Note: I only give 5* ratings to truly exceptional, best-in-class establishments. I am completing a review I started during our visit on May 18, 2025. Forget what you might know about your average Chili's. This location has fantastic food, great service (thanks, Crystal!), personable wait staff, and clean restrooms. Our visit was truly a perfect experience for a restaurant in this price point! Perhaps most surprising was the high quality of food and service, even though the restaurant was absolutely full and surprisingly busy because of multiple large parties celebrating high school graduations. My family and I were only passing through on a road trip. If we lived closer to this area, we would certainly return for regular visits. read more

I went to Chili's with a group of 10 colleagues, and unfortunately it was a really frustrating experience. We were originally told the wait would be about 45 minutes, which we understood. However, after waiting 1 hour and 15 minutes, we checked back in and asked whether we could split into smaller tables since there were multiple open tables for groups of 4. We explained that we were completely fine being treated as separate groups, having separate checks, and ordering independently. Even with that flexibility, we were told no because their policy does not allow large parties who arrive together to be seated separately. What made it especially disappointing was seeing open tables available while our group was still left waiting. We were trying to be accommodating and come up with a solution, but it did not seem like there was any willingness to work with us. We were a group of adults just hoping to enjoy dinner and drinks together after work, and instead we ended up leaving frustrated. I would recommend choosing another place if you are planning to meet with coworkers or come with a larger group. read more

I have been going to Chili's since they opened in Merced. Wednesday April 29, my wife and I went there for lunch and to our surprise there was an extremely large dog lying under a couples table, and no he was not a service dog. I love dogs, have 4 of them, but would not take them into an eating establishment. And the to top it off we were seated behind a couple with a child and a tablet playing a game at top volume. We ended up walking out. Shame, because I really enjoy Chili's food a lot. Only in Merced. Not sure when we will return if at all. read more

Always great food and great service. CRYSTAL is the sweetest...highly recommend eating here. Everytime we have come its been great.

We always have a good time at Chilis. We came in for the "3 for me" deal on a Tuesday at 2 p.m. there was a good amount of people, but definitely not a lunch rush. Our servers were very attentive and checked in on us throughout our meal. They also let me sub out the sides for the sirloin steak meal and take an iced tea to go. I ordered the steak "medium" and it was perfect! Easy to chew and very flavorful. There new mushrooms were yummy and very filling. The corn is a staple. The enchilada soup is too salty for me, but it was included so I can't complain. They have lots of fun drink options so I ordered a watermelon iced tea. It was sweet and the watermelon flavor was subtle. My partner ordered a burger, fries, and chips with salsa. Overall good food and good service. read more

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Hey Chili's.. Seeing you appear in Merced is like seeing an old high school classmate that you never really gotten close to or knew much at all, but you recognize the name and kind of remember their face... But hey hey, my real friends would laugh at me, but I've visited you more than I can count. You have become one of my go-tos.. why? Not that your food is spectacular (I mean, it's what you would expect from a Chili's).... and it's not even because Merced food scene is subpar... It's simply because... 1) Great option when you have a million kids. Cheap, simple, balanced kids meals make all the difference.... 2) Your "3 for Me" deals. Yes. In a day and age where food prices has gone up, when you have to give up your arm, your leg, and your least favorite child just to eat... this 3 for me deal is the best deal ever. A solid burger, a side AND a drink for like $10-$13? Can't beat it. 3) Free Unlimited Chips - Yes, on top of it all, if you have a chili's account, you generally can get free unlimited chips. Great way to keep the kids busy/happy while waiting for the meal. They are good chips too. Yes, I wouldn't come here for a special occasion, but if it's a weeknight and I need to lug my family of 54 somewhere, you are one of the easiest options there is... So until next time I need to find a place to feed my 423 kids... read more

Food taste/ quality is hit or miss. Depends on the time of day and day of the week and cook on duty

Great food! Even better deal! Chips were light and crispy, Big QP was meaty and delicious!

