St Kilda Pelican Restaurant

Nice selection of Tapas dishes, good service. Attentive staff, the soft shell crab was delicious.

There’s no question that The Pelican has fantastic coffee and breakfast. The prices are fairly standard for brekkie in St. Kilda (ie not particularly cheap), and the food is usually hot, tasty and filling. The portions are always generous, which makes this a pretty ideal destination if you have a hangover.
The restaurant itself is quite nice looking, and the wood and sea breeze make it quintessentially St Kilda. In my experience the dinner can be a bit of a let down, so definitely make this a brunch spot.
Ps. This is right across the road from the 12 tram terminus, so if on the way to work or school this is a good place to grab a quick coffee/​hot chocolate before jumping on the tram.

Very disappointed in the popularity of Unilocal in Australia. I rely on Unilocal when I go to a new city.
So I decided to help out other Unilocal addicts by writing this review.
Ordered dinner here based on the waiter’s recommendations and explanations of the specials. I don’t have any pictures because I ate the dishes/​desserts before even thinking about it.
The dishes were very well balanced in flavor, smoothness, and yumminess. The desserts here was really good. I liked the chocolate terrine and white chocolate rocky road a lot! The waiter also made up a coffee liqueur for with espresso, orange bitters, and some other thing. We named it the heart starter.
Tristan offered the best service – he was attentive, friendly, and he described the dishes/​coffee/​alcohol/​desserts like he was a foodie chef.
If I was a local, I would definitely return and be a regular. My dinner companion was from Melbourne and he said he’s coming back with his mates… for sure.

I’ve breakfasted here a few times when staying at the Tolarno and I really like it. Have yet to attempt a later meal but their breakies are goooood…
I’m a little ashamed to admit that i’ve never strayed from the house-​made baked beans with Meredith goat’s cheese. What can i say. i love all of those things. They aren’t the *best* house-​made beans I’ve had but they’re pretty good, served in a lovely terracotta pot and that Meredith goats’cheese really is something else. And they are WARM because Melbourne (brrz). Get the multigrain toast, it’s fantastic bread I forgot to ask where they get it but it’s seedy and great.
Very sorry to report that on each occasion I’ve been here the coffee has been really weak. I’ve always found the staff friendly though. And I promise next time I’ll try the crumbed tofu & report back.

Brilliant tapas, food, wine… And vibe which is essential — great place to meet friends and catch up. Treat yourself.

Review is based on breakfast only. Stayed nearby at the Tolarno and had breakfast at a few places during the week. This by far was the best.
The staff was very friendly and when I was time crunched to get out to a meeting, they accommodated me with a friendly smile. Coffe… great…Eggs Benedict… AMAZING! If only I could find the same in the United States.
If you want a terrific breakfast in a nice quiet atmoshphere (not busy there at all early in the morning), this is the place to go.

This was a semi-​random visit; my wife had an appointment in St. Kilda this morning, and we met up for breakfast here with a friend of hers after. I’ve only had the one visit, and it was relatively short, but, I think the place made its impression anyway.
Points of note:
o Service was «ok» — I got the feeling from the others we were with that it’s notoriously slow though, and we did feel that when we were trying to get the bill at the end.
o The BLT was fantastic. Loved the B. And the L, and the T! It was huge, but really really good.
o The «largest vessel you have for a cappuccino» really wan’t very large at all. Indeed, I’d argue the difference between it and a regular was difficult to discern.
o Seems like it gets crowded fast. We sat outside, which does have heating from above.
o Smokers. Outside of course, but, yes, evil scourge of the Earth.
Will I make the trip out here just for breakfast? Nope. But, we were sort of almost nearly in the area and the breakfast we had was very good. My wife loved her banana French toast, which came with walnuts and powdered sugar as well.
But, St. Kilda? Ugh. This mouse needs the city. Felt like I should have brought my passport to get out there…

Charming alfresco restaurant. Soft shell crab was tasty and nicely presented with a side of blood orange arugula salad. Beet salad was fresh but fairly typical. Love the ambiance, airy and laidback, nice lighting. Group seating available, also great for dates. Enjoyed wonderful service and the hostess shared excellent Melb nightlife recommendations (Siglo, Madame Brussels).

Great lunch today, thanks Pelican! Gorgeous sunny afternoon lunch consisting of a BLT each and patatas bravas, «fiery potatoes» with aioli. The BLT had very thinly sliced bread which was nice, the whole thing was really flavourful. Top that off with a Kelly Brothers cider and a Red Duck Pale Ale (my partner said it was a nice, dark beer) and you have a winner :)
Two meals came in at $ 46.50, and left a tip, ’cause I’m Canadian and that’s what we do.

This indoor/​outdoor tapas restaurant is good for lunch and dinner all year round.
The menu has been revamped, which I was a little sad to discover having replaced ALL of my favourite menu items such as the pork belly, popcorn chicken and pomegranate salad, however most of the new tapas dishes that we ordered were still delicious.
On the flipside, I wasn’t impressed with their breakfast menu or barista skills, so i’m going to stick to Pelican for their lunch and dinner menus.
It’s casual and social dining, so if you’re looking for a place that serves well-​presented tapas food amongst a casual vibe then Pelican shouldn’t disappoint.

Consistently good service and food — it’s been nearly 8 years since I was introduced to Pelican and it maintains the same levels of brilliance! I am still in love with the Chicken Liver Pâté with onion confit after all this time! … There is a whole lotta love going on here! Love number four! The garden pea salad with pomegranate, fetta and mint is a show stopper! Piled high with pea tendrils with tiny sweet leaves and a treasure trove of fresh peas, pomegranate jewels, salty creamy fetta and refreshing mint leaves — a truly amazing summer dish. Read more at my blog

If you are wondering what that place is with the wooden decking with huge circular shapes missing, it’s Pelican. Right on the corner of Fitzroy Street the restaurant itself is very comfortable and relaxing, you will often see people sat outside enjoying a glass of wine and a salad, inside is very cosy lots of space with big wooden tables.
I have never actually had a meal at Pelican so I cannot comment on the food, I do however hope it is significantly better than their coffee! I have attempted a coffee date twice, only to be disappointed both times. The coffee we got was cold, had no froth and lots of milk, looked more like a hot cup of dark milk rather than a creamy coffee. The staff were very apologetic when I politely asked for the coffee to be a little warmer, however they brought out the exact same thing again. I think Pelican has great potential to be a lovely St Kilda hot spot, but in a coffee savvy suburb like this one the coffee quality would need to be improved.

Pelican is my panacea. The outdoor seating and constantly updated tapas menu, beautiful wines and modern staff and habitué’s suck you in and make you stay for hours! I used to live around the corner which was dangerous, but now that I live 1000k’s away I miss it and always go back when in Melbourne. They always remember my drink too, Espresso Martini. They line their glasses with honey which makes it dulcet and dreamy.
One of my favourite dishes there is the Garden Pea salad with pomegranate, fetta and mint. Simple yet so yummy and fresh. Their produce is always beautiful. Prawns, moreton bay bugs, meatballs. Seriously you could order anything from their menu and be satisfied. You can’t book so go early to get a good seat. And this place which has been serving shared plates since 2001, is open from 7am. Their coffee and breakfast are hardly rivaled in the famous Fitzroy street and its a lucky day when the sun shines through the wooden venetian’s, you have the paper in hand and thanking god (or me) that you knew about this place.