Mermaid Cafe

One word: Meh.
Came here on a beautiful summer day with my SO. We saw this place on Unilocal and figured we’d give it a try — beautiful day to sit on the upper deck and watch the water. The top deck was closed for some reason, really too bad, it was 70 degrees and sunny.
The inside was so noisy. Really odd experience… It was like «late night bar» loud for 9am breakfast. Couldn’t hold a conversation without yelling or a couple «what?“s.
Food was really nothing special. They had a limited menu for breakfast. Didn’t expect a «everything under the sun» diner menu, but did expect more. Prices were high for breakfast, but that’s due to the location. Which we didn’t even get to experience.
Overall, there’s a half dozen other places nearby I’d go for cheaper.

Breakfast is superb. The jonnycakes are to
die for. Service is fast and friendly, and the views are interesting, both from inside and from the rooftop.
The neighboring marina always provides a few mariners who are enjoying there time on the water, and the place always has a happy, joyous feel.

I was disappointed. The food wasn’t very good nor was the service. I ordered the fish and chips it was soggy and undercooked. My wife had the fish tacos. She didn’t like them, they were bland and the fish had a funny taste.

The food here is amazing. I’m gluten free so at times my choices are limited depending in the venue. Every time I have ordered a salad, I ate it like I was on a deserted island finding water. They are that good. The avocado salsa & chips are best around, even better than home.
The windows are wide & the café is spacious, love the French café music too. I have never tried the rooftop but I am planning on it for this summer in a nice evening (BYOB!).

We headed to the Mermaid with a gift certificate in hand and a comment that it was great for breakfast. The menu was very original with some selections like the codfish cakes Benedict. The location was nice on the water and the décor was bright and airy. Service was friendly… Execution was lacking…
I thought the cod fish cakes as part the special were kind of dry and lacking. My companion ordered the Johnny cakes with, grilled shrimp and hollandaise and it was a bit better but not exceptional.
I’ll be back to see if w just hit the Mermaid on a bad day but my first impression was ok… Not fabulous.

In a word: unimpressive.
We were here for breakfast. The menu was really narrow. Not that’s there’s a lot you can do with breakfast, but most places offer a bit more than they did.
The service was very slow. Took us over a half hour to get some simple French Toast.
And the biggest con is that it is LOUD.
No soundproofing at all and the place was full.
It was impossible to hold a conversation. I ended up with such a headache that by the time we got our food, we asked for it to go because I needed to get out of there.
Definitely not going to go back. There are much better places for breakfast around here. Really, I’d say any of them would be a better choice.

I have had the Mermaid Café a few times and each time I find myself less impressed. This last trip I had the Shrimp Dyana. I am always a fan of different type of Benedict’s and I was hoping this would be a great one. Sadly I was mistaken. You get 4 medium sized shrimp. Two poached eggs and two Johnny cakes. The hollandaise, shrimp and eggs were cooked to perfection. However, the Johnny cakes were dry and very grainy. It had absolutely no taste. When mixed together it over powered the shrimp, ect and tasted like nothing. The Johnny cakes were so heavy it felt like I had lead in my stomach for the remainder of the day.
I am always willing to go back. However I will skip breakfast and go for lunch. Although, the lunch is nothing to write home about. It definitely surpasses the breakfast.

The décor is very nice and service is very very good.
I have eaten breakfast here on several occasions. The hash is homemade and 1^st rate. They make their own brisket. So you don’t get the can crap.
The home fries could use some additional spice and more onion to enhance the flavors.
Normally I get my eggs poached and they get it right here, but you only get two eggs. Normally restaurants give three eggs when you order poached due to the loss. At least that’s is my experience. One recommendation would be to start serving three poached eggs and let the word spread. Business will increase for sure.
Overall, great service, good quality food, slightly over priced (refer to poached eggs comment).
We need to try dinner here soon, as it is BYOB.
Magoo

Breakfast is always amazing, and dinner is never less than really good. Last week I had the best flounder of my life there. Tonight the haddock was excellent, but I’m a good enough cook to recreate it at home.

Great fresh food and service. The owner is fabulous and works hard to please all her customers. Please support this great local establishment. Well worth the visit.

Excellent breakfast… creative, and fresh. Coffee comes from New Harvest Coffee Roasters in Pawtucket, RI, so it’s fresh, strong, excellent! Dinner: fish was fresh! Food and service, fresh and excellent!

The view is beautiful, but it’s not hard to find a good view in Westerly. Sadly, it *is* hard to find good food.
I was starving when I arrived so I ordered the chips and salsa. The chips were nothing special, probably from a bag. The salsa was just chopped pieces of tomatoes, onions, and seasoning. It didn’t have any «sauce» to it.
I had the shrimp and scallop risotto. The seafood was excellent as to be expected. The risotto was terrible. It tasted like a soup of buttery mush. It needed seasoning so badly.
My husband had the clam fritters and the fried clams. He said they were both good, not great.
We’re looking elsewhere for a nice meal out in the area.

