't put it in our mouths. It tasted like salt and vinegar. I have a feeling that the spinach was frozen, not fresh.The cheese plate and the cornbread is the only reason why I didn't give one star. Service was atrociously slow. I sat outside and the view was nice, but my server took 20 minutes to get me a water refill. I expect way faster service for a high class restaurant like The Rusty Pelican.

Best views in Miami. Service was super friendly and the food quality has improved. Happy hour is a nice deal. Only issues are $35 corkage to open your own wine(steep) and after spending $125 for lunch outside we needed to move inside to the bar to enjoy happy hour. An inconvenience after 2 hrs. Just serve us where we are.

This place is just a shame for Miami. Although it has a good view to the downtown, the stuff especially the hostess are very unprofessional. Food is just a joke. Come for the view, don't order anything.

A little overpriced for the quality of the food and service.

Great views. Great service. Plenty of options on the menu. Fair price.

+fantastic food
+very nice waiter
+superb view over the skyline of Miami

-quite ugly interior design and furniture

Exquisite food and a wonderful view of Miami but the best

Wonderful dinner menu, great wine selection, great service and good pricing. Shrimp cocktail was good, the octopus appetizer was very different and not what we expected. Grouper was great as was the lobster risotto. Wonderful views and Key lime pie was tasty. I loved that we were never rushed by the waiter or management. Hope you find my review helpful

Absolutely amazing food and surprisingly well priced!

Can't beat the view at sunset! I highly recommend going an hour before sunset so you can enjoy your meal as the sun sets.

The New Years Eve party was absolutely worth every penney! We had a piano performer next to us all night, a 5 course meal, great wine selection paired with each dish and the besh views in the house of downtown Miami! Definitely recommend!

The food was delicious, the view is amazing but being my first time there I expected way better service for a 50$ tip.

The pic below is the octopus.

Excellence incredible views an unforgettable place I recommend it 100%

Good food, awesome views and overall great experience. Give this place a try if you are in the area.

Double tipping: Like other restaurants in Miami Beach area, beware of double tipping. They do not give you a printed bill, instead an electronic card reader that also displays the bill. Our waitress rushed through the entire process and even pointed at the 20% tip over and above the default 18%. We didn't realize at the time, but the service or the food was NOT worth the approx. 40% upcharge we ended up paying.

I absolutely loved this venue. We came here for a wedding. If it wasn't the weather the venue was extremely nice. Everything was spacious. Decorated beautiful. I like the fact that the same space was used for the reception. I had steak my dinner. It was seasoned well. The servers and bartenders were extremely nice and cunning. They have pride in their jobs and went out of their way to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves. Hopefully I can book my wedding Herr and have the same experience.

Nice restaurant with great views of Downtown Miami. Service is lame, waiters wander around the restaurant, but when they are needed, then no one is found. They are trying to eat three dishes per person (((parking was only jack.

Atmosphere amazing, food was not good. Service was very good!

A fantastic view of the bay. Very good facilities and attention. Somewhat expensive for what is the quality of the food

Beautiful views of the Miami skyline, good food. The happy hour menu, in the lounge only, is a good deal!

Great view on 2 floor food great! Went there for a gala 12/2018

It was a wonderful Sunday brunch in the midst of some of the most beautiful views of Miami!

Exquisite food, the price is definitely worth it! Will be coming back EVERY time I visit Miami.

We were late for our reservation for a birthday dinner for 9 people. They went out of their way not only to get us a table during the busiest time but outside so we could watch the sunset. The service and food were beyond excellent !

The place is super nice and the view is SPECTACULAR! The food is not bad, but the price / quality ratio, I do not think it corresponds. The bar has a good atmosphere.

We were dining there yesterday, but it was the worst christmas eve I've ever had. Despite our reservation we had to wait over an hour to get a table. The rusty pelican had a special christmas menu for $80 per person. The service could not handle ous on time, between the ordering and dessert we spend over two hours. During that time it was very crowded and very loud, the food was not enjoyable. It felt more like having lunch at Whole Foods in Downtown. The management seemed to be greedy, how about just letting a limited amount of people in it, so the service can handle the guests on time and the guests are enjoying a 'silent night'.

