Rusty Pelican - Tampa

Food quality:3/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 5/5
Value: 5:5
Overall experience:4/5

I have ordered salmon Benedict and my partner ordered crab Benedict.
Salmon was fresh, crab was fishy.
Potatoes tasted pretty bland.
Eggs were excellent.


View was the best part.

Great venue for private parties

I attended a sorority brunch here. The views of the water are amazing

I really enjoyed my food too.

I ordered the lobster Benedict. It's served with lobster on the side and classic hollandaise and poached eggs on an English muffin. 10/10 would definitely get this again.

Considering we had such a large party. This service was good.

Mixed experience. Ambience and service were excellent. We came with a party of 10, seated exactly at our reservation time and most of dinner was prompt and attentive.

View/ambience 10/10
Craft cocktails 8/10 - well made and creative
Apps 8/10 - octopus, calamari, roasted brussels were all delicious
Entree - 3/10 - sea bass was perfectly seasoned and cooked well. However, the forbidden rice bed was vastly under cooked with crunchy texture (the chef did not know how to cook rice) and excessively salty to the point of inedible.
Dessert 7/10 - we had the toffee pudding, key lime pie, and chocolate lava cake. All were delightful.

Most likely will not come back due to the availability of so many other options in the Tampa Bay Area with a more refined food experience for similar pricing.

Incredible experience. First, I would highly recommend making a reservation close to happy hour. Get some great priced drinks and appetizers and then go to your table! The waterfront view is GORGEOUS. Our waitress was nice but we kept struggling to call her over because she was huddled talking to the other waiters during our stay. The hostesses were fantastic in getting our happy hour timed perfectly with our reservation.

We found the cornbread they offer to be dry, so it needed the butter it came with. But 10/10 on presentation. The free bread was our least favorite part of the meal and it was still good! We ordered the brussel sprouts, coconut shrimp, sea bass, scallops, corn, and oysters. The food was amazing, we couldn't get enough. The sea bass, oysters, and brussel sprouts were our favorites of the meal. I have never had miso sea bass that flavorful! The corn needed some salt or seasoning. Rusty pelican is a must go!

I used to love this place! Their lobster and risotto dish is my favorite, but I love to substitute it with their seabass. It's cooked perfectly.
But I went again last night, and unfortunately they changed their risotto recipe, and it was hardly edible. It was soooo salty and seemed to be more tomato-based. I brought out-of-town guests here and they were disappointed in the food, I was so embarrassed! They totally ruined my favorite dish here. I attached a pic from one of my first times vs last night, you can even see a color difference. The risotto last night was not good at all.
Our service was ok, we were there for a birthday and weren't even offered dessert. I think our server wanted to leave. Also a little disappointing,

This was one of my favorite spots in Tampa, but I'm not sure I'll be back. It breaks my heart to leave this review!

Went here for Easter brunch. Very nice aesthetic. Lovely view of the water. Wide windows in dining room so a lot of natural light which was nice.
Our waiter was very nice and attentive even with it being a busy holiday.
Food was good. The starters were served family style. Loved the salad with goat cheese. One disappointment were the oysters were not fresh. Other than that great brunch!

Celebrated my bday here with family and everything was very yummy! The drinks & jalapeño cornbread were especially good. I had higher expectations for the Chilean Seabass entree-- the seabass was made well but the rice choice wasn't my fav & the sweet chili sauce made the dish. I didn't have many gluten free options to choose from but what I could get/try was tasty (sensitivity/non-celiac).

We were sat at a table overlooking the ocean & got to see the sunset which was very nice! Our server was efficient & did not over-do it on the check-ins.

Went to Rusty Pelican for a wedding reception and had an awesome time! Valet parking is available and the guys out there are very nice. The view from the reception room is beautiful and offers a great amount of seating. The servers were sweet and explained what each dish was. The salmon and mashed potatoes with that cream sauce were delish! The broccolini could have used just a touch more seasoning for me but overall 9/10 on the main dish! The glasses of tequila & pineapple were also made just right. I truly enjoyed my time!

We had the preset Christmas brunch menu at Rusty Pelican. It was phenomenal and we had a table directly next to the water. Ambiance was perfect for a special occasion brunch.

With only two of us the amount of food was literally obnoxious but they allowed us to take all of it to go as needed.

First course was a combination of a salad, charcuterie board (the grilled cheese and tomato beer cheese soup was incredible) and cold seafood platter with oysters, shrimp and crab salad.

Main menu options were difficult to choose from. We opted for the steak benedict and the mahi mahi.

The dessert platter was massive too. I'd absolutely recommend doing this with friends or family if you're in town for Christmas next year. Make reservations in advance and don't worry about cooking!

A Mixed Experience at the Rusty Pelican

Rating: 3/5 stars

I recently visited the Rusty Pelican and had a mixed experience. The atmosphere was fantastic, highlighted by a giant in-room fireplace and stunning views of the water. The customer service was impeccable, creating a great start to the night.

The drinks were enjoyable, and the calamari was a standout appetizer. However, the main course left something to be desired. While the Risotto stood out, it had moments of excess saltiness. The truffle creamed corn was just okay, and the 50/50 mashed potatoes and filet lacked seasoning.

Considering the overall experience and the price point, I might explore other dining options like Eddy V's or Cooper's Hawk for a more satisfying culinary experience. The Rusty Pelican shines in ambiance and service, but the food falls short of the expectations set by the rest of the evening.