Pelican's Net - Hammondsport

I'd been meaning to post about this place for over a month now. This is one of the best places I've dined at in the US, while on a road trip. What makes it so special, is the owner and chief proprietor, who is a generous and welcoming soul. He went to such great lengths to accommodate our particular dietary needs, that we felt we were visiting someone's home, and not eating in a restaurant. The pan-fried fish and chips were so nice, they even impressed my Brit wife. If you're ever traveling through upstate NY on the i86 from Rochester towards Binghampton, I would highly recommend a food-stop here.

I ordered the Maryland Style Steam Pot and salad. Local beer. The salad was an excellent fresh homemade beet and blue cheese dressing BEST Salad Dressing in New York ! Everything was fresh and cooked to perfection. The price is right for such selection and freshness.

My first review since I 've sadly moved to the east coast. This is the first place that was truly unexpected. I 'm not one bit upset that I blew my diet for this meal. In short: IF YOU LIKE SEAFOOD, YOU WILL LOVE THIS PLACE! After driving to and from Hammondsport a handful of times, whenever we would pass by this place, I thought to myself I need to try that place...but it looks more like a local dive bar BUT, being that there are nice options in the downtown area of Hammondsport, we haven 't gotten around to it....until tonight. First impression, we got there around 5:30 (on a Thursday . The inside was not what I would expect from the outside. Cozy dining room with a small bar....all themed to a nautical motif. *Yarrrr* I was a bit nervous that we were the only ones in the dining room, but we were seated and the very pleasant waitress was quick to get us our drink order. Perused through the menu, my partner in crime decided on the largest dish on the menu...the Nor 'easter and shrimp cocktail and I ordered the Cioppino Pot. But first, we were treated to a warm basket of CORN BREAD(!!! . It was crumbly and sweet and went perfectly with a honey butter. It 's the little touches that stand restaurants apart. Our salads came out, they were fresh with some of the best tomatoes I have had in a while. My squeeze ordered the homemade ranch dressing, I had to have a taste and it was delicious. Then.....the pièces de résisances (I 'm guessing that is how you plural that phrase ...the main courses. They were large feasts of treasures of the ocean. My man enjoyed his trough of food, cooked perfectly and fresh seafood. Mine was incredible. The sauce was full of flavor and really complimented the seafood. It was this tomato based sauce with celery, a bit of spice, and some other flavor that I couldn 't quite put my finger on. In the short amount of time I 've lived in this area....this is by far the most memorable meal I 've had in this area (Corning/Hammondsport/Ithaca . It is not foo-foey and not presumptuous (we are out in the sticks people, let 's stop pretending to be fancy . Super friendly staff, the owner chatted with us and was very friendly. Pricing was spot on for the quality you are getting. Hands down, best seafood you 'll get in the area.

Well from 8/14 we have not been back until now after a 3 year stay based on that meal. While I'm thrilled to say things have much improved for the Pelican. We've stopped out twice now over the past month and the food was not only delicious but all freshly prepared seafood and the pieces were very reasonable. They now offer various fried seafood fare along with pots of different entries. Today we had the Friday night fish fry along with friend clams. The fish was superb and it's not often you can actually fine fresh friend clam strips and not frozen junk. The wait staff Kim was wonderful, food service was fast and responsive and the entrees came out pipping hot! Definitely add this to your just try place for seafood and Ir won't disappoint!

We come to Keuka Lake every summer and have always wished for a good spot for seafood. The Pelican 's Net, which opened in August of '11, has made that wish come true. The steamed clams were plump and juicy, my wife 's whole lobster was perfectly cooked, and my calabash style fried oysters were delicious. Moist cornbread and yummy home made coleslaw completed a fine meal at a very competitive price and we 're looking forward to the bananas Foster cheesecake we didn 't have room to eat on site so took away with us for later. One thing that will put off some: no liquor license, at least not yet. The Net is right across the street from the Finger Lakes Beer Company, though, so you can have a beer or two before dinner and enjoy the restaurant 's pomegranate iced tea with your meal. The Pelican 's Net is our new favorite dinner spot on Keuka Lake!