There's nothing like a visit to a coastal pub for a cold refreshing drink and a bite to eat after a day at the beach. The Pelican Inn at Ogmore-by-Sea is one of the oldest and most popular pubs in Wales serving customers for nearly 300 years - but, like many other venues, it was shut throughout the pandemic and beyond.
But back in April, a new company - Newbond Hospitality - bought the pub and the new owners immediately set about transforming the cosy stone building that was famed for its Sunday lunches. And now it has finally reopened following the massive makeover - worth around £130,000 - and the transformation is pretty impressive. You can read more about that here.
The old inn found on the Ewenny River overlooking Ogmore Castle is now a trendy gastro pub with an interior and menu to match its new description. With dark coloured walls, wooden floors in the restaurant, low lighting and classy trinkets dotted around, it could be straight from the pages of a glossy magazine but still feels warm and welcoming.
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It was also packed on the sunny Wednesday night when we visited with tables both inside and outside the pub filled with hungry punters, which is always a good sign.
We were shown to our corner table and our drinks orders quickly arrived while we took a look at the menu. So what about the all-important food? As mentioned, the old-style Pelican was famed for its roasts and more traditional pub grub, but the new menu is definitely more gourmet than hearty.
The selection of starters includes French onion soup (£6.50), homemade curried fish cakes (£7) and Welsh brie and cranberry parcels (£7). We went for the interesting-sounding Walk in the Forest and DIY Duck Pancakes, both £7. As with the drinks, we didn't have too long to wait before we were tucking in.
Walk in the Forest is a selection of wild mushrooms with berries, mushroom pate, mixed leaves, vegetable chips and beetroot jam in a little pot all served on a piece of slate.
It certainly looked intriguing and every bite provided a great mix of textures thanks to the crunchy crisps and the smooth pate. And when it came to taste, the sweet jam was a lovely contrast to the savoury mushrooms. It really felt like you were eating food that you had foraged yourself. Just one tiny criticism, it could have done with more mushrooms and fewer salad leaves.
The DIY Duck Pancakes came on a tray featuring all the ingredients you needed to make your very own pancakes, including hoisin sauce, just as you might get in a Chinese restaurant.
The meat was tender and the pancakes soft but overall it was a pretty average dish and the tiny spoonful of hoisin sauce was nowhere near enough for smothering on the three pancakes so my partner had to ask for extra (which they duly provided).
We had a rather long wait for our mains and wondered at one point whether they had forgotten us along with the party next to us where there was a big table waiting to be cleared for a while. But it was a busy evening and the young team of waiting staff were clearly hardworking and very pleasant and polite when they arrived at our table.
Mains on the Pelican menu include a selection of fish dishes like gourmet breaded scampi (£15), meat dishes like roasted lamb Wellington (£20) and a slate of steaks (£29) and house favourites like beef or vegetable lasagne (£13) and BBQ chicken (£13).
My partner was tempted by the duo of pork (£17) which featured crispy belly pork and pork and leek sausage on a bed of bubble and squeak with leek and cider cream sauce, honey roasted parsnip and topped with crispy leeks.
This dish was, in his words, a winner. The tender meat was beautifully cooked, the bubble and squeak was a lovely change from your average mash or boiled potatoes and the sauce provided a delicious zing.
My black seafood spaghetti (£16) looked totally impressive and featured ink spaghetti piled high and topped with a selection of seafood, a slice of lemon and a side of garlic bread.
There was a great selection of fresh seafood including squid, mussels and fat and juicy prawns in a light crumb coating. The sauce was extremely moreish and the dish could have done with slightly more. But no complaints here - this was another standout main that I would definitely order again.
While we were full after our first two courses, the desserts sounded too tempting to resist and while we ummed and ahhed over the glass of lemon and key lime pie (£7) and homemade Morello cherry pie (£6.50) we opted for the Baileys creme brulee (£6) and giant raspberry and white chocolate meringue (£7).
The former was served in a cup and the creamy brulee had a light infusion of the liquor so it wasn't at all overpowering. It was served with a slice of crumbly shortbread biscuit with half chocolate coating which was great for dipping.
Sadly, while it looked pretty, the meringue was a let down - basically there was far too much meringue and it would have been nice to have a few fresh raspberries to add some texture.
Overall, we had a lovely night at The Pelican and it's great to see it open again and looking fantastic with a menu that pushes the boundaries a little and provides some interesting variations on old favourites. We will definitely be back.
The Pelican, Ogmore Rd, Ogmore Village, Bridgend CF32 0QP. Tel: 01656 856464. Visit the website here.
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