Mermaids Seafood & Oyster Bar - Cottondale (FL)

5 /5 Jill Firse: THIS is what a great roadside cafe/oyster bar/etc. should be. Let’s start with fast, friendly service & great at making 1/2 & 1/2 sweet tea!!! Next, let’s talk menu. Pretty much what you’d expect in the Panhandle based on the name alone. Then your food arrives. Hot & fresh & as specified. Our party had the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake app. See pic. I’m very finicky-side note. This crab cake was perfectly seasoned, enough breading to give good crunch & to hold it together. Great paired with remoulade which is a horseradish based sauce. The grilled Mahi tacos (no onions) were so good I stuffed myself. If you are near Cottondale, FL. I HIGHLY recommend this place goes on your must stop list.

3 /5 kim thomason: We stopped in for a late lunch after traveling from Panama City to Tallahassee and back. I was starving and my husband was slightly hungry. We ordered the gator bite appetizer and then also ordered the fried pickles after the waitress said it would be a bit on our other food and the make their own breeding for pickles. We also ordered a couple beer. The atmosphere and service were awesome. Waitress told my husband that the smoked tuna dip with pickles, jalapeños ad crackers was good so he ordered that. I had already previewed the menu coming back from tallahassee and was excited about the Mahi tacos so ordered that. Sll food was excellent except that mine was not Mahi but chicken. I was so hungry I scared the first of 3 down quickly telling my husband this doesnt taste like Mahi and gave him a piece to which he said "well blackened taste different" I took 2 more bites of second taco, then opened and looked and was like thats chicken to myself. My husband saw me not eating and thought I was done and ate rest of 2nd taco. Me not being a complainer just asked for a to go box and had planned to take pic of said chicken taco when we got home but said husband thought I was done and gave it to dogs. Anyhoo.....done advertise Mahi and then use chicken. And BTW I know my fish born and raised in keys and florida my whole life and my favorite is grouper, Mahi and halibut from AK

5 /5 Melisa Childs: I am not sure how I have missed this place when I traveled to Panama City Beach! This has to be the locals little secret! It is literally right off the road and not out of the way. The interior is fun and Cheryl that works there is so friendly and made us feel like family immediately. The food is well priced. There is a little hut style bar inside. I had the Shrimp and Grits and was stuffed!! My meal was under $13!! Stop here if youre traveling to or from the beach.

2 /5 Emily Kathryn McCann: This might be a hopping evening place, but lunch time is a little bare. We ordered several things expecting hot, delicious, fresh food. This is not what we received. Oyster Rockefeller: literally watched the lady cook them in the microwave behind the bar. No gloves. Too salty to even eat. Pre cooked bacon crumbles out of a bag. (Should have known then to cancel our order and head out) Gumbo: cold, little flavor. Reminded me of Campbell soups canned gumbo. No seafood in sight. Just sausage that tasted like it had been microwaved. Shrimp tacos: (its what we ordered, but received the fish tacos). Unimpressive. Shrimp n grits: again- cold. Shrimp was warm and had good flavor but the grits reminded me of something out of a microwave packet. They were cold and lumpy with clumps of cream cheese. 60 dollars worth of food and you can see in the photo all the food that we just couldnt bare to eat and ended up leaving behind. Heading to the next town in search of food that is edible. The previous reviews are great, so maybe we caught them on a bad day. But microwaved oyster Rockefeller... man, thats ROUGH.

5 /5 Kristy Holmes: The food is AWESOME! The atmosphere makes you feel right at home. The owner is very nice. Its our second time here and we have been telling people about this place. If you like SHRIMP & GRITS boy oh boy your in for a treat. They are AMAZING. We will continue to come back over and over.