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The Mermaid Bar & Grill
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11:30 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 11 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
21 reviews for The Mermaid Bar & Grill
Review Highlights
"We had the mahi mahi fish tacos and the sea scallops."
(in 4 reviews)
"Looking back, I really enjoyed this place."
(in 4 reviews)
"...and the Mermaid Salad with ahi tuna is nice and fresh."
(in 3 reviews)
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21 reviews in English
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Review from Christina G.
Chicago, IL
8/23/2011
We were visiting Saugatuck for the weekend and decided to dine at Mermaid on Saturday, for my birthday. We had 6:30 reservations.
We arrived right at 6:30 and went up to the hostess. She apologized, and told us we would have to wait a little bit and that the next table would be ours. I was starving, but agreed to wait. About five minutes later, a table opened up. She came right over to us the moment the table was cleaned. We sat right on the water's edge and had a pretty view during our meal.
The menu has standard fare - burgers, wraps, pulled pork, salads, some seafood, nothing too fancy. We started with the Santa Fe quesadillas and they were really good. Perfectly puffed and fried, served with black beans and corn. Totally hit the spot while we waited for our main dishes to arrive.
My husband and I decided to get a couple dishes to share. We had the mahi mahi fish tacos and the sea scallops. Both were really good and packed with flavor. The tacos had grilled (not fried) fish, which I really enjoyed and came in a very large portion - three completely filled, large-sized tacos. The scallops were delicious too. They came in a kind of habanero sauce that had a little kick to it, but still tasted sweet. Sea scallops can be tricky to cook, but Mermaid cooked them right and they were tender and not at all rubbery.
Our waitress was as nice as can be. She checked on us often, to make sure we had everything we needed, but was not at all intrusive. She always had a smile, which is quite rare in food service these days.
I would definitely go back. -
Review from Matthew R.
Santa Monica, CA
8/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
Looking back, I really enjoyed this place. Great food! I had the salmon which was absolutely wonderful. And now I can't stop eating salmon. This is a nice place overall. A little small, crowded maybe. But it doesn't take away from the dining experience at all. The meal was great and the service was wonderful. Ha-ha, perhaps what I found the most entertaining here was the bathroom. A giant Mona Lisa print hangs up on the wall. And really it's huge. Ha-ha. I think everyone enjoyed their meal and were satisfied. This place was great.
So GENIUS. -
Review from Mike B.
Naperville, IL
10/7/2011
My family had a great dinner on the boardwalk at sunset. The pecan-crusted walleye was fantastic! The Mahi fish tacos were pretty good too. I definitely recommend eating outside.
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Review from Annette J.
Dearborn Heights, MI
9/23/2010 1 Check-in Here
So bummed to see such low ratings for the Mermaid on here! Of course it's not the most fancy of joints but for a lovely meal on the riverfront with good beer and food it's perfect!
Big fan of the shrimp and goat cheese pasta. It's my favorite dish on the menu. It's not for the calorie conscious but it's great. Different types of pasta shapes, sautéed shrimp, and veggies tossed with a red pepper cream sauce with dollops of goat cheese and dusted with parmesan. Very indulgent and very good. The white fish dip appetizer is excellent as well. It's creamy and smoky and served with pita chips, crackers and crudités. Their fish and chips are awesome and the Mermaid Salad with ahi tuna is nice and fresh.
They're not rocking the boat (no dock pun intended) or whipping up any fancy culinary delights but for a casual, yummy dinner on the water (eat outside if you can) the Mermaid is perfect.
TIP: if you're eating at dusk or night be sure to bring the bug spray. Those mosquitoes are killer!Listed in: Saugatuck Spots, Italiano!
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Review from Jon T.
Lansing, MI
8/9/2010
The Mermaid is stuck in time and I wouldn't say in a good way. The menu seems ok at first, not too upscale and yet, not too dive bar-ish. But the food just wasn't very good. I had the ribs and there was like a half inch think spread of bbq sauce on top of it so I'm not really sure what they tasted like otherwise. Even the fries were only so so.
Inside, defintely needed a little sprucing up. It felt like you were dining in, well...just an older, early bird special kind of place. An example of something I noticed and seems like old school mom and pop to me...I ordered a beer to start but didn't also get a water. Granted, ribs aren't totally gourmet but it wasn't like I was sitting at the bar. To me, this is simply one of those touches that nicer than average restaurants bring to the guests. It's common knowledge, you don't ask, it just comes. I hate to throw the dollar thing in the mix too but, at $20 plate for ribs, I'd think I could get water without having to ask. Sorry Mermaid, it's in the little things.
