The Mermaid Inn

I'm so glad this restaurant is in this neighborhood. I recently had dinner and found the food to be truly excellent. Fresh oysters, amazing appetizer special (sweet asian sasuage with squid?). Great fish (skate wing) and yummy risotto. Can't wait to return. It was a little loud, but it didn't bother me too much.

Have been wanting to go here since it opened, and went with the family last night, with some caution because of the reviews we saw in several places. We had a really good experience, though. I have never been to the original downtown version, so maybe our expectations were muted, and we took our kids, (which is maybe exactly what the people who have visited the place don't like about the UWS version) but the food was very good (had fried clams, softshell crab special, striped bass and their very tasty version of paella) and the service was actually friendly, attentive, and terrific with the kids. Prices were very reasonable, portions were generous, we will go back.

I am astonished when restaurants open up they obviously hire interior designers but always neglect acoustic engineers. This place is extremely loud, be prepared to scream to your neighbor. It diminishes the overall place. The food is good but I feel it is better in the E. Village. They were 25 minutes behind in seating my party and we had a reservation. No apologies whatsoever. It boggles my mind how much fish and seafood is in NY when in Boston and other coastal cities it is much cheaper. Stay away from this Mermaid.

I was really looking forward to dining at The Mermaid Inn. It was really not up to par. The back room is awful to dine in - extremely loud, hot, and cramped. I think the front is probably fine. My tuna was really bad. It was so heavily salted it tasted like it was brined. My friend had the Paella which was bland. I will give it another try as so many others have said it was good but it may be that we are so restaurant starved on the UWS that anything is welcome.

It makes me never want to move. I have been wanting to eat at The Mermaid Inn for years, but for one reason or another, we've never gotten there. How excited are we to have it steps away. As a big fan of the Neptune Room (and still am) its shocking and exciting to have them in the neighborhood but I think a fine compliment to one another. We had an incredible late night dinner last Friday. Literally everything from the albarino wine to the friendly service to an incredible paella made us so happy. It took a normal dinner and made it a date night. The niceest treat was the chocolate pudding with the dot of homemade whipped cream at the end. And, the service didn't end at dinner. I filled out my comment card at the end and the next morning I got a thank you for my comments. How nice is that? Thanks for coming to the neighborhood, I can't wait to become a regular. P.S.The calamari and feta salad with frisee is worth a return visit alone.

Love the Mermaid and was very disappointed when they removed the monkfish from your menu. Best oyster selection on UWS.

Friendly service, casual atmosphere, and seasonal preparations of fresh seafood. Great for a few glasses of wine and oysters at the bar or a seafood smorgasboard of your own making. Solid wine list. Try the mussels & monkfish for dinner. After waiting years for something like this on the UWS, what's another 30mins spent waiting for a table?