Meh. Don't order the boneless to-go unless you want microwave nuggets. Tenders and quesadillas were okay. read more

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Chilis has come to Merced and I gladly welcome a new place to grab some bites and drinks! Located in the Merced Mall plaza and with plenty of parking. They have a full bar with wine, spirits, and beer on tap. Happy Hour is 3-6 M-F and all day on the weekends! The lighting in this store is nice and bright! When my friend and I got here, the wait for a table was 45min. We got a seat at the bar and sat down right away because spots were available. Our server/bartender was Sylvia, who was helpful and attentive. We both ordered margaritas. Mine was the Presidente and my friend ordered the Straw-Eddy'Rita. So delicious! We ordered the Ultimate Cajun Pasta and split that between us. It was a pretty hearty portion so we were happy to split it, plus it was delicious! The menu is pretty typical of a Chili's but the staff were very helpful and kind! I'm looking forward to coming back! read more

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Wow! The portions have been decreased by half but still paying for the regular size. My chicken salad looked like a side salad and my husband side salad was the size of my fist. A group of 8 people that came in 15 minutes after our party of 6 received their order first. We had to wait another 10 minutes before we got ours. Another place NOT a to go. read more

I was hoping that after my last phone call to the manager last Doordash order, that they would stop sending out bad lettuce but ah, contraire. Third salad probably means we won't order again. Come on, people!! DON'T put the containers with cheese, guac and pico de gallo on their sides!!!! What a sickening mess. read more

Chili's - WHAT a MESS!! - Tex-Mex Near Me - Merced, California

This new location is beautiful from the outside, in the parking lot of the Merced Mall. Went in on a Sunday afternoon with my 10 year old granddaughter. Hostess asked if we wanted a kids menu, which we replied yes. She took us to a table and laid the kids menu down with a crayon. After she left, I realized there was no adult menu for me! I went to the hostess stand and retrieved a menu. Our server came pretty quickly and we ordered drinks and meals. Our drinks never came. Had to ask for them. Finally came. Asked for a straw. Never came. Intercepted her going to another table...my straw? Got our food. Can we get some BBQ sauce. Never came. Finally asked the manager for some. (Told him we have the worst server ever! - he was unphased! No Followup!) The chicken strips were over cooked and could not be easily bitten through. Fries were lukewarm and soggy. Sliders were ordered with meat well done. They made the buns well done and burned. Meat was rare! Server was very inattentive and absent minded! This place has bad mgmt and bad service. It was dirty inside. The new architecture makes the dining area shared with the bar in one large loud room. A 49er football game was on and the bar patrons were very loudly yelling at the game! This was our first AND last visit. It's amazing that Chilis spends millions of dollars building a beautiful new location and then pissing it away with zero caring/talent managers, cooks and servers! It's a common tale... read more

Chili's - The 'tough as nails' chicken crispers! - Tex-Mex Near Me - Merced, California

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#Justinmadeithappen. We didn't make it easy on him and the rest of the crew. 25 hungry college students requesting to sit together during rush hour, and Justin said "No fret, we got you." The food was muy delicioso, and had my friends and me closing our eyes as we bit into our juicy, aromatic, meaty burgers. We are not from the Merced area, but would highly recommend this place to any remotely hungry sojourner looking for an affordable, food-coma inducing meal! read more

Chili's - 3 for me with smash burger - Tex-Mex Near Me - Merced, California

Chilis is a real short drive from my job so I had to come visit when I got off. That 3 for me special is just a real hitter. You get an ice cold drink, appetizer, and entree. I sat at the bar and my serve was very attentive and provided good customer service. I enjoyed a fresh cola along with a salad and their limited time only smash burger. Let me start off by saying the salad was laughable. Very small and finished very quickly. Still it was good. The smash burger was pretty good as well. Had that crispy patty crunch and the fries were good as well. You know, it's not the absolute best, but it did alright. For $10.99 it's good. I like the chilis vibe, has a good feel to it. Parking out front is chill. You'll easily find a spot. read more

Service underrated and steak was majorly undercooked. When asked to bring it up to a med rare, steak was microwaved and brought back a minute later with one side of steak unseared. They need to take more pride in their food and hold their staff accountable. I was left with food poisoning...never plan on returning. read more

