An upscale-casual seafood restaurant in New York City with a Cape Cod/New England fishing village ambiance, known for its fresh seafood and popular happy hour.
Running chef
No specific running chef or executive chef is mentioned in the provided search results.
Insights
SeafoodLatin AmericanMexicanAmericanSeafoodModerateDinnerBrunchCasualCocktail Bar
Last updated: 5/11/2026, 8:02:00 AM
Key Information
The Mermaid Inn is an upscale-casual seafood restaurant in New York City, known for its charming Cape Cod/New England fishing village ambiance and generous happy hour deals. It offers a lively yet comfortable atmosphere and has multiple locations, including Chelsea and the Upper West Side.
Customers consistently praise The Mermaid Inn for its fresh, high-quality, and flavorful seafood. The service is frequently described as excellent, friendly, attentive, and professional, with staff often going above and beyond. The happy hour, offering discounted oysters and cocktails, is a major highlight and provides great value. The overall atmosphere is noted as memorable, lively, and inviting.
Additional Details
The restaurant is known for its 'dessert on the house' offering, providing a sweet ending to the meal. It operates multiple locations across New York City, maintaining a consistent seaside-inspired theme.
The happy hour is highly recommended for discounted oysters and cocktails. Dinner is served nightly. The Chelsea location also offers lunch/brunch on weekends, making it an ideal spot for daytime visits on Saturday and Sunday.
5
Tucked into a charming pocket near Hudson Yards, this restaurant enjoys a setting that feels both vibrant and inviting. A short stroll along the scenic High Line, just around the corner, brings you right to its doorstep, adding a touch of occasion to the visit.
The menu offers a thoughtful range of options, equally suited to a relaxed brunch, a lunch, or a more intimate dinner. Seafood is clearly a point of pride here: fresh, clean flavors come through immediately, reflecting careful sourcing and preparation. Presentation is handled with a sense of creativity as well, most notably in the delightful and inventive plating of the salmon bagel, served on a board in a way that feels both rustic and refined.
What truly elevates the experience, however, is the warmth of the service. The staff strikes that rare balance of attentiveness and ease, making guests feel genuinely welcome from the moment they arrive. All told, this is a place I would gladly recommend, an inviting spot to enjoy a well-conceived menu in a lovely part of the city.
Have been here a few times, and always love it! Happy hour specials, $2 oysters too! Not only that, everything is delicious! Calamari, fries, tacos, sliders, tartare, and oysters ...we ate every bite!
The service is always exceptional too, super friendly, attentive, helpful. Always makes for a fun time eating and drinking.
This was recommended by friends
It was soooooo good. We had the corn risotto, oysters , Parker house rolls and lobster for appetizers. Outstanding! We ate all of it. And for meals, the salmon, linguine & clams and the tuna. We each loved our meals and ate every last bite. One of our dinner mates is extremely picky and she raved about the Salmon. Service was outstanding. It was cozy and decorated lovely. Cant wait to be in the city again to eat here!
Amazing food, its a have to visit every trip im in new york. I highly recommend their fish cuts, oysters are the freshest I've found in nyc and their Mac and cheese. Ive also been told when they have beer on tap it is delightful. Love the place and the energy from servers, no bad wait time even when they are fully booked, but I'd recommend a reservation just to be sure of it.
I would definitely come back. The food and happy hour were amazing—great value and full of flavor—but Joly is the real reason to return. She was incredibly knowledgeable, recommended special dishes we ended up loving, and checked on us throughout the meal to make sure everything was perfect. Her hospitality truly made the experience exceptional.
