Great local spot in downtown Merced. Place is super clean and the employees are really friendly. Coffee was very good. I went with a classic hazelnut latte with almond milks Will be visiting again read more

Coffee Bandits - Outside of business - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

Back again for a visit and had to stop in. Love the laid back vibes of this place. They have some really creative drink options. Unfortunately, this time around I had to keep it basic with an almond milk latte. I do love that they have multiple sugar free syrup options. I just did vanilla but they have about five other SF flavors to choose from. If you are in merced, this is a great independent shop to try. read more

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Really nice service staff and the drink I had was an espresso with heavy cream, really good. A nice place to hang out or come to do work, chill area. read more

I had a wonderful experience at this coffee shop! The staff was friendly, welcoming, and provided excellent customer service. My white chocolate macadamia nut coffee was delicious, and the shop was clean and inviting. Thank you for making my visit so enjoyable. read more

Such a cute and welcoming spot! The folks working were very quick to greet and take my order. They are very spacious to get your work done. I like that their menu included a sweet drinks list, made it suuuper easy to decide I got their hazelnut coffee which was delicious. I love that they also had a punch card for your coffee purchases. Would return :) read more

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Stopped in here for a quick bathroom break and caffeine boost on our way back home. The surrounding neighborhood is not the best, but this coffee shop has a cozy hipster vibe. There are plenty of tables here for sipping coffee and getting some work done. We tried their bagel, a cold brew, and their vegan pumpkin scone. The cold brew wad good and paired nicely with the pumpkin scone. I really enjoyed the scone and loved the sugar sprinkles on top. Honestly, I would have never guessed this was a vegan treat. The staff here is super friendly and they were hustling during our visit. They also offer great Coffee Bandit gear; shirts, mugs, etc. if I lived here this would be a regular coffee stop for me. read more

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What a cute little spot in downtown Merced! The coffees are really good, the food was yummy, and the vibes were awesome! We will definitely be back next time we are in town! read more

Coffee Bandits - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

Customer service is not great. As another reviewer said, workers seem to be annoyed that you're in there. My coffee order is usually basic and I'm not ordering lattes... usually just order an americano. The coffee is okay but maybe doesn't taste great because of the workers attitude idk. They need new employees or better training. read more

Great place, awesome coffee and fabulous employees! We visit every time we come to Merced!

My husband and I came here for coffee on a Saturday a few weeks ago. My husband got an iced cold brew. At the counter where they placed the finished drinks, they place milk or creamer, as well as simple syrup so that you can dress your drinks to your liking. I got an iced green tea with mango syrup. It was very sweet. I think the green tea was jasmine green, because the green tea flavor was more subtle. I prefer a stronger green tea flavor, especially when paired with a sweet mango syrup. The tea was freshly brewed, I just wish it was stronger. Otherwise this was a pretty basic "order at the counter, grab your drink from the counter" type shop. There was some indoor and outdoor seating available. The location is great, right on the main street in downtown Merced. read more

Coffee Bandits - Iced Green Tea with Mango Syrup - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

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I've been consistently going to coffee bandits since the beginning of college. Now that I've graduated nearly 4 years later, I can confidently say that their spicy breakfast bagel is still some of the best food items in Merced. Their coffee selection is amazing too! The interior is also wonderfully designed and it creates a great intimate space for studying or socializing. read more

Customer service was so bad today. like genuinely these employees looked so annoyed that I was even there. On top of that, the drink was just badly made. usually there's a lot of love put into these drinks but today made me not want to come back it's too bad. wasted $ read more

Absolutely love their coffee! Not overly sweet. Lavender is my favorite! The service is great and fast. Such a cute coffee shop that is not you're typical place. read more

My son and I Love Coffee Bandits the nice staff and the delicious coffee and hot cocoa !

If you look up "hipster cafe" in a dictionary, they'd probably give the address to Coffee Bandits. A staple of downtown Merced, this quaint cafe is an awesome place to chill, study, and enjoy some coffee. There's a piano there and sometimes a customer who can play well will sit at the piano and perform. There's plenty of seating and the whole vibe is very artistic. The drink menu here is simple and consistent, just what I need from a neighborhood cafe that's not Dutch Bros or Starbucks. There's also self-serve water. You also have the pub house next door if you're craving a beer. What I enjoy most about Coffee Bandits is that they serve as a hub for the community. They partner with various groups to serve as their meeting place, and there's a bulletin board close to the door and register where you can see various community events. Keep up the great work, Coffee Bandits! read more

