Such a disappointment especially being that it had 4 stars. Made a last minute reservation for my one yr anniversary. Didn't know where to go since we were in town visiting family and this place had the highest reviews for a bistro or a nice restaurant I should say. Food was nothing special. I seriously could've made this at home and would've tasted a lot better. The calamari was good but not as fresh as it could be. didn't matter to me since i love calamari period. I ordered the pasta marr which I will say was my mistake for not asking if it was a creamy pasta or soup like but I just couldn't believe how horrible it was. It was like a Phó soup gone terribly wrong! I then had it switched out for the 510 penne which was A LOT better. It was good but chicken was on the dry side.
My husband ordered the chicken Marsala and wasn't that great either. Also ordered the cucumber martini-that was ok. Not as refreshing as they claimed it was.
Our waitress was very nice and helpful and so was the gentleman I had asked to switch out my food. The only problem was that I did catch our waitress checking out my husband multiple times to the point he was a bit uncomfortable....not very professional. Besides that their customer service was great but I will not be coming back whenever we are in town again.
I received a "compliment" from one of the owners in response to my review. (Literally, they sent it as a compliment-- I think you can see it on my home page). Anyway, they basically accused me of being a competitor in the restaurant business (which I am not-- I have never worked in the restaurant industry, I just like to eat at them), and said:
"It's really unfortunate that you would write a ficticous review.  It really bad that  you as a fellow restauranteur would write ficticous reviews just to make your establishment better.  We make all of our sauces fresh and I would love for you to come prep all of our fresh food with our team.  We love our food and our team is very passionate about serving great food.  We here at the five ten bistro wish your establishment nothing but the best.  Cheers!" (Signed, Robert M. Merced, CA)
Glad to hear your sauces are fresh, but no mention of the fish and chips I discussed in my review. Is the fish as fresh as possible? Are the fries house-made? Is the Caesar salad made with house-made dressing or croutons, and hand-chopped lettuce? And no thank you, I will not come prep with you. I have a job that I do very well, and when I go out to eat, I leave the cooking to the professionals. But when I see bags of food being opened from my table, and I taste food that does not seem house-made or fresh, I'm going to call a spade a spade. I'll give you another try when I hear you're serving seasonal, locally-grown food, and you've hired a chef. And I'll pay chef prices.
Being derived from the French language - A bistro has now been defined in the USA as a small restaurant serving moderately price meals for a professional clientele. If you eat out a lot, you will notice that bistro's tend to provide a higher dining experience than your family restaurant down the road.
Seeing the word bistro at this particular location, I imagined that it would be perfect and professional location to do a business lunch and not your busy hustling family restaurant down the road (Chili's location) with kids yelling/ screaming around, serving meals that anyone can reproduce with no originality to it.
The reason why I dine out is not due to convenience it is actually due to the ability of restaurants to give an orgasm of the taste buds and take me on a culinary experience that cannot be achieved at home...the one that keeps you begging for more every time...
If I was looking to eat out for convenience I would not be going to a bistro nor a family restaurant; I would be headed to the nearest KFC drive-thru window buying buckets of crappy fried chicken and returning to the office for the meetings.
With that said, the food here is overrated for a bistro. Don't get me wrong the food was ok...it tasted good but it had no originality to it. It was something that you could find at your local family restaurant or Chili's. Something anyone can throw together at home...again not reflecting the word "Bistro".
The service was mediocre (water glass was not being refilled timely) and the most annoying thing was to have employees bring their kids and let them run around the restaurant, lay on the high bar couch and yell. Not a professional establishment. Don't get me wrong, I love kids!! However, even as a owner I would not bring my kids to work and let them run around free disturbing my clients...it just doesn't look good or professional and it certainly does not go in hand with a "bistro".
As conclusion, if you are looking for a bistro experience you will not get it here...
