17th Street Public House

My family and I were in town for a graduation and we were looking for a place to relax and have a cocktail or two! In Merced the options are pretty limited so when I found the 17^th Street Public House on Unilocal I thought it looked like a nice place.
We had a little bit of a hard time finding it because the sign is really small we drove right by it twice. So once we found it we went in and were greeted by the bartender he gave us a plain white menu and told us these were the beers for the evening. So when we realized they didn’t have a full bar just beer and wine we were disappointed because none of us know anything about beer and the wine selection was sparse. So we thought about just leaving but we really didn’t know where else to go so we stayed.
The bartenders seemed nice and friendly but they gave us no help with selecting beer they didn’t offer us samples or anything so we just guessed what we might like by how the names sounded. So three of us got beer and one got a house wine, none of us liked what we got but we drank it we also tried a sparkling wine. But before I got some I did ask the bartender what he recommended but that turned out to be terrible as well. So we just finished our drinks and left extremely disappointed. Not everyone is a beer expert so when without any direction or being offered samples we had no idea what we would like. When we were leaving I sow three guys sit down and ask to sample something and I thought that would have been nice if they would have suggested that to us!
Also the atmosphere was a sports bar they had ESPN on which was great, but they had this slow depressing instrumental music playing which made me really bored and the crowded is what you would expect in a college town.

Awesome pub! I’m here at least 1 – 2 times per week. They have a great rotating tap that keeps us coming back! They also do regular tap takeovers, which are super fun. The staff is very friendly and helpful.
This place would be just as cool if it weren’t in Merced.
Only gripe: on weekends it gets super busy and loud, so sometimes there isn’t enough seating and you end up yelling to have a conversation. On weekdays or earlier in the day, it’s the best.

This place is a great place to grab a drink (beer or wine only) after work or just because. Friendly knowledgable staff and a great selection of craft beers on tap or in bottles. Crowd is pretty mixed.

I love this place. They have an amazing assortment of drinks that is forever changing, allowing for you experiment every time you visit. The staff there obviously love working there and are very helpful. Its a bit of a small location, however, I feel that adds to its charm. The only thing that I wish is that they had a dance floor so my friends and I could dance. Overall, great place to grab a beer and enjoy yourself.

17^th Street is usually packed and for good reason. Great beer and wine selection and friendly, knowledgeable staff.

Solid little pub in the puddle of Merced. The people there are really cool and the staff are even friendlier! Drinks are always on spot, if you’re a little older then the average UC students this is an awesome resource to make friends!

Tanisha was very welcoming on my first visit, able to suggest where to eat (since I’m not from the area) to what to drink.
Good selection on Tap, but I was looking for more local brew. Maybe another day, since taps are rotating.

What a chill little joint!!! Situated smack dab in the middle of «downtown» Merced.
Great selection of local craft brews and wines (I’m a beer-​o, not a wine-​o) so can’t really comment on the «vino type» libations.
Staff on all three of my visits were super cool and I had three different bartenders each time!!!
A little on the smallish side on the interior. My biggest gripe would be the restroom situation. Only one «community» restroom for what is basically a beer joint? Almost pissed my pants after beer #2 waiting to get in. Worse yet… Can’t fart up in there without being called out!!!

Great beer, great bar, friendly servers. A one of a kind spot in Merced that would hold its own anywhere in the Bay Area.

For merced this place gets 5 stars, for california its gets 3 stars so I rounded to 4. Staff is great, bar is clean, prices are reasonable and most importantly they have a great selection of constantly rotating beers and good wines

This is such a fun little establishment. I discovered this place with my boyfriend since he just moved to Merced. They have an awesome selection of beers. You can find all sorts of craft beers that you wouldn’t normally find in bars. They have both a tap and a variety of beers in bottles. They also have a decent amount of different white and red wines to choose from. Tenisha was our bartender and, I have to say, she knows her stuff. She took the time to explain a bunch of the different beers and wines and she is just an overall cool person to talk to. There’s a little patio outside if you wanted to step out for a smoke or some fresh air. The only reason I took 1 star off is because I initially thought this was a full bar and was expecting liquor but it’s solely a wine and beer bar! Just something to keep in mind !!

Great place to hang out with friends with great selection of beer :)
Spent a day in Merced and so glad that we stopped at the Public House. I grew up in Merced, and this is a piece of modern eclectic bar that you’d find in the Bay and other large cities. No Bud or Coors here. All micro/​small breweries which really makes this perfect for the young working professional /​college student.
You come here b/​c you enjoy a good beer and have good company around.
The staff is also great, our bar tender was very knowledge about the beer on tap and provided us with great selection.
This is a must stop if you want to hang out in Merced.

It’s a tap room with some tvs and a gated in patio out front. It appears the smokers hang out in the patio area. Decent beer selection. All the std types are represented. Watched part of the first game of the world series on the TV behind the bar. Did one and done Ninkasi red. Plenty of seats available on a Tuesday night. Not particularly friendly but not unfriendly. Will try it again I’m sure.

Well, it’s been 2 weeks and I find myself back in Merced. So of course, I head for what i now like to call it «Craft Capital» of Merced. How they manage to land these beers is a mystery (but they do). Good job 17^th street crew. ! :-) :-)

Great spot. Tons of rotating craft beers, IPAs, porters, bourbon barrel aged, and a solid range of the lighter varieties, though I shy from them. Clean, well maintained, great staff, friendly cast of regulars. Not bad.

Good beer selection and friendly staff. Got pretty busy with the hipster IPA crowd on Thursday night but everyone had a good time.

Merced has a pub! Merced has a pub!
I was stoked when I came to town after being gone for 5 yrs and seeing some very positive changes, 17^th st being one of them.
It’s pretty cool to have a place to come hang out with friends and have a beer or two after getting out of class. This pub is tiiiiiiiny though, and both days I came here it was packed. Probably not ideal for a group of 4 or more.
Bartenders were very nice and quick to take orders and pour out the beers. The ambiance was very laid back and perfect.
Now, I’m not a beer expert or anything but they seemed to have a little bit of everything and the prices were reasonable.
However… they only serve beer here. Which is why I didn’t give it the 5^th star.
And when I say «only» I mean that in a literal way. No food, no other form of alcohol, not even peanuts, you’ve been warned.

Great little brewpub in downtown Merced. They have an excellent array of rotating craft beers — IPA’s, Imperial Stouts, Barleywines… you name it. There’s no food though, so be sure to grab some nearby tacos and bring ‘em with you. It’s BYOF.
So if you find yourself (for some reason) in Merced and you want a great beer, 17^th Street is where to go. Thank me later.

I have been here during the day and during the night. It’s always empty during the day and is very laid back and relaxed. The temperature is always a mild chill, then at night it becomes way too cool if you catch my drift.
Selection of craft beer is plentifully diverse, capable of entertaining all types of taste buds. I can decide whether I want to get smashed like a hapless college freshman or be more dainty like a French flaneur.
The ambience is very hip and trendy. Everything feels new and earthy with the interior design although a bit of a tight squeeze on certain Saturdays. Everyone is so kind and friendly.
My only wish is for their hours to extend later after 1 or 2, it would be nice to stumble in at 3 AM during those introspective, soul-​searchy nights.

Too bad this place opened after I graduated, I would have hung out here more often. Air conditioned place, but it is quite small, and fills easily in the afternoon. They have a good assortment of drinks with decent pricing. The only thing I wished they had was some snacks and food, but otherwise its a nice place to chill and catch up with friends.
BTW only place in Merced (for now) that has serves the largest variety of craftbrews so we can’t be too picky with what we have haha