This was our lunch spot while traveling through town. We decided to split a club sandwich and fries and OMG so glad we split it. The portion was HUGE. The double decker sandwich stuffed with meat and fresh veggies was delicious. It was so big, it was hard to open my mouth wide enough to take a bite. The fries were fresh and hot. They were the kind of fries that have a little skin on them. Tasted like the fresh fries at the Mn State Fair, one of our fav eating stops. Our server was awesome! I was trying to download a book onto my reader and not having luck with WiFi so she helped me connect. The place is definitely a cafe vibe. We saddled up to the stools at the cafe bar. You know it's good when the locals fill the seats (hence having to stool it). Great stop! read more

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A very small, rustic and utterly charming local eatery in Laurel Montana. Be warned, this place oozes Montana...if you can't eat with deer mounts gazing down on you do not come here. The food and service was incredible and they were very busy. I loved it! read more

What a great diner stop in Laurel MT! Quick service, filling food, and walls decked out in Montana hunting decor. Great variety for breakfast lunch and dinner! read more

The Pelican Cafe - Breakfast time! - Diners Near Me - Laurel, Montana

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I come to the Billings area with my dad at least once every couple months and last time we were here we decided to take a small detour to try this place after we saw it on TikTok. The food and service were both incredible, one of the best burgers I've ever had. The ingredients are all high quality and everything is made from scratch to order. The waitress, and there was only one on the day I was there, was very attentive and always smiling. I'll definitely be back read more

Been there once for a great breakfast. Had the chicken fried steak skillet and it was huge, with real steak and eggs to perfection. Couldn't possibly finish it. Good prices and speedy service. Small seating space and they probably fill up fast on the weekend. Really enjoyed it! read more

Great home cooked meals and service has been great for the two time's I was there. The fried chicken was delicious and tender.

Great food and friendly staff! But be aware it's standing room only on the weekends. And be nice small place with a ton of people and the wait staff of one maybe two are still over run as it is. read more

Wow...the cook here knows how to make a bang-up breakfast sandwich! Delish!! Very affordable too. Better stop in even if your not hungry. Server is very nice and FAST. Parking is tight.....be careful. read more

The Pelican Cafe - Cheese, bacon and egg on English muffin - Diners Near Me - Laurel, Montana

Small town diner, classic styling, good people. It's confusing though, as the sign outside has the name "Rail Side diner" (owing to its location across the street from the railroad tracks) but all signage inside has the "Pelican Cafe". It seems they relocated to this spot but left the outside name. This place was busy. The one person waiting tables was working the tables and the counter seating as if she's done it for years. Turns out, she has, based on our conversation. There was a no-wasted-movement method to her dance around the diner. Wood panel walls, requisite animal heads on the wall, seats at the counter -- this place has it all. So does the menu: traditional breakfast items, sandwiches -- hot and cold, omelets, burgers, salads, entrees from the usual chicken fried steak, to liver and onions, meatloaf, polish sausage and kraut. (It wasn't until much later in my visit that I figured out why this little town had something like polish sausage and kraut -- but kudos for it). They also have a daily special they write on the chalkboard, a board that covers the soda cooler in the back. That was a little weird, since you'd have to know it was there. Maybe in small towns they like the conversation and would rather people ask. I went with breakfast. It was standard fare but very good, came out relatively quickly, and I rather liked the fact that when I asked for toast, there was only one slice of bread. Less waste that way. The coffee wasn't anything special, but had enough caffeine to do the trick. Three stars for the food, but four stars for the menu variety and wait staff that kept the coffee coming. Can't quite round up, but maybe on my next visit. read more

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Great service, great food. Good sized portions. Ladies that work there seem to like their job.

