Pelican Cafe

If it wasn’t for the Unilocal reviews, I really would never have visited Pelican. For some reason this place just doesn’t appeal to me from the outside and I guess I just assumed it was a pretty sub-​standard restaurant.
I was wrong. Really, really wrong. We booked for an early Friday dinner as we were heading to a gig at the Bandstand. When we arrived a booth was ready and waiting for us — the booths are lovely, nice and cosy for two people but I think the best seats in the house are those along the window looking over at Kelvingrove. (Ask for those, if you can!)
They have a ridiculously cheap dinner meal of £12 for 2 courses (nope, not a typo). There’s a huge menu to choose from and I actually had trouble deciding, but ended up opting for mussels (£2 supplement) and fish and chips for main. The starter portion of mussels was the biggest dish of mussels I’d ever seen — including mains, so that’s saying something. It was served with two super thick, soft hunks of bread and a lovely marinara sauce. While it did take a me a while to de-​shell all the mussels, the wait was worth it. What a delicious, fresh, flavoursome dish.
I really didn’t think I could fit the fish & chips in, but of course I managed it. I love that this is fish & chips with a difference — there’s battered prawns, coley and sea bass in the most heavenly batter I can remember trying in Glasgow. Just perfect.
We decided to skip dessert (I was about to explode from all that food) and grabbed the bill. It was around £30 which is really reasonable for two courses each (especially in Finnieston). Service was absolutely lovely and the staff were so nice and welcoming and never far away with more water etc. I can’t wait go back.
Tip: they have another dinner deal which is two steaks & a bottle of wine to share for £25 most weekends which I think would be worth returning for!

Came here after the Vintage Bus Tour (review to follow) with my parents and brother after reading the other fantastic reviews on here — the fact they also offer 2 courses for £12 at set times (from the whole menu!) definitely also swayed us in the direction of the Pelican Café. It’s somewhere I’ve driven past countless times and never even thought of visiting before!
Situated right across from the stunning Kelvingrove Museum, if you bag a table at the window I imagine you get an absolutely gorgeous view! (We got a booth though cause my Mum prefers booths, gutted!)
I tried the potted salmon my Dad got, as well as my Mum’s prawns which came with her fish and chips, as well as a bit of the sticky toffee pudding and chocolate tart they got for dessert *insert pig emoji here* — and they were all totally delicious, the potted salmon in particular was so good and I’ll be back for that at some point!
Sadly, part of reason I’m not giving this lovely wee place 5 stars is that their «Croque Monsieur» and «Croque Madame» are not actually what they say they are (I got a Croque Madame while mon frère opted for the former.) Delicious, certainly, but certainly not what I would consider to be croques. They were just (albeit yummy) bread topped with cheese, ham and in my case a fried egg. There was no bechamel sauce involved, it wasn’t a sandwich, and it hadn’t been fried/​grilled. I’m not usually so pedantic about this kind of thing, but I was really looking forward to my Croque Madame and ended up pretty disappointed, since it wasn’t how I imagined it was going to be. Although washed down with a glorious pint of St Mungo, it was very tasty and the chips were great!
(Side note, if you want a seriously delicious Croque Monsieur I can highly recommend Deli Zola in Shawlands!)
But as I said, I will definitely I’ll be back! The 2 for £12 is an absolute STEAL for the quality and tastiness of the food, the staff were lovely and it was just a nice place to sit and have a meal with my family.

Another visit deserves that fifth star! Early evening special: two courses for £12, from the a la carte menu. Great value, as most of the mains are at least £11. The chicken burger was absolutely delicious and the sticky toffee pudding was to die for! The waitress was lovely as well. It won’t be long before I’m back…

Looking for something different for date night on Saturday, I decided to book this lovely wee place since I had never been before. The interior is cosy with great mood lighting and really comfortable seating. We sat at a table in the middle of the restaurant which had plenty of room and allowed me to have a good look at the food everyone else was ordering!
I started with a terrine which was fantastic! The flavour of the ham hough with the fruity chutney and oatcakes was delicious– a lovely plate which really set me up for my main course. I decided to get the fish and chips which featured king prawn, coley and haddock. The dish was served with delightful chunky chips, home made tartare sauce and rich mushy peas. I cannot tell you how good this was! I loved it and ate every bite! I sampled two glasses of prosecco with my meal and these were fruity, fizzy and light.
The staff in the restaurant were friendly and polite, attentive without being overbearing. I am really looking forward to my next trip here!

