Rusty Pelican Restaurant
Support Rusty Pelican Restaurant during COVID-19
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitized between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Digital, disposable or sanitized menu provided
- Sanitizer or wipes provided for customers
- Sealed or wrapped utensils used
- Limited number of seated diners
- Distancing maintained in common areas
- Extra space between tables
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
Popular dishes
Fish Tacos
Blackened Local Snapper with Chipotle Aioli and Mango Lime Salsa, Rusty Fries
39 reviews
Sunflower Seed Crusted Halibut
Goat Cheese Peruvian Potatoes, Wild Mushrooms, Sea Beans, Red Pepper Coulis
21 reviews
3 Tiered Seafood Tower
Blue Point Oysters, Jumbo Gulf Shrimp, Chilled Lobster, King Crab, Spicy Tuna Roll, Assortment of Sashimi & Nigiri
19 reviews
Excellent service!
Great food and spectacular view. The staff are friendly.
Not worth repeating.
Pretty good food, but waitress was inattentive and the valet guy was rude.
Great service and excellent lunch!
our server Cody was great! He was super attentive and very friendly!
We made a reservation for 11:30 am for Sunday Brunch. We walked right in and got a wonderful table. Cody was our server and he was very friendly. The food was terrific and we had a great time!
We will be coming back!
Good diner good service
Service was decent not as attentive as we would want but that’s due to other parties being more demanding.
Food and Service was great. The crab cake appetizers were really good.
We had a delightful birthday lunch on the patio overlooking the bay. The food and drinks were very good. Our server was awesome and added to our wonderful experience.
Great food and great atmosphere, waiter are very welcoming and knowledgeable
Wow I can’t say enough we were seated quickly, the ambience is perfection, and restaurant itself is beautiful. Our server Michelle was like probably my favorite server ever haha we stayed forever drinking and talking and just really having a great time, Michelle made us feel right at home! We will be back very soon and frequently! The food was great. We had calamari, shrimp cocktail, surf and turf swordfish, pasta, steak everything and it was just perfect!
We celebrated our anniversary while on vacation and the Rusty Pelican was the perfect spot. We had amazing food, great atmosphere and the staff was fantastic! I couldn't have asked for a better dinner and a relaxed way to celebrate.
Such a wonderful view of the harbor. Was a wonderful spot for a large group. Waiter was great.
This was our first visit to The Rusty Pelican. Everything was perfect with our four meals. I’m only sorry we didn’t have room for dessert. I definitely recommend this eatery!!!
Rusty Pelican is a beautiful restaurant. The price was a bit more than I expected. The service was pretty good. My order was wrong.. twice. The lobster wasn’t perfection but the steak was probably better than any I have had in a long time. Overall it’s a seafood restaurant not a steakhouse yet the steak was the only outstanding dish on the menu
Food was good, once seated the service was excellent. Issue was with booking table. I specified Outdoors only, due to Covid Caution. We had to wait almost an hour for our outdoor table. We were offerred indoor dining but however we don't feel comfortable which is why we specified outdoor on our reservation.
Excellent ambiance and good food. Would recommend.
The staff was great
Gave great directions to cooking staff to make sure we had food prepared for our tastes
The food and plating did not match the high(er) prices. The clam chowder did not seem to be chef made, several selections were missing sides, or a flavoring, and the overall taste was average. The filet was good, as was the ribeye, but we’ve had better for a more reasonable price.
Excellent food and service; very happy to eat inside again!
It was an amazing meal with my most favorite one on earth thank you for treating mom to the most amazing Steak and Lobster and you Chilean Sea Bass Over Risotto Easter Dinner Ever. We would so recommend for sure
Birthday/Easter Dinner.
All the staff were so pleasant and personable.
The food was good and the drinks delicious.
The garlic bread is a must...the views from the patio are perfect!
We were pleased with everything considering it was Easter and very busy.
Our reservation time was within minutes of scheduling.
The restaurant was over crowded! What happened to less capacity because of Covid??? Valet wouldn’t park our car because it was full, then preceded to park everybody else’s cars.
