Rusty Pelican Reviews

This place was recommended to me by my friend, and it did not disappoint. The food is great alongside with its great ambiance. Overall, I loved my dining experience here.

lovely place , beautiful views from every qngle.
the food is good but not great ,over priced.

A wonderful view of the bay. The quality of food was not fresh.Servise was not adequate.A prime attraction from the late Fifties!To expensive . CULINARY EXPERIENCE P00R!

The food was exellent and our waiter Jorge S was the absolute best !!

Hannibal lectern is the best server at the Rusty Pelican. He went over and beyond to reach his guests expectations.
Mr.Lectern really gives royal services. I will definitely come back.

Cornbread was special. Food was great. Dessert was SPECIALLY great.

Great view of Miami and great food. Definitely recommend the Short Rib Mac n Cheese!

I went yesterday (Friday) The view is nice, but the parking is a hustle. I managed to find one and the bar was full. I get it. The greeters told us to go outside to the tables. We did. We already had eaten, so we wanted drinks and an appetizer. The waitress asked us if we were having dinner... I said no just drinks and an appetizer. She then stated oh then you need to sit on the fire pit... there was plenty of available tables and no other people waiting. I felt disrespected. Like if I didn't spend over 100 dollars to not even bother. The fire pit chairs were uncomfortable and I felt as if I was there to tan... the fire pit was off so it was kind of odd... I felt as if we were punished for not having dinner.... we left! I hope they educate the waitress because her customer service was horrible.

Best view in Miami, great food and friendly service!

Can't eat the view, wish we could that's about as good as it got. Food is for little people or for people that don't like to eat,. Serving staff think they are better than customers...
Second time and will not be a third

we went to celebrate at the rusty pelican, a smart choice indeed, we had a wonderful waiter that helped us with every dish choice, wine choosing and even helped us modify a bit the food tray for 2 to suit our liking . amazing service and amazing view. and when you think of it was not over priced as we thought it will be.
5 stars !

Location and view trumps the food. Service is good and excellent for large groups. Fairly priced too.

Excellent great view in the terrace and superb costumer service.

You go there for the view only. They can't get simple appetizers right, and the dinner entrees are pricey how so mediocre in taste. I only recommend it for a drink - dont eat anything

Fire pits great,water is calmimg,food was excellent, staff great,need more light in restroom,

Somebody fire the chef, he doesnt even know how to boil water.

Fantastic! ... you have to book!
The sangria does not recommend it, otherwise everything is ok.

Awesome place! I booked a reservation for the wrong day and had an issue with a babysitter. Jimena spent a lot of time trying to reorganize and found me a table for the correct night! Saved my wife and I s 10 Year Anniversary dinner! Thanks you guys rock!

I went several times ... and I always ask at the source of the wishes to return

Coffee was cold and octopus was not that fresh but the rest was good. Lobster and salmon were good.

Sad to see what this place has become:

Predatory parking, friends whom I attended brunch with did not see the valet only sign and had their car booted for 90$. There is literally nowhere to park unless you pay the valet, which is not even clearly stated.

On to brunch..... I would of been better off fasting for the day. Waiters had no idea what was going on. We were seated next to the waiter station and could hear the staff arguing as to who was going to take our table. All of this seemingly going on, while we waited in the hot sun for some water and drinks, which came about 30 minutes into waiting. The food arrived after about an hour and a half of waiting. And to our misfortune, the food came out terrible and literally burnt to a crisp. Apple stuffed brioche French toast was more of a representation of a piece whole wheat grocery store bread, with a dried out tasteless stuffed center. Chicken and waffles that were frozen and the meat inside the breading was gooey as a result. Everything pretty much unedible for a hefty price of around $380.00. But hey, the corn bread wasn't bad.

At this point, I just wanted the memory of rusty pelican to cease to exsist in my mind. But to no avail, I was shocked to see I was charged twice for the bill on my credit card statement. I then had to return to the resteraunt days later to have a manager resolve, then waited many business days for my money to be refunded.

This is obviously a tourist trap. As a Miami resident, I could never justify dining at the Rusty Pelican ever again. There are many places that have way better service with the same waterfront view in Miami.

Buyer Beware.

Nice food , nice ambience; picturesque view,nice staff. I orderd lamb chop and moment it was arriving i knew meal had no chance of survival; Awsome food. What other place it could be to spend an evening.

Stopped by to get some wine and appetizers with the idea to enjoy the sunset.
Hostess told us they could not serve us unless we consume full course meal for dinner... here is my one star review for such a rude service. You should not tell people what to eat nor discriminate customers for the amount of food they want to consume. Very bad service

Went on a Sunday. Brunch all day. Wanted lobster cooked with drawn butter but it's not party of the brunch. Pretty views. Excellent staff tried to accommodate us to no avail.

