The Mermaid Inn — Restaurant in England

We flew to St.Mary's on an August whim and after a blustery morning walk round the Garrison, we were hungry and in need of shelter. Something about the aspect of Mermaid made us note it when we'd seen it first, and a local recommendation fortified our intent.

We'd been lunching our way down the coast since London a week past and had hit up some of the notorious highlights of Devon and Cornwall, including two of the leading seafood purveyors in Padstow. This meal topped them soundly.

Walking in, I saw a robust fella by the entrance polishing off a giant platter of glistening mussels and a pint of Doom Bar and knew instantly, from a distance, both that he knew what to eat and that what he'd eaten was damned good.

The wife went for dressed crab. After one bite she gave me a look. After two, she made a small noise of joy.

The mussels came shimmery and well seasoned, not a single closed shell or bit of grit, all plump and tender, the wine and garlic situated perfectly within the butter and cream, everything tasting fresh and moreish. The fries were tremendously crispy and the toasted rolls with garlic butter would normally have been too much much but, my God, they were good and absorbed another several hundred calories of broth. A second pint of Doom Bar was needed and then some Cointreau to hang on.

The crab was properly dressed, as in, zero effort required. Lumps of white meat with the telltale tiny matchsticks of springy flesh marbled in with brown meat, offering unctuous flavour and cohesion. It was a total triumph. The wife, who is prone to hyperbole and knows it, nevertheless stated with emphatic authority, "Best. Crab. Ever." And rubbed her belly.

The bar looks like it's been let loose in by 10 generations of sailors and scallywags, while the rooms facing the port have a veneer of family-friendly order even while the drinks are served from a half-hulled fishing skiff. So many places aim for this kind of seaside motif and because they try, they get it wrong. Mermaid is about as genuine as it gets, and the food, as well as the service, deliver that rarest of combined experiences: surprise...

I arrived 40minutes after the post-lunch closure, but the pub, and particularly the restaurant upstairs, had such a nice vibe and interesting menu outside that I hedged my bets! I was not wrong...I was at once greeted by the very gentle and smiling Jordan(I later found out his name!), who confirmed that lunch service had indeed finished, but said he'd check with Chef as to what they could do. Jordan returned quickly and suggested fried Jackfruit with chips 🍟, since I had told him I was a veggie! He chatted with kitchen staff to say they'd be happy to cook it for me! How kind are they all, given that the Chef 👩‍🍳 was doing prep for evening service and the kind and très solicitous Jordan was covering two bars! Incredible! The food and the Flat White Decaf arrived pretty pronto, along with a super glass of rooms temperature water(which I'd requested!) with limes slices in. Such thought. My meal was utterly delicious and perfectly fried, not too greasy nor too overdone. It was served with a remarkably tasty salad in a subtle vinaigrette, thankfully! How happy was I to have alighted by the Mermaid 🧜‍♂️ Inn and to have risked popping in when the lunchtime was clearly done and the tables all set up for later on!! I was treated so specially, considering I was being a real nuisance, and Jordan chatted amiably. He so charming, naturally; no pretentious there. We shared tattoos talk, as I expressed a liking of the beautiful black&white image on his arm!!! I'll be back(as Arnie often said?! Think film!!) , for dinner VERY soon! Thanks so much, Maggie !...

We had a wonderful visit recently. This is a pub we often frequent when visiting St Mary's. On our last visit we had an amazing Sunday Roast which was unfortunately interrupted by an extremely rude 'lady', and I use that term lightly, who was shouting at the (young) bar staff and then proceeded to try and throttle her partner. Just what you want on a beautiful Sunday in Scillies! From what we could hear (they probably heard her in Penzance to be fair), the staff were encouraging the 'lady' to have some water before she had another alcoholic drink. Clearly the right decision by the staff as the she then made an absolute show of herself in front of the whole pub. Shameful behaviour from someone clearly old enough to know better. Perhaps stay off shorts and indulge in the odd shandy?

Well done to all the staff involved for handling the situation with more professionalism that I personally would have mustered... Great pub, can't...