Mels The Original

Came here for dinner about a week ago, on our way home from visiting family in Roseville. I am always up for some classic American Diner food. When I was 16 I worked as a «Counter Girl» at a family style diner, which basically meant I served the people that sat at the counter. I would have dinner there before I started my shift (after school). That’s when I got my taste for good diner food.
So fast forward to last week, I decided to order the prime rib and fried prawns dinner. Came with french fries and a small dinner salad, which were all good! Nice strong and creamy horseradish sauce came with it. I asked for a medium cooked, or end piece, and I got a nicely cooked piece, pink on the inside, cooked on the outside. The waitress had flaming red hair which looked totally natural and I was mesmerized by her hair! Made my dining experience even better: o)
Fun décor looked like I was walking into the Happy Days diner, Arnolds! Totally cute 50’s style theme. Great experience, I would come back again if I was in the area!

Used to get toast with the wolf man jack and now you don’t. The breakfast potatoes taste like dishwater. We’ll never be back! Very disappointed

We had a group of six people that went in last week at about 12:30 in the morning. We were all tired from working all day… Just looking for some pancakes. By the time we left, we were all dying of laughter because of our server, Mike. He was one of the funniest guys we have ever met. He had a ton of one-​liners to everything we said and had us rolling on the floor. It was a great experience. I got French toast with strawberries and whip cream and it was A1. We will return, most likely at the same time.

We like this place! It’s very relaxed and laidback. Always plenty of parking and plenty of booths available. The menu is huge and the servers are always really friendly.
We were hungry so my husband and I both got ribeye steaks. Yum! The clam chowder wasn’t very impressive though. A little too salty and strange-​tasting for our tastes. The malt was a little strange too, but maybe we picked the wrong flavor or should have stuck to a regular milkshake. But everything other than that was pretty good.
We’ll be back!

Terrible service by Michelle that works at 11 on Saturday nights. She was rude because we wanted our milkshakes as they were made so they do not melt also they were still in their tin with no whip cream or cherry. I’ve gone here multiple times, but Michelle was the worst service I have ever seen

Visited Mels after a movie with my kids to get a milkshake, some fries and a BLT. After receiving the milkshakes 30 min later our food was brought out, other customers that ordered 10 min after us had their food before us hot off the grill. Out food was cold and I told our waiter that the food was cold and not going to eat it. Told him it was the worse service we ever had here and not happy with cold fries. He popped off saying you were complaining and bitching to your kids. I finally said if you weren’t such a piece of shit picking up on guys instead of doing your job, we would have to return the food. Well the light in the loafers waiter explained he was the supervisor tonight and I disrespected him and he asked me to leave. I’ve supported this restaurant weekly with my kids and have notice the young employees not doing their jobs but haven’t voiced my concerns. I’d rather give the one on Douglas my business from now on. It’s not my job to watch my waiter drool over a table of guys verses realizing hey my table has been sitting for over 30 min while the food is sitting waiting to be delivered. Pathetic service here. The pathetic waiter name was Alex, really should be looking to get into another industry.

Been here numerous times always had good service. Just had to LOL when we came in and found the occupant of the booth next to us

I really enjoyed eating at Mel’s. While I may be dating myself, I think of Mel’s Diner from the show Alice. I had a Denver omelette and some French fries! It was absolutely divine! I love the atmosphere and it’s very 50’s style.

My kids and I love this place. The food is always good the stag is awesome, friendly and accommodating.
This is a very family friendly place, first and foremost. I go here with my kids every couple of weeks and they do everything necessary to make my kids happy. They come by a couple, or more, times a meal to make sure we are happy and have what we need, and they get the kids food out quickly.
The dishes are classic fair and tasty. They make everything consistently good, and it all hits home like mom’s cooking. The variety of food will make everyone in the party happy, and save some room for the shakes.
Definitely worth the trip.

Came here on a Sunday night with my Wife and two Kids.
First, you never have to wonder if they are open or not, because they’re open 24 hours.
Second, our food was pretty good, although a little over priced for the quality.
Finally, our Server Michael was friendly and attentive, but could not answer a few questions I had to my satisfaction…
When I asked if they have Wi-​Fi he said yes, but no one knows the password. Also, there are 3 different choices that came up: 1) Mels Diner Guest, 2) Mels Diner Guests, and 3) melsrocklin.
And when I asked him what the difference of those were, he did not now either.
Then when I asked why my Daughter’s French Dip Sandwich with just cheese added was 10 cents more than my French Dip Philly (which has bell peppers, grilled onions, AND Swiss cheese added, he only states that that is the price that comes up when he puts it in the computer, and he had no control over the prices!
Oh well, this place still beats Denny’s… But maybe we’ll try IHOP next time!

