Pelican Grill - Orange Beach — Restaurant in Orange Beach

Bless Your Heart If You Eat Here: A Word of Caution About The Pelican Grill

As someone who’s been visiting the Gulf Coast for many years, I feel compelled to share our recent experience at The Pelican Grill — a restaurant that, despite its beautiful setting and promising appearance, left us sorely disappointed in every way that matters.

We dined there in June, and the place was nearly empty. Now, if you’re familiar with Orange Beach and Gulf Shores during the summer, you’ll know that an empty restaurant in peak season is about as telling as it gets. It doesn’t take a seasoned local to understand that something isn’t quite right.

To be fair, the location is lovely, and the restaurant itself is well-appointed — but that’s where the compliments come to an end. It’s clear that the ownership may have underestimated what it takes to run a successful dining establishment in such a competitive and food-savvy area. From our experience, they lack the leadership, staff, and culinary know-how to make it work.

We ordered the grouper with Brussels sprouts and risotto, which sounded promising on the menu but arrived as a confusing mess. The Brussels sprouts were unmistakably frozen, deep-fried, and doused in a sugary bottled Asian-style chili sauce that clashed horribly with the dish. The risotto — if you could call it that — was a mushy, unrecognizable side that bore no resemblance to anything remotely Italian. And as for the stuffed shrimp… well, all I can offer there is a polite chuckle and a sincere “bless their hearts.”

There are so many wonderful restaurants in this area — from local dives to fine dining — that serve fresh, honest, and well-prepared food. The Pelican Grill does not fall into any consideration for recommendations. This experience had all the makings of a Kitchen Nightmares episode, minus the cameras and Gordon Ramsay’s shouting.

My advice? Just don’t. Spare yourself the trouble because this place flat out sucks. You don’t have to look far… just walk directly upstairs to Louisiana Lagniappe. One would think Louisiana Lagniappe would be concerned about the competition but the truth is the Pelican Grill is so awful it actually is a benefit to their operation. The Pelican may look like it’s soaring, but in truth, it’s...

My husband and I ate here last night. We arrived just after 6pm and able to be seated right away. The hostess tried seating the two of us at a table for 6, right next to a table of 6 with a family seated. The place was practically empty, so we asked if we could sit at the next table, to give some space between us and the larger party. She obliged. We ordered Grouper fingers for appetizer & they were fresh, crispy & delicious! We each ordered 8oz filets with Bourbon glaze. They were cooked perfectly and delicious, but noticed immediately, they were not 8oz. 5oz-At best!! We ordered cheese grits, Brussels sprouts, and whipped sweet potatoes; all were delicious! I was disappointed that the portion sizes were very small, and I’m not a big “eater”. But for the money, the sides could have been a bit bigger portions! The taste of the food and presentation was spot on though! We noticed two things about service. One, our waitress was also bar tending (and we were not seated at the bar.) so when the restaurant got busier, and the bar drink orders started coming in, our server stayed at the bar for quite a while without checking back with us. Then, she got busy again at the bar and it took us quite a long time to ask for, and receive, our bill. It’s only been open for 4 weeks so they are still working out the kinks, I’m sure! But when they are busier, they will need a dedicated bartender! The second observation: the hostess stayed at the back of the restaurant talking with someone she apparently knew, while leaving guests walking in to be seated, standing there, without being greeted, for a long period of time! So long, we watched one couple wait and wait, and no one acknowledged they were there! They finally left!! Another party of 3-4 waited and waited to be seated, about the same time as the couple that left, were finally seated. The only reason I mention this is bc it appears to be family/locally owned and operated, and it JUST opened, and I hated to see them lose business bc the hostess wasn’t manning the front desk near the sign that says “please wait to be seated”. We love OB and will continue to support local businesses and wish this one lots of luck! I hope they work out the kinks soon, bc the food...

As a property owner and someone who has vacationed in Orange Beach for over two decades, I can honestly say this was the worst restaurant experience I’ve ever had here. The Pelican Grill is an absolute train wreck. It’s clear the people running this place have no idea how to operate a restaurant.

The owner strolls around in flip-flops like he’s on a casual beach day, not like someone in charge of a business. He stopped by our table, but instead of adding to the experience, it only confirmed how disconnected and unprofessional this place is. My advice? Skip the table visits and focus on fixing the disaster coming out of the kitchen.

The food was shockingly bad. Overpriced, poorly prepared, and honestly made us question if safe food handling was even a priority. The seafood didn’t taste fresh—certainly not local, and definitely not from the Gulf. I’ve eaten enough real Gulf seafood to know the difference.

Service? Slow and uninterested. Seems to be zero uniform standards here. Prices? Outrageous for what you get. Quality? Nonexistent. The whole place feels like a tourist trap hoping to cash in on unsuspecting visitors.

And let’s talk about the so-called “All You Can Eat Grouper Fingers.” Anyone who knows this area knows that no restaurant in their right mind offers unlimited grouper—it’s too expensive and too regulated. If you think you’re getting real grouper here, I hate to break it to you: you’re not. Ordered the bread sticks appetizer with the house favorite raspberry butter...LOL. 5 stale Olive Garden premade reheated breadsticks with nasty overly strangely sweet raspberry butter for $8 DOLLARS!!!! Although this I am quite certain was not butter and thoroughly disgusting!!

This place will eventually end up like the many others that have failed in this exact location. Unfortunately, it won’t happen fast enough to spare others the same disappointment we experienced. Save your time, hard earned money, patience, and your appetite. Orange Beach/Gulf Shores/Perdido Key all have wonderful dining options. The Pelican Grill is not...