What's not to like about this place. Energetic music. Hard working bartenders. A total vibe. read more

The Partisan - Southern Peach - A tall glass filled with a light-colored, possibly citrus-based drink with ice, placed on a bar counter with a napkin underneath. - Pubs Near Me - Merced, California

I always have a nice time every time I go! live drag shows are the best. drinks are great and everyone gets along and have a grand old time

Come on a Friday night! The vibe is great, lots of beautiful people and great music (depending on the DJ). The music is a mix of pop hits and Latinx hits, which fits the crowd well. Prices were fair! Except that when ordering my first drink of the night, a female bartender in a tank skipped my group in her line and never came back to us, letting us wait for over 15minutes before we gave up and just went to her coworker (an additional 5min). I wouldn't even complain if people who approached the bar after me got their drinks after me, which was def not the case. Do better next time please! It may have just been an off night but it kinda ruined our vibe for the night! I went to the bar by the bathrooms and was served there quickly, multiple times! Go there for your drinks and avoid the chaos! If you go on another night, there's usually a band playing live music! The lighting is dim, the mood is chill, and it comes with a full bar! Hopefully next time you come, you'll get a more attentive bartender! read more

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Most welcoming music venue in Merced. I have been coming here over 20 years and seen great shows.

I love coming here especially on a Wednesday Night for Trivia! Sharing laughs with friends, answering trivia questions, and enjoying a nice cold draft beer. It's giving. Seriously though, this place rocks! The servers know how to pour a cold draft beer and with a smile. The inside gives me sort of a vintage vibe. They have open mic nights and karaoke nights as well. Do not be afraid to get up on stage and share a laugh with local residents. A great local spot located downtown. If you cant find parking on main st, then you can park in the back where there is plenty of parking space. read more

The Partisan - Sharing a drink and knocking out trivia questions with my friend Sair - Two men are seated at a wooden table in an indoor space with dark walls, one taking a selfie and the other making a peace sign. - Pubs Near Me - Merced, California

The best bar in town. Located in the sweet spot of Downtown Merced. Amazing bartenders who are friendly, knowledgeable and quick. The space is beautiful with hardwood and exposed brick. They have a stage where you will find Bands one night, comedians the next and live game show hosts another. Always some form of live entertainment. They don't serve food, but they don't mind if you bring in a slice from across the street. Another great feature is they have 2 separate rooms. If the band is blasting in the main room and you want to have a conversation, you can move to the back room for a lower key experience. Great bar, great people. read more

the service was horrible. staff incompetent and rude. plus, drugs were being dealt right out in the open!

The bell got rung XD Pour of the Case Azul was buttery & creamy & very generous with the amount from the amazing bartender Tanisha! Welcoming staff & amazing drinks! They host live music on the weekends for those that enjoy quieter areas, but it's downtown expect the good music to flow with those tasty drinks!! The bands made me almost want to mosh pit in their mini elegant concert display. The whole place specifically the ceiling has elegant interior design, super glad we came in on a casual evening. read more

The Partisan - Pour of Clase Azul & classic daiquiri handcrafted by beautiful Tanisha! - A ceramic decorative bottle with blue and gold designs is placed on a bar counter, with glasses and bottles in the background. - Pubs Near Me - Merced, California

It was a cool place to hangout. Bartenders super friendly. It maybe a little dark, but it's very nice place.

My friends and I had been coming here on a weekly basis until the bartenders had an attitude with my friend for no reason. He was simply trying to get a drink as we normally do and instead he got attitude from the girls. If you're having a bad day, leave that shit at the door before you clock in. Not customers fault (who come I'm on a weekly basis and tip well). Not coming back. Overpriced up the ass anyways. read more

One of the only bar that's modern and trendy in town. Don't know why it's underrated. I love the beer and their cocktails menu is creative. They have open mics and other shows during weekends. Easy 5 stars for me. read more

This is probably my favorite bar in town. The bartenders were good, the atmosphere is great and most importantly the drinks were on point!

Out with the fiance. Great service and atmosphere. Tanisha is a great bartender. She fills your glass to the rim and makes amazing mixed drinks. She has a great personality! read more

Hands down, the best bar in Merced. The Partisan's got everything you could want in a small town dive bar: wood paneling, killer jukebox, cheap drinks, pool table, and of course... lots and lots o' locals. read more

Live bands you've never heard of, playing so loudly that bartender can't even hear your drink order. Not that they'd know how to make it if they could hear you. Drink specials are usually cheap and fairly reliable. Chances are there'll be a decent crowd of people. This is the place to be on holidays. Avoid the bathrooms unless you bring your own soap and toilet paper and a friend to hold the stall door for you. read more

