The Mermaid — Restaurant in St Albans

This review is not my most objective. This was my local pub when I was at the college opposite, aged 17. It was where I met my wife who was working behind the bar. This visit was to meet up with friends who also went to the college and with whom I travelled in Greece and Israel more than 40 years ago. The character of the pub is lttle changed. It is a small local pub that is comfortably basic, friendly, and welcoming. The major change over the years has been the transformation of the car park to a covered seating area that is surprisingly nice to spend a lunchtime with friends. The seating is comfortable, and we had table service for food and drinks orders. The person serving us was friendly, helpful, and patient, with us asking her to take photos. The prices were reasonable, but the food was bought in and unimpressive. I would recommend giving the loaded...

Not one to leave bad reviews but I went to this pub a few months ago with my mother.

She was ordering at the bar but then had to take an urgent call. When she got back, the bartender refused to serve her and was quite rude. This was very unpleasant and frankly a very dramatic reaction from a senior member of staff.

Really is a shame because it was one of my regulars but after this experience they have lost my business; and that includes my friends and family’s business as well, we will no be back.

I understand during busy hours it can be stressful, but that was no way to treat a loyal customer. In fact, very unprofessional.

Whether you care or not, I wanted to share my...

I’m not too keen on leaving negative reviews (despite what others might think 😊) but this time I think it’s warranted. Twice I visited the Mermaid and on both occasions I was served a pint of Oakham Citra by the most miserable, tattooed young barman I think I’ve ever come across. On both occasions he uttered not a single word from taking my order to presenting the pint.

I should probably say that the beer was pretty good and the atmosphere was vibrant in the beer garden, considering it was a Wednesday night, but pubs are largely about people. With staff like this a lot of places will be doomed to failure considering the state of the...