Pelican Rocks Seafood Restaurant & Cafe — Restaurant in Greenwell Point

Greenwell Point is a sleepy little fishing locale just past Nowra. It hasn’t changed much since I was a kid catching flathead off the wharf. Duelling fish’n’chippies both shout “best”, but local knowledge has me heading straight to Pelican Rocks Cafe, the NSW winner of best fish’n’chips for three years running.

The greeting here is warm and friendly. It pays to book a table, as most are reserved even on the Monday lunchtime I visited. The covered verandah isn’t fancy, but has a homely coastal feel with fishing nets and buoys, and other suitably fishy decor.

With beaks probably bigger than our bellies, we hit up the double seafood basket ($45). Arriving double quick, it’s a well-presented cornucopia of salads, chips and the bounty of the sea. Generous fillets of locally caught blue grenadier are moist and flake beautifully under a house-made honey-teriyaki glaze. They sit on long, hand-cut chips that are oil-free and compelling. Huge loops of crumbed calamari are tender and pleasurable to eat in one of the trio of sauces. As the local prawns are tiny, the team here have opted for Crystal Bay prawns served two-ways. They’re good lightly barbequed but even better when peeled with a slurp of seafood sauce. Their flesh is firm, and their flavour delicate rather than salty.

While the platter came with some oysters, we opt to add on a half dozen ($15) more (see earlier comment about greed). Shucked up the road at Jim Wild's Oysters, they arrive not dripping in liquor but also far from dry—proximity to shucking still being king. Their flavour is rich and vegetal without the metallic edge many Sydney rock oysters have. They’re so well-balanced, a couple of drops of lemon to lubricate their passage is all they really need.

This is a good, honest lunch spot where you can kick off your South Coast...

Disappointing Experience Despite Great Food

I would have loved to write a completely positive review of our dining experience, but unfortunately, that wouldn’t be an accurate reflection of what occurred.

On Saturday the 21st, I organized a lunch for two adults at midday. We had called in earlier that morning around 10:30 am to reserve a table for 12:00 sharp. We arrived at 11:45 am, slightly early, and were promptly seated at our reserved table. After placing our orders, we were reminded by the owner/manager that the restaurant offered full table service. Our meals arrived relatively promptly, and we began enjoying the food and the pleasant ambience.

However, at around 12:20 pm — while we were still eating — a waitress approached our table to inform us that it would soon be needed for another party of two. This was surprising, as we were not informed of any strict time limits upon booking or seating. Shortly after, the owner/manager himself asked us to either relocate or vacate the table to accommodate other guests who had allegedly booked that same table two hours prior.

While the food, as always, was delicious, the handling of this situation left a very sour impression. If the restaurant enforces strict seating times due to high demand or large bookings — such as the 120-person group also dining that afternoon — this should be made clear at the time of booking. Advance notice would have allowed us to either accept those terms or make alternative arrangements. Ambiguity around such policies can quickly turn an enjoyable experience into a...

Always welcomed with a smile and the staff are always happy and cheerful. I've never seen any of the staff having an off day or just being blunt so just goes to show this place has good management and they love coming to work. Which is evident as this place oozes in good vibes that you just can't ignore, the feel-good atmosphere just washes over you and you feel the stress just lift away. Very accommodating to kids, dietary needs etc and is more then happy to tweek the menu to ensure you leave satisfied. Just make sure if your planning on coming here during the weekend or during school holidays heck even a weekday lunchtime that you book in advance if waiting isn't your cup of tea as this place does get busy which you have to expect with good food, people drive specially to greenwell point just to have lunch here. Nice addition is the icecream bar which you can then take to walk along the water, something my children love to do, taking in the scenery and wildlife plus with the playground across the road you can't bet it for kids...