I LOVE trivia nights here. It's called Braingazm and my friends and I come here every Tuesday to participate. This is definitely a dive bar - so its grungey, dark, probably dirty but the drinks are cheap. Last time I came here they had pitchers of Stella for $8. I'm just glad that the womens bathroom is decently clean. read more

Best Bar Evar? No. Best Bar in Merced? Probably. I think the 2 things that really make this place are the music selection and the people who go here. The Partisan's regular music is really varied and pretty good. It's one of the few bars left that don't play newer, more trendy crappo music all night long except for on 1-2 nights a week when it turns into every other ghetto club (but business is business). They've got a good mix of classics that everyone will recognize, and songs that everyone SHOULD recognize or will go download. And there is a little, underused dance floor if such a song activates your groove gene. The regulars are just cool people. It's not really a place for hipsters that just hit legal age and need to get 21 years of suppression off their chest. Or gangster wannabes that feel the need to hit on anything that moves (or doesn't). Most of the people who go here (except for those who come on aforementioned nights when the mood flips 180 degrees) are just here to have a good time drinking and chatting with friends. Truth be told, I'm not really a drinker, but I've had some good times with my posse here. read more

The drinks are extremely cheap here, well at least compared to Oryleighs Tavern. However, the music is not really my taste. And a lot of the guys here are just a bunch of creeps. I went once to Trivia night and I was just confused with all the questions they asked. I will not be coming back to this place besides getting drinks and then running off to Oryleighs for better music. read more

Update: The other day, my sister, my bf and I were downtown eating, when we decided to stop by the Partisan for a drink or two. This was on a Tuesday night. Because we rarely go out for drinks on week night, we had not realized that the GAME NIGHT rocks! You form groups (2 or more people) and play trivia games. We seriously got there at 7:30pm and left at 11pm because we were having so much fun (even though we lost to the group of 8 that was playing). Also, recently they've started this thing every other Sunday night. It's for people who a) like to chat in a bar and actually hear their friends, b) bohemians who like poetry and soul-searching, c) for alcoholics who want to support the local economy by getting drunk on a Sunday night and d) people who want to impress a date by finding a cool place to hang out on a Sunday that ISN"T a church. Check out their myspace so you go on the right Sunday, and if you're a poet or a singer/performer, they have a 5-minute open mic. p.s. i'm a regular, but i'm not paid to say nice things. p.p.s. when you get the munchies, go across the street and get some nachos. YUM! read more

We went there last night to enjoy Mike Hammar and the Nails... Great show! And what a great job on the remodel of the bar! The staff was very helpful and friendly. We are looking forward to many more good times and great shows! read more

This place is beautiful inside. All new remodel and very classy. Matt was the bar tender that night and he was great. Knew his stuff and what to recommend. Will definitely be back. read more

This place is definitely a dive but it gets the job done. There aren't too many places to hang out at in Merced, so this place gets a gold star in my book. The music kinda sucks but they are making the effort to provide a wide range of music..they have live DJs on the weekends that mostly play house music and some top 40 stuff. They also host the occasional rock band. The bands kinda suck and it doesn't help that the sound is way too high for a place the size of The Partisan. There's usually a $5 cover charge when bands play, but it's totally cool in my book cause they give you a drink ticket in return. Drinks are wayyyy cheap here which is a total plus in my broke-college-girl book. I have yet to come to one of their happy hour events during the week, but I do plan on attending some time soon. They have karaoke nights and trivia nights that are accompanied by awesome drink specials like $1 PBRs and $5 pitchers... now you can't get wasted for any cheaper!!! They often have drink specials on the weekends, too. The crowd here varies. Sometimes it's happening and sometimes this place is just superrrrr dead. I'm not sure why that is. Great thing about the Partisan is that it's located in Downtown Merced so it's close to other bars and restaurants. I recommend heading to J&Rs for some Mexican food and O'reighly's Tavern for some ass-shaking music.....just don't look at anyone funny while you're there cause there's a high possibility of you getting shanked haha. So, overall, I recommend hitting up the Partisan for a chill, fun night of cheap drinks and booty bouncing. Oh, and this place is super casual so don't worry if you don't have anything fancy to wear. Flip flops and cutoffs seem to be the norm here, although a few girls do it up big and wear their f*** me heels. Whatever you feel most comfortable in will do the job, just remember that it gets super hot in here during the summer...the place runs on fans, not so much the A/C. read more

You gotta give the Partisan credit for trying. Its hard to have anything halfway decent and entertaining in this town, and the Partisan does a pretty good job of satisfying everyone's needs to an extent. I like the "entertainment" aspect of The Partisan. Watching people sing really obnoxiously to karaoke while drunk and having bad cover bands play dated material is always worth the easy laugh. Drinks are cheap, don't try to order anything too complex. I generally stay with like rum and cokes, or vodka tonics. Usually their beer specials only involve "party beer" like Coors, and Bud Light. read more

