Formidable Pelikan — Restaurant in St. Gallen

First I'd like to mention that I am neither vegan, vegetarian nor have any special requirements (yet). However, I do like trying out new foods and new ideas....

We visited the "Formidable Pelikan" on a whim while walking the streets of St. Gallen last Sunday. We arrived at around 3 p.m. (15:00 Uhr) and sat inside at a table. It took a short while until the waitress offered us the menu (in an office binder) and we were able to order drinks (Mineral water from Mels).

The friendly waitress told us we would have to wait half an hour if we ordered any food, because the cooks was off for an hour. No objections, I fully understood that, but then somebody in the background told our waitress, that we could order nonetheless. Great!

The menu listed all the items available for that time of the day (dinner and lunch times were declared) so we opted for a Seitan Vegetarian Wrap (meat substitute base on wheat) and a Carrot Lox Wrap (Salmon substitute based on carrot).

The wrap was huge! I hadn't had any breakfast and was hungry, but I still didn't manage to finish the whole wrap. My wrap was about 10 cm / 4" in diameter and around 20 cm / 8" long.

It took a fair bit of time before we could order a coffee and I saw only two waitresses attending to the guests at the time we were there. Maybe a little bit understaffed.

Towards the end of our stay the waitress walked up to our table and set down two fresh glasses and a carafe of (tap?) water for us to drink. We appreciated the gesture and thanked the waitress.

The inside of the restaurant is themed to match the name of the place, as you will find multiple bird motives on the vases, glasses and other decorative items. The place was quiet at the time, because everybody else were outside in the street sitting at the restaurant's tables.

It was a quite an expensive experience, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. The dishes offered are all made from Demeter produce and everything is really freshly made.

We ordered two wraps (CHF 29.-) , two 4dl / 13.5 fl oz. bottles of mineral water from Mels (CHF 5.-) and an espresso and paid approximately CHF 75.-

To sum up my experience compared to other reviews made and points stated:

Is it expensive? Yes, compared to other restaurants in the same street. Is it worth the price? Yes, definitely. The products / dishes are made from Demeter produce and that has its price. Would I go again? Yes. I would like to try either lunch or dinner there, when I can select some other special dish. Would I go there regularly? Probably not, as it is quite expensive. Is the Formidable Pelikan a tourist trap? No, the prices are declared on the menu. If you can read, then you have an advantage.

Why not five stars? The food is incredible, but I have only had a wrap (yet). The waitresses were friendly, but not overly attentive. (Eye contact) The atmosphere is subtle and quiet, but we were the only guests inside. The menu came in an office binder.

I will review this review after having dined there a couple of times and who knows, my rating may change.

Big thanks to the team at the Formidable Pelikan ensuring we had an pleasant stay. I really enjoyed eating there.

I hope you (the reader)...

Lots to like here mainly that it is all vegan, hoorah and thank you as that is rare in this region. Also have to say thank you to the lovely server who looked after us. I spoke my poor German, she spoke excellent English, we carried this on to the end and made me want to marry her despite being here for lunch with my wife 😀 (she agreed anyway..) The food was good, we were given an extra entre to start, very kind, then the salad as part of a lunch deal. Also good if too little dressing. Then the main course which was their 'basic' Rosti and also a Spatzli. Both were tbh a little disappointing, yes we eat it all not least as the ticket time was well over an hour for anything. Still great place and...

Das Formidable Pelikan ist ein absolutes Highlight in St. Gallen. Wir haben uns spontan für ein 3 Gang Surprise Menü mit Weinbegleitung entschieden. Das war eine gute Entscheidung. Das Essen war vorzüglich. Super kreativ und spannendes Level ohne abgehoben zu wirken. Was man alles aus Kässpätzle rausholen kann ist fantastisch. Die Suppe als Vorspeise war aromatisch und mit allerleit Überraschungen gespikt. Ein Kürbis Birnen Chutney versüsste den Boden des sehr ansprechenden Geschirrs. Wir konnten aus tollen Weinen aussuchen und durften selbst Gedichte zu den Weinen lesen. Die Dessertetagere hat das rundherum gelungene Essen formidable abgerundet. Nicht allein das Essen hat unseren Abend so gelingen lassen. Der Service war herausragend. Rasch, effizient, sehr zuvorkommend und überaus kompetent. Die Preise sind mehr als angemessen und man darf ein grosszügiges Trinkgeld mit gutem Gewissen obendrauf packen. Zum Schluss noch ein super nettes Gespräch mit der Chefin. Eine Künstlerin, die nur so sprüht vor Ideen. Wir kommen wieder! Keine Frage 😁 ach und dass nebenbei einfach alles tierleidfrei und vegan ist braucht eigentlich keine Erwähnung, denn es fällt schlicht nicht auf. Danke dass es euch gibt. Das war die Entdeckung des Jahres! Wir waren hier mit zwei Omnis...