I've eaten at this little place many times. The service atmosphere and food are amazing. The help is as friendly as friends. The prices are really good and the portions are usually too much for one person to eat. Sure, it's a small place, but that makes it very family like. I would never forsake The Pelican Cafe! read more

Do not go here if you are high risk for COVID. They are not following any CDC protocols. No masks, tables are covered with things that are not being wiped down, no social distancing. I think the tables are a germ fest even without a pandemic. They wiped the top of the table - at least where it was showing, but not the sides or any items. The salt shaker had dried food all over it. I had very high hopes for the food after reading the reviews. I live good home cooked food! I was very excited they had white pepper gravy with out the sausage added. And the gravy was delicious! But the chicken and hash browns were very greasy. The green beans were from a can. The ranch was delicious as well. I will say I enjoyed the sauces! LOL The waitress was also amazing. This was in the evening and she worked her tail off the entire time we were there. But no way could she have had time to help clean the items on the table or the table. She was already doing the work of 2 people at least! read more

This place has the best breakfast ever! And they cook it exactly how you want it even if you're weird and you like all your food separated on the plate. :-) (That comment is for a certain someone that reads these regularly) We stop here every time we come through Laurel. The lady running the place is great too! read more

The Pelican Cafe - people sitting at the bar - Diners Near Me - Laurel, Montana

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Definitely returning .Everything was delicious, staff is very friendly .Cute place.Great service.

The food is pretty good, good portions for the price. Very very local diners The owners are so rude, yelling at the staff in the dining half room . Treat staff like crap, nasty and lazy. Their kids run in and out of the place. Their dirty hands in the freezer and salad bowl. The hours cut has nothing to do with COVID and finding workers. it's about how they treat their workers read more

What a fantastic find on my drive from WA to CO! This place had local Montana charm, lots of regulars, a big menu and a no nonsense wait staff and loved it! First of all...the food. Woah! I ordered chicken fried steak which is my usual go to breakfast. Usually it comes on a plate with two eggs and hashbrowns and country gravy for a pretty penny, but that's o.k. I love it so why not. When the waitress brought out my food she set down TWO plates and said, "I'll be back in a moment with the rest." WHAT?! The rest!? I could not believe the amount of food given here for the cheap prices. The chicken fried steak itself was huge and covered the entire plate. It also wasn't a cisco one but rather homemade. I had ordered a pancake instead of toast and it also came on a plate by itself and was a huge fluffy monster that was worthy of a meal in and of itself. Then the third plate came with a huge portion of scrambled eggs AND hashbrowns. I could not believe my eyes. Everything was Delicious as well and waitress was amazing. Wish I had a place like this where I lived. BEST. BREAKFAST. PLACE. EVER. read more

Always good service. Prices reasonable. Servings the right size and nice and hot. We're able to be seated as soon as we arrived.

Great breakfast --- maybe the best in the area. Tight enclosed sitting that probably adds to the novelty. Food is a 5 / facility is a 2. Definitely recommend. read more

Just as the reviews say! Great sit down bfast. We had the Chk Fried Steak, corned beef hash and the scramble which was the daily special. Food was fantastic. Very affordable and tons of food. Headed back to TX today and will come back on next years ski trip on the way to Red Lodge read more

Every time we come to The Pelican we get great food and amazing service. The amount of food is enough for another meal for me. We love coming for the local feel of the happy place. read more

If your hungry and looking to leave full after your meal then Pelican is the place. A hidden gem with BIG portions & reasonably priced. We orded the chicken fried steak, eggs, hashbrown & toast & wow look at this picture...Like I said Big portions!!!! read more

The Pelican Cafe - BIG chicken fried steak!!!! - Diners Near Me - Laurel, Montana

My wife and I are visiting from California and we absolutely loved this little cafe. We dined inside, FYI. The prices were great (only $22 for the both of us) and the service was wholesome. I got the country omelette (which was HUGE) and it was SO good. My wife got French toast and said it was some of the best French toast she's ever had. Thank you for this wonderful experience. Much love! read more