They get 2 stars because they serve alcohol. I have been to The Partisan a few times and found a few things annoying, some of which are not a big deal, BUT.... Its hard to get a bartenders attention sometimes because they are too busy paying attention to the regulars instead of the guy ready to spend $250 at the bar. Also, I distinctly remember cussing out the bouncer that asked me for $7 (yes SEVEN DOLLARS) to get into a BAR in MERCED on a THURSDAY. If you run an establishment that serves alcohol correctly, you should be cover-free every day. Some days there are exceptions, like Saturdays and special events (In Merced this would be the day before Thanksgiving or after the fair). read more

Hey, I've met one of the owners before this place opened. Please don't get me wrong. This is a wonderful spot on Main Street, the owners have done a wonderful job making this a beautiful spot. The woodwork is spectacular! We thought we could get food here. Nope it didn't happen! We are here to support local businesses. We want you to prosper! Drinks great food nothing! We hope they will bring something better to Merced. read more

I lived in downtown Merced for a few years, and I was here when this place opened. I have seen some cool music acts here, some duds too....but that goes with the business. Like all of Merced, if you are deemed "in" with the local crowd concerning art or music you probably will love this place. If not, you will probably have no lasting impression and probably would rather hang out with your buddies at home anyway. The bar tenders are pleasant, the decor okay. Many reviewers are calling this place a "cool dive bar" and let me correct them now. It is not a dive. Dive bars don't have swarms of UC Merced hipsters trying to out-cool each other. Hipsters in Merced are the most hate-filled pretentious bunch of people you will ever meet between SF and LA. They make evangelical Christians tolerant. If you are an older guy or gal and just want a drink, or place to talk and relax on a weekend when there is a live music or a show.....probably not for you, it gets very loud. Overall I am glad this place is here, and glad it is bringing people to downtown Merced. read more

This bar has four things going for it: 1) The atmosphere created by its wooden walls and low ceilings, swivel chairs at the low bar, and the tables and chairs that run the length of this long and narrow bar; 2) live music on Saturday nights; 3) cheap drinks, as keeping with central valley style; and 4) an official beer-pong table. I really enjoyed my Saturday night experience at the Partisan. The bartender was friendly and made a mean white russian. I really can't say enough about the feel of the place, though, which originates from the decor- you're surrounded by wooden walls, ceilings, and beams, the ceilings are pretty low and the bar is level with the low-seated swivel chairs. Past the bathrooms is another room with a pool table, a grill, benches, tables and chairs, a small T.V., and the aforementioned beer-pong table. According to a sign at the front, games cost $1 each, and are of the 6-cup variety. If I lived in Merced, this would be my bar of choice, even though they have one point against them because of their cider choices- Wyders? Ick. But, white russians? Yum. read more

It's great that there's somewhere in Merced to see live music. I like the decor, and they have some good beer on tap. They have surprised me several times with excellent folk and indie acts from out of town. However, the sound guy sucks. Had to say it. He might be good at doing sound for louder, angrier bands, but I don't want my ears bleeding at a folk show. It's just not fun to be there when your beer glass keeps threatening to vibrate its way off the table from the amount of bass coming out of the speakers. If they hired a different sound guy for their folk shows, I would be their best customer. As it is, I might try out trivia night, but probably won't come back for music. It's a bummer it has to be this way. read more

This is a pretty cool local bar and I'm adding a star because they only had two martini glasses in the whole place. They had to rinse out my date and my glass when we wanted a second round. Hilarious! There was a loud band with a female lead that seemed pretty good, but they were literally so loud I couldn't hear them, if that makes any sense. There were some guys that seemed to be staring at me/us from the corner, but I guess every good and interesting bar has at least one of those. Main Street itself was totally dead, but I can't say too much. This is Merced! I went on a weeknight and heard that other nights may be more happening. I'll have to come back and see for myself. :) read more

Maybe I'm being too hard on the businesses in Merced. I mean, it's definitely no SF, so I should probably be a little nicer with my scores. Or I can just do my thing and say, "F**k it." Okay, so the Partisan appears to be the most happening place in town for the college kids. Now, I don't know if it's just me, but I remember Saturday nights clubbing/barhopping in college to be a lot more intense. Do people stay in this town on weekends, or immediately skip out for a better option like SF or even Fresno? Anyways... Bartenders = On point; quick/friendly service. Drinks = Good selection; fair price. Ambience = I think they were going for divey, but came upon a mix of divey and Irish pub and dungeon. Crowd = Definitely another local's spot. (You know what would be great for the tourists of this town? A stripclub. I'm not kidding.) Music = There was a live band Friday night ($5 cover); and DJ (free entry) Saturday night. I only stayed about an hour each night. read more

