Rusty Pelican Cafe Woodinville — Restaurant in Woodinville

TL;DR: don't go in your jammies, menu on pricey side, minimal parking, potatoes are good.

Parking: limited street side spots, you might find a spot in one of the small surrounding parking lots but keep in mind that some lots don't allow parking unless you intend to go to the business the lot is for.

Atmosphere: the staff are well dressed and the interiors is clean and crispy looking; I wouldn't go here for breakfast in your jammies. The walk to the restaurant was lovely: nice clean pavement and planter strips, store fronts looked fresh and happenin'. It's a nice wine/dining environment dropped in the middle of old school medical and business complexes because as soon as you reach the edge of this dining paradise plopped in the middle, you can totally tell the difference. I guess that's what all the wine is for after you leave. wink wink

Menu: good selection of entrees though on the pricey side.

I ordered ToGo: Pickup was easy -- walk in, state your name and business (to pick up an order), they will go to the kitchen to retrieve your order, hand it to you, and you can be on your merry way. Plenty of 15 minute parking spaces around the area for grab and go pick up orders. If the majority of people abide by that rule, on the other hand, is the question. I managed to find one spot right away.

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict: honestly not the best I've had. The smoked salmon was on the dry side, like really dry. The exterior was browned and hard on one side and inedible -- and quite frankly uncuttable with my fork. The salmon flavor was fine but the texture was off putting. The eggs and English muffin were the typical eggs benedict textures. The hollandaise sauce was really nothing to write home about, just your average sauce. I liked the side of potatoes more, which were lightly salted and soft -- more of a blend of gently mashed sliced potatoes and hash browns. This side was a nice palate cleanser between bites of benedict. To my surprise, despite having the option of potatoes OR fruit on the side when ordering, I got both. I ordered potatoes as my side, which I got a nice helping of, but I also had a couple strawberries and a thin slice of cantaloupe (granted it most likely wasn't the helping I'd receive if I had ordered the side of fruit, but it was still a...

I review Cafes, Coffee Stands, Bakeries and sit down cafe meets morning restaurants as hobby and here is what I have to say about the Rusty Pelican:

I was curious at the one star reviews, I'm not sure where half these complaints come from. Some of the Woodinville customers are entitled given their "Status" or their wealth considering Woodinville is more of a rich area; where as I am from a more lower class level of income. Why does this matter? Perspective. My girlfriend and I attended this location a couple weeks ago and we enjoyed ourselves! I forgot what I specifically ordered but I know that we both were happy when leaving..

Some of these one star reviews will bring up ingredients and their "Inedibility", those statements are bull in my humble opinion. When you go to a restaurant or Cafe, you're paying for the experience more than the ingredients, I personally am not bothered by cheap or expensive ingredients, nor am I going to nitpick at that stuff. As someone who attended a pastry school, Chefs deal with a lot of heat (No pun intended) and most customers especially in Woodinville have not worked in a kitchen let alone food service ever and it shows - What I'm trying to say is, Rusty Pelican is good.

Our drinks were solid, our servers did a great job during a busy and stressful morning, the coffee cakes were enjoyable and I'm not concerned where they come from unlike other reviewers. I enjoyed my meal and we went home happy. The Rusty Pelican does a good job at satisfying you, providing an inviting and classy ambience mixed with calming colors and a fun aesthetic through their routine of offering coffee cakes, bread and options of wine and beer. The Rusty Pelican closes at 3pm from my memory, I enjoy that they serve alcohol for breakfast, its unique to them.

I've dined across WA at many Cafes, Stands and so on -- The Rusty Pelican is acceptable and anyone can offer criticism when it is rightfully warranted; if a hair is in your food, speak up but don't let it kill your mood to the point you have to attack the staff and the restaurant. These things happen and the people who complain about it also go to McDonalds where most food is handled without proper food safety.

Go to The Rusty Pelican,...

I'm still annoyed by this experience. I got the chicken salad sandwich, which was good. But it's like $20. For $20, I'm expecting the best chicken salad ever. It was alright, it would've been better had they toasted the bread. It was already soggy in the center as soon as it hit the table. What really irritates me is how I was treated for having a stroller. I only had it with me because my baby fell asleep in the car and I also had to park in a parking garage. I felt like an annoyance for having my baby with me. I understand it's busy, the stroller collapses. Had they given me two seconds to get settled at the table it wouldn't have been an issue and I didn't feel it was anyways. Instead, as soon as I sit my 7 month old in their high chair, a hostess was behind me asking if she could take the stroller and put it away. I was a little caught off guard but it was obvious they were so stressed out about my stroller so I said ok sure, thinking they have a designated spot for them or something. I forgot the diaper bag in the bottom of the stroller and I tried to look where she put it, couldn't find it. I just said ok were doing this lol thankfully I am blessed with an amazingly social and patient baby. He sat in his high chair with no toys, binky, nothing for nearly an hour and was happy as apple pie. Smiling and laughing at everyone and taking in the resturant. As we were leaving, I'm about to go inquire as to where the stroller is, my friend is coming back from the bathroom laughing and tells me, "they just put it outside." I'm like huh? Yeah, it's just parked outside the resturant with my bag in the bottom. We actually were laughing because it was such an over the top thing to do and just felt so obviously rude. Anyways, our waiter was awesome though very nice and the only person I felt was happy to see a small child in a public place! This is my second experience at the rusty pelican, I won't be back. Overpriced snobbery IMO, however the resturant is beautiful and I will say that my breakfast ay the edmonds location was way better than this chicken salad experience. Idk, take it with a grain of...