Welcome to Florida here in Anderson. I live 30+ minutes away from Pelican's Reef and I still make an effort to eat here a few times a year. Seriously the best seafood in Cincinnati. The side items are not the best (excluding the sweet potato fries yum) but the rest are lackluster. The fresh and tasty seafood makes up for it. I have always had great service and look forward to my next visit. The calamari is delicious as well as the swordfish. Yum yum. read more

I ate here for the first time, for dinner on a Tuesday night. I was in a large group, but we had great food and good service. The waitress did a great job of keeping our drinks filled and bringing our food. Everyone in my group seemed to like the food. I had the Mesquite grilled grouper sandwich, and the fish was so good - I only wish the piece had been larger. The cole slaw that I got as a side was the BEST that I've even eaten at a restaurant - again I wish I'd had more, although they gave a generous portion. My friend who loves fried oysters said they were tied with the best ones she's ever had, and she goes to Florida a lot. Another friend got the crab cakes, which were round balls deep fried and looked more like large hush puppies. We arrived at 5:30pm and had a reservation, and it's a good thing because they got busy! There is lots of parking in the lot behind the building, and an interior staircase down to the front entrance. read more

Great experience here. The food was delicious (best clam strips I've ever had!) and the staff was very friendly. This is definitely a good date night spot. read more

Where do I start my wife, daughter and I went here for a late lunch today. I ordered the fried cod, asparagus, and coleslaw. When my food came the cod was over cooked and was dry and I think it was pre-breaded and frozen. The coleslaw was ok and the asparagus was good. My wife ordered the beer battered cod sandwich with out the bread and they put cheese on it so I sent it back to be recooked. My daughter ordered the broiled stuffed grouper with crabmeat rice and cornbread. The grouper was over cooked and well the crab was crab-less more cornbread than anything else. I'm from Maryland and I know what a crab is. judging by the look of the crab there was none and it was $19.00! I didn't finish my cod because it was hard as a rock and over cooked. I under stand your trying to keep the doors open but your charging high prices for sub- standard food. If this is what you have to offer I won't be back. I've been here in the past and it was awesome but now not so much. read more

Great bartender and a lively atmosphere. This is usually a 5-star experience but I was very disappointed recently. I ordered Lake Erie Perch and was served some kind of white fish that was definitely not perch! I grew up on Lake Erie and know perch. This was not it. The kitchen needs to step up. Drinks and service were great. Food this time around - not so much. read more

Best Caesar salad I've ever had and I'm not a salad guy. You can get any kind of fish on top (I got the scallops) and the Caesar dressing is so good. It is made in house and tastes like no other Caesar dressing I've had anywhere else. Never have had a meal here that I didn't like. Best, freshest seafood in Cincinnati. read more

Anyone on Cinci's East Side who likes seafood and a laid back atmosphere needs to come to The Pelican Reef. The place gets busy, but thefood is well worth the wait. The fried grouper is yummy, along with the NE clam chowder. The seafood is fresh, the service cheerful and informed and really, who wants to go to downtown Cinci for something overpriced and unauthentic. Pelican Reef is where it is at! read more

Caveat - I hate seafood. Okay - so now that you're wondering what I have to say, let's get started. At work we do a "Try-It Friday" lunch. A group of us go to a different eatery each week in which the majority hasn't been to. This past week we went to Pelican's Reef. Three of the five ordered seafood - and loved it. One got it in salad. One got coconut shrimp. One got a sandwich of sorts. All variations received rave reviews. I ordered a super-duper burger. A combinations of great meat - it was cooked perfectly, topped with fresh garden and scrumptious. The bun was crisped perfectly as well. So we've established they have good food - now let's discuss the atmosphere. From the outside it looks like nothing special - but inside you are immediately hit with a beachy feel. The aromas of the ocean and the food hit you, but not in an overwhelming way. The decor is perfect for a casual dining experience and the staff are great. It was such a pleasant experience that I may make the drive from home (30 minutes away without traffic) to take the hubby on a date, sans baby. read more

A weebit slow but quite delicious ! The lobster bisque is my favorite treat on a cold rainy day!

