Strings Italian Cafe Merced
| Address: | 731 E Yosemite Ave, Merced, CA 95340, USA |
| Phone: | +1 209-383-9777 |
| Site: | stringsitaliancafemerced.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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A Private User
My wife and I went to Strings in Merced, CA for a nice dinner for two as tonight was the kid’s night to stay with the grandparents. This is the third time we have had dinner at Strings and was by far the worst experience weve had. I could easily exceed the 5,000 character limit for this review so Ill do my best to summarize. We arrived at 6:30 and were seated fairly quickly. The complimentary bread arrived at the same time as the soups and salads, not before. The soup tasted like it was cooked in used dish cleaning water. Salt and pepper couldnt come close to helping. Our dinner items, which were in the $15.00 range each, contains small portions sizes. Last year the portions were much larger. I left the restaurant still a bit hungry. My wifes dinner, the meat lasagna and meat tortellini combo contained barely enough meat to fill a shot glass. Frozen pizza rolls from the grocery store have more meat in them. When we asked if she had received the right meal, the waitress came back with a menu and asked if we had ordered wrong. The manager comes by the table twenty minutes later to address the issue, makes no apologies, tells us that all the food is pre-packaged "as is" at a central kitchen, and offers to throw in a free side order. Our waitress disappears in action after this and the one time she comes back to the table, she has a very poor attitude. We finish the meal at 7:40 PM. I had to flag down a drink server to request our waitress bring the check. Ten minutes later, I try to flag down another waitress who actually turns her head away as she walks on by. We then get up and walk to the hostess desk at the door. Two servers/waiters come by and ask if we would like to be seated. We have to tell them that we just want to pay the check and leave. The Eagles song "Hotel California is playing in my head at this point. Five more minutes pass and our prodigal waitress shows up with the check. She actual has the nerve to say "You werent supposed to move because the manager wanted me to offer you a free desert". We decline the offer and wait five more minutes before I have a receipt to sign. If I could have written in a negative tip amount, I would have. Through all of this, I see the manager talking on the phone and not paying any attention to the restaurant. There was also around ten to twelve people waiting for a table with at least three tables/booths open for nearly a half hour. If you are looking to for a nice dinner for two, there is a "Wing Stop" right next to Strings that offers better quality at a better price, and much better service.
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David Thomas
Took my wife to Strings on the recommendation of a co-worker......MISTAKE!! I ordered the " Lasagna Pastry" which is suppose to be "lasagna baked inside an onion garlic pastry shell served with meat sauce and alfredo sauce" which really was lasagna noodles, pizza sausage, and black olives, wrapped in pizza dough and baked like a calzone.....YUCK! and it was $15.50. My wife ordered the " Tortellini Alla Panna" which was supposed to be "meat tortellini with cream, garlic, mushrooms, italian cheeses, smoked ham and marsala wine" which was really tortellini with a runny white sauce with little bits of pizza ham floating in it (there may have been a piece of pizza mushroom in there). The "Seafood Bisque" was INEDIBLE -- it was pizza sauce thinned with fish/seafood stock with a splash of milk. Needless to say our $50 meal left us nauseated.
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Wendynoel Smith
The food here is quite good! My daughter and I went in 3 years ago and the manager was our server. What an experience, he was attentive, knowledgeable, kind, inquisitive. As we had just make bed here from 3000 miles away, he was able to answer lots of questions we had about local businesses. The food is plentiful, my plate could have fed 2-3 adults, easily. Prices are right on par with the quantity and quality of the food. Weve been back many times over the last 3 years, and had never been lucky enough to run into this gentleman. Well, a couple of months ago, he spotted is eating one night and came over to greet us. He remembered our first meeting as clearly as I do and was just as curious and attentive as he had been before. Strings is a great experience for anyone looking for a good meal, nice ambience, and gracious service!
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A Private User
There is nothing really "Italian" about this place other than they are trying to have a similar menu as that of Olive Garden. I had dinner here twice and both times walking away feeling a bit cheated. The quality of the food did not live up to the high prices. The ambient was decent but nothing exceptional. Strings Italian Cafe has virtually no competition in town, with Olive Garden being an hour away! But for now, its a place where the "up-scale" folks in town go to for their night-out. In fact, UC Merced often take their faculty candidates to this joint because there isnt a better restaurant in town. How pathetic! Living in Merced one has to accept a severe limitation of quality restaurants. And Strings Italian isnt really a "quality" restaurant but for now, it is it!
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Elizabeth Lippincott
I was never a big fan of this place, but went there recently, because I had a gift card. I put in an order to-go and showed up about 10 mins early than my pick up time (put the order in an hour in advance). They told me that the order was not ready, which was fine, and I didnt mind waiting. 15 mins...20 mins...30 mins....40 mins went by and finally my order was done (a half an hour late!) The owner came out and gave me a disgusted look, and told me that I rushed them and thats why my order was late and I should have came at the time they told me. I was confused, because they were a half an hour late than my "scheduled" pick up time. Food was not that great either and way over-priced. Taste of Little India will forever be my favorite restaurant in Merced.
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A Private User
Strings cafe is not just a place were my family and I go eat, its like at home the moment we step into the restaurant. Its elegance and great variety in food makes this place our # 1 stop either it being for lunch or dinner.. want to thank Cesar & Sam for always making us feel like at home the attention they provide and the excellent service. We ate their today for lunch and as always the Salad is superb great fresh taste I dont get anywhere els. One of the best artichoke dip can only he found here at strings.. great taste and the toasted cheese bread gives it its right touch. If your looking to get your moneys worth try their Spinach Pepperoni Alfredo its the perfect dish that just hits that spot... if ur looking to eat Italian this should be ur #1 stop.
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Wanda Ramos
The waiter kept leaving our dishes on the table that werent being used. Had to stack them on the seat to have enough room to eat our dinner. One of our order was cold. We were a party of five. The prices do not equate with the service and ambience. This is my second time there and I wasnt impressed the first time, so I decided to try again but this time it was worse. We went on Valentines Day and certain ladys were receiving carnations and some were not. What was up with that. Every woman in the restaurant should have received a carnation or you shouldnt have given them out at all. I will never go back again.
