Latest Reviews
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Fantastic Margarita flatbread at Rusty Pelican today. Spot on service and warm and inviting ambience. Recommend reservations for evening because this …
Wolfie
Rusty Pelican
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How much do I love Rusty Pelican let me count the ways! The extensive wine list for sure.Best place in Red Deer to meet up with friends for a bottle o…
Madison Smyth
Rusty Pelican
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Came to have lunch with my mother in law around 1245 on a Tuesday. Our server was wearing sandals with no nylons or anything. Her fake nails were so l…
Tamyka Bacon-Latiff
Rusty Pelican
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9 Reviews on “Rusty Pelican”
Came to have lunch with my mother in law around 1245 on a Tuesday. Our server was wearing sandals with no nylons or anything. Her fake nails were so long! That’s not right for the food industry!!! We waited at least 25 minutes for our food. 2 other tables that ordered after us got their food first. I ordered the chicken quesadilla for lunch, asked for no peppers. Instead I got lettuce and 1 tomato in it. No onions or anything. Pretty sure she punched in chicken wrap and then realized afterwards what she had done. I had to ask another server to check on our food. For being a Tuesday and not busy, this was really not acceptable.
The ambience and service from the wait staff was average but the food and service from management was terrible. I ordered the prime rib and it tasted and appeared as though it had been boiled. Not only that but the management would not take it back nor would they take it off the bill.
I don’t understand how this place isn’t busier or full all the time. Every time I have been here the food has been excellent and the service has been superb. Aesthetically the restaurant is beautiful. It’s not dated or cheesy. Everything just kinda works……it’s has a great atmosphere. It’s quiet and quaint. Maybe that’s why it’s seems to attract an older demographic. And that’s not a bad thing…it’s just that a place like this should be visited by all people. Families, couples, first dates, etc. Of all the things thou, the Lime Tequila chicken must be tried at least once. It’s a fantastic dish. It’s unique and one of my personal favourites. The Rusty Pelican is simply a great hidden gem that deserves so much more.
My parents live in Calgary, and I live in Edmonton. Semi-regularly we meet for lunch in Red Deer (to save either one of us driving the whole way), and decided to check out The Rusty Pelican, as we had driven by it before.We drove in and parked, but never went inside. Unfortunately, plastered on the front door was an advertisement for the movie ‘Vaxxed’. For those unaware, ‘Vaxxed’ is a fraudulent film produced by the anti-vaccine movement. It features debunked ‘studies’, a doctor who was charged with fraud and had his license pulled, and outright lies – absolutely nothing that is supported by medical science or physicians around the world.I refuse to support an establishment that gives credit and advertising space to such a movie. I don’t know if the owners support the anti-vax movement or if they didn’t know what they were putting up, but ether way I will never be returning. It is unfortunate that The Rusty Pelican doesn’t show more care and concern about our children and society in general.
On the weekendI travelled to Red Deer to meet some friends for dinner and enjoy one of the city’s restaurant offerings. My research revealed the Rusty Pelican asa seafood restaurant in Alberta with ridiculously cheap prices so that’s what we tried.I have to say I really wanted to love this place. The prices are ridiculously cheap. And they specialize in seafood – in Alberta – how bad can it be? Well, it wasn’t bad but it was just okay. Granted, when I arrived I was a little flustered. The drive from Edmonton consisted of constant strong pouring rain and lightening – not a relaxing drive to say the least (the drive home was in beautiful sunshine though so made up for it).Then when I arrived in Red Deer Ihad a very hard time finding the restaurant (my GPS told me I was 26.6 km away when I was actually driving in front of the restaurant and missing it’s somewhat hard to see sign). SoI arrived late and not at all relaxed. Our server immediately attended our table looking to take my drink order. While normally a would appreciate that, I needed a few minutes to say hello to my friends and check out the wine listandshewas wearing a lot of perfume (who does that these days?) I’m allergic so I got sick whichI admit likelyimpacted my overall experience. The ambiance was just okay. The restaurant encompasses a large room with somewhat odd decorations that don’t quite fit and odd seating. We were seated at a very small round table. For three of us it was really tight. Four would have been very uncomfortable. The do have a nice brick oven though.As for the food, again it was just okay.My friend’s starter salad looked very nice and the blue cheese dressing was nice and chunky with blue cheese chunks.The seafood chowder was highly recommended so I had to try a cup. It was chocked full of great seafood. It was a little salty (and I love salt) and spicy (chili flakes I believe) but overall was good.I also tried a couple of Oysters Rockefeller. You can buy them individually so I got two. They were just okay.They have an interesting menu with lots of variety and unique dishes. This is a chicken dish with a great sauce – maybe chipotle, maybe tequila, can’t quite remember but something Mexican-ish.My girlfriend ordered the trout with honey and nuts. It looked dry to me but my girlfriend said she enjoyed it.I had the duck and was a little scared when our server said that they prepare it well done. I asked if it could be prepared medium rare and she said she would check with the Chef. She returned to say that the Chef said that if they cook it any less than medium it will be too tough?? I said I would try it but I was worried. It actually was quite tasty with a nice orange brandy sauce and a nice crispy skin. Not bad for $24.My girlfriend then ordered the Chocolate Utopia for dessert, not expecting it to be a cake. It was good but she was disappointed because it was not exactly what she wanted. I tried the generous Bavarian Cream that was served with it which was good.Buck Oysters on Mondays!And for a funny story – cuz Cathy wanted to make the blog (she is the Cathy of Mazatlan blog fame!! Below is a picture of Cathy’s necklace which I commented on as being very nice. Both her and her husband started laughing. Turns out that Cathy had forgotten to bring any jewelry for their weekend trip. So they went to the Dollar Store to find something for her to wear. She found the necklace below and bought it but when she went to put it on she realized that the centre piece was actually missing a white stone like the ones on the side. She actually had to pick off the extra glue left on the centre piece before she could wear it. I think it looks really nice and looks like she paid more than the $3 she did! sunseeker37food.blogspot.com
Great atmosphere, good service, need better chefs. I like everything about this restaurant except the inconsistency of the food. I think they must have one good chef and one terrible one. The menu is great if you actually get fresh food that’s cooked properly. Advice to Rusty: do a chef/cook evaluation! This place could be great again.
Inconsistant. Been there four times and each time it gets worse – too bad because the first time was excellent and good service always – food is expensive which is fine if it is good but you never know what you are going to get