The Mermaid Inn

4.6

1419 Reviews

£26 to £40

British

Mermaid Street, Rye, East Sussex TN31 7EY

Make a reservation

2 people

Apr 25, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 9 times today

About this restaurant

Charming
Good for special occasions
Great for fine wines

Dine in the AA 2 Rosette Linen Fold Panelled Restaurant, where you can enjoy the ambience of the large restaurant, the cosiness of The Dr Syn Dining Room or the privacy of the Boardroom for your evening meal, lunch and breakfast.

Head Chef Drew King is focused on using quality, seasonal, local ingredients and cooking them perfectly. He has a broad range of experience having worked in Michelin Star restaurants. and is able to adapt to the requirements of the guest and the occasion.

Please note dogs are not allowed in the Restaurant. Bookings are for the Restaurant only. We do not reserve for The Bar and outside seating areas.

Additional information

Dining style
Fine Dining
Price
£26 to £40
Cuisines
British, French
Hours of operation
Mon–Fri, Sun 12:00 pm–12:30 am Daily 6:00 pm–9:00 pm Sat 12:00 pm–2:30 pm
Phone number
01797 223065
Website
http://www.mermaidinn.com/
Payment options
AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Smart Casual
Executive chef
Drew King
Private party facilities
We can offer a range of menus to suit the occasion.We can provide a personalised service to help you plan the food and wine to ensure we can create a memorable occasionWe offer private dining in our Board Room, or our Dr Syn Dining Room and for larger functions we can seat up to 90 guests in our Tudor Room.

Location
Mermaid Street, Rye, East Sussex TN31 7EY
Neighborhood
Rye
Parking details
Unfortunately we are unable to offer parking to our restaurant customers as our small car park is reserved for hotel guests. There are a number of alternative car parks locally, and reception will be happy to direct you to these.
Public transit
The Rye railway station and bus station are both a 5 minute walk to The Mermaid Inn.
Additional
Bar/Lounge, Beer, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Indoor Fireplace, Outdoor Smoking Area, Private Room, Vegan, Wine

Local Asparagus (V) (GF)
Poached Hen’s Egg, Canterbury Cobble, Truffle Emulsion
Seafood Risotto (GF) (C) (M)
Squid, Mussels, Smoked Salmon, Chorizo, Lime
Potted Brown Shrimp and Crab (GF) (C) (A) (N)
Cucumber, Iceberg, Hazelnuts, Bloody Mary Espuma
Crisp Ham Hock
Black Pudding, Gooseberry, Bacon Popcorn
Chilled Tomato Consommé (V/Vg) (GF/DF)
Mushroom Ketchup, Twineham Grange CheeseOlives, Basil, Courgette, Feta

Main Courses

Duo of Local Hogget (GF)
Charred Little Gem, Fondant Pink Fir, Minted Yoghurt
Steamed Rye Bay Sea Bass (GF/DF)
Gazpacho, Fennel Jam, Tapenade
Beetroot Gnocchi (V/Vg) (N)
Fondant Leeks, Nerominded Cheese, Walnuts, Leek Velouté
Local Cornfed Chicken
Poche-Grille Breast, Kiev of Leg, Spring Greens & Pancetta, Chestnut Mushroom
Sole Grenobloise
Caeser Salad, Brown Butter, Confit Lemon, Crisp Anchovies
Pithivier (V)
Sweet Potato, Harissa, Spinach, Roast Cauliflower, Caper & Raisin Dressing

Side Dishes

Sauteed Local Greens (GF)
Buttered Pink Fir Potatoes, Crispy Onions
Mermaid House Salad (Vg)

Desserts

Rhubarb Souffle (GF)
£3.50 Supplement Tahitian Vanilla Custard
Coconut Parfait
Glazed Banana, Papaya Salsa, Mango Sorbet
Chocolate
Burnt White Chocolate Cremeux, Milk Chocolate Delice, Bitter Chocolate Sorbet, Orange
Lemon and Meringue (A) (GF)
Lemon Curd, Lemon Sorbet, Verbena, Limoncello
Brighton Blue
Fig Jam, Sussex Honey, Ginger Biscuits
Choice of Home-made Ice Creams & Sorbet
Filter Coffee, Espresso, Cappuccino, Café Latte Tea or Infusions with Petit Fours£4.00
A discretionary 10% Service Charge is added for good service.

What 1,419 people are saying

The Mermaid Inn reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.6

4.6 based on recent ratings

4.5Food
4.7Service
4.6Ambience
4.4Value

Noise • Energetic

Loved For

East Sussex
Great for fine wines
East Sussex
Romantic
East Sussex
Good for special occasions
East Sussex
Most Booked

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews

The Mermaid Inn delights with "excellent food," "brilliant staff," and a "restaurant full of character." Guests rave about the "sublime food" and "world-class" service, making it a "real favourite." Set in a historic building, it offers "impeccable" service and a "perfect dining experience." Highly recommended for a memorable meal.