Had to wait at over 30 minutes for our “reservation”. Had to wait unusually long for a waitress to come to our table. I will say once she did she was polite and a good server. Food was just mediocre today and don’t think I will ever return to this restaurant. I used to enjoy it but everything’s gone downhill as far as I’m concerned.
My husband was so irritated by everything, Easter was ruined.
I will also add that we have been VERY careful to not to be around any crowds, not even family so this was the biggest problem. We expected tables to be fewer and far away from each other.
Oh and I forgot....husband ordered the Salmon but instead was served another fish and started eating it before realizing. Glad he dosent have allergies to the mystery fish!!!
We had a 1pm reservation but were not seated until 130. We had requested outdoor seating but were sat inside. It was Easter Sunday so they were busy and serving a set brunch menu. Food was good. Service was ok. We have had better service in the past. We had also noted on open table that we were celebrating a birthday. No mention of it. Overall it was ok.
Have been there numerous time since we live nearby and that was the worse service ever! The second course came before the first course and the mimosas and kids drinks came 23 minutes after sitting down! Food was great as always
Went here for Easter brunch and it was wonderful. Great views, great food, great service, fun place to people watch, good drinks and great value. We take all out-of-towners here for the NB experience.
Great location! My salmon was undercooked. Sent it back twice.
With COVID keeping people home this was a great experience on a vary limited ability to eat out. I ALWAYS enjoy the food.
Food was great and our server was awesome. It was nice and quiet outside too.
Food quality was excellent, in both taste and presentation. But one very noticeable issue I had was the extremely high price per item did not match the corresponding served portion. My $7 New England Clam chowder soup was very good. However, despite the menu says you are paying for a "bowl" it was in fact a large "cup" size presented in a very low profile bowl--which looked more like a bread and butter plate with a slightly raised lip around the edges. My $48 8oz. Filet Mignon was one of the tenderest and tasty I've ever had. But, served with a dollup of mashed potatos and few sprigs of "broccorini". I felt that I was really paying more for the location of the restaurant's scenic view of Newport Harbor. For the price being charged, I felt the portions should have been more substantial. I was also surprised at a mandatory $7 Valet Parking fee for such an upscale restaurant. I would recommend it for the goo food and service--but only to friends who have a limitless wallet.
The service was absolutely amazing! Our waiter was not only pleasant, but knowledgeable and helpful. We are regulars at the Rusty Pelican and he made this experience even more enjoyable. Our God this time was not that great. The cajun shrimp was extremely oily, the seafood pasta dish literally only had two scallops and the drinks are watery. And it just so happened one of the two outdoor floor heaters did not work and the stationed historical heaters are so old they generated minimal heat. Nevertheless despite the bad experience - because of their track record, our previous experience and the service - we'll give it another try.
There was a birthday party across from our table which was extremely loud due to excessive drinking. It made for a less than enjoyable dinner.
The food at the Rusty Pelican is good and view of the ocean is nice but the service continues to disappoint. The last 4-5 times we've gone we've not had good service.
Food was excellent as was the service. We had 2 dinners one salad and 4 drinks for $130.00. Great value!
We went for our 29 anniversary and really enjoyed it. The only thing that wasn’t good was the Mango Mai Tai. It was just mango juice (very sour) and a little rum. Not worth $13 dollars. Other from that, every thing was great.
First dine out night after a long pandemic year with family and friends. Rusty Pelican never disappoints us. Great sunset view and exceptional services! Can’t wait till next gathering.
FAQs
You can order delivery directly from Rusty Pelican Restaurant using the Order Online button. Rusty Pelican Restaurant also offers delivery in partnership with Postmates and Uber Eats. Rusty Pelican Restaurant also offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (949) 642-3431.
Rusty Pelican Restaurant is rated 4.5 stars by 4398 OpenTable diners.
Rusty Pelican Restaurant does offer gift cards which you can purchase here https://www.landrysinc.com/giftcards/.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.