The Mermaid Inn

[jeunefilleparis]

HI guys

just wanted to let everyone know, if it has been announced that the mermaid in , brought to us by the owners of red cat and the harrison, has opened. I was at the east post on saturday and stumbled upon the staff/ family having meals. I talked to the owner , i think, and he said they would be open monday

menu is simple seafood, reasonable prices and all

its on 2nd ave at 6th street

[weinoo]

I'm gonna try it tonight - has anyone been?

No reservations taken at this time.

[weinoo]

Didn't get to try it as there was an 1 1/2 wait...so went next door to a place called "East Post," which was utterly horrendous.

[danger_doug]

Spent the night at Ike's on that corner... Missed the Mermaid.

[Pan]

East Post? Horrendous? What did you order?

As for Mermaid Inn, I'm impressed with the makeover they did on Lhasa. They were imaginative in the charts and other atmospheric things they got.

[NYCdrew]

Has anyone been yet?

[DavidJS]

I'm tempted to walk in if the waitress are wearing mermaid outfits.

[vienna]

Mermaid Inn is indeed wonderful, excellent seafood, very fresh and tasty, New England atmosphere, bargain for price(entrees are all $20 and below). The front room has a bar and the atmosphere is very bar like and very loud. On the other hand, back room is very romantic, red brick walls, candles and wine bottles everywhere, facing a small garden which is relaxing. We sat there and our waitress is very accomodating. Water were serve all the time and she asked us if we need anything else.

Me and my SO had 1/2 dozen oyster from the raw bar (3 of West Coast's and 3 of East Coast's) which were really fresh like they've just been picked up from the sea. For other apps, we also had clam fritters (very crunchy with a creamy dip and onion hint on it, which I found a little too creamy for me, I'm a light eater), last apps was so great spinach and blue crab dip with perfectly air crisp garlic bread.

For entree, we shared nively done grilled dorade fish, which served on the top of spinach sauteed with red paprika, tomato, onion. spicy garlic cubes with red sour sauce (which my SO said it's very New England).

They don't serve dessert but gave everyone a tasty small cup filled with chocolate pudding with cream on top. The fun has not ended there, while handing us the check in an old sardine can, they gave us fortune teller fish in plastic sheet to be put on top of our palm and the moves indicate our personality.

Definitely a must to try, I left feeling like "a robber"

[bigbear]

Thank you for the review, vienna.

Welcome.

[lamb]

Where is it located?

[Suzanne F]

96 Second Ave, between 5th and 6th Streets. 212-674-5870

Owned by the same folk who own The Harrison and Red Cat.

[rozrapp]

Eric Asimov's review.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/07/dining/07UNDE.html

[weinoo]

Finally had dinner here last night and the verdict is still very good.

Starters were the clam fritters, expertly fried, and the barbecued shrimp (shrimp cocktail was 86'd). The bbq shrimp come shell on, so it's fun to nibble on them whole and work at getting the shrimp out.

For our mains, the Mrs. had the app sized portion of squid ( most yummy) and I had the lobster roll and fries. The lobster was great, not to mayo-ey and the roll was a toasted, buttery brioche hamburger bun - so, while not exactly traditional, it was still pretty darn good. And the fries were (dare I say it) almost right up there in crispiness and goodness with Les Halles! Served with a ramekin of malt vinegar, too.

We were drinking cocktails (even with dinner), but the wine list, though short, is well thought out and fantastically priced.

No dessert, 'cept for the freebie chocolate preivously mentioned - a nice touch as well as the fortune telling fish.

This warrants return visits.

[Suzanne F]

He Who Only Eats and I ate there Sunday after the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. Except for the fact that EVERYTHING was underseasoned (salt-free is NOT a good thing ), it was quite good.

Big fat sesame breadsticks and "everything" flatbreads: good vehicles for butter.

Oysters: 3 from Prince Edward Island, 3 (Pacific Orchard?) from British Columbia. Fresh, tasty, and the mignonette, which included cilantro, was not overpowering.

Tartare of Char: lots of fun to say, great to eat once we added some salt and pepper. Just enough truffle oil to be mysterious; lots of chives (a recurring theme). Very crisp, large, deep-fried celery root chips, a crunchy contrast to the velvety fish.

Spaghetti with Salad on top: between the spaghetti and the pile of well-dressed arugula, a pile of calamari rings, shrimp, scallops, and baby octopus in a rather spicy tomato sauce. The spiciness covered the lack of salt. The spaghetti was perfectly cooked, as was all the seafood. The scallops were especially sweet.

Lobster Sandwich with Old Bay Fries: variation on a lobster roll, served on a brioche bun. Lotsa chunks of lightly cooked, very sweet lobster, a tiny bit of finely chopped celery, lotsa chives, in a mild housemade mayo. Not cheap, but really, really good. The fries were excellent: uniformly crisp, not at all greasy, but sadly short on Old Bay.

HWOE had Geary's Porter, I had a Japanese (forgot the brand name) White Ale (good, but $9?!?!?!?!?). He also had a glass of wine, but again, I don't remember what it was. The wine list is very reasonable.

Yes, the chocolate pudding was a nice touch, and the fortune-telling fish were a hoot (although it looked as though everyone came out "Passionate").

Tables next to us got the clam fritters, the crab-spinach dip, and the fried oysters, all of which looked good and eminently shareable (esp. the dip: a huge portion).

On the whole, as long as there's salt on the table, it's quite good. Definitely a place to return to when in the neighborhood.

[Pan]

Thanks for the report, Suzanne. I'm glad to hear that the Charlie Parker Festival happened again, too. Last year, they said they weren't sure if they'd be able to get enough funding to do it again, and I bought a t-shirt. Needless to say, I missed the festival this year only because I was out of the country.