Restaurant Le Pélican — French / Beninese, Porto-Novo
Le Pélican has served Porto-Novo's academic, governmental, and intellectual community since Beninese independence in 1960. The university community (the National University of Benin's main campus is in Porto-Novo) provides the clientele; the kitchen provides the French bistro cooking that this community was educated to appreciate.
The menu combines French bistro classics with Beninese specialities in a way that reflects the city's own cultural synthesis. Coq au vin is made with local free-range chicken; the steak is Beninese beef; the dessert section includes the akassa fritters that cross the boundary between French pastry tradition and Beninese fermented corn.
The colonial building, shuttered windows, ceiling fans, and the tiled floor of a converted colonial administrative office, provides atmosphere that no purpose-built restaurant can replicate. Le Pélican is dining within history.
The wine list is Porto-Novo's most serious, maintained with the conviction that a university city deserves a proper wine programme regardless of the logistics.
Best Occasion: Good for Closing Deals
Porto-Novo's most established and most trusted formal dining address. The university city's intellectual authority and the colonial setting create conditions for significant conversations.
Best Occasion: Perfect for Solo Dining
The plat du jour, a glass of Bordeaux, and the colonial room's atmosphere. The solo traveller's most civilised Porto-Novo lunch.