We have been to this place with and without kids. I would not recommend a high top table if you need a booster. While the booster does fit in the chair, it is not that steady and quite a high drop if the child falls. The seafood is always and has been delicious. I do not recommend getting the grilled asparagus as it tasted like they put it on a grill and dumped lighter fluid on it. I was quite disappointed with this since I love a good grilled asparagus. Their menu is quite varied with fresh seafood choices. Sweet potato fries are great. The prices are decent considering the high quality of the fish. read more

We tried the gumbo, onion rings, shrimp Alfredo, cod basket, coconut shrimp, and the Cajun grouper sandwich. Everything was a tad salty and overcooked. Breading on everything was heavy. Atmosphere on a Saturday night is loud and cramped with over eighty people packed into the small bar dining area. Service was well above average and if it weren't for the good service we would not give this place another try. Overall, good enough that we will come back and try it again. read more

See all

So my wife and I came to the Pelican's Reef tonight. Based off of reviews, I wanted clam strips to start off. I was informed they didn't have them any longer. So the waitress asked for our drink orders. They serve coke products, so we left. read more

The seafood is always fresh and delicious at Pelican's Reef! I am so glad that they have expanded the size of the place (doubled)-- it used to be one helluva wait for a table! You can't go wrong with the specials, and I love their spicy conch stew! It does get pretty crowded -- but it is definitely worth the wait! read more

This is one of Anderson's best restaurants, easily. For being so far inland, it's a good seafood place. The Lake Erie perch sandwich is really good, as are the po'boys. The calamari is great. The various linguini and mussels styles are ALL very good and highly recommended. You really can't go wrong here, in my opinion. That said, on weekend nights it gets busy. Long wait busy, and they don't take reservations or call-aheads. So we almost always do takeout (call in the order and pick it up). Once, we were told they were so busy that they had to stop accepting takeout orders! This is a pain but it's a VERY good sign that the place is excellent, which it is. Oh, try the sweet potato fries as a side, they're cooked just right. read more

A few friends and I went to this restaurant for the fist time tonight for dinner and we really enjoyed it. Good seafood in Cincinnati is hard to come by, but this place definitely delivers! The burgers are fantastic also. Will be returning soon! read more

Very cute place. There was a slight wait but the staff was great. The menu is large with a lot of options. I had the crB cakes and scallop basket with fries and Cesar salad. All of it was good but jeesh that Cesar salad was amazing the dressing was so good already planning next visit just so I can throw some shrimp on it. And have that as my meal. My husband had the cod and shrimp basket and he raves about the cod. Prices were reasonable and place was nice. read more

Best sea food you'll get this far inland. Clam chowder is the bomb. I love the walleye and Icelandic cod fish and chips. The burgers and pulled pork are also good for anybody who doesn't like sea food. The have great apps, including the non-seafood apps. Their salads are crisp. Be sure to check their specials, as they come up with really cool and creative dishes. The cooks really know what they are doing. read more

Just went back to try Pelican reef again. Service was beyond awful. Asked two different severs to change a tv to the game. Totally ignored. Ordered food. Told that what we ordered was not available for another hour. Re-ordered food. Salad and soup came out right away. 45 minutes later no drink refills and no food, not even checked on. Will not be returning. read more

This was my first visit and I was very impressed with both the food and service. The fried calamari was cooked to perfection. We had the grilled tuna dinner with twice baked and halibut sandwich on rye bread, yum! Our waitress, Karen was was very helpful with menu questions. She was super attentive without hovering. We never had to wait for anything. The atmosphere is a little rustic and boisterous but that somehow adds to the relaxed vibe. Special note, there were many different dipping sauces and they all tasted amazing as well as house made. I highly recommend. read more

I have been going to this place for over 20 years. Recently I have ordered the grouper salad twice( not consecutively I've had other things in between. The first time I got the grouper Caesar salad to go and I came home and it's a thin piece of fish. So I went and I ordered it with my friend both of our fish is very thin for a grouper. I grew up in Florida and I know that's what normal grouper looks like. So I asked them the second time I got a thin piece of fish where do they get to grouper they could not tell me. Obviously I asked my server who then went back to the Cook who then went to whoever he went to but nobody could ever tell me where this group or who is so thin and dry on the edges came from. I know I am crazy to still go there and still order the same thing but that's what I want . A good fish( real grouper ) with Caesar . In Florida they started doing DNA on the fish so people cannot up charge for a fish that has no grouper. I am truly questioning this grouper . I love this restaurant I go there all the time . Also if you are a woman a single woman or with another woman the service at the bar downstairs is horrible it's never changed. There used to be a bartender /server name Megan who was amazing but I have not seen her in a long time. She is the only person in 20 years who has never treated me differently than a couple. Thursday night my friend and I sat there and we had to ask for drinks however another couple were automatically repoured . Definitely sexual discrimination going on there. Normally tip 20% or more because they come there so frequently last time no way. I'm tired of tipping for a bad service read more

