My husband I am decided to go to Five Ten Bistro and the After 5 Sidebar last night. We had been to the bar once before shortly after they opened, so we thought to try the dinner. The feeling of the place is nice, not too bright, pretty fixtures, beautiful concrete floors, and quality furniture. We were seated WAY in the back corner, which was fine with us, until the service began. Unfortunately there was nothing redeeming about the service. The waitress was very nice and well dressed, but not trained AT ALL. Nothing we had was right. Beer was wrong, we had to remind the waitress about everything, we never got our appetizer after asking about 4 times, and waited about an hour for our steaks. My husband did get a filet mignon instead of the flat iron steak (which in the end wasn't a bad thing) but it was still not what he ordered. The group at the table next to us almost left before their tab came because they had to go to a show and they just couldn't get their bill. The poor watiress was constantly making excuses for her kitchen and bar staff and was clearly flustered. So with all of that...when we did get our food, it was amazing. Very tasty, well cooked, and warm. The house wine was very good too. On the bar side...I would love to say it is nice...but just can't. WAY too bright. Not enough seating, no pictures on the wall, and I truly almost fell over on the crazy wobbly bar stools. The manager was not receptive to my suggestion of lowering the lights. The first time I was there, I said the same thing, with the same kind of response. We saw about 20 people in a short period of time come in, look around for somewhere to sit, and walk out. The white couches, nice bar materials of concrete, lighting,is classy, but the couches in the back are facing each other, not making it comfortale to sit there unless you are with a huge group. It is really too bad, because the restaurant brought alot of people in from that entrance. There was LOTS of open wasted space. We really need nice places to go in Merced, so I truely hope the owner reads these reviews. I am a forgiving patron and want to go back. Please get it together. read more

Came on a night where business was slow, but I did take 20 minutes to get our drinks in. Waited another 10 to get water. Then ordered our food and sat for a long time. Throughout the whole hour and a half we were only helped twice. Never coming back again. read more

Went here for Valentine's day with my husband. We had plans to catch a movie right after dinner so we opted to share their Filet mignon and lobster entree along with a bowl of lobster bisque and some fried pickles as an appetizer. We each had two glasses of wine and ordered the heath bar brownie sunday which the waitress said had ice cream but we didn't want to make a fuss, so that was sort of disappointing. Overall the food was good, I wished the beer battered fried pickles had been pickle chips instead of spears (personal preference) and if they would have included an additional or alternative dipping sauce rather than blue cheese (my husband hates cheese of any kind) it would have been perfect. They had a live band playing romantic music outside which was a nice touch. The price of the entree was rather high for the serving size but everything tasted great and we left satisfied. This place is definitely a "special occasion" place. read more

2 stars is generous and is mainly for the location and the fact that our server tried his hardest with what little he had to work with. As far as everything else, I am at a loss as to how this place is still in business and how it has managed to bomb what should be a great local go-to spot. We had a party of 6 and the food came out staggered in 5 minute or so gaps. I will excuse this as there appeared to be only one server working for the entire restaurant and he was trying his best. The flavor of the food is ok but overly salty, or in the case of anything you order with Sriracha it has way too much of that also. I ordered my flank steak medium and it came out raw...not even rare RAW. We were apparently given the wrong children menu so what my kids ordered is not what they got. My husbands chicken was dry and over cooked and you couldn't taste anything through the salt. Nobody ended up finishing their meal. Finally, we were offered one free dessert for my daughter who got the wrong meal and then had to wait for her new one to come so we decided to also order coffee for ourselves to try to salvage the evening...unfortunately we also ordered cream which came out the consistency and smell of buttermilk. We tried this restaurant once when it first opened and were not impressed enough to rush back until now. After this experience it's safe to say a future visit isn't looking likely unless they make some serious management and training adjustments. read more

Went to dinner with my wife and friends. Placed our order in an almost empty dining room. Took 15-20 minutes just to get our drinks. Ordered our food and all of our food tasted like shit. I ordered a burger that cost 20 bucks. Ordered it medium well. It came burnt. The bottom was rock solid and the whole thing tasted like shit. My wife ordered penne pasta and it tasted like shit. Our company ordered shrimp pasta and it tasted bland and shitty. I'll never go there again nor will I recommend it to my friends. read more

A HAPPY ACCIDENT! My husband and I stopped for dinner on our way to Yosemite. We were originally looking for a pizza place, but it had just closed for the night. Luckily, we saw this place. The service was great and the food was even better. I had the bacon-wrapped filet mignon, and he had a burger. Not just any burger...it had fried pickles and an egg on top. It was huge, fabulous and filling. What a great experience. Do yourself a favor and check it out! read more

Wow I've been living in Merced for 13 years and I've never been here and this place is amazing 10$ bottem less mimosas that's amazing sally was a great waitress . read more

We just enjoyed a good dinner and, EXCEPTIONAL music by Los Bohemios--a nice unexpected surprise!!!

