The Pelican restaurant review – amazing seafood and 1-for-1 mains

Some time ago, a two close friends from Kuala Lumpur visited us and we decided to show them around Singapore and take them for good food. We recommended The Pelican restaurant for it’s location, ambience, food… and of course, potential for discount.

When you want to (i) eat out on a budget and (ii) you have a large group of 5 people – one of the best deals you can use is the Entertainer App’s 1-for-1 mains at participating restaurants.

The Pelican: Restaurant

The Pelican is a restaurant with great seafood. It also has the prime location by the Fullerton hotel area, and near the Merlion.

Bonus: just outside the restaurant is a clear view of Marina Bay Sands. 

The restaurant is divided into a few areas. Indoors, there is a bar counter with rounded seats.

There is also an upstairs seating area that one can book for private functions and events. Unfortunately on the day we visited, the entire second floor was reserved for a post-wedding party and non-guests weren’t allowed in. 

Menu

The Pelican is predominantly a seafood-intensive menu. However, the restaurant also carries steak and the occasional non-seafood item (e.g. pizza). Both seafood lovers and non-seafood eaters will have something to enjoy.

Image Source: The Pelican restaurant

For full menu, check out The Pelican’s website here. 

Food: starters

Food here was served rather quickly.

Fried Calamari was the first to arrive. Battered, it was definitely more crunchy than chewy. The mix of vinegar and chilli peppers gave it an extra spicy kick.

Up next was the Creamed Spinach. Drenched in cream with bits of blue cheese, this otherwise humble vegetable had a sharp cheesy flavour.

Plus, this is a great way to get kids to eat spinach. My three-year old child kept asking for more of this because she loved the sauce so much!

We also ordered a Grilled Squid Salad. There was something about the squid here that was just done right – not at all rubbery or overly chewy, and grilled to bring out the best squid flavour. Went well with the potatoes. Served with lime wedge, the whole thing was juicy and tangy.

Food: Mains

Thanks to the Entertainer’s App 1-for-1 mains, we decided to order FOUR mains, and the cheaper two mains would be complimentary.

Given that chilli crab is a staple must-try in Singapore, we ordered the Chilli Crab Linguini. Usually, I love my chilli crab with Mantou (deep fried mini buns). But having pasta drowned in chilli crab sauce was equally satisfying.

And I love how huge the crab pieces are. The generous was a definite plus!

For many seafood restaurants, the classical Fish and Chips is a pretty safe and idiot-proof option when you don’t know what to eat. At The Pelican, the Fish and Chips was really good, and I say this as someone who’s tried lots of Fish and Chips all over Singapore. It’s MUCH better than the one I’ve had at the Drunken Poet Irish Bar and P.S. Cafe.

Battered snapper loin, well-fried and slatered with tartare sauce and lemon – it’s the best kind of fishy, crunch, and savoury all rolled into one.

Personally, I also very much prefer thick-cut fries (Those thin shoestring kind of fries from McDonalds ain’t my cup of tea). I feel that you can taste the potato more when it’s cut like that, and here the fries are some of the thickest I’ve seen accompany a Fish and Chips dish in Singapore.

A healthier alternative to Fish and Chips, is the Grilled Barramundi served with spinach and bacon salad.

Tender, easily flaked, and full of Barramundi juices in every bite – it’s made even better with the crispy fish skin atop. This dish is proof that it’s possible to somewhat eat healthily AND enjoy it while dining out. 

Saving the best for last… the winner of the day, is hands-down the Snapper Pie. All adults that day unanimously agreed that this was the best item. 

The Snapper Pie is massive. You can’t tell in pictures, but in real life it was noticeably larger than the other mains. Its filled with asparagus, mushrooms, snapper pieces, cream sauce, and covered by flakey puff pastry. 

Cracking open the puff pastry – the steaming hot cream oozes out. We happily ripped out parts of the crust and dipped it in the sauce. Almost like an ultimate comfort food of warm stew, fillings, and bread. The carbs, proteins and vegetables just all came together Oh-So-Nicely. Would recommed this dish to any visitor to The Pelican. 

A note worth mentioning – when ordering, the server politely informed us that the Snapper Pie has a long baking time of 25 minutes. And yes, we did wait about that long. Thankfully there were other dishes to enjoy while waiting for it, but if this is the only item you are ordering, do mentally prepare for a long wait.

Overall, an amazing meal especially for seafood lovers, great variety, and awesome quality. Would definitely visit again.

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