Pelican's — Restaurant in Albuquerque

My family took me here for my birthday and not only was my birthday ruined, but now my family is upset with each other. We arrived at 6:20 pm for our 6:30 pm reservation for 3 on a Friday night. I did not know they were going to be so packed that you couldn’t stand anywhere without blocking waiters or exiting patrons. We checked in with the girl standing at the front and went to stand at a place at the bar, located directly behind the greeters podium. We all ordered drinks and waited. It was so loud and you could barely hear the person next to you without yelling. Around 6:40, we went up to ask how much longer. We were told that we didn’t respond to our name being called and we lost our reservation but they would be happy to give us the next table. I asked for a manager. He didn’t apologize. He just asked how many and then said he’s find us a table. That’s all. So we back to the bar and waited another 5 minutes before the female bartender asked us why we looked upset. My mom explained what happened but that we were next on the list. The bartender insisted she send over her manager. We declined, having already dealt with him and finding him very apathetic to our situation.

I began to watch the podium so that I didn’t miss our name being called a second time. There were two girls up there now and one was eating food she had in a take out box hidden in the corner. Our name was finally called, very loudly, and we were seated. At this point, I wanted to leave, but my family insisted I stay to try the best seafood in ABQ, a desert. A different man from the bar walked over stating he was a manager and wanted to offer us a free appetizer for losing our reservation. We thanked him and things started to look up. Our waitress was very nice, quick and very respectful.

We received the bread first. This was offered with fresh cooked garlic and butter. I enjoyed this. We then received the seafood combo. The only upsetting part to the combo was the fact that there were three is us and two cheese sticks. Which was slightly awkward. The salad arrived and it was very fresh. I noticed there was a nicer elevated area near a fire place filled with a very elderly clientele. I only mention this because the first manager we spoke to, kept walking in each of these new customers personally as he hugged and kissed their cheeks. Obviously, this place is full of regulars, family and friends to the manager. It was clear that new customers were not as important or really even welcome. I felt very weird.

Our waitress came by 3 times to apologize for our wait on our main courses, because they were waiting on the lobster tails. When our food did arrive, I was already ready to leave having spent an 1 and 45 minutes there. But my family insisted that we stay and eat. The lobster tail tastes terrible. It was bitter and rubbery. I felt very sick eating it but I continued to eat it to appease my family. We received a bill for $285 for 3 people. I cannot believe this because of how terrible was from losing our reservation to overcooked food. If you are going to charge that much for a dish, it should be editable.

I will never return to this place. I regret not going to Pappadeaux. If you want food that matches the price, I recommend Pappadeaux. DONT GO HERE. Thank you for ruining my...

Racism, or too sensitive?

My family and I have been frequenting Pelican’s for many, many years. I take my family here to celebrate birthdays and holidays, and before my grandparents passed, this was one of their favorite restaurants. Unfortunately, this past Mother’s Day, we had a negative experience; even with a reservation, we were seated at the table nearest to the kitchen. This normally wouldn’t be much of an issue, but as we looked around, we noticed that solely African Americans and Hispanics had been seated in this area. Whites were seated towards the front of the house and as more people were seated, the pattern became more evident. My mother is a fair completed, Latin American woman and I have light eyes but dark hair and features. I’m often mistaken for a middle eastern or Brazilian woman so I presume this may be why we were seated in this area. Since we had a reservation, I had hoped we would be seated in a decent area. I’ve never experienced anything like what we noticed this weekend; especially not in Albuquerque.

Further, I ordered a NY Strip in place of a sirloin yet was served a sirloin. When I brought this to the attention of the waitress (who was very kind and attentive), she felt it was a NY Strip and made no effort to ask the kitchen about it; however, another waiter argued that it was a sirloin. I don’t believe in arguing with wait staff as it feels like bad manners, but as someone who comes from an old and very large ranching family, I know my cuts of beef very well. The steak I was served had a very large area of subcutaneous fat whereas the steak my mother was served was a properly butchered NY Strip; the waiter we spoke with felt I had been given a sirloin as well. The steak was wonderful, but if I’m paying $200 for two people, I expect to receive a what I’m paying for.

My mother, who never complains, also mentioned today that her steak was not as tender as usual but she didn’t want to say anything.

Nothing major with the meal, but a very strange experience with the seating. I believe the seating was being arranged by the two hostesses, but I have no idea how they were making their decisions. They were both very rude which is NOT something we have ever experienced at Pelicans.

I’m not sure we’ll be frequenting Pelicans again especially if minorities are no longer welcome. This isn’t the most upscale steakhouse in town, but it’s our favorite and I hate that we need to look elsewhere. I’ve worked in hospitals and have attended universities across the country; I’ve seen these issues in other states, but never in my home state. Frankly, I’m very surprised and greatly disappointed. Pelicans was always a cut...

Omg!! I ask u this question. Fresh seafood with freshly grilled sauteed or steamed vegetables and fresh potatoes for baked potato or sweet potato fries etc etc, is there anything better? My answer is this. No there is nothing better than that. So if you're in Albuquerque New Mexico and you want to find some fresh absolutely wonderful seafood, you go to Pelicans Seafood and Steak on the corner of Eubank and Montgomery in the Paradise Square Plaza parking lot. You want a waiting staff with a happy, love what I do attitude out of your servers? You go to Pelicans Seafood and Steak on the corner of Eubank and Montgomery in the Paradise Square Plaza parking lot. You want to know that when you're going somewhere the people that work in the back of the house, the chef and all the workers back there love what they do and put that love into their food, into their cooking? You go to Pelicans Seafood and Steak on the corner of Eubank and Montgomery in the Paradise Square Plaza parking lot. Basically what I'm asking is, do you want a great dining experience all around no matter what because the food, the waiters, the cooks, the staff, and everybody is absolutely fantastic? Well, then you go to Pelicans Seafood and Steak. Yeah this place is absolutely phenomenal I will definitely be coming back everything was great and wonderful here and I suggest you go do it even if you don't really have the money to go do it it's so good that you shouldn't feel guilty if you're considering on pushing the light bill back just so you can go enjoy some great Seafood in a great environment. My woman was very happy so fellas if you're worried about where you should go because you don't want your woman to not be happy with the food. Then you go to Pelicans...