The Pelican's Reef is an unassuming restaurant stuck into a strip mall along Beechmont Avenue. For the first two years that my husband and I lived in Anderson Township, we barely noticed it was there. Then, one night, we were surfing the web for a seafood restaurant near home, and decided to try it out. Since then, we have taken every one of our out-of-town guests to visit this great restaurant! My husband is a seafood nut, and he just loves all of the fresh fish options, offered at market price. What keeps him coming back, though, are the fish taco's, served with your choice of sides (including the delicious and almost healthy sweet potato fries). I love the Ceasar Salad, which, instead being dressed with the traditionally heavy, anchovy-flavored dressing, comes with a house-made dressing that edges on the sweet side without being cloying. The full bar, multiple flat screen TVs, casual atmosphere, and friendly service make this as much of a neighborhood hangout as a place to snag some great food. And one of these days, we may even have room for dessert! read more

This place is pretty good, but not really anything special. I ordered the coconut shrimp, which is normally my favorite - but it was disappointing. It comes with an apricot keylime HORSERADISH sauce, which is just awful. I didn't use the sauce and the coconut shrimp was practically tasteless by itself. The sweet potato fries and salad were pretty good though. And the service was good as well - a lady who looked like an owner was hanging around chatting customers up and greeting people, which is always nice to see. Overall I'd go again I just would never order the coconut shrimp again - if you like horseradish, though, you might love it. read more

Pelican's Reef is the best Seafood in Cincinnati. I love to go to happy hour here. Peel and eat shrimp, Calamari, Grouper and more. I go once a week. read more

After many years, very disappointed with lack of customer appreciation. Owner needs to address quality/pricing issues as an owner should.

Really enjoyed our meal here. The blackened mahi mahi was fantastic, great asparagus even. But the peanut butter pie for dessert really sent us over the edge. Oh and they had great service as well. Very glad we stopped by here for dinner. Well worth it! read more

I love Pelican's Reef! But not the atmosphere, waitstaff, loudness, or over-stuffed parking lot. The only thing I like is the Scallop Basket. It's so good; I've never had scallops as good as those. But everything else from the salads to the sides and drinks is just meh. read more

Great place to get seafood for those of use that miss it from those summer vacations to the ocean. This place is legit! If you can get it the enchilada is awesome! read more

The drinks, the service, the food - perfect! Definitely going to be on our regular list!

We came early to get a table and I brought a person with very high standards for a restaurant. Everyone loved their dinners.Two of us had the Crab Cake appetizer (which is different from the entree) and one person had N.E. Clam Chowder and the fried Clams entree. I like to get your salad because your ranch dressing is so good. The Chowder looked like oatmeal because it was so full of clams. The Crabcakes were spicy and awesome. Then there was Limoncello Cake and Chocolate Eclair Cake for Desert. Great service from JoAnne. It was all good! read more

Great food both times I have been in so far. I have tried the crab cakes (perfect both times), shrimp tacos (delicious), and coconut shrimp and fries (also delicious). Can't wait for my next visit to try something new! Also, great atmosphere! read more

Friendly neighborhood establishment nestled in a convenient location. The place is welcoming and immediately becomes a favorite place to gather. The grouper, Lake Erie Perch and crabcakes are fabulous, but just a few of the menu items offered. They really do all apps, seafood dinners, steaks, burgers and desserts well. It is a gem to have the feel of the beach in a midwest town and a place to enjoy a drink, watch a game and feast on a fairly priced meal in a comfortable environment. read more