1,419 Reviews

H
Hwei Ming VIP
London5 reviews
4.0
Dined 3 days ago
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 4
Minimum 50 characters. Minimum 50 characters. Minimum 50 characters.
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M
Mark
Kent3 reviews
5.0
Dined 4 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
This is most definitely our favourite place to visit for dining, overnight stays and relaxing. Everything is perfect about the mermaid inn and the staff are fantastic and very friendly, the food is out of this world and the rooms are incredible, we love visiting and are always excited about our next visit. We can not recommend the mermaid enough
Is this helpful?
R
Richard
London8 reviews
1.0
Dined 5 days ago
1. Overall 1
2. Food 1
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 3
Bland and unseasoned. This reflects the Sunday lamb option which was bland, fatty, unseasoned and dull… only positive was the amazing focaccia and charcoal butter. This was a massive disappointment.
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L
Lynn
London2 reviews
5.0
Dined 6 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Treated my husband to dinner for his birthday. The food was delicious and we will be coming back in the future. The staff were attentive.
Is this helpful?
C
Christina
London11 reviews
5.0
Dined 6 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
This is a delightful hotel/restaurant in a well maintained mediaeval building. The food was excellent and very well presented. The staff are attentive, friendly and very efficient. We enjoyed ourselves hugely and will be returning to spend a weekend in the hotel and eat, again, in this excellent restaurant.
Is this helpful?
V
Vincent
East Sussex1 review
5.0
Dined 7 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Amazing focaccia and the Cullen skink was delightful
Is this helpful?
S
Sharon
East Sussex1 review
3.0
Dined on April 13, 2025
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 4
Great food in a lovely dining area. Staff very friendly and helpful.
Is this helpful?
A
Alasdair
Hampshire1 review
5.0
Dined on April 11, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Excellent food well cooked, brilliant staff and a restaurant full of character
Is this helpful?
D
Debbie
East Sussex3 reviews
5.0
Dined on April 6, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Lovely meal as always we will return again I’m sure
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D
Dawn
Kent5 reviews
3.0
Dined on April 5, 2025
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 4
In my opinion it's over rated, evening meal was ok , I had steak and was told the chef cooked it pink I asked for well done which was not accepted that well but surely the customer should have what they prefer. Would not return.
The Mermaid InnResponded on April 7, 2025
Thank you for your review. We would highlight that the Ribeye dish is cooked pink due to the nature of the cut and the style of applying heat to the meat. The analogy would be similar to asking for your steak tartare to be well done.
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FAQs

The Mermaid Inn is rated 4.6 stars by 1419 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Home
United Kingdom
East Sussex
Rye
Rye

Make a reservation

2 people

Apr 25, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 9 times today

Mermaid Street, Rye, East Sussex TN31 7EY

Additional information

Neighborhood
Rye
Hours of operation
Mon–Fri, Sun 12:00 pm–12:30 am Daily 6:00 pm–9:00 pm Sat 12:00 pm–2:30 pm
Price
£26 to £40
Cuisines
British, French
Dining style
Fine Dining
Dress code
Smart Casual
Parking details
Unfortunately we are unable to offer parking to our restaurant customers as our small car park is reserved for hotel guests. There are a number of alternative car parks locally, and reception will be happy to direct you to these.
Public transit
The Rye railway station and bus station are both a 5 minute walk to The Mermaid Inn.
Payment options
AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
Executive chef
Drew King
Additional
Bar/Lounge, Beer, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Indoor Fireplace, Outdoor Smoking Area, Private Room, Vegan, Wine

Website
http://www.mermaidinn.com/
Phone number
01797 223065
Private party facilities
We can offer a range of menus to suit the occasion.We can provide a personalised service to help you plan the food and wine to ensure we can create a memorable occasionWe offer private dining in our Board Room, or our Dr Syn Dining Room and for larger functions we can seat up to 90 guests in our Tudor Room.

The Mermaid Inn

Make a reservation

About this restaurant

Additional information

Menu

Dinner

Entrees

Local Asparagus (V) (GF)

Seafood Risotto (GF) (C) (M)

Potted Brown Shrimp and Crab (GF) (C) (A) (N)

Crisp Ham Hock

Chilled Tomato Consommé (V/Vg) (GF/DF)

Main Courses

Duo of Local Hogget (GF)

Steamed Rye Bay Sea Bass (GF/DF)

Beetroot Gnocchi (V/Vg) (N)

Local Cornfed Chicken

Sole Grenobloise

Pithivier (V)

Side Dishes

Sauteed Local Greens (GF)

Buttered Pink Fir Potatoes, Crispy Onions

Mermaid House Salad (Vg)

Desserts

Rhubarb Souffle (GF)

Coconut Parfait

Chocolate

Lemon and Meringue (A) (GF)

Brighton Blue

Choice of Home-made Ice Creams & Sorbet

Filter Coffee, Espresso, Cappuccino, Café Latte Tea or Infusions with Petit Fours£4.00

What 1,419 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Loved For

Review summary

FAQs

How is The Mermaid Inn restaurant rated?

Is The Mermaid Inn currently accepting reservations?

Make a reservation

Additional information