The Mermaid Bar & Grill

Day was beautiful! Sitting outside right on the Lake. Service was good (a little wait when ready for the check). My daughter and I had a light lunch, coconut shrimp… AMAZING! Went back that night for dinner but was 15 minutes late

Great setting on the dock. Mostly bar food type menu but a couple fish options. We had fish tacos which were great, not breaded. Also had buffalo chicken sandwich which was very subpar. Attentive staff.

Food: Mermaid burger is yummy! Portions were ok.
Service: good. We went for a late lunch so the restaurant wasn’t busy at all which was nice.
Nice lunch spot.

Consistently good food and service. A variety of fresh seafood and delicious sandwiches. You’re right on the water, sunny day it can’t be beat.

Mermaid Bar & Grill, you stole my heart. New Owners? (Purchased by new OBI owners May 2016). No problem! This foodie couple knows how to run a successful establishment.
Want to sit outside by the boats, but it’s chilly? No problem! They provide blankets (lots of colors, too!)
Picky eater with you? No problem! They serve Kraft Mac & Cheese! Just like you make it at home. Served in a white bowl.
Superb Prime Rib French Dip. Fantastic Veggie Burger. Excellent french fries. And, the ONION RINGS… You must get them! We had two orders, and they were gone in minutes. Want something different? Try the sweet potato fries. They were a hit with my family.
Perfect Location, Fantastic Service, Excellent Food. A Family Favorite!
If you want excellent seafood — This is the place! Try the mussels appetizer.

We recently moved to Saugatuck from Chicago and the Mermaid is one of the places we recently tried for the first time. I have to say we very much enjoyed our meals. We sat on the patio on a sunny (but chilly) spring evening and they provided blankets, which was a nice touch.
My husband and I both had the crunchy chicken salad and my sister had the club croissant. Our salads were huge and very good, my sister enjoyed her croissant. They served homemade ranch which was a plus. This is by no means a gourmet meal, but it’s tasty food at a decent price and definitely a couple notches above bar food that you might find elsewhere.
The only con is the cocktail selection. There’s nothing wrong with what they serve, it’s just not very inventive or over-​the-​top delicious. More options would be great. But as I said, nothing wrong with what they serve now.
Service was wonderful. Our server was attentive and very pleasant. Overall we had a great time and will return again soon!

We were pulled in this restaurant from the amazing smell outside. The witness we had was great and explained everything well. Two people in our group had the Mermaid Burger, they said it was very good and had a nice spice to it. I ordered the Prime Rib French Dip sandwich and it was amazing! The bread had a nice garlic butter on it that really set it off. The chips that came with the meal were really addicting. Very good restaurant, If we ever go to Saugatuck again we will defiently find this place again.

Great service and food! Lots of great people there Haven’t found a bad place in downtown Saugatuck.

We stopped in for lunch on a sunny Friday in September. There’s lots of seating indoors and outdoors, and we chose to sit inside. Service was prompt, and the food came out quickly. We had the coconut shrimp and the crispy chicken salad, both of which were good.

We stopped by today (11÷15÷15) and the sign on the door says «Closed for the season.»

We live south of Saugatuck and don’t dine in Saugatuck because it’s never been known for its great restaurants. It’s a tourist town and the restaurants cut a lot of corners trying to make a profit in a business that only does really well May-​September. A friend of mine from Grosse Pointe was doing research for his next book in the Saugatuck area and wanted to meet for lunch. I had no idea where to take him, even though I live 8 miles away, because we like Hercules, but they were only open for dinner this late in the year, and we like Pumpernickel’s, but the seating isn’t really comfortable to sit and catch up with an old friend I haven’t seen in a couple of years. Looked all over the internet, found The Mermaid. Hadn’t been here before.
When we arrived, the three of us stood by the entrance, waiting to be seated, but not sure if were were to seat ourselves because there was no sign. A waitress flew to the bar and my husband asked, «Do we just seat ourselves?» Without even looking at us, she just said, «I’ll be with you in a minute.» She came back a few minutes later and seated us. The view on the water was nice. There are no booths — only tables — and I prefer a booth, but I could get past that. Our waitress was very nice, though came for our food order really fast, before I’d even gotten to look at much of the menu.
I ordered the prime rib French dip, minus the garlic butter — have to say, it was delicious. I said to my friend and to my husband, «Mine’s really good! How’s yours?» Neither answered but each had a look on his face that answered the question. So I felt awful for choosing this restaurant. As we walked to our car, my husband turned to me and said, «That was seriously the worst sandwich I’ve ever eaten in my life.» He said the meat seemed like it was frozen meat that had been heated in a microwave, so it was heated unevenly with part of it still cold. I emailed my friend we’d taken there for lunch. He said something like never mind the restaurant, the company was good.
Food was very expensive for 3 sandwiches and soft drinks — I was shocked when our bill came.

Great view of the water, but the food is average and nothing that really sticks out among the other restaurants in the area.

