I was really worried pulling up to what looked like a financial area but found a hidden gem. Walking in I discovered a beautiful bar with elegant seating. We arrived for lunch and were quickly seated. The menu had some great options for a light lunch. The portions were large and flavorful. The views- what an amazing view. Water is visible from every seat in the restaurant. Definitely want to come back for happy hour and dinner service.

We had made a reservation for 9 at another place close by, we got there and they told us they couldn't find our reservation, which sucked. We ended up here not knowing what to expect. But the restaurant looks really nice and the view is awesome. We almost felt under dressed. But I gotta to say they took us in without a reservation and they were super nice about it. To drink I had the Fruit Cart, which is like a berry mojito which was pretty good. To eat I ordered the Crispy Snapper; presentation 9/10, flavor wise I would say a 6/10 not too much flavor on it. In general I think the place is a bit over priced, but maybe is because we weren't expecting it. Maybe we should give it a second chance.

Beautiful dining room and amazing food. It's been ten years since I've dined at Rusty Pelican and tbh I kind of wrote it off. There are so many restaurants popping up in Tampa Bay that it never made it back on my list. Then I attended a Yelp Elite Event here and was blown away by the food, so I decided it was time to return. A friend asked where I wanted to go for brunch and I said Rusty Pelican. They have valet, but there's also free garage parking (you can ask the valet where to go, but it's basically when you're facing the water it is to the far right of the restaurant before the parking lot. They must have updated the dining room. I don't know when that happened, but my other friend made that comment too, that it used to feel like you were in a dark lodge, but now it's beautiful and light. The full windows looking out onto the water (you are on top of the water) is absolutely breathtaking. I got the Lobster and Shrimp Mango Salad and it was delicious. The server even brought me out extra dressing on the side, because there didn't seem to be a lot on the salad (this was without me asking). There was enough dressing (most of it was on the bottom), but I would ask for additional dressing, just because the dressing is amazing. It is a citrus, sweet dressing. There were huge chunks of lobster and shrimp. I think it is well worth the $32 price tag. The one knock I have is our service was extremely slow. But I think this was a one time thing and the server was giving my friends and I time to chat. It looked like other tables were in and out quicker. There were two graduation celebrations happening when we were there. This does seem like a fantastic place to hold special events (there are separate dining rooms.) I will totally come back and thanks to the views of the water I'd even put this on my list to bring people to when they're coming from out of town.

Anniversary lunch date, something we do is find a random place to eat. Usually it's lunch vs. dinner because we have a toddler. This place is a hidden gem. Very cozy place as well with an AMAZING view. When we first walked in it felt like we were on a cruise ship and we were moving....weird. we let our waitress know we were celebrating our anniversary and she provided complimentary champagne for our occasion. Which was very nice. I'm not a big eater so I had 2 appetizers which were of course the shrimp cocktail and their roasted Brussel sprouts. Hubby had the salmon bacon sandwich which French fries. Yes, I had to taste his fries and they were delicious. Hubby had a neat Hibiki and I had a strawberry dreamin cocktail with some ginger in it. We were very pleased with everything

Our waitress Sierra was so sweet and made us feel special. The salmon and mashed potatoes were delicious. I can't recommend the truffled corn enough. The view is so nice and the staff makes you feel so welcomed with warm smiles :)

Wowwwwwsie, this place is beautiful! I've heard about this restaurant, but my family visiting from out of town did some research and recommended that we go for dinner. We got reservations on the same day, and there were 3 other events going on in their event spaces. Despite that, seating and table accommodations seemed super organized. Once we sat down at our table we felt like we were on a boat!! The restaurant is nestled RIGHT on the water and it was so beautiful during sunset. The food was delicious. Every dish was filled with flavor and tasted super fresh. I got the salmon with mashed potatoes and we shared the ceaser salad, shrimp cocktail and calamari. The calamari was some of the best I've ever had, super soft. My family agreed that it was the best meal they had while visiting Tampa!

I visited Rusty Pelican with my parents, who are locals to the area, and they took me straight from the airport. The restaurant boasts a lovely, high-end ambiance, though I wasn't thrilled that all the parking spots were reserved for valet parking. We requested a window seat for the view, but because we were a party of five, we were seated as far away from the window as possible, despite the restaurant being practically empty at 5 pm. That was a bit disappointing. However, the in-house bread was a pleasant surprise. It was a unique cornbread with spices and spiced butter that we really enjoyed. For our mains, we ordered the Miso Seabass, which was the highlight of the meal. The texture of the seabass was unlike anything I've tried before--simply outstanding. The crab-stuffed grouper was also delicious, but the blackened swordfish was just okay. Even the kids enjoyed their mac and cheese, which was a step above the typical boxed version and quite tasty. Overall, Rusty Pelican is not a place can frequent due to the prices, but def enjoy it for special occasions.

Great venue for private parties I attended a sorority brunch here. The views of the water are amazing I really enjoyed my food too. I ordered the lobster Benedict. It's served with lobster on the side and classic hollandaise and poached eggs on an English muffin. 10/10 would definitely get this again. Considering we had such a large party. This service was good.

Went here for Easter brunch. Very nice aesthetic. Lovely view of the water. Wide windows in dining room so a lot of natural light which was nice. Our waiter was very nice and attentive even with it being a busy holiday. Food was good. The starters were served family style. Loved the salad with goat cheese. One disappointment were the oysters were not fresh. Other than that great brunch!

Incredible experience. First, I would highly recommend making a reservation close to happy hour. Get some great priced drinks and appetizers and then go to your table! The waterfront view is GORGEOUS. Our waitress was nice but we kept struggling to call her over because she was huddled talking to the other waiters during our stay. The hostesses were fantastic in getting our happy hour timed perfectly with our reservation. We found the cornbread they offer to be dry, so it needed the butter it came with. But 10/10 on presentation. The free bread was our least favorite part of the meal and it was still good! We ordered the brussel sprouts, coconut shrimp, sea bass, scallops, corn, and oysters. The food was amazing, we couldn't get enough. The sea bass, oysters, and brussel sprouts were our favorites of the meal. I have never had miso sea bass that flavorful! The corn needed some salt or seasoning. Rusty pelican is a must go!