I've been looking for grandma's tomato soup recipe. All I have to go by is childhood memories and this place has the best tomato-basil I have had since. I look forward to going back. read more

Gave this place another try as they are one of the few restaurants here in Merced with al fresco dining. Hubby had the chicken cordon bleu. Never again. It was so overcooked the color was a burnt brown and it was hard. They are not consistent with their cooking. I wish Merced had more options for dining. read more

Horrible over priced food, went there for brunch and ordered an over priced salad that came out brown and old. Would not recommend this place. They need to up their game in better food and better prices read more

Went in for a grilled cheese sandwich with my friends and they tried to charge us 12 dollars for a grilled cheese sandwich when we had previously been to this location and they charged us 6 dollars for the grilled cheese sandwich which is still an outrageous price for a grilled cheese. When I asked to speak to the manager the waitress said that the manager had stepped out and wouldn't be able to speak to us for at least 30 minutes which meant that all of a sudden she was the "manager" so we told her that we wanted to speak to the owner. When I Spoke to the owner of this location and he was extremely rude not wanting to reduce the price to what we usually pay for the grilled cheese and told us if we couldn't afford to eat there then we should go somewhere else ! That was very unprofessional and In fact I will never eat or recommend this location to anyone else ever again. If I was able to put zero stars I would, because I had never been disrespected like this every before. I would have had no problem paying the 12 dollars for the grilled cheese if that was the price it had on the menu and if I had not paid 6 dollars for it before. The fact that I went in and recommended this location to my friends and went through this situation is truly embarrassing to me and disappointing because I was the one that told them about the location being good but now after this situation NEVER AGAIN WILL I GO TO THIS LOCATION AGAIN OR RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE ! read more

This is the best kept secret in Merced. I live out of town and work here during the week. The service and food is great! The beer selection has to be the best in town. The bartender G'ne is always smiling and happy to help you decide what beer to select. Great place to come and wind down after a hard day at work! read more

About a wk ago, I went to try out Five-ten-bistro and I fell in love with everything there. The atmosphere was relaxing, food was great but the best part is what I paid. I used a coupon that gave me 50% off entre and I got the 2nd one free! We even stayed around for drinks! I will return there using the coupon I found in the coupon book! read more

I don't normally write reviews, but I wanted to share my positive experience with others about Five Ten Bistro. The place is very modern and nice looking. The staff was very welcoming and energetic. Our server Lea was awesome and very knowledgeable about the menu as well as the cocktail menu and wines. She suggested a great pinot noir to pair with the flat iron steak with gorgonzola cream sauce that I ordered. The steak was cooked perfectly. My husband had the salmon which was also quite delicious. Overall, the experience we had was wonderful. Great food and great service. If you haven't tried this place you definitely should. We can't wait to go back! read more

Place is beautiful! The ladies and I dined outside by the fountain. Our waitress was fantastic and everyone in the group finished their meals. It's definitely worth the price! read more

I ordered the Coffee Crusted Ribeye and when my food arrived I though I would take some home for breakfast. However I could not stop eating and cleaned my plate. I will definitely go back read more

Hmmmm where do I start. The food is amazing. I have my favorites but I like to try new things as well. The atmosphere is terrific. You really have to go and try it out for yourself. read more

Nice place. Food is good. Not great but very good for a small town off hwy 99. nice atmosphere. Good service

Five Ten Bistro is with no doubt the gem of downtown Merced. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was elegant, the ambiance was perfectly set, and the server, LEAH, was the highlight of our experience. She went above and beyond to make our experience one of a kind. She was knowledgeable about both the food and drink menus, made recommendations which were thoroughly enjoyed and her wittiness was the cherry on top of the five ten bistro-cake. We will most definitely be back for our next date night or family get together! read more

Mother's Day brunch was beyond my expectation....pink long stemmed rose and table side magician were happy surprises. Excellent soup and a lasagna based hot dish were great. The restaurant was packed as was the patio, but our waitress was on top of it and even gave us the unlimited mimosas sans orange juice (which is my preference). Please plan to offer more brunches. You've made me a happy customer. read more

Have only eaten lunch here and I love their Stroganoff!! Have had business meetings here also and they are very friendly and accommodating!

A friend and I went Saturday night and sat outside on the bar patio. I was really happy to find out that the bartender came outside to ask if we would like another drink. Pretty sure she watched the status of our drinks the whole time because right before we finished our drinks there she was to ask if we wanted another round & of course we did! Loved the bar, need more places like this Merced. read more

We took the family there for Easter brunch. We had multiple people with a variety of ages in our group. The accommodations were wonderful, inside and outside seating you cannot have a bad seat and the food was exceptional. Really a great way to spend Easter. We dine there couple times a month for dinner and the food is always great. read more

Awesome service and great food!! We were passing through Merced and weren't sure where to go! We looked up restaurants and we found this place! Very nice, clean and inviting! The manager/owner served us and recommended great entrees! We were all three impressed with the food, great flavor! Not to mention the wine and mixed drinks were great too! We'll be back!!! read more

My wife and I enjoyed an excellent meal at the Five Ten Bistro. Everything was perfect for a quiet dinner for two: the ambiance, the wine, the food, the service. Robert was our server and he went out of his way to make sure we were happy. For example we were sitting beneath a speaker piping in modern jazz. It was a bit too loud for normal conversation and Robert turned down the volume for us. My wife asked if she could get salmon on her Caesar salad instead one of the items listed on the menu. Robert checked with the chef and confirmed that she could. My Beef Stroganoff was great - tender filet mignon and a flavorful sauce over the noodles. All in all, a perfect dinner date. read more

I just ate there with my wife and it was very good. The meal and the service was great. There are not too many fine dining places in Merced and I am glad we stayed local. Great job! read more

Awesome place to go for drinks and apps, bar service with GNA and Tiffany is always awesome!

