The Mermaid — Restaurant in Oakville

This is our second visit to The Mermaid. If my wife and I didn't enjoy the food the first time and thought it wasn't good value for money, there would have never been a second time!

What’s great about this establishment is it is small; think of a “hole-in-the-wall” vibe… it focuses on fish & seafood dishes. It does this exceptionally well, especially for such a small place, and it’s unpretentious. It’s not trying too hard like many other establishments down the road in the “fancier” part of Oakville.

So on this visit, and because it was such a nice day, not too hot or windy, we chose to sit at the covered patio area on the south side of the building. Our server was kind and enthusiastic. Since we arrived early in the day, it wasn’t busy, and our server was still setting up the area, and part of that process was placing a wireless speaker in the sitting area. During our meal, we listened to Neil Diamond, Doobie Brothers, Van Morrison, and Jimmy Buffet, to name a few… it was like listening to my older brother’s music when I was a kid. What a flashback… loved it!

Upon leaving, while paying the bill, I mentioned to the server to tell the owner that “he must be of the same “vintage” as my older brother as the music playlist was a really nice flash-in-the-past for me”… she told me that it’s her playlist, it’s the music her dad plays and she loves it, listens to it, so nice.. don’t you think?

Oh yeah, and the food… this review should be about the food, right?… as it was the first time we came, it was great! We had their daily special, I chose the salmon. I’m not a huge salmon fan, as I find it can be inconsistent in texture, flavour, and scent (I’m being kind when I say “scent”). I only had it because…. it’s healthy. It was cooked beautifully, nice and tender, with just enough seasoning.

So, the food was great, yeah? but if the atmosphere and service doesn't make the dining experience memorable, then the food alone may not bring me back. With that being said, we’ll be going back.

I've attached a couple of pictures. One from last year's first visit showing the sailer manikin out front, which was weird and cool simultaneously, and one of our current visit, having salmon for lunch.

Only four stars on the Atmosphere category only because, and perhaps it was a result of us arriving just after they opened for lunch, the ground beneath of table had food particles on the ground, probably from the prior day, but the tables and chairs were clean so, “hey” no big deal.

Dear owner… say thank you from us to our server; she made our day… I’m sure you...

Disappointed by Lack of Communication Despite Understanding the Circumstances

My wife and I had been looking forward to dining at The Mermaid on Kerr Street in Oakville after hearing so many great things about the restaurant, both from online reviews and word of mouth. Since Valentine’s Day reservations were understandably fully booked, the lady I spoke with was happy to take our reservation for the following evening, February 15th, at 7:00 PM.

However, when we arrived early at 6:40 PM, we were both incredibly disappointed to find a sign on the door stating the restaurant had closed early due to weather conditions. While we fully understand and respect the decision to close for safety reasons—especially given how terrible the weather was—it was frustrating that no one from the restaurant had reached out to notify us. When making the reservation, we provided our name and phone number, and a simple courtesy call or text would have been greatly appreciated to prevent us from making the hazardous drive, only to be met with a locked door and a handwritten sign.

We want to be fair in our review, and acknowledge the circumstances. !

Despite our annoyance, and the restaurants less than considerate communication....

MY WIFE AND I ARE STILL LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING THE MERMAIDS LOBSTER ROLL AND DELICIOUS FRESH OYSTERS THAT'S SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE RAVED ABOUT.

We strongly urge management to consider the opinions expressed in this review, if an unexpected early closure should happen to...

Went for a late lunch with the wife. Good reviews online went to try it out. Ordered The lobster roll, she had the catch of the day.

Service was good, Food came out within a reasonable amount of time.

The lobster roll was underwhelming, basically boiled lobster with a hint of lemon Juice, was expecting more for a $29.00 dish. I Ordered it with a salad which had a hair in it. Didn't say anything, I used to work in a restaurant, it happens.

The fish of the day my wife choose was Cod. Came out looking delicious it was over salted... Not a little to much salt it was an insane amount totally unedible. We mentioned it to the waitress, she was totally confused with the situation. We explained it had waaaay to much salt and she kept repeating ok refire no salt. We asked her to take the dish back. She reached across the table grabbed a napkin and offered to just take the fish back in a napkin.

I'm guessing the manager stepped in said no we'll just replate the dish.

Food came back out with no salt. Like zero salt. Tasted like hospital food. She just wanted fish with a regular amount of salt nothing too crazy.

The last thing was the amount of flies constantly hovering around while trying to eat, my guess is the proximity of the garbage bin that is caused that many files.

Disappointed will not...