Would give this a 5 but they have some new restaurant opening bugs to work out. Decor is great; prices are excellent.  Been here twice for dinner.  Service problematic both times. 2 of 3 of us got our salads, forgot the garlic fries ordered with a meal instead of an appetizer. ( To their credit they did comp the fries). One time the flat iron steak with  Gorgonzola sauce was wonderful, the second time they forgot the Gorgonzola sauce. Steaks were cooked perfectly though, and when it's done right, it is delicious!  Salad with lime vinaigrette very tasty! I loved the lemon calamari!
Please go while they work out the kinks, Merced needs a place like this!
Disclaimer: I'm not from Merced so I can't speak about how this place compares to others (which is often important to take into account), but I can tell you how my experience was.
Upon entering the restaurant, I immediately noticed how nice it was. What does "nice" mean? It was new, it was clean, and the décor was sharp. As you would expect, it still felt new, which can be good, but it can be a challenge as well because some people want to walk into a place that feels lived in, comfortable, and familiar. This restaurant IS new so give it time, it'll get there.
I entered through the bar on the side and the greeting was warm and friendly as I walked past the bar and bartenders and into the restaurant's reception area. All smiles from the staff. Great.
Walking into the restaurant, it's easy to miss some of the details and thought they put into the décor. Stained & polished concrete floor was very well done. The planks on the walls, the silver metallic upholstery, all of it well done. You know a lot of thought went into the space and it will only become more cohesive over time. I do think they need to further accessorize the space, add some window treatments, hide some electrical cords to the wall hangings in the bar, etc. Remember, it's new and all of that takes time. Think of moving into a new home... it takes a while to look "lived in", right? There you go.
Food was not only great, but was probably too good for the prices they charge. Not a single thing on the menu was over $19. When I saw the word "Filet Mignon" on the menu, I immediately assumed it would be $30. Nope... $19. Flat iron steak... $18. Nowhere on the menu will you find anything in the twenties. I was shocked. What's cool about that is that you can go ahead and have an appetizer or salad, and your entree, and dessert and not spend $100/head. Let me share with you what I ate/tasted:
Mushroom bisque: great. So rich and luxurious with lots of mushroom flavor. I would like a large mug of this while watching a movie on my couch. So comforting.
Flat iron steak with caramelized mushrooms and herb butter: fantastic. Steak was cooked and seasoned perfectly. Mushrooms actually WERE caramelized, not simply sauteed and wet and boring.
Fish & chips: I'm not sure what kind of fish it was but I really don't care. It was the most delicate and tender fish I've ever had in fish and chips. It was served with a pink sauce (chipotle mayo perhaps?) and that was awesome. I dipped everything into that sauce. Suggestion: list that sauce on the menu as an accompaniment to the fish.
Buffalo mozzarella ravioli: Also great. If I were to offer one suggestion, it would be to include a bit more sauce regardless of how simple: olive oil, or brown butter, or something. It just needed a bit more richness to bring it all together.
510 penne: very tasty. It reminded me of an alfredo mixed with a carbonara. All things I like.
I also had one of their cucumber martinis. That was good and I don't even like cucumbers. Not sure how they did that but it reminded me of that refreshing water you get when you're at a luxury day spa.
So there you have it. If you're thinking about trying five ten, do it quick. I think they can safely raise their prices based on the overall quality of the experience and the food. In my town, their prices would be double without a second thought. This place will only get better with time as any new restaurant needs time for everything to gel. They're already 98% of the way there.
My wife and I had lunch at Five Ten Bistro this week. Â We both found our meals to be excellent. Â The staff was friendly, attentive, and helpful with menu questions. Â Menu pricing was excellent and food quality exceptional. Â We look forward to our next visit and wish Five Ten Bistro much success. Â You have to try and beer battered Fish and Chips - once you do you will be back.
