I was looking online recently for an out-of-town bistro, and out of curiosity decided to check the ratings of Vero restaurants on TripAdvisor.com.
The rankings of restaurants on the world’s largest travel website have sometimes been hard to figure, but Trip-Advisor has been getting more reliable of late. Its number one and number two restaurants for Vero are now longtime favorites that we have been giving top marks for years. No argument there.
The current number three for Vero on TripAdvisor, however, is a beachside restaurant that serves great breakfasts, but no dinner. Hmmm. Then in the fourth spot, out of Vero’s dozens of fine restaurants, is – the Kilted Mermaid?
I still think of this funky gastropub as not so much a restaurant as a craft beer and wine bar which also offers some light fare. But last Thursday, when we were trying to decide where to have a late meal, we wound up heading over to Old Dixie.
The café itself is a eclectic combination of low- and high-top tables, with wooden mermaids hanging from the ceiling and couches in a homey back room that are more suitable for sharing a brew and a cheese plate than eating something that requires silverware.
We chose a regular table toward the rear, and a very friendly server quickly brought us a couple of glasses of boutique wines.
I decided to try the evening’s special, the short rib poutine ($14), which our server highly recommended; my husband opted for the brown bag salmon ($18); and our companion went for the cheddar fondue ($13).
My poutine was a variation on the French-Canadian classic, in this case consisting of red potatoes roasted in duck fat, topped with BBQ short ribs, pepper-jack cheese, sour cream and chives. Delicious.
The fondue this evening – a trio of Irish, Wisconsin and English aged cheddars blended with Cigar City Madura Brown Ale and a touch of dry mustard – was good, but our companion said she had preferred the classic Swiss fondue which she had enjoyed at Kilted a week earlier.
The surprise of the night was the brown bag salmon – a beautiful salmon filet served with asparagus and red potatoes, all cooked in parchment paper with Vermont creamery butter, fresh dill and harissa. A wonderful dish.
While a hard-to-beat variety of craft beers and ales probably remains the main draw at Kilted, the menu selection has expanded over the years to include a half dozen fondues, a variety of flatbreads, a dozen or so small and medium plates, and full-sized entrées like duck breast and braised lamb shank. With food served at Kilted until 11 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and midnight Fridays and Saturdays, this is a place where you can get a good dinner later than at most spots.
On this most recent visit, we passed up all of the dessert fondues, but I still remember the dark chocolate rum raisin we had a few years back. This mix of dark chocolate, Young’s double chocolate stout, rum-soaked raisins, cinnamon and a touch of cayenne pepper was about as decadent as it gets.
As it happened, the evening of our visit, a Thursday, is the Kilted Mermaid’s Trivia Night. Turns out there is something going on (in addition to food and drink) most every night at the Kilted Mermaid. Some nights (generally weekends) feature live music, while we are told that Open Mic evenings (Wednesdays) also generally draw a crowd.
I don’t think I would agree that this is the fourth best restaurant in Vero, but you will certainly impress visiting children or grandchildren this winter by taking them to this café with a cool vibe that has good food and terrific beers.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at [email protected].
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
