Pelikan Société is an awesome cafe located at Hastings, Mornington Peninsula. We initially set out to visit a winery in the Mornington Peninsula, but a quick Google search and we were drawn to Pelikan Société instead. I initially had two concerns about this place, the spelling of the name and the fact I had no idea where Hastings was! After visiting twice, I still can’t figure out these two things. We were drawn to the menu, and the pictures of this cafe looked great online. We punched the address into Google maps and off we went.

We parked in the car park and the scenery was pretty amazing. Clear blue water with small boats parked along the pier. There were people fishing along on the bridge also, with decent success. I don’t consider myself an outdoorsy person, but there was something very calming about this place.

Pelikan Société had massive windows from top to bottom which allowed us to enjoy this view whilst inside. The cafe was filled with natural light and as a result, the wooden furniture was glowing! It had a really comfortable and relaxing colour theme inside, I particularly liked the contrast with the different coloured chairs. The acoustic panels which they have installed on their ceiling, helped immensely with preventing echoing. We’ve been to a lot of places without the acoustic panels, and it can be really hard to talk without having to yell over one another.

I’ve always had a keen interest with the specials menu of any eatery. The specials allow the chefs to experiment with new dishes and to use great seasonal produce, which I wholeheartedly support. We were rewarded with an exceptional mussels dish from Pelikan Société! A true highlight for any seafood lover, and one of the best I’ve had. The use of royal gala apples with a cider reduction accentuated the natural sweetness of the mussels. The fresh herbs also balanced out the creaminess of the sauce. This sauce would go well with any seafood dish. The mussels itself were not only fresh, but was also cooked perfectly, still plump and juicy. It’s a shame that we won’t get to eat this dish next time.

“The Cuban” sandwich came out in a Cuban cigar box, very shnazzy! Certainly gets everyone looking and excited as it’s coming out – mobile marketing. Tastes as good as it looks, the pork belly melts in the mouth, with the dijon sauce and sweet pickles making it a very appetising sandwich indeed! Really can’t fault any of the food here, they’ve got the flavours down pat, and they should be very proud of themselves.

I highly recommend Pelikan Société for any food lover who enjoys a little day trip. You can also visit some nice wineries in the Mornington Peninsula afterwards as they are not too far away from the cafe. Water views plus vineyards all in one day? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me!

Pelikan Société
Approx $35 AUD per person
Website: pelikansociete.com.au
Address: 2 Marine Parade, Hastings, VIC 3915
Phone: +61 3 5909 8132