Well, despite misgivings, I surrendered to the promise of prime rib on Thursday evening for dinner with my wife. As I sadly discovered my misgivings were founded on fact. We requested the rib medium rare, but it was decidedly more rare than medium. It might have been easier to cut through the gristle had we been provided with sharper steak knives...but we persevered. The meat was flabby and flavorless. The summer squash was cooked very well, but this didn't offset the disappointment with the meat. Two glasses of wine, a mixed green salad, and two prime rib dinners amounted to $88...San Francisco prices for truck stop food. At this point, my biggest regret (and actual apprehension) is that we will be virtually forced to eat there again in September for a high school class reunion. We, of course, really have no one to blame but ourselves for returning to this establishment after our extremely disappointing experience for our wedding anniversary back in December (47 years, thank you very much) A phrase that returns to mind: "You couldn't buy a meal like this in the finest of restaurants....they wouldn't embarrass them selve by serving OR selling it.." read more

My boyfriend have been trying to go for dinner for some time now and finally did it last night and we are so glad we did, it was amazing! We started with the Lime & Honey chicken skewers and they were so yummy! The sauce they serve with it is to die for! We both love, love bacon so we both had the Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon. It was perfectly cooked and came with garlic red mashed potatoes and fresh green beans with bacon. Now because we are bacon fanatics we think the green beans could have used more pieces I think we both had only like 2 or 3 small pieces but I guess not everyone likes it as much as us and they cant go overboard but it was still delicious. I also had the cup of Tomato Basil soup and all I can say is OMG it is the best I have ever had, especially with the Parmesan cheese on top. And for dessert we both shared the special for the night which was Mixed Berry Creme Brule and it was wonderful, next time we will get our own LOL. I was so impressed I'm returning for lunch today and I will be revisiting very often to try everything! Also, the staff was very warm and welcoming :) Five Ten Bistro you guys Rock!!! read more

Actually I give it a 1-1/2 stars, but since 3 out of 6 diners said there was OK, I'll give it a 2. The fish and chips and the salmon were fine. Nothing outstanding , but good. The grilled chicken breasts on the child's menu i wouldn't have served to my cats. They were thin/dry chicken breasts. They did replace them with a piece of chicken they serve with the marsala, which was better, which isn't saying much. The seafood pasta was nothing like described on the menu. It consisted of sauce that was overcooked which caused separation, NO crab, scallops tasted old and bitter, overcooked pasta. Not at all appetizing. For the $24 price, I could have gone someplace else and had a better meal. The filet looked like the ones you buy at Raleys, which are definitely not the best. Ordered medium rare, it was definitely on the medium side. Vegetables were cold. Very disappointed. We will not be back. read more

I am truly shocked by the number of 4 and 5 star reviews. I can only put it down to the people of Merced not having any decent restaurants in the area to compare Five/Ten Bistro to. Yuk! I was there on a modestly crowded evening a week ago. The staff was very pleasant but did not pay attention to our needs throughout the meal. We were never given refills on our sodas even after asking 3 times. I ordered a filet mignon med. rare. What I got looked and tasted like burned pot roast. So much fat and gristle in it. There was NO WAY it was a filet. It was charred on the outside and well done on the inside. My mashed spuds were so full of garlic that I couldn't eat them. My side salad had very limp lettuce and greens. My sauteed mushrooms were canned sliced mushrooms soaked in grease and warmed up. Ugh! The bread that they give you to nibble on before your meal comes was obviously store bought. When I go to a decent restaurant I love that you get homemade bread. It's soft and warm and sets the mood for the meal to come. Not at this place. My husband had fish and chips and he said the fish was cold and the 'chips' tasted just like frozen shoestring fries. He was not pleased. My daughter had tuna and said it was not cooked properly. It was supposed to be sashimi (I don't know what this is, however I am passing on her opinion) but it was overcooked. With this dish came wasabi rice that was completely inedible. I tried it and it sort of tasted like horseradishy mush. I won't return because the food was so very very bad. And the topper was that there were a few musicians playing jazz...they weren't bad at all. But, the volume was so loud that conversation wasn't possible while they played. My suggestion is to stay as far away as you can. Eat at home. Not at Five/Ten Bistro. I know I sure won't go back. read more

i gave a star because i didn't try the food. the reason why is when i arrived there were two waitresses and we were completely ignored as they stared at us, so as i looked at the menu two people went ahead of us and they were seated right away i was so upset with the service i left and went somewhere else. the fact that i didn't even feel welcomed upon showing up, im not sure if id want to actually eat there. read more