Rusty Pelican

An absolutely lovely spot to enjoy dinner. The location is well-suited for an older crowd (great for dinner with parents or in-laws, for example). The location is on the water and has gorgeous views, but there isn't any outdoor seating. Nevertheless, the food at Rusty Pelican is great. I've never had a bad meal (the scallops are my fave). Service has also been top notch each time I've visited.

This restaurant is a really good one if you're in the Tampa area. Located right on the water, it has a wonderful view from the tables nearest the windows. The ambiance is truly the first selling point of this place. But there's also really good food coming out of the kitchen. I ordered the hangover hash and it was Devine. The hash browns were super crispy and added a nice texture difference to the eggs and cheese and meat. I would happily order this again. The service and ambiance were also great. The waiter took care of all of our needs. As mentioned above, the view out onto the water is a great addition to your meal. The only thing that needs mentioning is that the self parking is a tad further away from the restaurant. If you want to be close, you have to valet.

A restaurant with a stunning waterfront view and a vibe that makes you want to come back. The service was excellent, the drinks were delicious, and the bread they serve as an appetizer was outstanding. However, the food itself wasn't the main highlight. The calamari was amazing, with a generous portion, but the rest of the dishes fell short of expectations. We tried the snapper and the lobster risotto; while the presentation was flawless, the flavors were underwhelming, and the portions were small for the price. I'd definitely return for the drinks and the view, but the food would need to improve to match the rest.

VIEWS! Came here for my birthday lunch. Food was fine, nothing out of this world, this place feels mostly about the ambience. They have full glass windows overseeing the water, which is nice as you're eating. I recommend you ask explicitly to be seated by the window as it is not as good of an experience without this view. Unfortunately, there is no type of outside seating, which I think they could greatly profit from if they did provide that. I recommend to dress a little more elegant and not so casual. There is a free parking garage right near the restaurant.

Grace seated us and took good care of us. We got our requested window seat. Music was the perfect vibe.I ordered the coconut shrimp appetizer and the crispy snapper as my main. The shrimp was perfection! Hot, crispy, coconutty, and a very generous portion of 8 shrimp! The orange ginger marmalade was more orange than ginger but still v good. I could have made a meal of that dish. I wish I had some now:)Snapper was also good and fresh. Service excellent. Highly recommend. Hope to get back.

Amazingggggg views, vibes, ambiance, and good service! This is such a beautiful spot for birthdays or any celebrations!! We came here with a group of four. We were able to get a window seat which was nice! We got there at 11am on a Sunday morning. The food: The chicken and waffle - 8/10 The portion for this was HUGE!!! I wasn't able to finish all of it. It came out on a whole charcuterie board style plank. The chicken had fairly good seasoning and the waffle was soft and delicious. Hangover hash 8/10 Really yummy!! Fairly filling and good portions. Drinks were good and refreshing. They have a bottomless mimosa option They have an entire banquet hall for birthday celebrations.

I'm actually disappointed as I write this review. Rusty Pelican has been around for a long time. They probably have some of the best views around the Tampa Bay Area. The past few times I've gone in the past, food has been solid. But this time around, execution was just not there. Service is still solid. Servers are friendly, quick to take your order, and good at keeping your glasses filled.What was disappointing was the food. I had gone for their Christmas special that was a 4 course set menu. However, with 4 people at our table, it was very strange that various appetizers came in sets of 3 or 1. It became very awkward to share. But the most disappointing was the Crab Cake Benedict. The crab cake still had some flecks of shell in the crab cake. And the hollandaise sauce was completely broken. Instead of being fully emulsified, you can clearly see the butter and eggs had completely separated. The poached eggs themselves were also over cooked. Instead of runny yolks, they were borderline hard boiled. I hope this restaurant can reorient itself. The cooking and execution left a lot to be desired this time around.

Beautiful dining room and amazing food.It's been ten years since I've dined at Rusty Pelican and tbh I kind of wrote it off. There are so many restaurants popping up in Tampa Bay that it never made it back on my list. Then I attended a Yelp Elite Event here and was blown away by the food, so I decided it was time to return.A friend asked where I wanted to go for brunch and I said Rusty Pelican. They have valet, but there's also free garage parking (you can ask the valet where to go, but it's basically when you're facing the water it is to the far right of the restaurant before the parking lot. They must have updated the dining room. I don't know when that happened, but my other friend made that comment too, that it used to feel like you were in a dark lodge, but now it's beautiful and light. The full windows looking out onto the water (you are on top of the water) is absolutely breathtaking. I got the Lobster and Shrimp Mango Salad and it was delicious. The server even brought me out extra dressing on the side, because there didn't seem to be a lot on the salad (this was without me asking). There was enough dressing (most of it was on the bottom), but I would ask for additional dressing, just because the dressing is amazing. It is a citrus, sweet dressing. There were huge chunks of lobster and shrimp. I think it is well worth the $32 price tag. The one knock I have is our service was extremely slow. But I think this was a one time thing and the server was giving my friends and I time to chat. It looked like other tables were in and out quicker.There were two graduation celebrations happening when we were there. This does seem like a fantastic place to hold special events (there are separate dining rooms.) I will totally come back and thanks to the views of the water I'd even put this on my list to bring people to when they're coming from out of town.

I was really worried pulling up to what looked like a financial area but found a hidden gem. Walking in I discovered a beautiful bar with elegant seating. We arrived for lunch and were quickly seated. The menu had some great options for a light lunch. The portions were large and flavorful. The views- what an amazing view. Water is visible from every seat in the restaurant. Definitely want to come back for happy hour and dinner service.

Wowwwwwsie, this place is beautiful! I've heard about this restaurant, but my family visiting from out of town did some research and recommended that we go for dinner. We got reservations on the same day, and there were 3 other events going on in their event spaces. Despite that, seating and table accommodations seemed super organized. Once we sat down at our table we felt like we were on a boat!! The restaurant is nestled RIGHT on the water and it was so beautiful during sunset. The food was delicious. Every dish was filled with flavor and tasted super fresh. I got the salmon with mashed potatoes and we shared the ceaser salad, shrimp cocktail and calamari. The calamari was some of the best I've ever had, super soft. My family agreed that it was the best meal they had while visiting Tampa!