Pelican's on the Bay — Restaurant in San Diego

Came here on a quick lunch break while attending a conference at the resort. When I walked in, almost every table was open. The bartender kindly greeted me and told me to sit wherever I’d like. I sat in the corner however, did not realize that the doors to enter the restaurant from outside, simply did not latch shut. So every time someone came in or out, the door would stay open, letting in the coldest air. But even that was better than the service I received. The server came over, handed me a menu & a glass of water and then before she even left, said “so do you know what you want?” No greeting, name, nothing. I ordered a sandwich and diet soda. At this point the restaurant is filling up with other conference attendees and soon every table is full and I see her doing the same thing to every other table. Perhaps she predicted the rush and wanted to get everyone’s orders in ASAP, that’s fine. A few minutes later, I see another employee (I assume maybe a manager?) going around asking every table if they have been helped yet. I noticeably did not have a menu in front of me, but was never asked or approached. I used this time to read my book, so my attention was mostly focused on that. However, I couldn’t help but notice that 25 minutes after I sat down, the group of women who sat down 10 minutes after me were getting their food delivered. As I look around, most people are eating.. and at that point I realized I hadn’t even gotten my soda. My server is nowhere to be seen so as the employee (same employee/manager as before) was setting down the plates at the table next to me, he was still yet to glance my way. I literally had to raise my hand like I was in class and then proceed to wave it around to get his attention. I explained to him I ordered half an hour ago and he apologized, took my order and then promptly brought it out within the next 5 minutes. Still no sign of my server, but the next time I saw her, she had my bill in hand. Didn’t ask how my meal was, if I needed anything, apologize for literally forgetting about me, etc. I handed my card over immediately because god knows when I would see her again.. when she handed it back she simply set it on the table and walked away.

As someone in the service industry, this was the worst restaurant experience I have literally ever had. I give a lot of grace to servers but this was just bad. I felt like a bother just being there.

My 1 star is for the bartender who initially greeted me.. thank you!!

TLDR; service sucks, go somewhere else and you’ll get the same mediocre food but actually it’ll...

Should be a Zero. Food is so bad you are better off going to a gas station and getting food or just go to bed hungry.

Food/Service - after a long day of sight seeing, the family and I just wanted to grab food and head to our room. Wait time (to place an order) was long but understandable as there was only one person working (out of her control). Ordered the most basic food in history…. Nuggets, fries, hot dog, and chocolate cake. How you mess that up no idea, but I should have known when everything came out in 3 minutes. Cold, hard, and just nasty. How the heck do you mess up chocolate “lava” cake? I didn’t check the food (my fault) after receiving it since we just wanted to get to our room.

Atmosphere is cool, because you are next to the pools and close to the marina.

Overall - steer clear of this place...

We recently stayed at the Hyatt Regency in San Diego for a week and ended up having three dinners at Pelican’s on the Bay! What kept bringing us back was the outstanding service from two exceptional staff members, Alex and Chrissy! Service was absolutely top notch and the food was delicious and the portions were huge! This was our granddaughter’s favourite restaurant while exploring this amazing city! We look forward to coming back to Pelicans in the near future! Thank you Alex and Chrissy for making our stay...