Pelican Cafe

Pelican Cafe Restaurant Review:

Probably because the Pelican Hotel is a project of the cool Italian fashion company Diesel, this café has always eschewed the aggressive tourist-hawking of its Ocean Drive competitors. Its Italian food has been surprisingly solid, too, compared to that served by most places on this strip aimed at unsophisticated tourist palates. The current menu, though, is less Italian than it used to be; rather, dishes are a sort of global hodgepodge aimed at pleasing everyone---something that seldom works. If you're among those who think that crostini topped with melted Brie and guacamole sounds like a good idea, knock yourself out. Otherwise, it's best to leave the quesadillas and more unusual Latin-esque dishes (like a club sandwich involving scrambled eggs, ham and bacon, American cheese, and pink aurora sauce) alone, and stick to properly al dente pasta like spinach ricotta ravioli in simple butter-sage sauce, or thin-crusted pizzas topped with quality ingredients like prosciutto di Parma, fresh mozzarella and arugula.