Pelicano Restaurant

Unfortunately they closed for good a few weeks ago. I’m going to miss them.

This almost got five stars except for how two of our dishes were prepared. The reservation process and attention to a food issue was perfect. The hostess is delightful and the room atmosphere very serene. There is a lot of space in this restaurant and the space gives you the privacy to have a fine conversation with your dining friends.
We all enjoyed our food and the Chef’s 4 course menu was a wonderful combination. But, it seems like the chef might have taken his eye off of the cod, which was cooked to dry, and the salmon, which was also medium-​well and the underlying vegetables had an over abundance of lemon, overwhelming the dish. It was not inedible otherwise it would have gone back, but it seemed to be a minor lapse in what otherwise was a very fine meal. Maybe he was distracted due to their being so many diners at the time, but I would rather have my food served later if it means getting it right. A suggestion might be to ask the server to have the fish cooked medium rare, if that is your preference.
The location is wonderful — right at the marina. Totally casual so you can dine in your finest fishing overalls, if you prefer. We saw a lot of working fisherman with their old baseball hats and high rubber boots. It is probably the peninsula’s finest dining, by far, so it is worth the trip from Long Beach, Raymond, Astoria and definitely a must enjoy spot if you are coming down for an overnight or extended stay.
We love this restaurant and will be back.

I ate here for the first time tonight. The atmosphere was wonderful with a very attentive staff. There is a monthly seasonal menu. The Dungeness crabcakes appetizer was perfect. I chose a pork rib entrée with cilantro and chilies on rice. this was delicious with just the right amount of heat. I will definitely be back soon.

Uneven quality. Great tomato shrimp appetizer, but ribeye was over cooked and mashed potatoes were old and sour. Service was awful. View of port, location was great, but atmosphere inside restaurant felt stiff and awkward, staff was woefully under trained. Far too expensive for what was provided.

We’ve been coming up to Long Beach for years, but never had occasion to visit the Ilwaco waterfront previously. Both it and Pelicano were a pleasant surprise. The view is great, we watched a heron fishing off the pier. The drinks are well thought out, and very tasty. The addition of an orange twist to a classic Manhattan was wonderful. The pan fried oysters were very juicy but crisp, with a flavorful marinara. The potato and corn with lemon complemented the salmon wonderfully, and the seafood chowder was fresh, with a nice blend of ingredients. The bread was even notable.
Definitely the best meal we’ve had on the peninsula, and equal to the best of out Astoria seafood favorites.
The service was attentive and cheerful. Location, food, service were a win/​win/​win.

Great cute restaurant! The fish is done well and the salads are tasty too, even though I do not usually order salad. They focus on fresh, local seafood as well as other ingredients, so their menu changes monthly. I’ve never had a crab cake that had so much actual discernible crab in it!
If you’re ready to actually taste the seafood instead of eating it battered and fried, this is the place for you!
I preferred this place over The Depot hands down! It also has a great view of the water.

Really a 3.5.
The good — the seafood stew was yummy. Lots of clams, fish, squid, and a tasty broth. The crab-​cakes were also really good — whole big chunks of fresh crab. The bread was also very good. All of the seafood was fresh.
The bad — the pan-​fried oysters were pretty much inedible. Chewy and gritty, covered with overly sweet onions.
The mediocre — the service was good, although we had to wait a bit long for our order to come out, even with a late (8:00PM) reservation.
Final word is that Pelicano is a solid place for very fresh seafood, but stay away from the oysters.

Disappointed.
Nicely prepared meal but very skimpy portions.
Have choice between small and full. I ordered full
and left hungry.
No vegetables served with a 3 oz piece of fish.
Could be good but just not worth the money charged.
Server asked what we thought and then didn’t pay attention
to our comments.
Won’t go back soon.
Too bad, it was better in the past.

Slipped a notch. What has been a favorite restaurant of mine has slipped down from a 5 to a 4. From our past experience, we had come to expect high end cuisine. What we were served was a ribeye steak that was so fatty I could hardly eat it and the mashed potatoes were instant. There were 2 of us that ordered the steak — and they were both the same. One person in our group ordered the fish. They loved it and it looked great. The wine was great and so was the service. Hoping this was just an off night — I would hate to loose what had been my favorite restaurant.

So far. My favorite restaurant on the Peninsula. The best Pasta Dish have ever had! My friends Salmon looked delicious as did their salads!

What an amazing meal! This chef is skilled as is the cocktail shaker. I started with ginger snap cocktail — amazing ginger syrup with two rums — spicy not sweet. My wife had a mocktail — normally these are so sweet they border on candy. Here it was a refreshing ginger lime libation that was perfect.
We moved into a crab cake that really was crab through and through. One of the best we have had. We also had the pan fried oysters on creamed corn — calling it creamed corn seems to be a misnomer as it was the best corn I have had.
The mains were the only place we had an off note. The petral sole was somewhat under seasoned. The seafood chowder though was quite good. Lots of fresh seafood in a broth that was thickened with puréed potato and sweet corn — I was impressed by the lack of dairy.
We closed with a walnut orange tart with a vanilla bean ice cream. Not too sweet and so flavorful.
I highly recommend pelicano! It was also incredibly affordable go early for happy hour pricing!

