Unforgettable cuisine!

Now open six months, Mermaid Restaurant seems to have the recipe for success. On the evening we dined, tables were filled, as was the reservation book. Guests greeted the owners by name and vice versa. Kudos could be heard from all sides, lauding the food, presentations, and the wide variety of wines.

We were quite familiar with Chef Sarac, having enjoyed his cooking at restaurants like Limone, Black Sea and Gemelli’s. Originally a pastry chef, he sends out amazing desserts as well. His two partners are Eddy, who hosts the front and has managed at Tampa’s Marriott and Manhattan’s Alaturka, and Say, the chef at the trio’s other restaurant — Istanbul in Sheep’s Head Bay.

Urban elegance describes the newly designed décor, accented by rich woods and cozy lighting. Well-stocked wine racks decorate the walls, each representing a region. Wines are $22 to $120 a bottle, and they run frequent specials. From the dinner menu, soups, salads and appetizers range from $3 to $13. Pastas are $15 to $21, entrees are $19 to $29, and desserts are $5 to $10.

Toasty bread arrived with olive oil perked with roasted garlic and home-cured Calamata olives. Cuisine is continental —mostly the essence of France and Italy with a twist of Mediterranean tossed in. Shepherd salad is a fine summer choice, a refreshing mix of cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, red onions and dill, tossed with vinaigrette. Another winner was octopus salad, with scrumptious char-grilled morsels that were as tender as could be. For a sensational twist, try legume crepes, which are stuffed with mango, avocado, white beans and provolone cheese, and topped with oyster mushroom demi-glace.

Chilean sea bass was of melt-in-your-mouth caliber. The generous filet topped a bed of sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes, and was finished with white wine lemon garlic caper sauce. Poulet chasseur, served with potato croquettes and bok choy, was a pan-seared chicken breast sprinkled with artichoke hearts, oyster mushrooms, fresh basil, and an extremely tasty red sauce. Prepared al dente, linguini con aragosta was lush with lobster meat, fresh asparagus and shiitake mushrooms, brought together with delicious basil lobster broth.