We waited a while before attempting to come here. And today we came to meet up with our friends for dinner. We were able to find parking right away and came inside. No one acknowledged our presence even if there were 2 employees in front of us within 5 ft. We stood there and waited about 3 minutes as they finished their conversation. And FINALLY an employee came up and told us to follow her to our table. These were the first words spoken to us. We told her that no one bothered to ask us how many were , our party (our friends were not there yet). She apologized and then asked us how many. After being seated our server introduced herself and kept calling us by "babe" or "hun". This continued throughout our dining experience. She took our drink orders. For the first attempt, our friends ordered watermelon lemonade and was given watermelon tea instead. We informed the server that we didnt order those, so our friends changed their order to get a "Frozen Sangria Rita" (2nd attempt), which they didn't have. My friend ended up ordering coconut margarita (3rd attempt)instead. For our entree, I got the 3 for me, which came with a drink (sprite), appetizer (chips and salsa), and entree (3 CT crisper). The chips and salsa were overly salty. We couldn't finish it and we didn't eat a lot of it. Then came my order. The fries that it came with were overly salty as well. And I got a ranch dressing even if I told the server clearly that I wanted BBQ. The chicken tenders were decent. My boyfriend ordered a Chili's Philly, which is pretty much a Philly cheesesteak. He said the sandwich was good, but his fries were also salty. We will not be back for sure. We do not want to die or have high blood pressure and other diseases if we continue coming here. Applebee's is so much better, in my opinion. Make sure you order water to dilute it down... Service is okay. Our server was nice, but calling us "babe" and "hun" was too much. It was like every other word, I think. read more

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We will try it again staff very nice.. Was surprised of how much beer and other beverages that they couldn't supply to us. The sliders bottom bun was soggy with raw bacon. Hopefully they will work the bugs out and be as good as Turlock! read more

I will never eat at the one here in Merced ever again the food was just nasty I ordered mozzarella sticks they were all melted together it was a mess got wings they were under cooked never again read more

Did the pickup to go for the first time and had to wait 25 minutes longer than the max pickup time ! I go inside when I get the text, standing in line with a person ahead of me this person gets their food and then steps off to the side and waiting for additional items while the counter person gets the condiments that they wanted and then walks away, not even asking me for my order and name. Comes back about three minutes later and says do you have a pick up? I said yeah! So I get my order I get home and I have no ranch that's on the ticket for the chicken fingers that I had ordered also, there is no silverware or utensils and there's no napkins so my first experience at pick up to go was not pleasant next time if I go there, I will open everything up on the counter and inspect it before I leave I would encourage everybody to do that because you can't trust stupidity! read more

We were unfortunately incorrectly charged for something we never ordered. The server was apologetic but the manager said it was our fault.

The bartender last night was on point!!!!! Great service and super patient. The person I was with was being a pain and she handled the situation like a champ. She definitely needs to be acknowledged read more

Myself and my husband came in with our 3 kids, we were sat, however I think there was a miscommunication between the greeter and whoever our server was supposed to be. We sat at our table for maybe 20 minutes before we were greeted, however it must of been divine intervention because when we were greeted finally it was by the manager, I don't remember his name unfortunately but he was the male manager with tattoos on both arms. He was so friendly and apologized for the wait and got our orders in and even watched him go behind the bar to make sure we got our drinks quickly. He was the saving grace for us. We offered to tip him and he said unfortunately but I cannot receive tips which we understood and made a joke about now we can get another margarita instead. however we will always come in from now on hoping we can see this Manager again! This was a bad starting experience that ended up amazing thanks to management. Thank you manager whose name I cannot remember! But you had great tattoos read more

Come here for the sliders and chicken dipper appetizer and cheap drink I always have a good time here the food never fails

Ain't no one serving this crap to me! Nasty cold costco fries. DO NOT order the 1/2 order of appetizer fries unless it's for your one year old, what a joke. I will not give this place another chance, and I do not recommend this restaurant. Our bill totaled up to $100 for food served in the portion of kid size meals. read more

Chili's - Hamburger - Tex-Mex Near Me - Merced, California

OMAR!!!! NEEDS TO BE PROMOTED! 10/10! Absolute unit of a server! If it weren't for him, the food would not have been great. Omar did everything as I requested it and Omar has been the best waiter I've ever had in my entire life. read more

Love to have lunch here .Place is clean and service is outstanding they are professional yet friendly.Food is always great the hamburgers are juicy and delicious.Salads are big and delicious love the soup .After a day of shopping is a good meal to go have read more

8/6/2023, via DoorDash, I ordered a dinner from their menu. The two orders of 1/2 ribs were acceptable, the asparagus crunchy, the tiny portion of sausages were ok, and the corn on the cob was tasty as well. Again, there is no better BBQ than Everette and Jones at their Oakland Pit or at their Berkeley Pit. Hands down !!! read more

Chili's - Half Rack of Ribs with corn on the cob, asparagus, and jalapeño sausage. - Tex-Mex Near Me - Merced, California

My husband and I loved the service at this location. It was pretty busy when we were there but they managed it well. The ratio between employees and customer was good. Their food is decent with sizable portion. read more

Worst service I have EVER RECEIVED. The manager is the rudest, I would definitely not recommend to dine in. The food took very long and wasn't cooked the best. They do not accommodate to any baby strollers in read more

