Rusty Pelican - Mandeville — Restaurant in Mandeville

I hate to write a review like this, but something needs to be said; especially after I learned the gentleman that addressed me regarding the issue was Matt, the owner. The restaurant is family friendly. Even deems itself so. They have high chairs, a kids' menu, and very family friendly seating inside and out. I tell you all that to tell you, to my surprise when I went into the restroom to change my 17 month old son's dirty diaper, there was no changing station in either of the 2 restrooms both labeled as unisex. It's worth noting that both restrooms are spacious and could very easily accommodate a changing station. When I went up to the counter/kitchen area to ask if perhaps there was a changing station somewhere else, I was quickly intercepted by a gentleman who asked me what I needed. I asked if there really was no changing station. His response as he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head was dismissive, clipped and unapologetic as he confirm, no there were no changing stations. I proceeded to ask him where I should change my son. He again shrugged his shoulders and simply said "I don't know, anywhere you want." Out of courtesy for the other guests in the restaurant; I proceeded to take my son back to the car where I changed him instead of on a table or chairs in the middle of the dining room to prove a point. I hope this recap of my experience makes an impression and encourages ownership to invest in the full scope of being a family friendly...

After looking for places to eat around the area and everywhere being packed we came across this place! Not looking at the time they close we walked in and was told by the lady in the front asked if we were picking up an order and we said no place an order and she turned us down. I forgot the young man’s name, but as we were walking away he came stop us and was the most genuine, most kind heart and said no we don’t close till 5 min. We didn’t even realize they closed in 5 min or we wouldn’t have went so we felt super horrible but he had his tablet in his hand ready for us to order. I’m an industry like this it’s hard to find people like this that care about the guest and never in my life have I seen someone come and grab us while walking away to take care of us. He took our order at the outside table, brought us cups. Then Luke was getting off of work and came talk to us, super genuine man. These are some good workers right there. I never in my life wrote a review and I just had to. The food was absolutely amazing but they made it 10000x better. They need to keep their own tips instead of sharing it with people that don’t care about the guest. They...

I wish I didn't feel so strongly about writing this, but when I went to this restaurant, I was eating and noticed one of the patrons was letting a bird of some kind (parakeet? cockatoo?) EAT ON THE BAR. Now, let me clarify - the bird was "on" a paper towel, so not directly on the bar, per se, but still... The bar is IMMEDIATELY adjacent to the kitchen! Now, I acknowledge that am on the very near side of cleanliness when it comes to my food, but a bird? I'm not an expert, but I'm reasonably certain that's a health code violation, and even if it isn't, (it has to be, right?) it's disgusting. Even if this was some "emotional support animal", it's inexcusable to have the thing on the bar gorging itself on french fries and croutons and very likely relieving itself at some point in the meal. (I've yet to see a paper-trained bird) What I think was the owner, or at the very least, the manager, was in plain view of this, so I cannot surmise why this...