I gave them two stars for the bread and what little marinara came with the chicken Parmesan. The chicken Parmesan was tasteless like there was no Parmesan included in the breading. I've never had chicken Parmesan served without angel hair pasta and marinara. Furthermore, this was served with marinara and Alfredo with fettuccine noodles. Ever had Alfredo and marinara served alongside each other?!?! The Alfredo was disastrous. Not even a hint of Parmesan in the Alfredo sauce. The Alfredo tastes like butter on noodles. Seriously?!?! I'm sure a taco wagon could serve better Italian than this. read more

Strings Italian Cafe - A pitiful attempt at combining two of the most opposite flavors I've ever seen. - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

Meh. This place sucks. First of all there was NO SOAP in the women's restrooms which gets me to thinking how is everyone washing their hands. So gross! The place is dirty when you look closely. The food was mediocre and the salad so soggy with dressing we couldn't eat it. The only good thing was the margarita pizza but the thought of no one washing their hands is disgusting. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. read more

This place is always consistent. From the service to the food you always get what you expect. That is always a pretty good experience. The food is good, the salad is good and the service is good. Overall it's a pretty good value for a nice dinner out. They have a nice team that seems to have been the same for a few years now and they are always polite and on point. You really can't go wrong for lunch or dinner. read more

Pro: Have beer on tap, clean restrooms, waiters/tress checks up on you often. Bread and food was hot/warm. Con: salad and soup could be fresher. Salad etches started to turn color and soup could be better. Got then lasagna combo tort... dish was hot. Wife's pasta was good as well. Shrimp tasted just right, not overcooked. Overall, nice experience. Would be better if steak was an option on the menu. read more

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The owner older gentleman very rude people come in he's on the phone and he puts on his finger telling you to wait instead of getting off the phone and attending then the spaghetti is OK but surely isn't worth no $30 a plate that's for sure, People who know how to cook Italian food I know the true Otentic, taste of Italian can tell you that Flavor isn't there but For you Italian tasting people with good tasting bud, As for me I'll pass. I've lived here for eight years now from the Bay area, really that will be the last time I go there even if I get invited, I'll turn it down. read more

Normally, I would have nothing but great things to say about Strings, howeve, their 'Lite' lunch menu is not as impressive as their regular meals could be. The options provided appear to be quite appealing but in actuality, they are not as appetizing for whatever reason. My selection arrived to our table luke warm, was sent back and was returned at the same temperature. Not impressed at all. read more

Strings is good but a little overpriced. I always get their salad and Tortellini Alla Panna. Lunch service is horrible but the evening crew is fantastic. They also have a great patio. If you go have dinner on a nice summer night you should have a great time. Lunch on the other hand...hope you have pleeeenty of time and not too hungry. read more

I ordered Chicken Picatta and it was awful! Overcooked dry chicken not even in a wine sauce. It was more like a nasty thick gravy. Sides were broccoli no seasoning and overcooked Angel hair pasta. I will never go back!!! read more

My partner & I decided to finally try out Strings yesterday for Valentines Day, and we were so happy that we did. We had not only great service, but the food was also amazing. They had a great wine selection, which I was allowed to taste before making a choice. My partner had the ribeye and he stated that it was cooked beyond perfect. I tried the jambalaya & it was just the right about of spice. Our server ensured that our glasses were always filled, and we were enjoying our meals. We have decided to revisit at least once - twice a month and try something new on the menu every time. I more than highly recommend this place! read more

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Food is great and best service hands down. You are always greeted when you get there and always thanked when you leave with a genuine feel to it. They truly appreciate your business. I will continue to go there . read more

Love this place, have visited other locations and very consistent. Chicken Marsala is amazing but the true star is their salad, life changing! read more

We had a nice dinner here earlier this week. We were seated quickly by a lovely young person and had impeccable service by our waiter. I had the lasagna rolls, but since I had a salad and bread served first, I was no longer feeling hungry. Ate part of one (comes with 3) and highly recommend it. But let me tell you about the salad: the meal comes with a choice of soup or salad. I ordered the salad and it was exceptional. It was nice greens with an ample amount of both sunflower seeds and raisins, with a few croutons and cherry tomatoes on top. It came dressed with a creamy Italian (balsamic?) dressing. I didn't expect such a nice salad, and could not stop eating it, but unfortunately filling me before the meal came. We were there on a Monday and they were offering all-you-can-eat pastas (many options of pastas and sauces) for 12.95 which I thought was a great deal. They also had $2 Coors Light, so Monday is recommended. The one downside on this visit was that the ladies room was a bit unkempt and smelly...maybe something coming from a drain, not sure. And soup dispenser was completely empty; had to use sanitizing gel that I had with me. read more

Been working in Merced and had a very hard time finding somewhere good to eat until we found this place. Of course we would find this at the very end of the job, but glad we did! Definitely the best food we've had up here so far! Would definitely recommend to eat here! read more