Was a great place for dinner, BYOB…
We had fish and chips, omg was to die for! The fish was fresh, golden crisp, fresh and plentiful! Chips, fresh potato’s that we couldn’t stop eating. Service was prompt, friendly and very nice. Will go back again when I go to town.

The last time I was at the Mermaid Café I was wasted. I was buying everyone bottles of wine. We would laugh and toast to nothing and then smash our empty glass down on the ground. F*ck that was fun. We’d have a round for the freaks, the soldiers, my friends, and the bright red devil that kept me there in that tourist town for so long.
I use to go there a lot with this mean old Daddy named Carey. Is he still there? with his cane? I use to tell him that I was going to go to Amsterdam or Rome. That this was not my home. I was going to rent me a grand piano. That I missed the clean white linen and my fancy French cologne.
He would say to me, «who you kidding with these fare-​thee-​wells.» He was right at the time. I had filthy fingernails and beach tar on my feet (even though I would put on my fancy silver). Well Daddy, I wasn’t kidding no one, because I did leave. Every once in awhile I can’t fall asleep, so I sit in bed listening to the wind, and wish that I was at the Mermaid Café, under the Matalla Moon, listening to that scratchy rock n’ roll and having fun with all the locals.

Lucky me! I just moved across the street from this place.
I’ve only eaten here once, snuck in just before brunch was ending — and it was PACKED! I always take that as a good sign… you never want to be in a restaurant with only one guest. I hear amazing things about the dinner, so I’ll have to try it soon.
The absolute best part about this restaurant is the view, it is right next to the river with a rooftop deck. Gorgeous! The second best part was the omelets. Normally, I forgo omelets for brunch because of the sneaky pricing. I loved that Mermaid Café had one price for omelets. you could add just cheese… or you could add 800 ingredients. (Okay… maybe only 10 but still!) Unfortunately, the ingredients weren’t well mixed in my omelet so I had to mush it around on my plate but I was still pleased.
The also give you a muffin with breakfast in lieu of toast! I don’t eat bread… but this was an exciting treat to bring over to my father’s house.
Only downside… took forever to get water and coffee refills, but we did later learn that it was our server’s first day.
I’ll be back for dinner soon!

I usually go to the Cooked Goose and the Food at mermaid café was absolutely terrible I’m sorry to say. The fish tacos had no flavor and were already in my tortillas so it was all soaked. The weird thing is, i never saw fish tacos that were served the way it was, 2 pieces of fish, and that’s it. no guacamole, onions, tomatoes, maybe it was an off day? but i’d definitely not go back.

My family & I went to the Mermaid Café for dinner the other night & we were extremely satisfied.
We showed up for a 5:30 reservation a bit early & the hostess knew who we were since no one else was there at the time. Usually when a restaurant is empty it’s a bad sign but they are in an out of the way location & we’ve eaten there before so we weren’t alarmed.
I opted for the fish & chips and would recommend it. The fries were fresh & crisp but there were so many I couldn’t finish. And my fish was among the best I’ve had. I should mention that I don’t really like fish & chips but saw them recommended here in Unilocal!& gave them a shot. I was not disappointed & will order them on future trips.
My mother, who can be a tough critic, wouldn’t stop raving about her dinner & my wife was pretty happy with her burger. Our kids (age 2 & 13) got grilled cheese & chicken fingers. Neither were kids size portions & I’m not complaining.
Everything was freshly prepared & tasty. And the bread was phenomenal.
The only negatives are the BYOB & they only offer cans for soft drinks which can add up quickly.
I wish they were in a better location so they could do more business but for now they’re perfect where they are as long as they keep up the quality.

This restaurant is in walking distance from the Westerly Hospital – so I’ve been there several times – once for brunch, and twice for lunch. A few things:
1. Excellent coffee. The best in the area, hands down.
2. We had the eggs benedict with corn cakes. The johnny cakes are gluten-​free (+), but simultaneously wet and dry (-). Also, could have used a bit more hollandaise to tip the balance. I felt very healthy, though.
3. The fries are hand-​cut and great. Also GF.
4. The lobster salad is good – not too mayonnaise-​y and the lobster tasted fresh.
5. The turkey BLT was great. Fresh avocado, tomato, home-​cooked turkey breast, and well-​cooked bacon made the difference.
6. The interior is a little generic, but they have a nice roof deck looking over the river – opt for that.
7. The grilled fish tacos are kind of just okay. I had them without tortillas, because they only had flour tortillas, and the fist was a little wet. The slaw was good, though.
8. They actually serve breakfast all day on Sunday – their website is wrong.
Overall, pretty good food, great coffee, nice location.

I’m dropping a star because of inconsistency. I’ve been here twice since my last review. The first time, the food was great but the service was slow and looked kinda unkempt. The second the service was good but the food was kinda blah…(codfish cakes & rice) I did have a side of fries that were a bit spicy (maybe too much paprika) but delicious.
Today my mom told me of her experience there and she had bad food but good service too so… who’s to say what you’ll get?

Great place to have breakfast with a view of the river. Very clean.
Highly recommended.
I’ll be back when I’m in the area.