The seaside restaurant was named amongst SquareMeal’s High 100 UK Eating places for 2026
The restaurant gained recognition after esteemed meals critic and MasterChef decide Grace Dent visited (Picture: MILLIE BULL)
Being a Deal native, I might heard loads about The Blue Pelican over the previous couple of years. When it first opened, I need to admit I used to be sceptical. Did the city actually need one other fancy restaurant to alienate locals and entice hordes of Londoners? I did not assume so. Nevertheless, I used to be quickly proved unsuitable. The restaurant appears to have struck the proper steadiness, luring each locals and guests with a daring Japanese menu that would have simply left the locals chilly.
The Blue Pelican gained recognition after esteemed meals critic and MasterChef decide Grace Dent visited in early 2024 and gave it a glowing evaluate. Writing for The Guardian, she described the menu as “some of the intriguing and punchy menus you may come throughout on your complete south coast”, and I consider she could also be proper. I’ve eaten at a plethora of eateries throughout the Kent coast, and after one go to, this has rapidly turn into one among my favourites.
A good looking mural by native artist Tom Maryniak takes centre stage within the eating room (Picture: MILLIE BULL)
The Blue Pelican was additionally named one of many UK’s high 100 eating places for 2026 by SquareMeal, rating eighty fifth.
On a chilly, blustery Sunday, I headed to The Blue Pelican, hoping a steaming bowl of ramen would heat me up. Each Thursday and Sunday, the restaurant gives a small ramen menu that includes three fundamental dishes, a number of sides, and a dessert choice. For me, that is the last word inexperienced flag once I’m visiting a restaurant: a concise, considerate menu with a number of dishes achieved properly is all the time most popular to dozens of mediocre plates flying out of a kitchen at breakneck pace.
I might booked every week prematurely, having heard simply how busy the bijou restaurant can recover from the weekend. There are two seating choices while you e-book: the ‘chef’s counter’, positioned on the centre of the restaurant with 10 bar stools dealing with the open kitchen, or the eating room, the place you possibly can benefit from the restaurant’s tasteful decor and views of the seaside.
I opted for the latter, however subsequent time, I am reserving the chef’s counter. Even from my window desk, I discovered myself drawn to the open kitchen because the chef ready our dishes; the sizzle and steam, akin to a theatre manufacturing, within the centre of the restaurant.
Regardless of the climate, the restaurant was rammed with {couples}, households and pals having fun with a leisurely lunch and some drinks. The server even needed to flip a number of individuals away, one thing I am certain has turn into a standard prevalence in eateries throughout Deal over the previous couple of years, due to its rising reputation amongst Londoners.
The Blue Pelican was additionally named one of many UK’s high 100 eating places for 2026 by SquareMeal, rating eighty fifth (Picture: MILLIE BULL)
The environment was heat and welcoming, with candles on each desk, emitting a comfy glow. The service was pleasant, educated and attentive with out being overbearing, and I used to be extraordinarily impressed with the server’s data of the components as I listed off my barely unconventional dietary necessities. I wished to pattern the crab croquettes, however he fairly rightly knowledgeable me that they seemingly contained an ingredient I could not eat. My delicate abdomen could be very grateful for the intervention.
We ordered two dishes: I had the chashu ramen, whereas my husband had the vegan choice: a walnut miso ramen.
There was a small await the meals to reach, however on a busy Sunday, and the place every dish is cooked contemporary, that is to be anticipated. And I used to be truthfully too mesmerised by what was taking place within the open kitchen behind my husband to care.
The bowls arrived, steaming and aromatic with umami, adorned with a glistening sheet of nori on the facet and half a soft-boiled egg with an unctuous, jammy yolk. Visually, it was every thing I hoped for — and extra.
Digging in, I used to be instantly hit with the deep savoury, umami-rich flavour of the katsuobushi and the smokiness of the pork stomach. My dish included Palourde clams, which added a beautiful briny word, and half a soft-boiled egg, which added a contact of buttery creaminess. The dish was filled with flavour, however the star of the present was the noodles; they had been addictive and impossibly slurpable. There’s typically a standard false impression that ramen is stuffed with delicate, rubbery textures, but when it is achieved proper, this positively is not the case. The noodles had the proper chew, the pork was tender with the correct amount of chew; each aspect got here collectively in a bowl I did not need to finish.
I used to be instantly hit with the deep savoury, umami-rich flavour of the katsuobushi and the smokiness of the pork stomach (Picture: MILLIE BULL)
My husband’s ramen included a tempura hen-of-the-woods mushroom (Picture: MILLIE BULL)
My husband’s ramen included a tempura hen-of-the-woods mushroom, which he mentioned was scrumptious, together with mushroom broth. I could not pattern his sadly attributable to my very own dietary restrictions, however by the best way he inhaled his bowl, it was clearly a triumph.
As a self-professed dessert-lover, I could not move up the chance to provide the creme caramel a strive. We initially ordered one to share, however I used to be secretly thrilled when the server arrived with two parts and insisted we every have one. I am not ashamed to confess that creme caramel and stewed fruit is not my thought of dessert. You may normally discover me choosing one thing sticky and gooey that is candy sufficient to make my tooth sting.
I additionally normally discover the feel of moist, sloppy desserts unexciting, however the flavours on this Japanese-inspired creme caramel had been fairly not like something I’ve ever eaten.
The creme caramel featured a vibrant mix of calamansi — a zesty citrus fruit from South-east Asia — and kinako, a toasted soybean flour. Although each flavours had been new to me, I used to be anticipating extra after the primary chew. The silky dessert delivered layers of tart and bitter notes, balanced by the caramel’s delicate sweetness, nutty toastiness from the kinako, and a pointy rhubarb kick. A spoonful of tangy creme fraiche on the facet lower by way of the richness and rounded out every chew fantastically. It is the most effective desserts I’ve ever eaten.
The flavours on this Japanese-inspired creme caramel had been fairly not like something I’ve ever eaten (Picture: MILLIE BULL)
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We loved our dishes with a few alcohol-free beers and a ‘coastal spritz’ flavoured with blood orange and oakwood. There are many choices on the drinks menu, whether or not you are after one thing boozier or a delicate choice, in addition to an in depth wine listing.
Even if you cannot safe a desk, it is price popping your head inside or peering by way of the window to admire the trendy decor. The terracotta and white chessboard-painted flooring and hints of stoney blue on the door frames and panelling give the area a contemporary but heat vibe that is minimalistic with out feeling sterile.
A good looking mural by native artist Tom Maryniak takes centre stage within the eating room, capturing homeowners Alex Bagner’s and Chris Hicks’ affection for each Deal and Japan. This paintings seamlessly weaves collectively the restaurant’s aesthetic, Japanese-inspired menu, and dedication to native components.
I am already wanting ahead to my subsequent go to to The Blue Pelican. Chef Luke Inexperienced has injected pleasure and originality into our charming seaside city’s meals scene. Subsequent time, I will be going for dinner and ordering the rooster karaage and delica pumpkin tempura — however I am going to ensure to save lots of loads of area for the creme caramel.
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The Blue Pelican is positioned at 83 Seaside Road in Deal, Kent, and is open for lunch Thursday to Saturday from 12pm to 2.30 pm, and dinner Thursday to Saturday from 5.30pm to eight.30pm. The Blue Pelican’s ramen menu is accessible on Thursdays for lunch and dinner, and on Sundays between 12.30pm and three.30pm for lunch.
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