Food was amazing! The service was impeccable. I has been a very long time since I have received timely and friendly sevice. I ordered the Tiramisu to go, when I got home to open the box to eat , I was expecting just to see a piece of Tiramisu......nope they decorated the to go box as if it was served to me in the restaurant. It was a very pleasant surprise!!! I'm not from Merced, we were meeting a relitive at a half way point for dinner so unfortunately I can't visit this establishment more often. I highly recommend this resturant!! read more

Strings Italian Cafe - I was trying to highlight the fact that my to go order was decorated as if I was eating it in the restaurant. - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

Great food and exceptional service. This is our favorite restaurant. Last night I had pork tenderloin balsamic. My guest had spaghetti Alfredo with shrimp. We were both delighted with the food and the service. We even had the leftovers for dinner tonight. I always enjoy this place. read more

I've been coming here for years and every time I come in always disappointed a bit. I really like the service and the atmosphere! Sitting outside is amazing most nights. The waiters and waitresses as well as other stuff are always so kind and nice! Mike was fantastic even though my party had problems with their food! The food is always sub par. I try to order something new but each time it tastes like something I can whip up at home! My sister had pizza and it actually tasted like frozen pizza you can grab at the supermarket. The prices are a little high for the food quality. My family and I will keep coming back to support local eateries but I hope their food gets better! read more

I've been here on multiple occasions and don't really have any complaints but the food is always just alright, nothing special. This most recent time was to celebrate my birthday and we went to grab dinner together. From apps to entrees we enjoyed our time together, talking and joking around. read more

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Service is always great. Our waitress is always friendly and efficient. I would have given 5 stars but our dinner was not hot, especially the fresh vegetables. They were cold. The rest of the dinner tasted good but was just barely lukewarm. Would have been better if it was hot when served. read more

I just don't understand why this place is as popular as it is. My husband got the salmon and could not eat it. It didn't taste like any salmon I ever had before. I got the Pasta Siena and wow, was it spicy! We used to love Strings in Davis - 20 years ago - but this menu is completely different. I'm happy that so many people in town love it, but it's just not for me. read more

Staff is friendly and attentive but the food is honestly not worth it. Taste mediocre nothing special.

Food is great! Staff are nice and the service excellent! The menus has a lot of wonderful Italian dishes. Atmosphere is nice.

I have no problems with anyone here but I just have to say this was the most disgusting food I have ever eaten at a restaurant. I am fat and pretty much eat anything and I was still white knuckling it through the first few bites of this pasta. I am still nauseated while writing this. You know it's bad when I can't force feed a few bites. The pasta I ordered had soggy noodles, huge clumps of melted mozzarella cheese for no reason, big slices of raw tomatoes, and chewed looking fake chicken breast instead of breaded fried chicken. No point to complain to the server. The recipe was bad and I don't think the cook knows what he's doing. read more

Strings Italian Cafe - Chicken Cannelloni - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

Overall a nice restaurant. Food took a while to come out, but once it did all was good. Four of us ordered salad to start. They brought out a bowl with a lot of salad and we could serve ourselves. I liked that. The salad had raisins in it. A nice twist. I had the Italian sausage sandwich. It was good and slight spicy. Casual atmosphere. I would go back fo a standard food meal. read more

Strings Italian Cafe - Italian Sausage Sandwich - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

I haven't had my fair share of Italian food, but thankfully Strings offers a basic variety. The service here is one of the best I've seen in Merced. The food is somewhat pricy, as expected of an Italian restaurant. My personal favorite is the Fettuccine Chicken Alfredo, but I've also come to like the Pasta Siena very much. The Pasta Siena has an appealing hint of curry and is a good choice for spice-lovers. The Fettuccine Chicken Alfredo can be a little too heavy for some people, but if you like pasta in Alfredo sauce served with some plain grilled chicken, I would recommend it. These, along with other pasta entrees, come with your choice of appetizer (salad or soup). I always choose the Seafood Bisque since I enjoy a warm bowl of soup before my main dish, but regardless the soup is satisfying by itself. The soup tastes great with the bread that also comes with your entree order. Surprisingly, the best thing here is not the pasta, but is actually the bread. Unlike with Italian food in general, I've had a large variety of breads, and the bread here is amazing. It's crispy, yet still soft. It's not too dry and is delicious straight out of the oven. The servers are always willing to help you with a refill of the bread (which you should really, really ask for). I've also tried the pizza here and I must say that it really is a healthy alternative to some pizzas at Domino's or Pizza Hut. It takes awhile to cook and is a bit expensive, but it can serve two and didn't make me feel like I needed to run a 5K to rid myself of the unhealthy feeling I get after eating typical delivery pizza. The Italian Combo pizza fills you up and has a nice mix of veggies and meat. All in all, decent food, great service, and classy atomosphere. That's why I like to have my dates at Strings! read more

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My food pasta dish was so watered down but I'm giving 1 star because my granddaughter absolutely enjoyed her pink drink

Wish we could review the quality of the food and atmosphere, but unfortunately when we walked in at 8:05 they said they were already closed an hour early (8pm, instead of the listed 9pm) so.... read more