I came here with a few friends back in the day (est 2009) From my experience, it was fun and lots of drinks to go around Lots of college students and there's always 'entertainment' somehow in that bar. We got good service from the bartender and had our drinks in ordered time Card accepted Very very loud bar and super rowdy on weekends The Hit spot for college students...probably one of the only things we can do in merced on a friday night. read more

Merced, let me introduce you to the best thing that's ever happened to you. The partisan is a true hipster bar: Wood paneling, flannel for days, and enough PBR to drown an elephant equals a smashing success in my book. Everyone that I have had an opportunity to speak with has been both bizarrely entertaining and friendly. I am not a local, but the people of this town have welcomed me gladly, and showed me the best bar within 100 miles. read more

The partisan gets 5 stars simply for the fact out of all the bars in merced its the only one where you can constantly find something going on any night of the week.. the atmosphere is lovely and live music & bands and the drink specials.. its good place to hit and have a few drinks and conversate with friends.. I know coming from san francisco its hard to find places that fit my expectations but the partisan does exceed them in many ways.. walk in sit down have a drink and enjoy your self you won't regret it. read more

I stopped by this place to see what all the rave was about.....only to remember that I was in Merced. This place is too loud for the small area you are cramped in to and shows the reason why people are always standing outside the entrance. The selection of alcohol is good along with the bartenders but aside from that this is a below average place. read more

The Partisan suffers from the delusion that they are Not just an average bar in a small town. This is evidenced by their cover charges and ridiculous drink prices. Their attempts to ensure live music every weekend has them recruiting at high school talent shows and through Dina Lohans Talent agency - The bands SUX and you leave feeling like, "I can't believe I paid for that shit" . Also that one $ above is a total lie, their mixed drinks are not cheap. No real woman is going to drink beer all night. Partisan - In real cities a door cover + a paid bar ($$) gets you a live dj (irregardless of the music they play) OR a live band that has produced at least one song I would have heard on the radio. You can be a little bar, in a little city, that promotes little bands but then you can't charge fees on par with bars in LA and SF. But I gave you only 2 stars because your trying to have it both ways. Also, some of the other reviewers have commented on its old-school charm - that wood paneling and dark lights. They do that because its DIRTY. If you go there and you want to check if what I claim is true, peak your head in the restroom, but NO touchy!, especially the ladies. Nasty, nasty. I give at least 2 stars because I haven't been there for every event they claim to offer, thus I can't just assume they sux as bad as the ones I've experienced. Also because they managed to keep their doors open downtown for this long and that's saying something all by itself. read more

It has been fun the couple of times I've went, with friends and the GF, good atmosphere, good drinks, got to do a little buzzed dancing, and watched the GF and her BFF sing drunk on karaoke night...LOL good laughs. Prices are standard for bars. They got a small dance area and pool table area, small but all in all a fun place to drink and hang out in the town of Merced. read more

Recently opened up renovation and it is GORGEOUS inside. There's even a smaller room in the back that tends to be bit more quaint with another bar. The bartenders are friendly too! They have regular events like open mic and bring together local artists/musicians. A great place to go to and have fun with friends! read more

Ive been hear twice now and i love it! Its so fun! Its a really cool bar. The 2 Friday nights i have gone there, the dance floor has not started up till about 11. So if your there to dance, its better to go about then. All and all im finding this place to be our spot. read more

An ex-bar that was awesome. Rumors that a two-floored version will be resurrected someday in the nearish future. It was awesome, kinda like Kewl Cats/O'Ryleigh's/Cue Spot rolled into one. read more

The Partisan is one of a few choices to be made when deciding where to go for an evening out. On most nights, when the bar itself is not packed beyond capacity, the service is very prompt and the atmosphere is like one of those dive bars where everyone already knows each other and its the same 5-8 people drinking together every night. There is seating in the front, a dance floor in the middle and another lounge type area in the back with a small coin-op pool table and beer pong tables. On nights where it IS crowded, wait times increase dramatically. Having one bartender probably doesn't help. The place gets crowded fast, as the alleyway for walking through is flanked by the bar itself and tables, so sometimes you'll have to wait for a few minutes just to get through to the bathroom. Pricing is what you'd expect from a bar, but as always be ready with extra cash in case that martini you ordered ends up being 12 bucks. The pitchers of beer, however, are where its at. 4 friends splitting a couple of pitchers is not going to cost you an arm or a leg here. Plus, they have daily drink specials (but, to be honest, I never take advantage of) that seems to be priced pretty well for the drinks they serve. That being said, it still is one of the premier spots to be in Merced apparently. Many a time have I been there when a friend turns 21. Also, it seems like a lot of UC kids come as well, as I find it hard to go there without running into a familiar face. All in all, this place is decent for a night out if you don't mind the "dive bar" experience. read more