A good, basic American coffee bar. Service was welcoming, and the best part of my experience. Ambiance is about what you would expect with a mix of students and downtown professionals. No surprises, really. read more

Coffee Bandits - Coffee bar - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

First off I'm a sucker for raccoons so when I walked in and saw the big raccoon on the floor my mood was instantly lifted. Me and my husband got the same thing, I wish I would have got something different just to try. We were just so tired driving down from Yosemite it was easy to just get two of the same things. We got the Ivory Nut. It was really smooth and not too sweet. Had a mild coffee flavor, it was good. Definitely want to stop in again when I'm in this area to try some different items. read more

Coffee Bandits - Ivory Nut and a cute Tote Bag - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

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his cafe serves the absolute BEST blended iced coffee I've ever had! Seriously, it was incredibly smooth and strong, not watery or icy like so many other places. It's in a league of its own! Beyond the amazing coffee, this Merced gem boasts fantastic customer service - super friendly and welcoming. The cafe itself is the perfect size with a great atmosphere - spacious enough to feel comfortable, but still cozy enough to enjoy your coffee and get some work done. Highly recommend! read more

First time trying the place out & had the worst customer service ever. the woman taking my order was rude & bothered to redo my coffee because she got my order wrong. Coffee was great but the food was not as great. They can improve on the communication skills & customer service. A smile on their face wouldn't hurt them . read more

We are in town for a karate thing after a long drive so we needed coffee. This place is super cute with plenty of seating. We ordered an iced vanilla latte, 2 black coffees, a cold brew and veggie hummus wrap. Everything was so good. The wrap has a nice crunch to it. We'd totally recommend it! read more

The small Cappuccino was bigger than I thought, it was so so good. I think the coffee here is top tier. Cool vibe and good place to get some work done or read read more

Coffee Bandits - Small Cappuccino - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

The iced mocha was very good. Strong espresso flavor instead of just sweet. The vegan blueberry scones were amazing. Will definitely be back when I'm in town. read more

If your tired of your mainstream coffee come down to Main street to Coffee Bandits, their coffee is roasted on the premises. They also offer alternative milks such as oat milk which goes nicely with either a coffee or Chai. There's plenty of seating as well if you wish to just hand out. read more

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i come to this coffee shop so frequently now, i absolutely love the espresso here ! im so picky and particular on my espresso and this is the best shop in merced for sure! i absolutely love how creamy and smooth the coffee is! i love the baristas they're so sweet and idk cool. i come here and do homework for hours, it's so quiet and seeing everyone in their study vibe. this is a real coffee shop, i'm so happy merced has coffee bandits! read more

Are you a proletariat seeking class consciousness? Do you and your comrades plan to overthrow the bourgeois? Not to worry, because Coffee Bandits has vegan blueberry scones, banana bread, raspberry streusel bars, and a hummus wrap to fuel you through it. Their default coffees are strong, meaning you can save your hard-earned cash not having to spend on that extra shot of espresso. You can also request that cup of Joe 'for here' to save the environment by switching to a ceramic cup. After all, if you're getting coffee here, we assume you already know about problems of collective action and the tragedy of the commons and you're here to do something about it. Right? Once it's time to take a seat, you're in. Listen to that playlist, damn. You couldn't have curated a more rebellious one yourself. Coffee got you moving? Be sure to read the bathroom door and thank the badass staff on your way out. read more

Coffee Bandits - Hummus wrap you won't want to share - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

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Excellent pick-up service and tasty drinks! Loved the vibe and location. It was easy to get to and find.

I gave their Oatmilk vanilla cinnamon iced latte a go and discovered that it was good with that hint of bitter that I'd expect from an espresso roast that is a 3.5 out of 5. A big upgrade from their mocha mint frappe so many years ago that was meh. The ambience is not customer focused and you don't really get the experience you would expect from a joint attempting to survive the pandemic and supply chain shortage. Which knocks down my 4 out 5 review down to a 3.5 out of 5 to match the espresso quality. At least they're consistent in that manner. read more

Coffee Bandits - Iced cinnamon vanilla oat milk Vanilla Latte. Delicious and clean espresso. Lightly bitter. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

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Very cute place!!! the person who took my order was really nice and looked super cool and the mocha was super super yummy i drank it all in under 10 minutes!! This place left me craving their coffee for the next week!!!! i recommend coming here very yummy coffee read more