Food was delicious but service was not good. Our waitress never asked if we wanted water. She saw my beer was empty took my plate but never asked if she could bring me another one. Then brings us our check without asking or offering dessert we were going to order some but since the check was more important asking us we left. We would have spent more with the extra drinks and dessert but they lost those sales. read more

As I saw in one of the comments, we have to divide the review in two: service (5 stars) and food (1-2 stars). The mushroom Risotto we ordered was sweet and had something like nutmeg? I thought it was more like a sweet Mexican rice than a risotto. The calamari... in the menu It wasn't described that it was breaded, but it was. It was super soggy and oily. Probably it was fried at lower temperature that recommended. Thanks though for the great service! read more

Had an amazing time! The seafood fettuccine was perfect- scallops were buttery soft and the shrimp was good as well. The server we had was super sweet and took good care of us. Highly recommend the molten chocolate cake for dessert! read more

The food is not that exciting the only good thing is the outdoor seating area I've tried a couple of dishes and it is very basic not impressed read more

I'm a big fan of all you can eat stuff... My wife and I went here on date night and found it to be a pleasant atmosphere. I was a little disappointed when I heard that they USED to have live music, but don't anymore... Their whole theme seemed to be about music and italy, but sadly, no live music. I wish they played some cool classical guitar music in the background at least... oh well. We sat down and noticed that today (wednesday) was all the pasta you can eat day. You could get as much pasta as you want, but it was only your choice of noodles and the 8 basic sauces that the rest of their dishes were based on... So you don't actually get to try all of their pastas with this deal, but you do get to try the different sauces and noodles they have... The quality of the pasta was okay. It was like the quality of the olive garden. So nothing special. The restrooms were well stocked and clean. The service was excellent. The waitress was very helpful and attentive. The environment was very clean. Overall Good job Strings! I want to come back again soon! read more

Went for dinner. Was a little worried because I haven't been here in awhile, and some recent reviews weren't so good. We were seated and waited on right away. The waiter was attentive through the whole meal, refilling our drinks and bread bowl. Our food came fairly quickly. I had tortellini, my wife had pizza, and my daughter calzone. All were good and hot. Strings doesn't have the best Italian food I've ever eaten, but the food has been good every time I've gone. The service as well. read more

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Honestly, the main courses weren't any better in quality than what you might expect at Applebee's or another chain serving plats from the freezer. The prices of some plates were, however, DOUBLE. read more

My favorite place for Italian food in Merced. They have a deal every week for AYCE pasta which I tried and I gotta admit its quite good for the price. I have tried all their combinations of their white sauces (I dont like red sauces or pesto) and everthing is great. I like that they also give you really good bread with your meal and also a choice between soup or salad, and the quantity is unlimited. Service is super friendly, and the last time we went they recommended the italian creme soda (7-up, flavor syrup, creme, and whipped creme) which is great. It also comes with one free refill. I really like the baked pastas (pepporoni and spinach alredo pasta). Nice area and good food. The atmosphere is quiet and quaint. I know its a franchise but its still good. read more

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i love the lasagna and salad omg so delicious i definitely recommend its totally worth it

Ordered for fathers day gathering--too hot to cook. Having 9 people but wanted variety. Ordered off the catering menu---a small lasagna and a small chicken Parmesan, both state ten servings. $164!!!! Since two people are bigger eaters didn't want to get one package of ten servings. I figured there would be lots left, but I wanted people to have a variety. The portions were SMALL! I usually get chicken parm at any Italian restaurant, and have had it here. Each piece was 1/4 of the size of a normal serving. 9 people ate "20 servings" of food. There was a homemade salad and French bread that I provided as well. Each platter was licked clean! But the food was delicious... on a positive note. read more

My family and I chose to eat out to strings for our first time dining out since quarantine and had a pleasant visit. Mike, our waiter was very accommodating alongside of other staff tending outside. My family enjoyed their meal, and I ordered the margarita pizza and when I first received it it was slightly undercooked but of course our waiter fixed it and it was better when it came back(: overall I wasn't impressed with the pizza it didn't taste fresh but I give it 4/5 stars because my family enjoyed their meal and staff was very friendly and accommodating. read more

We have not been here before because it is across town from everything we do. But, we received a gift certificate and decided to give it a try. The service was excellent and there was a nice calm and quiet atmosphere. The house salad was to die for and the bread was soft and flavorful. The portions were generous. I had the Shrimp pasta in vodka sauce and my husband had a breaded chicken special. Both were quite tasty and we enjoyed them again for lunch the next day. We will be back. read more

Visited Strings Italian Cafe at Lunch. Everything was excellent. Highly recommend the lunch Italian sandwich.

We had a family dinner there tonight. We had two Tables of six by the fireplace and it was perfect. We were not cold and had the best service. The servers kept coming by to make sure everything was good. We live in Livermore, but for family events, we will call Strings. Thank you for a great night with terrific food and service. read more