Thought everything was really tasty! We were there on a Sunday and each got a starter and main for £12 — everything was delicious and we were completely stuffed! Would go again.

I’ve walked past this place loads of times but never gone in as I’m usually going to Brewdog and in a hurry — plus it seems to be full of children a lot of the time and I’m not a fan of those.
However, on Sunday I was out with a friend, we were hungry and walking past and thought it was about time to give it a go.
It was absolutely lovely — really friendly staff, quick service, delicious food and a pleasant, laid-​back atmosphere. I had a gorgeous ham hock and chicken terrine with oatcakes and chutney which I’m still drooling over, and for main I had haggis, pureed neeps and roast tatties as it was St Andrew’s Day and I was feeling patriotic in a culinary way!
My friend is a veggie but there was plenty of choice for him too and a decent wine selection — I had a good Malbec which was reasonably priced too.
I’d totally recommend this place to people who are looking for a really nice dinner — perhaps for a mid-​week dinner date. :-)

Nicely laid out restaurant, pleasant music, lovely menu… Just remember to wear your thermals as the hurricane lamps on the table don’t keep you warm! Meal was just alright. Nothing special.

Meal was fine — not sure if my steak was 10oz bit tasted nice and the peppercorn sauce was brill as were the chunky chips
Soup to start with was ok but could have been one of those tubs from m&s
Service great room great but cold

Pelican got it right! Enticed by the Groupon deal of a three course steak dinner, with a wine match per course, at £50 for 2 folk, and encouraged by the rave reviews of their food, I couldn’t wait for Tuesday night «date night» with my pal, and partner in wine, Lainey.
We decided we’d get a bit dressed up for the evening, and arrived at the restaurant, where we were greeted immediately. The atmosphere was pretty casual, but we didn’t feel out of place. We had our choice of available seats (a big positive for me, as there’s nothing worse than getting stuck in the corner, or at the a**e end of an empty restaurant as I’ve had happen to me in the past), so, being the avid people watchers we are (nosy buggers to everyone else) we chose a window seat, complimented by a view of the stunning Kelvingrove art gallery.
Our waiter (Kevin or Devon. We couldn’t near as we’d also picked the seat under the speakers) gave us the run down on our deal; cheese and meat platter to start, steak main, and sticky toffee pudding for pud, and a white, red and dessert wine for each course. We also ordered a jug of water, since Glasgow is suffering from a rare heat wave at the moment. Our wine and water were brought pretty much right away, and my only, I wouldn’t even say negative, of the evening was we waited a little time for the cheese platter to arrive, and we’re in danger of polishing off our vino before it’s arrival. But when it did, oh my! Beautiful, lightly toasted crusty bread accompanied Parma ham, chorizo, olives, mozzarella balls, Brie, Stilton and Cheddar, along with a deliciously dressed side salad.
Kevdev took our steak orders when we were seated, and my medium steak arrived, flanked by giant, crispy tattie wedges, I was, I admit, salivating slightly. I was worse after the first bite. The steak was cooked almost to perfection, and perfectly seasoned, though maybe a little oily. The red paired with it was fruity, and complimented the meat perfectly. Lainey and I both agreed the the side of half a mushroom and slice of fried tomato could have been better replaced with some salad or greens, as a palate cleanser. When our plates were cleared we asked Kevdev for a little break before dessert. Minds were willing, but bodies failing us slightly.
After a wee 20 minute rest Kevdev checked in to see if we were ready for the finale. A gorgeous, musky dessert wine arrived, and not far behind it, age nervous bowlful of pudding and ice cream. It saddens me to say I could not clear that plate. It was rich, moist, and didn’t burn the mouth off us, as normally happens with these types of dessert. But my tummy could take no more, and a grudging defeat was admitted by us both.
All in all, I have to say I cannot wait to return and sample some of their mouthwatering seafood, as I spied it on our neighbours tables. Like Wild Cabaret, Pelican pulled out all the stops with this offer, and did the job it was meant to; get bums back on seats. The staff were really pleasant, and didn’t bug you during the meal, but we’re attentive enough when needed. We’ll done Pelican Café! We’ll see you soon.