The christmas menu selection was very bad. Except it's name it hasn't anything in common with christmas. Cold seafood and no 'wow'-effect. The dessert was a collection of dark chocolate dessert. Hey we have christmas -> cinnamon, apple, spiced pie, etc.

We always held our business meetings there and we were always satisfied but Chistmas and this restaurant doesn't work.

Beautiful view! But expensive food and small portions

We opted to sit out back and we had the perfect view of sunset. Our server was friendly and attentive. The food came out in a timely manner and was timed perfectly with sunset!

The best part about the restaurant was leaving. It was horrible service and the food was no where. Near the price range value. Pizza on the beach would make for a better date

My business reserved the restaurant for a dinner/conference night. This place is amazing. The view is out of this world. And the service was outstanding.

The beautiful view
But the attention a disgust. Not even the napkins brought us

Wife had a good time, service was good and view was amazing, but the food was overly salty, had them exchange but it was still salty, spending over $150 I cant leave more than 3 stars no matter how good the service or view is.

We photographed the wedding of Paulynn & Stephan this past weekend at The Rusty Pelican. It was the perfect location. Having the Miami Skyline as a background contributed to the wonderful pictures that we captured that day. The staff was very professional and the food was great.

Went there for brunch. The crusted French toast was very good and the portions are a good size.

Great food and service. The view of Miami is incredible!

Beautiful setting and generous portions of good food. Had a wonderful time.

Decided to take my wife here for Mothers Day. What a disappointment. I really didn't mind the $90 per person. But from the moment I started the RSVP process I was met with disappointment after disappointment. Let's start with the valet process. I was told that all valet was going to be handled at the Marine Stadium so I drove the additional 500 yards and pulled in for parking only to wait in the hot sun with my 11 month old daughter and my wife for 15 minutes before a van pulls up... which is not big enough to carry the whole line. So I had to wait an additional 5 minutes. This is 20 minutes now that I have been waiting before I even get to the restaurant. Service inside was decent, food quality was mediocre. When it was time to leave I waited 45 minutes for my vehicle, this was a total disappointment. I run two small businesses and I would think that a establishment of this caliber would have things together... boy was I wrong. Will not be coming back!

Very Disappointing! Have always loved the Pelican as it's part of Miami however either the chef isn't around or they need a new one. The only thing good was the cornbread. The swordfish was tasteless an undercooked, the pork chops for a huge and looked amazing except they were dry beyond belief how do you dry out mashed potatoes so much you can't even eat them? Also got a whole snapper who thought the idea of putting cute green sauce on it was appetizing is beyond me but beyond that it was also over cooked and completely dried out have no meat on the bones just bones and fried skin. The atmosphere was fantastic as was the view the service was good but very slow and it took forever to get the check. I took some friends here from out of town and everybody was disappointed it is so upsetting because as I said I really love the Pelican. You can do whatever you want with the atmosphere but if the foods no good well I can stand outside in the bridge and enjoy the view I and eat a hot dog!

I went to the Rusty Pelican for dinner last evening. I arrive at the restaurant, I was a party of 1. I went to the hostess stand and proceeded to put my name in for a table outside as I came to experience the view and full ambiance.The hostesses gave me a hard time about being a party of 1. They both gave me significant attitude and many dirty looks.

Then they proceed to seat 4 small parties outside that came in several minutes after me (without a reservation).

When I enquired why this happened, the hostesses tell me I should be ordering from happy hour as that seems more appropriate for me and then made a comment about possibly not having enough money to enjoy a meal here. Incredibly disrespectful.

The hostesses continue to make me wait several more minutes and then sat me at the least desirable table outside with not much of a view and in a corner by the waiters standing area/dirty dish area and stairs.

My waiter was great and I enjoyed his service. The food was mediocre, not worth this experience.