Review Source:The service was excellent! Our server was polite and very accommodating. She checked on us often and genuinely wanted to hear our opinions...she knew it was our first time there. One of the owners even stopped by our table to find out what we thought. The restaurant's ambiance was simple, but beautiful. (I must note that the lighting above our table was annoying. My husband said it gave him a headache. I think it was too high, so when seated in the wrong spot, it was shining right into your eyes) I wouldn't recommend the fruit tea. It was just not too tasty in my opinion. The Caesar Salad was DELIGHTFUL though, as were the desserts...the cheesecake and the brownie with ice cream! QUITE DELICIOUS! The price for the quality was appropriate as well. :) We will definitely go again! :D
Review Source:I've been to Five Ten Bistro several times since the restaurant opened and I am overall extremely pleased with Merced's newest eatery.
Like many new restaurants, Five Ten has definitely experienced growing pains in regard to service and billing, but in general, the food is spectacular, the cocktails delicious and several of the waitstaff are worthy of serving food in a high-dollar San Francisco establishment.
The owners/chef seem to dedicate a lot of time creating homemade items, and I personally appreciate being able to experience food that you don't generally find at other Merced eateries. My husband and I have eaten all of the appetizers, as well as some soups and salads, pasta dishes and steak. I must say by far my favorite meal has been the filet and favorite appetizer the pretzel sticks with beer cheese sauce.
Although I understand why some of the reviews are a bit critical, I'm glad we have stuck through Five Ten's growing pains as I believe this restaurant is definitely another positive for our Merced community. We'll definitely be back.
Great service. Nice atmosphere. I'm sure these guys serve a lot of great plates but I was a little unlucky tonight. I felt the portions were small and the pasta was swimming in oil. A $14 plate of chicken Marsala included 2 tiny pieces of chicken and a little bit of oil drenched pasta. Sad experience
Review Source:Came in here for a friends birthday it was a group of 8 of us, I ordered the grilled shrimp linguini and pesto, when my dish came out I noticed oil on the side I figured it was just a little from the pesto but then I stuck my fork in and noticed the entire dish had been drenched in oil, it honestly looked like a soup of oil with pasta and shrimp it was disgusting, I have never sent a dish back until last night, the server even agreed with us that the oil was over whelming. She took the dish back and and apologized, i reordered a salmon thinking i would get some kind of compensation for the inconvenience. When our checks came in I was surprised to find that we were not only charged for the salmon but we were charged extra for it. Three others at our table also ordered the salmon dish so we compared. So not only did they mess up the pesto dish, we got stuck with a higher bill which everyone was surprised by and I came home with an upset stomach and was puking about 2 hours later.
Our server was great and apologized for the oil and pasta soup. Was on top of our drinks and orders so she deserves 4 stars.
As for the restaurant our table cloth had white stains (it is black) and crumbs all over it and two of our guest didnt have silverware come out until about five minutes after our dishes came out.
Quality of food was not good, we would have much rather have stayed home and saved ourselves $45.
One of the best tasting meals I've had here in the central valley. Good to come home from Vegas and see someone here is taking the same pride in making things in house and using local products. Being a chef I understand how hard that can be at times but it's worth it when done right. Great work guys, I'll be back soon.
Review Source:My boyfriend and I came here for an early Valentine's Day lunch. The decor and servers are awesome, albeit a little nervous.
The food was disappointing. We had garlic fries as an appetizer, and they had obviously come out of the freezer. They tasted musty, as if they had thawed and been re-frozen. My salmon was tasty, as was the sauce, but it was cooked to hell and dry. The rice was oily and tasted like Uncle Ben's Ready Rice. My boyfriend's burger was miniscule, nothing the least bit special. My cheesecake tasted frozen also, but his chocolate brownie thing was pretty good. The only redeemable item was the mushroom bisque: TO. DIE. FOR.
All in all, we won't be coming back as long as they're having the food brought it. There is a gorgeous kitchen just itching to be used, and everything is coming out of plastic bags. Do they really have so little confidence in their chef's?