Walked by this place I don’t know how many times without paying much notice. Bad man.
Purchased a Groupon deal for Pelican with a starter and main for 2 plus prosecco for a reasonable price thinking ‘why not?’. Was pleased to see a great variety of dishes on the menu which inspired a considered evaluation of ‘value’ resulting in the steak (obviously). Wasn’t nuts about the cut of beef to be honest (and neither was the lady) but our starters were great and on balance we were delighted.
Value-​wise, it didn’t look like we were saving all that much with the voucher as the prices were super reasonable all over, especially their 2 course lunch menu for under a tenner. This, and the variety of dishes, plus location, make for a possible new regular place for me. Impressed.

«Excellent little place offering good service, excellent food and varied menu.»
The Pelican is an excellent little place, across from Kelvingrove art gallery, offering good service, excellent food and varied menu. The 3 in our party opted for the beer and burger deal for £5 or £6 (I forget). You get a bottle of beer, a mouth watering burger and a mammoth portion of chips. Pretty good value. The burger meat is 21 days mature and comes cooked medium. This didn’t suit 1 of our party and she asked for it to be cooked through. Unfortunately they over compensated and it turned out to be rather dry :(Overall though the food was splendid and we’ll be back to sample more of the menu :)
S
5 of 5 stars Value
4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
5 of 5 stars Service
4 of 5 stars Food

Went with sister, mum and dad for my mum’s birthday after a visit to Kelvingrove Art Galleries.
Very snug and a little cramped, but in a good way, makes for a relaxing and intimate atmoshpere, with friendly staff.
The food is really excellent and we all like the use of Scottish ingredients. Good value all round too. Will be returning!

Having eaten here a few times, I have to say it’s a favourite restaurant, with the added bonus being next to Brewdog for pre/​post refreshments.
The Fillet steak served with goosefat chips was undoubtedly in my top 3 best-​ever steaks — and that’s competing with a few in Argentina — home of epic steak goodness!
Everything’s cooked to order, so it may take a while for food to arrive, but you’re not here for fast food, instead well cooked locally-​sourced quality produce.
And I can’t finish without mentioning the cheeseboard. The most amazing value eclectic selection of George Mewes supplied cheeses — perfect.
Try and get a booth — adds a little intimacy to the cosy but relaxed environment.

After heading out the door yesterday just to ‘go for a wander’ we ended up doing a little more than that. Our problem was that we started thinking about food and, now that I’m about to pop with a big baby belly, the normally 15 minute walk back home seemed like many many miles of road — far too many to walk without some sort of nourishment.
He was thinking steak and I was thinking veggie burger. Luckily The Pelican Café does both!
The big glass windows offered us a grand view of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum so we chose to sit at a window table. There are booths though for those so inclined.
Anyway, to the food! D ordered a popeseye steak (£15) medium rare. The kitchen had run out of popeseye so he got rib-​eye steak but for the price of the popeseye; good stuff. It was a little bit more cooked than he would prefer but judging by how fast he gobbled it up it must have been good! I had the veggie burger (£9). Man! That scrummy dish will fill you up! The burger was great (one of those that’s way too big to be merely picked up and shoved into your mouth but which must, rather, be attacked with implements) and the chips were chunky.
Four things I liked about the place:
— On the menu there was information about where some of the food was sourced from.
— You could see into the kitchens.
— The service was very swift.
— As a pregnant person I very much appreciated the fact that the toilets were lovely and clean!
There was nothing that I didn’t like, though I could hear my grandad’s voice in the back of my head complaining about how loud the music was. Luckily I happened to like what was playing but if I hadn’t I think I might have turned my grump on and asked for it to be turned down.
If you’re looking for a place for a bit of well prepared grub to fill you up for your mammoth walk home then this is the place!

Myself and the boy visited Pelican after he purchased a voucher from itison, for a surf n turf dinner for two with a bottle of wine. We were pretty excited as the ‘surf’ platter included oysters, which neither of us had tried before.
We arrived a bit early and found the restaurant to be empty (it was a Tuesday night around 6pm though!), so killed some time by having a pint of Punk IPA in Brewdog next door, and playing Trivial Pursuit (I’m pretty sure I won, although perhaps my memory is being kind…). We went back around 7 and the restaurant had filled up nicely. The waiter took us to our seats… which I wasn’t loving as they were really close to the people next to us — consider me old fashioned, but I hate bumping elbows with a stranger while I get my munch on. Also, there was a really bad draft all through the restaurant, and when we asked if there was anything that could be done, we were politely told unfortunately not — it was down to the structure of the restaurant that created it. Hrm. The restaurant itself is quite petitie, and nice enough décor but not a lot of interest. Anyway, I put my reservations aside (there was wine on the table, so who cared) and started looking forward to our dinner.
We told the waiter we were here for the surf n turf deal, and he just checked we didn’t want anything else, which we didn’t. We waited… and waited… and waited. I think around 40 minutes in total. Also mid-​way through the waiting time we were told there was no oysters *SADFACE* so he would just be giving us a bit more of everything else. Our dinner did come and I found it to be oddly presented… one steak on the same plate as a whole lotta seafood. I perhaps should have read the deal more closely, however I found it a wee bit sad to be sharing a 10oz steak with my beau! The seafood platter was pretty good, although I didn’t find it to be particularly fresh seafood, but cooked nicely enough. The steak on the other hand was tough, chewy and fatty = ugh. Also, we had to pay a supplement for the steak sauce, which I found a bit cheap.
Overall I probably would give it a go again, but I found the overall quality a bit off, and the slow service and no oyster *SADFACE* made for a lacklustre Tuesday evening out.