As I should have expected in a small tourist town, this restaurant is nothing to write home about.
We were in town for a tame bachelorette party and I needed a place where I could make dinner reservations. From the photos on their website, The Mermaid looked quaint, cute, and like the food was delicious.
Upon arriving, I realized the place is QUAINT indeed. Like, really small! I had a reservation luckily so we were seated right away. That’s when the weirdness began. The waitress was nice enough but she couldn’t remember what had just been taken off of the drink and food menu. She kept having to run back and ask people. I’d understand if it was the beginning of the summer but it seemed like by now everyone in the place was sick of the tourists and gave up trying.
We all ordered drinks which were pretty freakin pricey for where we were. I paid $ 10 for a ‘berry-​licious’ martini that tasted like cough syrup mixed with berry vodka. Another girl in our party ordered the peach sangria which tasted like a mix from a bottle and was SO sugary she couldn’t drink it. Another got the strawberry shortcake martini which looked like a glass of milk and tasted like a boxed mix.
I ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich which seemed to be a formerly frozen, then fried buffalo chicken patty slapped onto a bun with a measly helping of cole slaw. Their sandwiches come with chips (fries are extra) which were definitely not homemade. While it tasted OK, I feel like it is such a missed opportunity. But I guess when the tourists are trapped, you can offer subpar food, drinks, and service and still make a killing.
On top of everything, the menu is so embarrassingly full of typos such as «New Zeeland» and «melom» that I actually wasn’t surprised that the food wasn’t great.
If you’re in Saugatuck for the weekend maybe just stay at your rental house and cook.

The waitress is ONLY reason this place gets 2 stars instead of 1. She was sweet. Everything else was bad. Read my other reviews and you’ll notice that I very rarely rate below 3.
We waited for an hour. No problem. It was a nice night and we expected to wait. We were seated at a nice table on the water. So far so good.
I asked about the veggie burger. Despite the flowery description on the menu, I was told that it was just a frozen patty. Red flag #1. I ordered the lobster and shrimp roll instead. My wife ordered the porterhouse.
Food shows up, wife asks for A1 and they bring Aldi brand steak sauce. I ask for ketchup and they bring a janky bottle that has clearly been refilled a zillion times. These are just condiments but are clearly an indication of the corner cutting that happens in the kitchen.
My shrimp and lobster roll was a dry bun filled with gummy shrimp, clearly thawed from a frozen bag, with no trace of lobster. Yuck.
My wife’s steak was cooked correctly (medium well) but the plate was a pool of blood. She lost her appetite after a couple bites.
This place is another waterfront over-​priced tourist scam. See also: Charleston Crab House in Charleston and Kingfish in Louisville. Save your money and eat elsewhere.

This place was good– enjoyed my french dip and a seat outside watching the boaters go by.

Our waitress was wonderfully nice, but the food was nothing special. Ordered the fish and chips and the portion was laughable for the cost — 3 thin fried fish sticks for $ 13.50. My husband’s shrimp and lobster roll was good but the roll could have been better — it lacked the butteriness if your typical lobster roll.
If we are ever in Saugatuck again we may give the Mermaid another shot but only after we hit other spots first, and I’d definitely try something else on the menu.

We dine here regularly. The menu is a nice fit for larger groups with something for everyone.
Like the vibe here, as it’s a great people watching spot for the too much sun too much booze crowd– a very midwestern theme in the summer.
Attentive service and have never waited for a table round out the big pluses.

We went here on the Fourth of July, and requested a seat on the patio. We had to wait about a half an hour but didn’t think that was so bad due to the fact is was a holiday. We waited on a bench overlooking the channel and the hostess came and found us when our table was ready!
Our waitress was incredible, she made sure our drinks were full and made excellent dinner recommendations! I personally like it when the staff is excited about the food, and our waitress was!
We had the cheese spread appetizer, which was so good! I would actually go just for this appetizer, it was that good! We all decided to eat from the sandwich menu for dinner, just because that is what sounded good, but there was a pasta dish a person at the table next to us ordered that smelled wonderful! We ordered the french dip, the mermaid burger and the lettuce wraps. They were all very good, the lettuce wraps were a little too sweet for my taste but they were still good. The french dip and the mermaid burger where both very good!
The best part was after dinner we were able to walk just a short distance to the park and watch the evening’s fireworks display!
Thanks to The Mermaid staff for being a part of making our holiday a wonderful evening!

Best calamari ever! We got a whole basket overflowing! We couldn’t even finish it all!!! The coconut shrimp was TO DIE FOR! Service was almost too fast! We are going back there this Wednesday for my birthday

This is a really nice bar and grill that has outdoor seating right on the water.
We decided to try this place when we just arrived in Saugatuck. It was fairly busy and It did take a bit for someone to greet us at the hostess station.
That was the only miss. We had some beers and appetizers on the water. They have a great beer selection. If you want a glass with your beer, be sure to ask for it.
We decided to get the buffalo wings. These were some of the better ones we had. Really meaty and great flavor.
I’d recommend this place. Really enjoyed it.