So my venting is complete. The service really was between ok to good...it's more of a training issue and management WANTING to make the restaurant better. Just felt transported to a very bland world where all that mattered was that you left full. And as long as that happened, mission accomplished. -
Review from Nick S.
8/2/2009
I'm a little surprised by the tough reviews of Mermaid. All four us liked it. We went here, on a Sunday, for lunch. The staff treated us like gold. They even put the Sox game on, even though there was a Detroit Tigers game on the other TV.
I thought the food was very good. A lot of fancy comfort food. We ordered: the chicken Margarita (excellent), mahi mahi fish tacos (excellent), burger (above average, crunchy chicken salad (unhealthy, but good). They have a pretty big menu too, so you can find something for the picky people.
For a touristy place, I was really impressed.
As far as the wait, I was told you can make a reservation. If not, be ready to wait between 30-60 minutes. -
Review from Dawn M.
8/8/2009
A local store owner recommended the Mermaid - so off we went. We thought the food was great - nice presentation and wonderful combinations.
I had the trout - it arrived, and was a huge bowl of artichoke, new potatoes, sweet peppers, artichokes, and surprisingly, sausage. Initially thought the sausage might over-power the trout - but no - it was delicious. Really enjoyed it. I was so focused on my food, I can't even remember what other family members ate. :-) I do remember it all looked good, and that whatever they were eating, they enjoyed.
View was beautiful. Wait staff were very nice, and service was timely the night we were there.
The one bad thing: We were told we would have a 35 minute wait...it was more like 45 minutes. To make it worse - they had their list easily viewable on the podium - it was quite easy to see that they had sat a party of 4 that came after us, before us. We finally got seated when I asked "how much longer is our wait" and looked down at the list. They apologized and seated us immediately. I can only *ass*u*me* that they seated some regulars before the out-of-towners. Maybe there's another reason... I'd like to think maybe we just didn't hear when they called us - but we were sitting 10 feet away, so doubt it. While I understand why you might want to favor the regulars, in a tourist town, might not be a good idea to alienate the visitors, especially when tools like http://yelp.com exist, with everyone sharing information. -
Review from Gabrielle S.
La Grange Park, IL
8/10/2009 1 Check-in Here
Sometimes Mermaid is 3 stars, sometimes it pushes it's way up to 4...
I love sitting outside here, in the summer on a hot, sunny day. I love the shrimp and lobster cakes because they are light and delicious. I am in love with the salads- Mango shrimp is my #1, ahi tuna over caesar #2. The shrimp and goat cheese pasta is also quite tasty.
Other things are just alright. Such as service....kinda depends on the night. And food options are the same- some are lacking- such as the fish tacos- nothing binded them together and they really needed some creme fraiche or guacomole or something- quite dry and bland. And the fries were meh.
But the good things are so good it makes it worth coming back for. And it is very family friendly. -
Review from Tim S.
New York, NY
8/30/2010
On the surface, the Mermaid looks like a decent place to dine. It is located on the water. However, this is about as much good as I can say about this place. The inside decor is downright depressing, so eating outside is the only real option.
Upon arrival, I was told by the bloated red headed sea hag, who was the hostess, that it would be at most a 10 minute wait for my table. I had a reservation mind you. 35 minutes later, my party was still not seated. When I approached the hostess to see what the problem was, she gave me attitude, and said, "You know...we just can't throw people out.". However, I did explain to her that a proper hostess has a better idea about how long a wait for a table would be. I also reminded her that I had a reservation. She simply rolled her eyes at me. To add insult to injury, she seated another table before us even though I was told that I was the next party to be seated. Again, I confronted her, and she said that I was mistaken. Wow.
We were finally seated, and our reward for our wait was a marginal dining experience. I cannot believe that we waited all that time for "Long John Silver" equivalent fish.
There are so many places to dine in Saugatuck. I sincerely recommend that you take a pass on this one. -
Review from Reuben H.
Bremen, IN
4/13/2011
Best restaurant visitted so far in area.
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Review from Johnny B.
Chicago, IL
3/29/2007
I don't know what the deal is with the map of Saugatuck, but this place is right downtown on the river, not in the middle of nowehere as shown.