We had a beer ($ 8 each) but with great views. The site is fine, the wine list is spectacular and very attentive service

I went for a wedding on Saturday and the traffic was horrible. There was

Very rude valet, hostess never said hello or offered to seat me, bartender hinted they were closing in 45 minutes. No vegetarian or vegan appetizers. Not a single one to share with friends. Nothing. 3 vegan entree options ... one was carrots as a main course. Another was pureed broccoli. Wake up. It's 2020 #veganVeto #getKind not coming back with my friends. A waiter verbally complained about someone's tip and used profanity I'm front of a customer. The owner should try to call his restaurant. It is a nightmare to navigate the automated system to get a real person. Bad way to start business. Impossible to order ahead for carryout to the boat. They won't let you. Weird homeless guys living in white vans near the front door as closing time comes? Never going back.

Service was great, the place and view awesome but the food was really bad and price really high, you are just paying the view

Roberto our waiter was great, food was delicious, and dinner right on the water with a great view of sunset. Highly recommend!

Terrible service, Terrible table and Terrible cold food.
Never again. Waited 2 weeks for my bday dinner...I rather eat a cold burger at McDonald's.

This gem is perfect for friends of for impressing your girlfriend/boyfriend. Even though it's quite pricey, the food is excellent, service is top notch, but the view at sunset is worth every penny!!! A definite must! It will keep you coming back for more...every time.

I had a reservation for this place, to make the reservation I had to put my card information and they warn that if you don't cancel 24 hours in advance they ll charge you $15 per person, but! we arrived and they didn't have our table ready and they made us wait 45 minutes approximately. I'm sure that if didn t arrived on time or we didn t show up they would ve charge my card $30, they actually did it to a friend recently, they are no really taking any reservations, I think is just a scam to get money from people that don t show up. This place is playing with people s money and TIME.

Now let's talk about the food! I ordered a LOBSTER AND SHRIMP RISOTTO which cost $42 and it was not good at all, the shrimp & lobster was dry and the risotto was salty and the flavor wasn t good tasting. If I am going to pay $42 for 5 shrimps with a LITTLE BIT of risotto I would like it to taste good at least, we also ordered the calamari appetizer and it was 6 calamaris, the rest was breaded peppers for $18.

The only good things were the margaritas and the view. Overall food is not good and there s ZERO (0) VALUE FOR THE MONEY.

Bad experience. When arriving with reservation there were no tables available for the patio: more than an hour of waiting. Once we sat down - inside, not to wait any longer - they did not bring a chair for the child who came with us. We had to call the manager. Bad service. After COVID, the quality of the drinks and the variety of the menu declined. The reason they gave us: the pandemic. I mean ... did the drinks lose quality due to the pendemic? Not recommended.

The view was beautiful, but the food is disappointing. Will never visit again!

Overall a wonderful and delightful experience enjoying lunch by the water.

Very good view good atmosphere 100% recommended .. incredible food.

Best place (throughout the years) for 1st dates/anniversary/birthdays..or just for Sunday brunch...

Since 'Yesterdays' that was in Ft. Lauderdale closed years ago, the Pelican has been one of the last few classy places Ieft in S.Fla..
KEEP it classy... Thanx

The view of this place is the best. Service was slow and the drinks average.

The attention is excellent, the divine view, the wonderful presentation, the weather can not be better, the menu really complete ... however it is very sad and unpleasant, having so many points in positives, allow 4 people to smoke tobacco or cigars just At our side, at breakfast time, everything wonderful vanished ending with a stomachache.
I understand that in Florida it is "non smoking area" both inside and outside, that is to say in open areas inclusive.

Very unprofessional team, I had to wait 45 minutes even with reservation. They did not have some of the food in the menu. The Bosser never picked up the plates from the table. It was cold outside, but they run out of gas to turn un the lamps. Overall a bad experience.

Way too expensive for the amount of food they serve... you are paying a premium for the view. Not the food. It was good tasting food. It just was not portioned accordingly with pricing. Good luck try at your own risk.

I have never ever been so disappointed in a meal particularly because of the price. There was massive miscommunication upon booking the reservation. We called ahead when making our Thanksgiving Day reservation and were told we could order a la carte if we did not want the prefixed menu. However, upon arrival we were told that only applied to the dinner menu and not the lunch menu. I was annoyed because again we called ahead of time to ask. Who ever answered the phone clearly didn't know what they were talking about.

