The Mainzer — Restaurant in Merced

Visited recently on a Sunday for brunch. Had reservations for 6 at 9:00, opening time. I'll have to say, the food was hit and miss. Service, practically nonexistent. It took a while for the server to hit us up for drinks, of which most ordered coffee. Took a little longer for that to show up. Sunday morning, hot coffee should be good to go right at the start. The food took quite a while to come out. Out of the breakfasts ordered, let's start with a breakfast sandwich, side of fries. The sandwich was very good, tasty and nicely prepared. The fries were stone cold, limp and greasy. Bad. Next, the chorizo gravy and biscuits, were also stone cold. Very disappointing, considering the presentation was so promising. The skillet breakfast was good, no complaints from the diner. Two orders of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast also received good marks, although there was only white toast to choose from. I had the Bruleed brioche french toast. Very good, would order again. Why did we not mention to the server that some of the food was off the mark? She never came back, until to tell us she was going on break. Break, from what? You just started at 9. We had to grab someone to get coffee refills. Refills should be a given for a breakfast spot. We also had to track someone down to get the bill and pay. For the lofty price, I will not return. We were entertaining family from out of town that had stayed at the El Capitan. Not a good choice to show them what we are doing with the downtown area. Man, I so wanted it to be a good experience. Not this time. And there will not be a next...

Very cool venue and exceptional staff. Love the beer wall with more than just beer (ciders, seltzers), but was sadly disappointed with their food. What I ordered was strange and perhaps my own fault - a Danish pancake. It was delicious, but it was a crepe (as anticipated) in a 5" cast iron skillet, for $14. A single American pancake isn't worth $14 let alone a European thin-ass crepe.

My companions had different issues. My friend didn't like her Huevos Rancheros and said the plate was something she'd never seen or tasted before. Since I was so underserved by my meal, I ate hers and thought it was fine. Didn't taste like Huevos Rancheros but they were good.

My friend's daughter had our flustered waiter screw up her taco order. He was so embarrassed. She was so non-plussed. It was adorable.

But both their plates were $16. And I'd be surprised if my friend ever goes back. With tip, it was $110 for 3 (2 drinking). So, for the prices they demand, their dishes should hit better. Traditional or eclectic - pick a lane. Make filling, easy to customize and familiar dishes and people will feel honored to buy them for $15-20, not annoyed.

Anyway, the staff was attentive and kind and the venue was fun fun fun. Like 8 stars for the venue. They have skeeball, table hockey, tictactoe and more, plus a movie theater and outdoor seating on adorable Main Street Merced. It's clean, modern, local, and convenient. It's just too high a price point for what they're actually serving for food.

Go drink and play instead. It's...

I don't like to leave negative reviews; especially in small towns where you want local places to thrive. The staff was nice; but everything else was just so bad.

The service was slow, but I didn't ding for that. The issue was the server literally knew nothing about the menu; our table asked the very basics of everyday questions, and the answer to all questions was "eh, I don't know" (food and drinks). There was one questionable confirmation (which also turned out to be wrong; too bad for me, since I ordered food based on the answer). The server didn't even recognize they were wrong when bringing out the food. We had to grab most of our condiments and napkins ourselves (and the negatives on service actually continue, but I'll leave it there).

Unfortunately, the food was also overcooked and bland. I hate to drag them down, but it honestly just tasted like frozen stuff warmed up (no seasoning; freezer burn meat). We are not that picky, and two individuals had to order a second meal (because the first was burnt or just that bad). Mind you, I'm 42, and have probably only sent back a plate once in my entire life (again, we are not picky). And unfortunately, the second replacements (different items) weren't any better. No discount was offered; paid for both dinner plates in full, in both cases. In fairness, I didn't ask for a discount and didn't overly complain, but most establishments would just offer.

Drinks were also...