The Mermaid Inn — Restaurant in England

Stopped by here for the first time and had some lunch. There seemed to be an event going on for a half marathon and the back of the pub was absolutely crammed with runners and supporters. We very nearly left to go elsewhere as it was so busy but as we left we noticed there was a room at the front of the road which was nice and quiet so we came back in to have some food.

We went and found a table unaware how the ordering usually works, no menus on tables so went up to the bar to take a menu. Whilst seated looking through the menu we were greeted by a very friendly barmaid who told us what was unavailable which was helpful, I fancied the curry so asked what it was like and she described it as a sort of mild green Thai curry but with a watery base rather than a thick sauce. She said she had it earlier that day on a potato and enjoyed it.

Decided to take a chance on it as did the missus so ordered 2x curry with rice/naan, bowl of cheesey chips and 1 pint coke and 1 bottle Rattler Cider.. Total came to roughly £50.

Took about 20-25mins for food to arrive. First impressions decent portions, looked and smelt nice.

So to start there were a couple of immediate issues, the curry was warm-ish. Definitely not hot and no visible steam coming from either of our bowls. Didn't send it back as didn't want it microwaved and don't like fussing. The Naan breads were overcooked and really hard/chewy. Also average plain shop bought ones. I don't mind they're not hand made in a traditional tandoor but could atleast buy some decent flavoured ones and bring them out soft and fluffy. ALDI sell garlic&corriander twin packs for about 60p that are much nicer than the supermarket ones used here.

The actual curry was very nice in flavour, similar to green Thai as described but with a lemony twist. Chicken was soft and plenty of it. Was very enjoyable. Rice was also nicely cooked. Cheesey chips were good, nice chips, would benefit from a sharper more mature cheese. Annoying served on paper in bowl as cheese sticks to paper. For 6 quid would expect a larger portion.

Overall an okay meal with some good aspects and a few bits that need attention. Pretty expensive for the quality recieved.

When we finished eating another member of staff asked if everything was okay.. didn't want to be brutally honest and tell her it wasn't great to her face so said "it was fine" as most people usually do. Was nice of her to check nonetheless.

Stayed for a couple more pints and a go on the darts. Nice warm quiet space, proper locals pub. Decent atmosphere with very nice friendly staff.

Overall...

Dreadful experience.

On arrival, nobody welcomed us, staff did not acknowledge us with even a glance or a hello despite appearing to be massively overstaffed for an evening meal service. Our table was not clean and there was food on the floor from the previous customers. As nobody had greeted us, we did not know that nobody would give us menus and they would assume we would find their app to download and order food. After waiting 5-10 mins to download the app on the appallingly slow WiFi (no phone signal), we asked for menus at the bar. Someone then came and took our order. All drinks came over-iced and with lemon despite requesting without. Food arrived and looked average at best. Unfortunately two of us ordered mussels, while eating we noticed these still had quite a lot of dirt / barnacles on them. Continuing through our bowl of mussels there was the occasional crunch of grit as we ate. The sauce appeared just to be an addition of single cream to cook them in. During the night we fell ill with dreadful sickness and can only conclude that this was the mussels at the Mermaid Inn (as you don't get this sick from a cream tea earlier in the day). The meals were overpriced (to be expected as it was on the beach) and clearly this place just makes money conning tourists that just want to be fed rather than enjoy a nice meal. If you enjoy food, DO NOT VISIT, we were lazy, choosing dinner within walking distance and paid for...

We stopped off on the way home from the beach for a quick drink. As stated in other reviews the signal is poor, but we managed to download the app and order two pints of Tribute. We understood that it was a busy sunny day, but after 25 minutes of watching several tables who sat down after us receive food and drinks we spoke to one of the waiting staff who said they would go and get our drinks. Ten minutes later we still received nothing and spoke to another waitress who again promised to get our drinks. Ten more minutes and we spoke to a third waitress, and the first two once again to finally be told after 45 minutes that there was no Tribute, and would we like Lushingtons instead. We agreed and after waiting for this the waiter never returned so we decided to speak to the manager and get a refund. The manager was very apologetic and gave us our refund and two bottles of beer to takeaway. Whilst inside however some waiting staff were rude, swearing about customers and talking about drug taking. They were clearly busy, but this was very unprofessional, and we witnessed some strange behaviour like one waiter ripping up a ticket into pieces and throwing it into the air whilst standing between two tables of diners. The manager did her best to rectify the situation, but the service and behaviour of the younger waiting staff...