Me and my wife went in for a lunch date and get her birthday dessert at 3pm on a Tuesday. The place was so empty so we expected relitively quick service. The host was friendly but seemed a bit out of it. He opened the door for us and sat us in a booth in the bar section. There was literally 2 people at the bar with a beer and one cocktail, there was 1 person sitting alone at a booth, both parties were already served and taken care of. We give people the benefit of the doubt because we work in the service industry so we know how it is sometimes when you're flustered. 5 minutes later, nobody still came to take our drink order. Okay fine, we'll see if the bartender is busy when she gets back we thought. 10 minutes later, she's still nowhere to be found. Finally 15 minutes later she comes and serves the 1 guest his food, okay she was busy I thought. But usually you should at the very least acknowledge the guests and let them know you will be right with them. Still being very patient we wait to ask for help when she gets back. Once she returns to the floor she fidgets a bit and then asks the 2 people at the bar if they want another drink. Keep in mind I'm staring the entire time making it obvious we need service. She'd glance our way, make eye contact for a second and ignore us still. Finally we'd seen her start fidgeting and what looked like looking for something to do. At that point we got up and walked to the host and asked to get seated in a different section because nobody has even acknowledged us since we sat down 15 minutes ago. Also we kept looking towards the host for help throughout this whole deal but he was at the front on his phone so he never once noticed we were ignored. Once we told him and he sat us in a different section then left to host stand at the front to be on his phone. and he didn't tell the server he sat us in her section so we were passed over again for another 10 minutes. The host should've told the server when he sat us and offered to take our drink order himself. But our experience actually ended very well, our server in that section made all whole ordeal worth the wait. I wish I could remember her name but she was the only saving grace of this experience. Otherwise horrible experience. If that's what it's like when is slow I don't want to know how it's like when is busy. read more

Got a half rack of baby back ribs which look like they came from a rabbit...and a steak which looked like a shoe leather. The food was so bad...we had to order Dominos to feel good about this world. read more

Chili's - Avocado covered steak.... - Tex-Mex Near Me - Merced, California

First time to have lunch- place was clean, had a friendly welcome:) Unfortunately, there were different servers bringing incorrect orders! I think they send too many different servers to drop off orders at your table -- so they get so confused!!!! Ribeye steak was good & tender! Hubby enjoyed it :) Chicken bacon & avocado sandwich was soggy but tasted okay- Chili was salty & too thick- it was disappointing. read more

We stopped eating at Chili's quite a while ago because it seemed like all the menu items were spicy and my family didn't like that. We went to try again just recently and was pleasantly surprised to find out this is not the case. The food took a while coming out, but we were in the bar area. The food was really good. I was unable to finish my meal because of bad indigestion issues that night. The terrific server must have thought we didn't like the food because we didn't stay long and took most of our food to go. He further gave us a discount. To that server, I hope you enjoyed the tip. We need more servers like you.. and rest assured i really enjoyed my food later. Rest assured, because of your attention to your customers we will be back. read more

Food,drinks and our waiter was amazing !! Stay in Merced !! Amazing cooks!! Great service!! read more

Chili's - Tex-Mex Near Me - Merced, California

Great food. Great service. The ambience is wonderful and the staff are very pleasant. When you enter you will be seated right away. The food comes quickly and the waiters are fast. Great place. read more

Great food and service, was nice the training was still ongoing. Welcome addition to town!! read more

WOW!!!! , real meat in a hamburger, real potatoes for French fry's. Order the smash burger and I was not Sorry, forget McDonald's, Burger King. They have nothing on this deal and when you go be hungry, you won't when your finished. This meal also comes with one side and yes boys and girls a drink that never gos dry, there waiters are top notch. Above top notch, be sure to leave them a tip, a big tip. They work hard to earn it and I have to say they deserve it, Now back to the food my favorite subject, I get a salad, blue cheese dressing and the have this killer strawberry lemonade, my god I can't get enough of that stuff. The whole meal is well worth the money and the time. if you like football, make a point to go when the game is on, T.V screens everywhere and the are all easy to watch at any location. read more

I love chilli's. They bring out your food very quickly and it tastes really good. If your looking for a place to eat definitely check it out. read more

I got the Philly steak with fries and I love that it had a lot of veggies more veggies than meat since I'm a veggie person so that was amazing !! Customer service was great we didn't even have to wait on new years ! Vanessa works there she is amazing !!! read more