This is going to sound obnoxious (I guess that’s a given on a site full of self styled food critics where the only criteria is «can you make a log in») but my bar when I go out of town and eat at a fancy restaurant is «would I enjoy this restaurant/​dish if it was being served to me in an upscale Seattle restaurant?» Answer: yes, unequivocally.
I was very skeptical going in. I believe their site encourages you to stroll the waterfront before dining. Ilwaco is not exactly what I’d call picturesque, and everything else was closed/​out of business. None of this has to do with the Pelicano, but it made me wonder if a gem could be buried among the blight. And yes, the Pelicano is a gem! Just skip the waterfront or don’t go if you have a small bladder, because the «public restrooms» down there are nostril-​searing portapotties.
The minute we walked in, the surroundings were forgotten. The place is pretty, with warm lighting and nice art hanging on the walls, and my perspective on the waterfront changed when viewing it from the window. The service was really great. I decided to take a chance and order an old-​fashioned. I happily drink a wide range of them – well liquor or top shelf, florescent maraschino or «craft» cherry, I don’t care, but they turned out a really fine drink with the offer to «adjust» it. Oh no, you will not be taking away this perfect cocktail.
My ribeye was cooked to spec, and was tasty and tender, and the garnish was perfect. My companion loved his rockfish with salsa verde and was amazed that it was the «small» portion. I started with a crab cake, which was exactly as it should be – full-​to-​bursting with crab with only the necessary amount of binder to make it a cake and seasoned very well.
This is a suggestion, and not a gripe – if all the cocktails can be that good, and considering how dead the rest of Ilwaco is, I think you people could clean up with the addition of a bar as well. I would have loved to have waited there for my reservation. Because I am not setting foot in the Sea Hag down the street. Thanks for a nice night!

Going to the beach has more misses than hits when it comes to restaurants especially in the Long Beach area. Pelicanos is definitely a hit with fresh seafood and expertly mixed cocktails to boot. Highly recommend the rockfish filet or seafood chowder.

We arrived fairly late on a Friday night with no reservation. The restaurant was quite full but we were seated promptly at a table with a nice view of the harbor. The service was excellent and friendly and the food was well prepared and tasty. The wine selection was nice and affordable. Excellent restaurant for such a small town.

Updating my post from a 1 ½ years ago, I am pleased to report that the Pelicano has not lost a beat. Service was great, really paying attention to detail, and friendly as always. Our dinner was prepared to perfection. I would highly recommend the salmon. I have salmon quite often when dining out and I can say that the salmon I had that night was the most tasty and well prepared salmon I have ever had! Keep it up!

Everything was great! Fresh and tasty!

The couple that owns and runs this place takes great pride in the environment and FOOD!
Herb and Maria will return!

We wanted to give the Pelicano four stars, but just couldn’t quite do it. Although it’s great to have places like this in Ilwaco, being «the» nice restaurant in town isn’t an excuse for the numerous small misses that cost them that elusive fourth star.
The great: the service was attentive and friendly, a notch above and definitely a pleasure.
The good: the roasted tomato soup was delicious. Also, many menu items were a available in a smaller portion, which (combined with noodles with butter and cheese) made up nicely for the lack of a kids menu and ensured everyone got the right amount to eat.
The «mweh»: the four course «chef’s menu» was unbalanced, with a soup starter and a chowder main course. Even if you claim it’s a «hearty» chowder, it’s still two soup courses, which was too much.
The not-​so-​good: everything was seriously underseasoned, and the only recourse was table salt and pre-​ground pepper. I’m not being a snob here, but if you’re going to charge $ 30 for an entrée (and underseason the food), fresh pepper would be nice.
I had a steak, which was cooked properly but a very fatty cut. My guess would be that the Pelicano, like so many others in the area, is going through tough economic times, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to deal with that. I would have been far happier with a smaller piece of higher quality meat.
Would I eat there again? Probably. But truth be told, the Pelicano charges a premium price for food that simply isn’t in the $ 30 a plate league. By way of comparison, we spent the exact same amount at the Depot Restaurant two days later and got a much more satisfying meal.

After trekking all the way up to Ilwaco to go to The Depot we arrived 40 minutes before they closed to a locked door and a closed sign. WTF?
Every other restaurant was closed too! We called Pelicano though and the host told us to come over, they’d stay open. Um, ok!
They were gracious, inviting, and just plain awesome from the get go. Not to mention that the service was great and the food was delicious. I had the minestrone to start which was fresh and hearty. I also had the pasta for dinner, vegetarian and loaded with yummy veggies and sauce.
The price was right and the quality of ingredients was very good. I’m glad we found this place, it’s totally a hidden gem!

This restaurant was highly recommended from the B&B that we were staying at in Long Beach for the weekend so we decided to give it a try. Pulling up to the building you would never know that good food was inside as it looks like a trailer from the outside.
We were greeted promptly when walking in. Our table was in the corner of the room with a good view of the docks and for people watching. Our waiter took our drink order right away. I ordered the Primo (Mojito) and my husband had a nice scotch. The Primo, which was their drink of the month, was tasty and very different than anything I had ever had. It tasted like a cross between a mojito and a margarita.
The hostess let us know that the menu changed monthly to reflect what was locally fresh. We started with the pan-​fried oysters and the beet salad. The oysters were alright, they were unseasoned as was the spinach that came with it. The beet salad was terrific — it had beets, oranges, dates and almonds with a goat cheese vinaigrette. The textures and flavors went really well with each other.
For dinner, my husband had the buffalo ribs (small portion) and I had the crab cakes (large portion). I was highly underwhelmed by the crab cakes — I was thinking I was going to get something out of this world from all the great reviews. There were large chucks of crab, but overall it was unseasoned. If they would have added salt and pepper plus a splash of red hot it would have made it so much better. Some type of aioli with it would have been a nice addition. My husband had the buffalo short ribs which were absolutely amazing. They were so tender and the chili sauce that they used was incredible. I would highly recommend getting them if it is on the menu when you go.
For dessert, we had Walnut Meringue and Orange-​Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich with Caramel Sauce. This was one of the best desserts that I have had in a long time. The Orange-​Vanilla Ice Cream was pleasing to the palette and the crunch of the meringue was a great addition.
Overall, our experience was wonderful and I would go back again next month to see what is on their new menu for October.