the soup was tomatoe n beans which was not bad the main i
got cooked ham which was covered in honey of some sort of gravy the potatoes u
had to use a chain saw to cut my husband got the pink roast beef which had the
same honey gravy as my ham. The vegan options are woeful, basically just the
same mains, with all the meat or seafood taken out, no thought put into the
menu whatsoever (main course monkfish rissotovegan option plate of rice!!)
really, why bother? woeful service the horrible food! Another little hint, went to toilet and
noticed in the beer cooler buckets of potatoes on the floor, and also some sort
of marinated salmon, where are the hygene dudes, they gave them a pass, wow
again another dump! An award winning burger, what a joke, the Bean burgers, that
was bad, mushy and oily, obviously deep fried to death! Here again, go to this
place if you want days off work!!! All the best!

Pelican is a nice wee place, and the staff are lovely, really helpful and friendly.
There’s not much choice for the hungry vegan, but it is possible, and the lovely waitress said they could make something special for me, or tweak things so I could eat them. Which is unusual and greatly appreciated.
But I decided to try the menu options that I could eat to see how they were.
So for starters, I had the chargrilled vegetable tempura. They were OK — not greasy, the batter was nice and light, but they just didn’t taste of much at all. But then tempura generally don’t I think, because deep frying nukes all the taste out the vegetables anyway. But maybe a little bif of spice into the batter would have added a bit more interest. The side salad was lovely — a good light dressing, and strongly flavoured leaves.
For main, I had the vegan burger. This thing is substantial! The waitress said it was mostly cabbage based, which is unusual, but it works really well, it’s doesn’t taste like cabbage at all, I would never had been able to tell it was cabbage based. Don’t let that put you off! This is a good vegan burger! Again, lovely side salad and excellent excellent chips. Not greasy at all, perfectly golden on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside — best chips I’ve had for a while. I couldn’t even finish this dish, it was filling.
I didn’t have a pudding, as I was stuffed, but boyfy had the cheeseboard. Obviously not vegan — he also had chicken livers for starters — urggh — but if you like cheese, this looked like a good cheeseboard.
For non-​vegans, I’d say the menu is varied and it’s not your bog standard dishes, they’re imaginative and use quality ingredients.
Definitely worth a visit. I was going to attempt some lame joke there about a Pelican crossing or something, but can’t be bothered working one out — just go!

Popped in here on a chilly snowy rainy Monday night. Was v hungry and looking for something to eat.
In short, nothing was wrong — beautifully cooked fish, a lot of care taken with the menu and ingredients and whatnot, but not that much stellar, either.
Now, I don’t mind just-​OK food, but it’s clearly pitched at a fine audience– all fresh, locally produced, etc.
For instance: The poshish fish n chips had a real ale batter with lots of herbs and everything, but didn’t taste of that much.
It was fine — would have been 3* had the prices been a bit more reasonable.

Loved this place, totally forgot to review it though as I got drunk in the Islay in afterwards!
This place has a great atmosphere inside and the staff are very friendly. The food is amazing and reasonably priced, ask for the surf and turf, its £25 for two people and you get a bottle of wine! They also allow you to pay a few pounds extra if you want a better sirloin or fillet steak, the default choice is popeseye.
Overall this is an amazing place to eat, the food is really fresh and the big juicy prawns that you get with your surf and turf is amazing. I’m not usually a wine drinker, but the white wine we got was very tasty and went well with the food.
If you are looking for a bit of a treat, great service, maybe a romantic meal with the girlfriend, this place is perfect!