We should have left then but we didn't...$89 for a 3 course meal which wasn't really a three course meal because the appetizer and dessert were tapas style and shared with the table. There were 5 of us at the table and they kept bringing us 4 of everything. 4 French Toast sticks, 4 mini corn breads, etc. so that was awkward and not enough for everyone at the table.

Now, this is our own fault for not asking the price ahead (because I honestly didn't see it on the menu) but someone at the table decided to order a pitcher of Sangria. Y'all it was $65!!!! $65 for a pitcher of Sangria with no fruit inside of it!
Not one piece of fruit was in this Sangria! What high end restaurant makes fresh Sangria with no freshly chopped fruit for $65?! So we most likely paid $65 for a pre-made Sangria and that is highly unacceptable.



Lastly, my salmon was bland and had no taste to it. It needed salt and pepper. It clearly wasn't seasoned at all. It looked pretty though. The French Toast sticks were great and so was the salad also the restaurant's views are nice but that's really the only good things I can say.

Overall, this restaurant needs to re-train their entire staff on the importance of consistency and paying attention to detail. I live in DC and dine at high end restaurants all the time and do not mind paying for a quality meal and quality service BUT this was not it.

The food is amazing. The view is amazing. The service is amazing. Nothing to complain about. Near perfection.

Everytime I'm here the service and food are phenomenal. Delicious Swordfish is a must, the sushi is amazing, and the view, what's not to like. Excellent place since I was a kid.

Roberto our waiter was great, food was delicious, and dinner right on the water with a great view of sunset. Highly recommend!

If your a baller this is the place for you! Massive wine selection, views of downtown Miami from Key Biscayne that are simply amazing. I had the steak and lobster and it was delicious.

The service was terrible and the surf and turf I was given was pork instead of steak. It's expensive but I wouldn't mind if the quality matched the prices. I wouldn't recommend for a first date or a special outing. It's a casual restaurant with a lot of tourist.

If you come here for dinner, you have to sit outside! The view of Miami downtown is unreal! Very romantic and most of the seafood dishes are great.

Great Food, Awesome wait staff, Beautiful View so much fun!!

The valet parking company are disrespectful and do not know how to treat people with the rush to serve more and more people.

This place is awesome the food is phenomenal and the view and staff are just sublime. The only downside is that they do valet only parking. I really do not like other people driving my car especially since it costs so much. Aside from that it s a wonderful place to visit with a spectacular views of they Key Biscayne area.

Richard is the BEST! He was knowledgable and made excellent recommendations. I will be back and ask for Richard !!!

Excellent view and attention, I sat outside to take something in front of the fire watching the city and enjoying the sunset, a very nice atmosphere, very familiar, I recommend it!

Look Miami turn on the lights enjoying the look with a delicious wine accompanying the dinner, next to the husband .... this is priceless !!!

Excellent place to have a nice hearty meal after church services.

Very nice view. Food is good. Service really need to improve, at least a smile.

Large portions, expensive, dont eat there...just visit and click a pic if you want.

Really nice spot for drinks and light fare. The menu is ok. Prices are expensive.
But, if food is not a priority... it is a nice romantic/cozy spot for a date.

The place is beautiful, the attention is excellent, but NOT the food. Order shrimp cocktail. They brought me 10 shrimp boiled on some ice, not even a dip. I am surprised that a gourmet place does not offer a real shrimp cocktail. Despite being very well in the ranking and being full of people. I did not like the food.

Me and my girlfriend have a tradition of coming here for our anniversary, I will never forget the first time we went on our first anniversary. They greeted us so politely, they made a huge deal about it being our anniversary, we were seated on a regular table for two, and soon after we sat, a skyline view table opened up for us, and the hostess came and asked us if we would like to take this table for our special dinner, we proceeded of course. The manager came to our table with complementary champagne and the entire experience was just charming. I couldn't have asked for anything better for my girlfriend and myself.

Aside from the service I must make a comment on the chicken dish that we ordered which was ABSOLUTELY amazing! It was juicy, tender, nice and warm, and the vegetables were sublime! thank you very much Rusty Pelican for such an amazing experience! 5 stars recommend all the way!

This restaurant is a 5 star one in terms of the location with astonishing views of the Miami skyline in a fanciful atmosphere. What I did not like was the service, which in my opinion in a restaurant like this could have been better. In terms of the food, the octopus was too full of condiments and the oysters were not the best either. I liked the complimentary bread with the best butter ever, the crab cake and the Mediterranean mussels. Parking is also available with valet only ($6). Went there for my birthday celebration at brunch time.

Delicious food and spectacular view...I'll come back...