The same hostess also tried to seat a young couple where I was sitting - they were in more casual attire. They declined the table and the hostess was very rude with them as well. I would say the staff is very judgmental and prejudice at this restaurant.

I am VERY disappointed in this experience and must say it was a first for me and definitely my last time visiting this restaurant.

Great, peaceful, beautiful, personal time with hubby.. Good price, great appetizerz..

We waited for more than 1 hour to have the food all the costumer around us had their food

View 5
Service 2
Food quality for price 2
Value 2
Would I return? no

The octopus was out of sight and the corn bread just order 2...and thank or like this coment later!

Great food with a spectacular view of Miami. Highly recommended.

Hands down best meal I have ever had. From the small things like the bread, to the steak, and all the way through to the deserts. Beautiful view, beautiful food.

One of Key Biscayne's gems, the Rusty Pelican can be seen from the shoreline coming over the bridge, I had a glimpse driving by and thought just the view would make the foray worth it. Though a bit difficult to find, the restaurant has an impressive entrance way with a fountain and a colorful waterfall; Not to mention the huge bronze Pelican that sits in the entranceway.

The place is massive, what I found the most impressive although I am not a drinker was the walk through glass case of different wines from around the world. We were seated a table with an amazing view of the Miami skyline, and RP has huge panoramic windows, so if you're out to dine and also admire your surroundings, this spot is for you.

The food was good and there were sizable portions and the waitstaff was attentive considering that the place is massive and there were probably hundreds of people dining at the same time. Seemed like a good place for parties and gatherings. Something that I was absolutely stunned about when the dessert menu came out was that there was a delicacy on the menu that cost $35, almost as much as a one-course meal, I must admit, although the ingredients probably be both artery-clogging and heart- attack inducing.

I'm looking forward to trying it next time I'm in Miami!

Excellent, all divine, the excellent manager, we had a super birthday at the hour of happy hour! The boy who served us David, very good and attentive!

Our waiter was fantastic, but the hostess at the front was very unprofessional. She said our table would be ready in "literally" a second. In such a nice place, why would she use words like "literally?". The food was good, but I think you are paying more for the view than the food.

Great restaurant. The food and the service are great. The view is breaking. It s always worth to be back.

Excellent place, beautiful view, very good service, food of very good quality.

We go there for our wedding anniversary our waiter, Yonnier, was very respectful, knowledgeable and our experience was great throughout the night. Food was amazing, drinks very good as well. I had a whole lobster and my wife the same the manager and the valet parking also was very good no wonder thats my favorite restaurant in Miami and the view is amazing.Keep the good work guys

It is a bueutiful place and the view is excelent. It is not cheap so be prepared, but the experience and service is awesome.

It took 45 minutes to bring us the starter and 20 more minutes and they never gave us the main dish, we left and they did not apologize for the delay

Delicious food with wonderful views of Downtown Miami, with a sophisticated atmosphere.

Love the place, the food, the atmosphere and the setting. I'm very upset because I left my car with the valet parking (it had just been washed and also cleaned inside that morning) and found pen marks on my car's upholstery (it is light coloured). I just discovered them this morning. I did not see them last night when I picked my car from the valet because it was very dark. Not happy, obviously. They seem to be done on purpose and I cannot take them off easily

I had a really bad experience. Food was not good and horrible service. I will never go back to this restaurant.

A Miami staple. Great view, great food. If you haven't been you must. Swear to God I saw a flying jet ski last time I went.

Amazing food and service. The views
are amazing

A great restaurant specializing in seafood. Good atmosphere, good food and beers! Don't look under the tables, they are full of old chicles stuck together!

A wonderful experience !!! the place and the great food. We were attended by a girl, Cinthia, super attentive, friendly, and very professional

I am a regular visitor to this Restaurant, on Saturday I was here and the service was fantastic outside on the terrace, today January 1, 2018 I brought my children and this has been fatal you order and they do not bring the orders you have to ask them the waiting time is too long a total disaster