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! Â We started with the Lime & Honey chicken skewers and they were so yummy! The sauce they serve with it is to die for! Â We both love, love bacon so we both had the Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon. Â It was perfectly cooked and came with garlic red mashed potatoes and fresh green beans with bacon. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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!!!
Review Source:I'm adding an extra star because this new restaurant needs to be visited by you right now. I had the calamari, red snapper special and crime brûlée. The calamari was seasoned perfectly. The red snapped had a nice, light and creamy sauce served over some sticky jasmine rice. The crime brûlée had berries mixed in to the brûlée - it wasn't too much. It was perfect.
The staff was attentive and the co-owner was open to feedback on the menu. If you live here, make this place a regular spot. If you're driving through, make sure to stop here.
I travel a ton for business and am always happy to find places like this.
5 stars because it's as good as it gets for Merced. Probably on of  the best meals you can have for under $10. I had a lunch special, which inlcuded a half portion of macaroni & cheese and tomato basil parmesan soup for $9. I first tasted the soup, which I had chosen from the lunch special choices on a whim. Glad I did that, it was so creamy and savory. Basil served on top was fresh and parmesan was as if it had just been grated minutes before. I'm not a soup fan but this is a must try. The macaroni & cheese was just as tasty, though I didn't love how it had pieces of ham in it. I like my mac & cheese just cheese and pasta. The pasta was penne, and smothered in cheese sauce. The cheese sauce itself is delicious, and on the thicker side of sauces. It tasted homemade and like it had just been prepared. It's a great addition to finer dining in Merced, and I've already made plans to go back.
I really like the color scheme of the place as well, which is in the gray family. It felt dark but not dreary and my window view was nice. They also had jazz music playing from an ipod, which helped to not hear other people's conversations as tables are closer together than I would have liked.
Oh, and have the brownie sundae for dessert, they serve the brownies warm!
Excellent food and service. Menu items are a bit on the pricier side, especially for the area & as a college student, however that is the general idea for a restaurant of this caliber.
Tables were filled on a Friday night and the wait staff was friendly. This is another alternative in town for date night besides Pocket 8's
On the road to Yosemite we ventured in to Merced in search of a tasty meal. Â Fast food as far as the eye could see, we ventured toward Main St, and stopped when we saw a chalkboard sign that said "lunch dinner bistro five ten"
It turns out they had just opened just the day before.
Penne and buffalo mozzarella ravioli were both good. Â The raviolis were cheesy and the meat on the penne was good. Â One of the co-owners checked on us at the end of the meal, which is good because the wife had some useful feedback on the wisdom of serving half-portions in little bowls.
The restaurant has a nice ambiance but feels unfinished and the staff are polite but a bit clearly new at the job. Â This seems reasonable for day two. Â I normally don't review on the first visit, but a few stars on Yelp might help a business along.
WoW! what a fantastic job they did to the interior of the restaurant. Â We went for dinner. Â My steak was done to perfection and the service was exceptional. Â I was pleasantly surprised with the side bar. Â I remember the days of Chianti's and they made that section back to a full service bar with sofas and a couple of TV's; looking forward to going back and trying their lunch menu.
Review Source:Nice-streamlined decor, professional looking staff, and  beautiful setting on the downtown courtyard.  Far too cold-we needed coats throughout dinner.  Servers were not well trained.  Our soup ended up at another table, our appetizer order was forgotten, then when we amended the order and reaffirmed that we wanted our main dish AFTER our appetizer, they both showed up at the same time.  The chicken skewer was virtually tasteless with a watered down dipping sauce.  Salmon and rice were okay, but the vegetable was undercooked and under seasoned.  There was no decaffeinated coffee available.  Cheesecake was average.  As we left, we noted the skewer that the waitress dropped was still in the middle of the floor....quite a hazard if someone were to step on it.  We would love to see this restaurant spiff up their service and menu offerings....more flavor please.
Review Source:
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