The Mermaid Inn Upper West Side — Restaurant in New York

UPDATED REVIEW (see last part) - - FOOD: the food is good with instances of great. The goodness is in the consistent quality or in other words, it has never disappointed. MENU: the menu is to be fair a bit static which is both good and not so good. I believe it is a good thing to keep your signature dishes but there are few specials and the rotation is very slow. As regulars, we find ourselves craving for some innovation, not monthly, but at least over the years. ATMOSPHERE: so much of a restaurant appeal is the vibe and the character it manifests. You could call this the restaurant "brand". We always loved the old style black and white, gritty New England 19th century sailor vibe. We loved the small attention details that made Mermaid Inn different, such as the staple complimentary and delicious chocolate pudding for the end of meal send off or the fortune fish. Enduring moments to seal a memory. SERVICE: the service is another consistent pleasant factor. The waiters and welcoming staff have always been pleasant and very professional. Until last night. The BREAKUP STORY: my wife and I dined at the Columbus location. We sat down and ordered. A few minutes later a celebrity sat down a couple of tables behind us. This happens to be an actor that we both loved having grown up rewatching and quoting his films for decades. I have a thing about disturbing famous people but my wife wanted to leave him a tiny love note before leaving. We thought it was the least intrusive manner to show our appreciation. She took out a small piece of paper and wrote "Loved you in everything we've ever seen you in. Parenthood is one of our favorite films of all time. We have it mostly memorized. Have a wonderful meal". She left the note on our table and we enjoyed our own meal. Mid meal, we are approached by a restaurant minion named Andre who unceremoniously told us not to disturb the celebrity, as if we were snapping pictures or interrupting his experience. At first it was not even clear if he was restaurant staff as he did not even introduced himself. His tone was intrusive, unfriendly and plainly rude. In the moment we were stunned. He had clearly read the note on our table (tiny print). Did he also read our text messages? Eavesdropped our private conversations? Was he lurking behind the column? It was not the request, that could have been delivered politely, but rather the invasion of privacy - very not hypothetical in OUR case. I spoke to the manager - Chris, who was even less apologetic and offered the classic "tough luck" response. Here is the summary of this long story. I do not know what happened to Mermaid Inn. Perhaps the move made them appealing to a more "modern yachting yuppy" clientele, perhaps the economics are no longer there (the complimentary pudding is now 10 dollars), perhaps the lost their "brand". Perhaps, they stopped caring for the experience of their guests. The sad thing is that they will not care because this just "one customer". But here is the thing, restaurants live or die (eventually) based on the effort they make to retain the regulars, the aficionados. These are the folks that spread the word, that invite friends who then themselves return. The moment they forget that, they start to sink. The seabed of NYC is filled with restaurant shipwrecks but there is plenty of new vessels. I do not wish this fate to Mermaid Inn. I only wish they refocus on what it means to be in the service industry so they can stay afloat, albeit without this customer on board. UPDATE - : THE MAKE UP: I had not much hope my experience would be noticed but- to my delight, it was. The owner reached out with an apology and a wish for us to return. It was refreshing and heart-warming to see that ownership cares about all customers. This is what hospitality is: professional service focused on the experience and turning the not-so-good ones into positives. Happy to have another chance to dine at...

Order: Oysters, Pan Seared Cod, Lobster Mac, Chilean Sea Bass, Pinot Grigio, Pino Noir PLEASE READ. An evening that my mom and I will cherish forever! This restaurant succeeded in every aspect. Their hiring practices are spot on. Charles we will never forget you! I brought my mom here for her 51st birthday. We've loved Mermaid Inn since their first UWS location. This was our first time at the new one and I wanted to make it special since we couldn't do much for her 50th. The staff simply caught on and pulled out all the stops. On top of the incredible food and Charles, our server and new friend, we received a delicious wine tasting where we tried a selection not yet introduced to the menu. It was surprise after surprise, including a gift exchange with our server (wrapped in Mermaid Inn tissue paper), a chocolaty birthday candle moment, a super sweet greeting with the manager, up until the very end. Toward the end of the meal, I got another whisper that there was more to come and to remain in front of the restaurant when we leave. As we waited for the uber, out comes our server holding a sparkler for my mom! We had a tipsy photo op and said our emotional goodbyes. Thank you to everyone for the huge painful smile that was glued to our faces all night. The energy was immaculate, we even had a fun exchange with the women sitting next to us. Can't wait to come back for that...

I recently visited The Mermaid Inn and was immediately greeted by warm, welcoming hostesses who set a positive tone for the evening. Their hospitality stood out and made us feel right at home.

The waitstaff was attentive and friendly, though it seemed like there was some confusion—perhaps due to a new opening. We were approached multiple times with the same questions, likely a result of the team still getting into sync.

As for the food, the crab rolls were just okay. I was hoping for a bit more crab meat to really bring out the flavor. The lobster roll, unfortunately, didn’t quite hit the mark—it tasted a bit salty and lacked that fresh, ocean-sweet flavor, possibly due to being frozen…?

All in all, The Mermaid Inn has potential, especially with its great front-of-house staff. With a few tweaks in the kitchen and some smoothing out of service kinks, it could become a solid...