This little hole in wall has food that when it's good, it's good but most of the rest of the time I have to remind them not to burn the French fries, after that it was to not overcook the hamburgers, and then after that it was like they found excuses to screw something up as about 50% of the time I am getting to go orders for my dad. The final time today was when I got home to find a burnt bun on both my dad's and my food and they weren't just a little bit burnt they were pitch black. Then while picking up my order the hostess was inquiring as to why so many shih tzu dogs are named Gizmo and I was having a really bad day with my MS, Lupus and TBI SYNDROME so my response time was a little slow to process the answers and tell her the answers. The waitress who just happens to be one of the two owners was busy but she seemed to feel the need to answer the questions before the hostess could even ask them and she kept walking over to interfere in the conversation as I was trying to pay collect my shih pup who is wearing a service dog in training harness. This is not the first time she has been rude either another time I inquired which restaurant they were talking about and was very rudely told that it didn't matter, well apparently it did matter if you were saying something bad then don't talk in a what I thought was a public restaurant. On the other hand they have a very sweet hostess who definitely should be waitressing and not only is she sweet, she is very friendly, fun and fast if I need something I definitely prefer to deal with her. If I still managed restaurants and I needed a hostess or a waitress I would definitely stop in the The Pelican Cafe and see if i could steal her away as she is a gem and should be working somewhere like Olive Garden.​ read more

The Pelican Cafe - a grilled sandwich and french fries - Diners Near Me - Laurel, Montana

Stopped here for the first time a week or so ago. Great food, huge portions, and friendly staff!

Great place for a late dinner. The staff was awesome. Food was good since we were starving. The restaurant has really cool animal mounts. Great representative of Montana big game. Keep up the strong work. read more

The waitress was awesome but not the food. Not sure what happened here tonight but all of our food was cold. Sad story because I really wanted to have the experience everyone else did who rated it 4-5 stars. read more

Found this place on our way to Livingston, from Red Lodge. Amazing! One women taking care of the whole place with a friendly attitude and smile on her face! I ordered the biscuits and gravy with 2 eggs and hash browns. Not sure it would be humanly possible to eat it all! Hubs had meat omelette with smothered has browns. Again, not humanly possible to eat it all!! It was all amazing and our dogs were happy too (leftovers!!). Stop in if your traveling thru the Billings area - worth the side trip!! read more

The Pelican Cafe - Diners Near Me - Laurel, Montana

Delicious hash browns crisp and tasty. And the homemade biscuit, the homemade biscuit delicious. Sorry I don't have a picture we were ravenous. Hope they are open for years to come. read more

I loved this hole-in-the-wall diner. I ordered the special--Denver scramble, hash browns, juice and toast for $7.99. I exchanged the toast for house-made biscuit for a small upcharge. Friendly staff knew all the locals, and we even got to ask the local fishermen where to fish. Don't let the appearance dissuade you. read more

The way breakfast should be. Chicken Fried Steak Skillet, way too much food $11.00 fully loaded. Great service, Thursday mid morning the place was packed. Don't let the rail yard stop you, great place. read more

The Pelican Cafe - Diners Near Me - Laurel, Montana

Friendly service, food was so so, but cleanliness is severely lacking. The seats were falling apart, the tables were sticky, and condiment containers were grimy. The bathrooms are a hot disgusting mess. Parts of the floor and walls were missing and neither bathroom had soap in the dispenser! It's hard for employees to wash their hands without soap. Needless to say, we will not be back. read more

Great little place. Extremely friendly staff and locals. Wonderful food and huge portions. Very reasonably price especially coming from CA! Don't miss this great place, would definitely come back if coming through town. read more

Great food, and great prices compared to your average sit down diner near billings. You won't leave hungry

A little chaotic at times when they get busy, but I do have to admit the food is seriously so good.

What an amazing find! We are staying in Billings for a few days and the only restaurant we could find open on a Sunday was a hipster joint. Which is fine by us, but it was packed with standing room only. After searching for an actual diner, we found the Pelican Cafe with a 20 minute drive. It was well worth the extra drive time. This is a true family diner and they appear to be a family owned restaurant. Everyone was smiling and friendly, even for two out of towners. I absolutely recommend this place- great food and good people. read more

I love The Pelican! GREAT FOOD, great local spot and great prices!! If you want some true home cooked meals, this is your place!!

Food is excellent and big servings. Kinda small place but that's ok, and they're working on the outside to fix it up some. Glad we stopped here! read more

We took our kids and grandkids there one night. We all have different likes in food and each of us got what we liked. We liked it so much we went another day for breakfast. Again wonderful food and large portions. The only problem was that the table was too small to hold all the food:) read more

The best! The owner helped wait on us along with her friendly employees made this stop a real enjoyable experience. Great menu!

Excellent food and the service was great. One of those small but great food cafes you don't find everywhere.