The Guardian
Grace Dent found “one of the most intriguing and punchy menus you’ll come across on the entire south coast” from chef Luke Green, whose masterpiece was a “quite unforgettable offering of utterly heavenly roast pink fir potatoes with walnut miso and cavolo nero”.
Not only is the Blue Pelican a “very classy, experimental, neighbourhood
Japanese restaurant”: the venue also looks the part, so you feel you’re
“walking into Hokusai’s Great Wave off Kanagawa, a cacophony of tasteful
blues, chilli pepper-coloured chessboard floor, striped cushions”.
“Deal has got itself a little smasher of a place”, which locals will have to share with “down-from-Londons”.
The Daily Telegraph
William Sitwell hailed this Japanese-inspired seaside spot as “a rather fabulous achievement”, advising diners who don’t recognise items on the menu: “just order loads and dive in” – head chef Luke Green spent five years in Japan and has “a talent for matching his Tokyo skills with Kent’s coastal produce”.
Dishes such as cuttlefish skewers with XO sauce and asparagus with koji butter and charcoal dust hit the spot, but best of all was “a diversion, miles from Japan” in the shape of croquettes of reblochon cheese and Bayonne ham.
“These were utterly gorgeous: rich, soft-centred golden-crusted balls… They would sweep the board at a canapé convention, get gold at the 2024 World Croquette Contest and, dining solo, I was aahing and oohing in such a way that people might have thought I needed medical attention.”
William Sitwell - 2024-05-26
