An Atlantan in New York: Searching For the City’s Best Lobster Roll, Part 1

The Mermaid Inn: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NY, NY, USA

I’ve always tried to find the best lobster roll in whatever city that I go to.  In Atlanta, it was The Lobster Lord, and in New York City, it was noted to be Luke’s Lobster.  However, each time that I went to Luke’s, and it was twice, I was never impressed with their lobster roll.  The size of my fist (which is pretty small), it didn’t seem like it was worth the $25 dollars that I would pay for.

There are two kinds of lobster rolls.  There is the kind from the North, consisting of Maine and the coastal parts of New Hampshire, and there is the kind from the South, mainly from Connecticut.  The “northern” lobster roll is served cold, with the meat tossed in mayo and served in a hot buttered bun.  The “southern” lobster roll is served with the meat warm and melted butter.  I like both kinds of lobster rolls.  On a hot day, I do like the “northern” version a little more.  But in the fall, I tend to prefer the “southern” lobster roll with that warm butter sauce soaking into the thick bread.

I asked around on social media for my friends’ opinions on what is the best lobster roll in New York, and The Mermaid Inn popped up.  After perusing online, I found that they did have a good happy hour with $1 oysters as well.  It seemed like the perfect combination to minimize the cost of a $30 lobster roll.  I took my mom here and here’s what we ordered:

• lobster roll entree
• seared fish tacos (happy hour)
• $1 oysters (happy hour)

Fish Tacos

PROS

• came out with the shell still crispy: this is good because it means it doesn’t sit out at the counter too long and is the closest to fresh that you can get.
• I actually prefer a crispy taco skin for fish tacos – it’s much easier to eat
• good quantity of fish: you can see in the photo that they put a nice piece of fried fish
• well balanced: greens and that slightly spicy aioli went really well together
• blackened tilapia but not burnt

CONS

• I want to say that it is slightly on the higher end for fried fish tacos but it’s pretty tasty.

$1 Oysters

PROS

• these were ridiculously sweet, not for those who like brine.
• $1 per oyster is a pretty sweet deal.  You can’t get any better for “one buck shuck”.

CONS

• slightly small and sometimes insignificant meat.

Lobster Roll: this is the southern version tossed in melted butter.

PROS

• fantastic meat quantity: the lobster meat was falling out of the roll
• not overly soaked with butter where the bread was soaked through
• bread was warm and nicely toasted on the outside

CONS

• none

I definitely will come here over Luke’s Lobster for their lobster roll.  For $5 more you get way more meat.  In addition, the server was nice enough to give us a small dessert each of a dark chocolate mousse.  We normally don’t eat sweets, but it was so good that my mom finished hers and mine!

In summary:

• lobster roll entree: **** (4 stars)
• seared fish tacos: ***.75 (3.75 stars)
• $1 oysters: ***.75 (3.75 stars)
• dark chocolate mousse, complimentary: ***.85 (3.85 stars)

You can find The Mermaid Inn in the upper west side at this area:

570 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024

Phone: (212) 674-5870

Happy hour is definitely worth it.  The atmosphere is great and there is fantastic outdoor seating if it’s not too hot.  I definitely want to come back once it starts to get a little cooler here in the city.  Thank you for your continued readership!

R/g

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30 Jul This entry was published on July 30, 2016 at 16:23. It’s filed under American, lobster roll, series, The Gastronome and tagged $1 oysters, fish tacos, lobster roll, New York City, New York City restaurants. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.