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Restaurateur Danny Abrams (the Red Cat, Smith's) opened his second Mermaid Inn on the Upper West Side in 2007, four years after his first New England-style fish shack concept docked in the East Village. Though there’s no backyard patio here like downtown, the spot still serves to a packed house come dinnertime, with a similar menu of unfussy seafood preparations served in a seaworthy space. Illustrations of fish and ships, as well as nautical maps, provide some thematic fodder, as do intriguing wall-mounted tea lights set behind magnifying glasses. For starters, the grand platter flaunts an eye-widening bounty of raw, ultra-fresh East and West Coast oysters and littleneck clams; cooked shrimp, mussels, and lobster knuckles, while an iceberg wedge drizzled with blue cheese dressing serves its retro purpose. The kitchen does best with simple preparations; Cooked mains like the monkfish topped with a pesto of pounded hazelnuts, garlic, grilled onions and chili is chewy, and the topping a bit too complicated. The lobster sandwich is the bestselling entrée for good reason: Luscious claw, knuckle and tail meat from Maine mixed with mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, chives and cayenne pepper comes loaded in a grilled, buttered brioche bun. It’s a well-executed classic, sided with crispy fries seasoned generously with that East Coast essential, Old Bay. — Michael Anstendig

Charred monkfish, $21; lobster sandwich, $24; grand platter, $55