We have gone here a couple times to sit outside right on the water for lunch and people watch, check out the boats, and enjoy the scenery. The food was fine, but that's not why you go here - it's the atmposphere and the water's-edge experience. -
Review from Jay K.
9/9/2010
Very average pub grub. 2 stars for the food 4 stars for the scenery. Excellent outdoor seating and views of the harbor. We had a burger and wings. The burger was cooked as ordered but where was the flavor? Wings had too much breading. Ice cold beer and good service after waiting for a few minutes when we first down, in fact the service was very good. Will go back for the cold beer, scenery and service, but not the food.
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Review from Edward W.
8/18/2010 1 Check-in Here
Excellent pulled pork sandwich. Great view right on the dock.
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Review from Andy T.
Burr Ridge, IL
4/19/2009
Food OK
Best thing location
Not child friendly !!
Our server (perhaps manager) was rude chosing to tell us to be quiet several times ,we had 4, 5 6 and 8 year old not behaving badly at all and we even took them all away for 30 mins while we waited for our table
The server / manager was clerarly playing to "regulars" at the bar who were complaining if the kids did anything at all
She could see we were doing our best to keep kids energy levels down and even chose to tell us again as we were leaving putting coats on !!!
I told her she was rude, unprofessional and playing to an audience and I returned the compliment of ensuring i told her very publically the same way she had done to us, which embarrassed her, go figure can give but can't take it.
We wont be going back -
Review from Erin J.
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY
8/3/2010
Really enjoyed our meal at The Mermaid, adult and kids menu are GREAT. Cocktails on the water were nice of course. After several times in Saugatuck it was the first time trying the Mermaid grill and we really enjoyed.Affordable pricing also.
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Review from Moe f.
Chicago, IL
6/23/2009
Ended up here even though it seemed very touristy. A few places we wanted to try(Murros) weren't open on Monday. The food and service were fine. Prices what you'd expect but nothing to make you want to come back. I had the walleye which was pretty typical. Wife had mahi fish tacos which were kind of wierd. They had great greens and mango but also cheese. Not sure what the chef was thinking there.
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Review from Ginya S.
Grand Rapids, MI
5/22/2010
Great atmosphere. Went here tonight for my birthday. Great service. I had the grilled salmon which is served with gnocchi, spinach, artichokes and red peppers. deeee-lish!! My boyfriend had the fish and chips which were also very tasty! It was Saturday night and we got there at 6:30 and there was no wait at all. Can't wait to go back!!!
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Review from Rusty S.
Chicago, IL
3/31/2007
I agree with the first reviewer - you wouldn't go here for the food. Or the prices. The service is fine, the location and outdoor seating are great! When you walk in the restaurant, it kind of looks/smells like a museum. Hmmm....adding to that, there's a HUGE portrait of the most famous woman in the world hanging in the men's room. Odd place for it, if you ask me.
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Review from Shawn T.
Clearwater, FL
6/26/2009
After bring deterred by a 45 minute wait on Saturday, we went back Sunday night. We were sat immediately on the patio. It was nice to sit outside but there is no view to admire. The service was a bit slow despite the restaurant not appearing too busy. The fish and chips and the portobello sandwich were both mediocre.
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Review from Elizabeth R.
Chicago, IL
7/6/2010
If you consider yourself a foodie - even a LITTLE bit, I would recommend going somewhere else for dinner. I give 2 stars because the service was decent, being that it was a Saturday night and we were a group of 7, and the view was perfect. However, the food is by no means fresh - all the fish comes in frozen. And I don't mean flash frozen, it's more like cheap grocery store style frozen. I had the Ahi Tuna entree- by far the most disgusting piece of tuna I have ever seen in my life. That poor tuna died for no reason :( I eat tuna ALL of the time, I love ahi tuna, like, a lot and I honestly have never seen it so poorly flavored, cooked and presented in my life. It was as though it came in frozen (duh), they thawed it out, seared it, froze it again, thawed it out and reheated it right before they brought it out to me. It was a disgrace, complete mush. I regretfully took one bite and exchanged it for the trout. I should have just skipped the reorder and had fries for dinner. Hopefully the chef sees this as a wake-up call.
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Review from Susan G.
Chicago, IL
8/31/2008
Pretty location right on the harbor makes this a good bet on a sunny day. Sit outside if weather permits. The food though is pretty boring and service can be slow.
