Strings Italian Cafe

They call that Italian, worst food ever. I will never waste my time going there again. The management is rude. service was terrible

I went there with 2 of my daughters for Mother's Day this year. We were seated right away (without reservation). Service was fast and efficient. I was even given a rose on my way out as a Happy Mother's Day gift. Good food and "reasonably" priced. I will go there again.

If you like pre-prepared frozen food out of a bag, then you'll love Strings. Save your money and go to a real Italian restaurant... unfortunately, I haven't found a worthy one around Merced yet though. I think Denny's Italian selection be better....

My wife and I went to Strings in Merced, CA for a nice dinner for two as tonight was the kid’s night to stay with the grandparents. This is the third time we have had dinner at Strings and was by far the worst experience we've had. I could easily exceed the 5,000 character limit for this review so I'll do my best to summarize. We arrived at 6:30 and were seated fairly quickly. The complimentary bread arrived at the same time as the soups and salads, not before. The soup tasted like it was cooked in used dish cleaning water. Salt and pepper couldn't come close to helping. Our dinner items, which were in the $15.00 range each, contains small portions sizes. Last year the portions were much larger. I left the restaurant still a bit hungry. My wife's dinner, the meat lasagna and meat tortellini combo contained barely enough meat to fill a shot glass. Frozen pizza rolls from the grocery store have more meat in them. When we asked if she had received the right meal, the waitress came back with a menu and asked if 'we had ordered wrong'. The manager comes by the table 'twenty minutes' later to address the issue, makes no apologies, tells us that all the food is pre-packaged "as is" at a central kitchen, and offers to throw in a free side order. Our waitress disappears in action after this and the one time she comes back to the table, she has a very poor attitude. We finish the meal at 7:40 PM. I had to flag down a drink server to request our waitress bring the check. Ten minutes later, I try to flag down another waitress who actually turns her head away as she walks on by. We then get up and walk to the hostess desk at the door. Two servers/waiters come by and ask if we would like to be seated. We have to tell them that we just want to pay the check and leave. The Eagles song "Hotel California' is playing in my head at this point. Five more minutes pass and our prodigal waitress shows up with the check. She actual has the nerve to say "You weren't supposed to move because the manager wanted me to offer you a free desert". We decline the offer and wait five more minutes before I have a receipt to sign. If I could have written in a negative tip amount, I would have. Through all of this, I see the manager talking on the phone and not paying any attention to the restaurant. There was also around ten to twelve people waiting for a table with at least three tables/booths open for nearly a half hour. If you are looking to for a nice dinner for two, there is a "Wing Stop" right next to Strings that offers better quality at a better price, and much better service.

A group of friend and I feel in love with the place! We had brought in our own cake and the helpful/awesome staff took it out of the box and made it look even better than it already was. The food at strings oh my gosh the best Italian place in all over Merced county! You'll fall in love with the place the moment you walk into the place.

This restaurant has great food, and a nice environment. They prices are reasonable and it is a very clean restaurant. The service is also great.