I love this place!! The seafood is so fresh and always expertly prepared. Prices are reasonable AND they have a great craft beer selection on tap. Some of my favorites are the calamari appetizer, grouper sandwich, my husband goes crazy for their conch chowder, fish tacos and the stuffed sole. Loved their seasonal arugula salad too. YUM! The only downside is that the new bar upstairs does not have a fryer and that means different menus for the upstairs and downstairs restaurants (they are not connected, the bar is on top of the main restaurant). Otherwise I love the new upstairs bar too! read more

I have a single criticism. PARKING. The FOOD & SERVICE are OUTSTANDING. I have been a patron for a good DECADE. Never ever had a bad experience with SERVICE or FOOD. As a SENIOR CITIZEN I have bad knees. Waking to and from the REAR PARKING AREA is a chore. There is limited parking in front. They need more than 1 Handicapped space. It is a busy place normally. We go early before 5 PM so as to avoid any waiting. As a resident of Anderson since 1975 this restaurant is # 1 by far. Medium priced. QUALITY # 1 by far. SERVICE is outstanding-too. Only the parking. read more

My wife and I have been dining there for several years, food was always good. We went there for dinner in July, first time out since March, really disappointed. My wife's grilled grouper came out burned to the point that it not edible. Server took it back to the kitchen and eventually came back with another, but it was also burned. I asked if there was a new person in the kitchen, she said no, "they just forgot how to do their job while we were closed". My wife would up sharing my peel and eat shrimp. They did comp her meal. We went back two days ago and my wife had crab cakes. I had my usual peel and eat shrimp, I asked for them hot. When they came out they were cold/chilled. Our server apologized, pretty much said the kitchen made the mistake. She took them back to be heated and when she brought them back they had shrunk to less than half of their original size, which made them tough and killed the flavor. I figure that someone in the kitchen had an attitude. Even though they have the best ceaser salad in the Cincinnati area, I seriously doubt that we will ever go back to Pelican Reef. read more

I've been going here for many years and every time I go it's fantastic. I got the Grouper Caesar salad and it was excellent. I did this carry out, they said it would be ready in 20 minutes and it was. If you like seafood this place is great . read more

Pelican's Reef is an awesome place to eat. As a person who doesn't typically eat seafood, I was thoroughly impressed with how tasty and high quality this establishment's food was. I recommend the fried cod sandwich with the twice-baked potato. read more

We have been going to Pelican's Reef for over 25 years. Food was always great, service was excellent, fresh seafood at a reasonable price. We ate there on average of twice a week. No longer since the owners John and Patti retired last year and sold the business. The Reef has been on a downhill slide ever since. First, the quality of the wait staff has severely declined. Tattoo's, piercings, Ill-mannered, and lazy. Second, food quality has gone downhill also. Fish is either overcooked or undercooked. It also does not taste fresh anymore. I suspect they are getting a lot of cheap frozen fish. In fact, took a client there for dinner back in May. He ordered Pollock. It looked great on the outside but the inside was cold when served...obviously frozen. Portions for calamari are smaller but price is higher. In fact, everything is priced too high. $18 for a cheeseburger. $2 for a chicken wing $29 for grilled salmon. With quality of food down, prices up and poor staff, we are done, no more. Apparently Anderson Township feels the same way as the once packed Fridays are no more. My neighbor said he went last week and the kitchen closed early because they did not have enough customers. So many of our friends have stopped going there. Can someone bring in Gordon Ramsey to do a restaurant rescue? Yup read more

Over-rated. We've been three times over the few years we have lived here and all three times at least one person at our table had a terrible meal. The staff is so nice and the other food was okay but mediocre...I hate to give them a poor review. But we will not be going again. read more

A group of 8 of us do a monthly dinner and a movie gathering (6 years running), and we try to match the restaurant with the movie. This month's movie was Jaws, so Pelican's Reef seemed ideal. We were not disappointed! The food and atmosphere were great, and the staff were very accommodating about seating a large group on a busy Saturday night. The food order was taken very quickly, the food was tabled almost as fast, and the food quality and taste were excellent. The only negative, and the reason my review isn't 5 stars, was that the hostess was pretty grumpy, but the experience was otherwise very enjoyable. read more

Yummy food, cozy atmosphere and great service! Starr is a waitress I've had multiple times and she's always done a wonderful job. Family friendly as well, a good time with kids and little tikes. read more