So disappointed the staff needs to be educated on how to not be annoying and on food safety. My husband and I went on. Thursday night our sever wouldn’t even let us enjoy our meal. I was asked 3 times if I was done and he reached for my plate I wanted to stab him with my fork from trying to take my plate away. So he would let me finish my meal. Where are table sat we had a clear view of the salad station. I watched staff grab lettuce with their bare hands and place it on plates. No gloves no tongs bare hands. After I left I called to speak to a manager to tell him what I saw. Had no concern about it and said «sometimes they have to do that». Never going eat here again.

I would have given them 5 stars but the music was so loud I probably won’t be come back anytime soon. The food was good but I couldn’t even hold a conversation with my girlfriend because the music is so loud it’s like being in a nightclub.

During the late nights I spend with my girlfriend we tend to get hungry and maybe try to go to Denny’s but Mels is also open so we decided to go there. Our first time there was really good and the place really reminded me of the 50’s style diners.
The food — it was really good and tasty, some food I didn’t like but other could have a different opinion. Most of the food that they make is made fresh in their kitchen and I respect them for that the food really comes out looking fresh and tasty just like a diner would be.
Service– the service is great and I’ve never really had to complain about the service even at night they are in a good mood. I give them props for being open 24 hours and the employees being in a good mood.
I would come here again and I have been coming here for awhile now because you get your money’s worth and it fills you up.

Went to Mel’s last Tuesday night, had steak and eggs and fried country potatoes. Amy P. was my waitress, the service was nice, coffee was old, had a freshly made pot of coffee in a pot that wasn’t washed out or had old cover in it. Used the old creamer test to see if it was new coffee or old. It failed the test, still old coffee. Had a vanilla milkshake, Amy did an excellent job. The steak was made in perfection, eggs were over hard, country potatoes were fried and almost perfect. Almost except for the hair in my fried country potatoes, that didn’t come from my waitress, had to come from the kitchen. Amy was very gracious and took off the steak and eggs.

Mel’s isn’t anything extraordinary. But if you’re looking for a good ol’ diner and grease satisfy the drunk hunger or recover from the annoying hangover, this is it!

Food here is good service is very slow. This location is not a very busy location and they always lack in service. Server stand around and never keep busy. Took forever to get my order and got my food fairly fast then and had to wait 10 minutes to Pay my bill. That is ridiculous
Restaurant good service Corps. Will eat at Mel’s again just not this location due to poor customer service

Pros
— Good customer service
— Clean
Cons
— The food sucks more times than not (especially the fries)
— Don’t bother ordering food late at night unless you make time for the toilet in the A.M.
I give it 2 stars because I still like Mel’s, just not this location!

I order my food to go and they never make mistakes. The food is always hot and fresh even once o get back to work which I appreciate.
They have the BESSSSST tuna melts and will even make milkshakes to go! Amazing.

Went here for breakfast today… it was pretty darn good. I had to rush to get to work on time and had only an hour to spare. The service was awesome and the food was great. Most of all I didn’t get sick!

If you like to eat spoonfuls of gravy while staring at American Graffiti paraphernalia, this is your place.
So I’m just gonna be real. I’m on this mega-​diet, and had a secret little anxiety attack on the inside when my friends said they were taking me to Mel’s. Do they even have anything on the menu with less than 30,000 calories?
Well, yes, as it turns out, they do. I ordered the Cobb salad with the fatty toppings on the side. Although the menu does not specify, it comes with grilled chicken. I guess I’m a jerk because I ended up realizing that I was way under on calories for the day and dumping some of the fatty stuff back on the salad but either way, it was pretty good–
Except for the avocado. I can’t quite put my finger on what was wrong with it, but the ends were chewy, as if it had been refrigerated or prepped way too long ahead of time. I know that’s super picky, but I had been craving avocado so bad that it’s half of the reason I chose this item. It was okay once I mixed it in with the rest of the salad, which I’m sure they were counting on me doing, but it was not fresh enough to stand alone.
Other than that, the staff was amazing, and really accommodating of our huge party. They even offered to bring us plates and forks for the cake someone had brought in from a separate establishment. And it was really cool to have somewhere to go after midnight, because we were waiting for midnight to celebrate a birthday.