Surly Mermaid in Sidney BC (happyhour/restaurant review)

October 3, 2023 everybun

My go-to place to stop in for a quick drink in Sidney. Feels like I’ve been in close to a dozen times in the past 12 months, now. Mostly this summer.

View of the marina from the Mermaid patio

The initial hook was it’s the only place on the peninsula that has a peanut butter burger on the menu. (No one else I’ve eaten with has wanted to try it, but I’m crazy about it. Every cat their own rat, like the adage says.)

The staff is always cool, the food never gives me The Belly (Problems). The ambiance is usually good, better at happyhour than lunch for sure though. Not a bad happyhour, either. Very Big Beer for $5 🤑

The happyhour menu listing for lager, and the lager

Or…was it $6? Well, it is at 1:34pm. That’s still better than some places’ happyhour price. Love a house brand draft price 👌

Still, I don’t usually eat here because I’m not usually feeling this rich. $70 for lunch might as well be $100. Eesh!

One time in August my gf actually ordered a cocktail, because we were going to spend the afternoon at the Sidney public market. I was so excited to get her the drink as a novelty even though it was nearly $20 by itself.

Still kind of curious about the jelly donut but she went for the hurricane because she has expensive taste 🤌

I feel like I took the loveliest photos of her here with this drink, Goddess above really made the drink worth that price with the lighting:

Now that’s 1 lovely oddly-luminous tiki glass of booze next to 1 lovely oddly-luminous babely lady 😍

The way it matched her jade so perfectly 🥰

Gorgeous 🥰 simply gorgeous. I’m the happiest, luckiest idiot in the world. She’s my surly mermaid.

Ok ok, you probably came here for sexy pix of the food, hang on.

Peanut butter burg’ and fries on the patio in July

Cross-section on the PBB. Looks uninspired but the taste is there.

I got calamari the day she got the hurricane, damn fine squid. She got the fish and chips, looks boring to me but she says they do it well, she always gets it.

Peer into the tag end of the basket of squid. I like it best when it’s like this, lightly breaded and in strips.

Hot chicken sandwich, kind of Nashville style

I’m a sucker for these Southern USAmerican fried chicken sandos with the pickle. This one struck me as very bland and small-for-the-price, not as tender as I’d like either, kind of dry. Not a winner.