What is it about the water that has so many shoreline restaurants falling in love with dark varnished wood? It’s been years since the elegant wooden Chris Craft powerboats beguiled us with varnished wood, and teak decks are a thing of the past for many of us. Restaurants, though, cling to some funny ideas about what constitutes a seafood restaurant..
Pelican Pub has lots of varnished wood, but even more, its multipurpose space brings to mind the old joke about the combination bait shop and sushi bar. It shares its building with a dive shop, a fish market and a poorly maintained aquarium. On my last visit, there was an ugly water spot on the entryway carpet, presumably from a leaking display.
I realize that there will be some for whom this will confirm the restaurant’s authenticity, and I’ll admit it does look as if fish are regularly dragged in from the nearby waterway. Still, its generally unkempt appearance made for an unappetizing beginning on my first visit there, and the plastic Quonset hut roof didn’t help.
If I’ve conveyed the impression that at Pelican Pub one is dining in a fishing shack, that’s only partly correct. It’s actually a fairly large room, too big for a fishing shack, and what local fisherman brings home buckets of Alaskan king crab? King crab legs (market price) are a big item among the entrees here, and the crab cake appetizer ($9.95) is ostensibly made from fresh snow crab meat. I can’t say for sure because I couldn’t taste any fresh snow crab flavor in the bland cakes, nor was there much flavor or texture of conch in the house fritters ($3.50).
In fact, appetizers were the most dismal part of a meal at Pelican Pub, where much of the food gives the impression of being reheated rather than freshly prepared. Fried Great Lakes smelt ($4.95) were light and not too greasy, but I thought the fried squid was on the tough side ($4.95) and the shrimp included in the iced shellfish plate ($9.95) were watery. “Tender” scallops wrapped with bacon and baked with horseradish and salsa ($6.95) may have been tender to start with, but they lost much of that quality through overcooking the night I tried them.
By this point you must be wondering if there is any point reading further, and there is, because Pelican Pub does in fact have a couple of things working in its favor. It has a good beer selection, including Grolsch dark, and there are some main-course fish dishes that turn out well.
On any given evening, the restaurant has several fresh fish selections on hand, though I mistrust any kitchen that says its recommended method of preparing fish is to deep-fry it. Put that aside and skip the artichoke and mushroom, garlic butter and blackened options, too. Go for the broiled fish: tuna, snapper, salmon and dolphin are all available for $14.95, and grouper and swordfish are $13.95.
The swordfish steak is too thinly cut to stay moist, but the dolphin, snapper and tuna all turned out well. The poached salmon with a light basil cream sauce ($16.95) is another option, though you’re best advised to take the sauce on the side. Saucing isn’t wholly reliable at the pub, and seafood fettuccine ($13.95) struck me as having too much oil.
Service at Pelican Pub is erratic. I liked my servers when I could find them. They’re pleasant and helpful, but then they disappear for a time, and it can be hard to get assistance. The saving grace is that prices are reasonable enough that, the restaurant’s namesake aside, the Pelican bill is actually modest in size.
M.L. Warren is a pseudonym to protect our dining critic’s anonymity. Please phone in advance to confirm information on hours, prices, menu items and facilities.