This is a hippie dippie spot if there ever was one and I'm glad that I was able to come. I did get a mocha and the main problem is that it was way too sweet. I thought that it was made with hot chocolate powder, but there was a nice slurry at the bottom. So I filled it up with hotel coffee and went halfsies with it. I left to get something to eat, because they didn't have anything that I could eat. And would've returned, except that I had to go to an event and didn't have time to return after my meal. I liked the funky art on the wall, the church pew used for seating, and the person who greeted me was nice, but I don't know that I'd go out of my way to return. read more

I was in the area decided to stop by. This place is pretty big and they have outdoor seating. I ordered a caramel frappe. The guy who help me was really helpful. They also sell pastries. The coffee was pretty good . Overall I had a good experience and I would return. read more

Coffee Bandits - a hand holding a cup of iced coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

Such a great coffee place that we visited twice on our weekend trip passing by Merced to Yosemite. One of the best coffee shops by far and I have been to a lot of overpriced coffee shops in the SF Bay Area and greater Los Angeles area. The cofee is roasted in house and was so so high quality. We had the brown sugar espresso, the coconut caramel latte, and the mint latte. All drinks were fantastic and the food wasn't half bad either. Service was pretty quick and there were many people studying and doing work inside of the shop. What was meant to be a quick coffee run ended up being a whold lounge experience because we loved the vibe in there and ended up staying for nearly an hour. read more

Coffee Bandits - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

For the price it's not worth it. The coffee isn't bad but isn't great either, their are better spots in town. The chicken salad sandwhich is really good and that's what I give the 3 stars. The vibe of the place is cool, definitely has a college town vibe which is cool, the mismatched art work and tables add to it...but they may want to do a once over and clean the place, looks a little dusty. Service is ok, nothing special. Goes with the college vibe, it's not their career so they are just doing the job which is fine. read more

Great coffee! Highly recommend the hazelnut drink! Great study space as well and amazing customer service read more

Great coffee and a very calm vibe. The service was meh. It's not a deal breaker obviously, but I do appreciate good customer service and that wasn't apparent here. No one said hi, I'll be right with you, or anything. When someone finally came up to take my order, it was straight to what can I get for you and then when I said thank you when grabbing the drink.. silence. Maybe I'm just outgoing but it was a pretty awkward and uncomfortable experience. At least the coffee is amazing! read more

Must visit coffee shop in Merced. We wanted some coffee on our way to Yosemite, this place is great!! Coffee tastes fresh, clean and has the right texture. The host/owner was very kind. They have multiple milk options - which is great! We got cappuccino, they also have several teas. You will definitely like it. read more

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Man, it's not that hard to make a decent espresso. I am assuming they are not paying attention to what beans they are using. The coffee is extremely bitter and has a taste of being over roasted. Quite frankly, unfortunately this is simply not good coffee. read more

Earthy, comfy place. Lots of seating with the ability to study or work. Large former church pews line the walls to allow just the amount of space you need/want. Service is very friendly. There were several milk alternatives, including coconut milk. For once I had something other than coffee at a coffee shop - I went with the hot cider and it was amazing. Not just cider that had been warmed, but with frothed cider on top and delicate spices that said "it's fall!" (that was short lived because it was 96 degrees when we went back outside - September, you are so cruel!) My daughter had the matcha latte with coconut milk and was very pleased with her choice. read more

Coffee Bandits - Cider in foreground, coconut milk matcha latte in background. Both awesome. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

Drink was delicious for a good price, comparatively. The clerk was friendly and my drink was made pretty quick! The parking availability sucks, not that they have control of that. But I enjoyed my drink and would definitely go back! read more

3/5 for coffee, 4.5/5 for atmosphere. The good: Cozy space, lots of local art, board games, musical instruments. Signage and flyers indicate a tight connection with the artsy/progressive community. Good wifi. Friendly barista. Enjoyably campy music. Seems like a good spot to work or hang out with friends. Decent tea selection. The meh: Latte was drinkable but more like a weak Starbucks latte than an "espresso geek" drink. Food options limited. I'll try ASIP next time for my snooty espresso experience, but this was a pleasant spot to read some newly acquired used books on a lazy afternoon. read more

Coffee Bandits - Some Yelp pics show nice microfoam here but it's not a consistent feature of their espresso drinks. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Merced, California

I walked in with my cat and the man with the long hair just starred with a dirty face just because I asked for a minute to order. Didnt greet us or anything. As soon as we got our drinks they just left them there waiting without calling it out. Even the girl their like do better coffee bandit. read more