Melanio’s Bistro

$ 10 for a salad with old, dry, disgusting chicken. I feel like calling the police … Who ever prepared this should be locked up and never allowed to prepare food for anyone again… I’ve had other dishes here and they weren’t bad… Do not get a salad and pay for chicken… Tossed the rest of the salad out and I hope I don’t get food poisoning …

Only the best customer service, warm cooked, and nurturing food on Ocean Ave. The live music helps keep it all down-​to-​earth and relaxing. I love coming here, and ordering pasta, burgers, chicken parmesan, and more. The menu is excellent because it covers a broad range of selections. A true gem of a restaurant this side of town. Try it and let me know what you thinks!

Recently walked past in time to see the same man who had been so rude to me openly picking his nose behind the counter. Lovely!

The food is always excellent. The owners are Awesome. I love that they welcome musicians, vocal performances and poetry readings.

This place is probably the best on ocean avenue in my opinion, excellent meals, wide variety of options and a friendly local feel. The owner is also extremely welcoming and friendly. Highly recommend their coffee, most delicious. I also highly recommend their steak sandwich.

My husband picked this restaurants for a Friday night dinner. We were the only table at 7pm which was not to my surprise. The ambience was so bad: front end of the restaurants looked like a storage facility with dirty containers all over the area, lighting was very poor (not purposely dimmed, just turned off probably to save electicity), and tables ackwardly arranged. So I thought to myself as long as I had good foods, ambience might not be that important.
So now came the foods. We had calamari for appetizer, bruchetta, and chicken fettuccine. Worse Italian foods I had! Calamari was worse than the one you would have bought frozen from a grocery store. The bruchetta was very miserable, way too much vinegar and basil, barely eoungh tomatoes. The basil was not fresh at all neither. The chicken fettuccine was just okay. I ended up getting pizza at Stonestown for another dinner.
I really don’t see how this restaurant got a 4 star review overall and we picked it because of the reviews. Very disappointing experience and highly not recommended.

This is my favorite restaurant in the neighborhood. It’s a mom and pop’s place, and the owners are always around, making sure everyone feels personally welcome. The food is reasonably priced, and delicious, and the service is efficient and super friendly. They also roast their own coffee there! I highly recommend checking it out. It’s only a hop, skip, and a jump away from City College of San Francisco.

Less than mediocre latte. Customer service was swell but work on those barista skills and calibrate your espresso shots, tall middle aged guy — might even be the owner? :/

Prices were higher at least 30% of Unilocal Menu. Lasagna which I ordered was not what I know as lasagna before. It was something different and mush. Dishes were dirty and rusty.

I’ve been here once for dinner, and had the lasagna and garlic bread, which was marvelous. There was a small band playing in the corner, which was also just swell.
My only gripe with this place is the hours. It is beyond me how a café can open at 10am, close at 6pm, not even do business on Sunday’s (?!?) and remain in business on highly trafficked Ocean Ave. C’mon, man!

Came here to meet up a friend for coffee. Before i came here, i saw the pictures of how the this place looks like in the inside, it look more like a coffee shop. But when i finally come, the way they set up the table is more restaurant like then a coffee shop.
It was pretty empty when my friend and i came here so it felt a little awkward since it was just of us plus the workers before someone came in to play live music. It was nice that there was a free live music while my friend and i was catching up.
I only order hot chocolate since i wasnt hungry. Cost $ 2 which is cheap. But the flavor was bland. So you can either come in for coffee or eat your breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It seems like they have dessert near the cashier area too if you guys want desserts

DO NOT GO THERE! It said its open at 10am but I was there at 11:45AM with my brother trying to use the certificate that I bought at
. There were NOT open even though I saw two guys inside. I knocked on the door trying to ask if they are open or not and they just ignore me. Will never go back again!

This review is for the VEGETARIAN LASAGNA = so delicious and flavorful (not bland). Lots of veggies and LOTS OF CHEESE! As an aside, it’s a good thing that I plan to work out later, and hike tomorrow. Though CAUTION: *hot* (temperature-​wise); hence I had to poke «holes» in the pasta before diving in with my fork. Large serving = VERY filling. Great for carb-​loading on the day before a race! The garlic bread (that came along with the entrée) was okay /​so-​so. Note — the price for the vegetarian lasagna at *lunch* versus *dinner* is the SAME = $ 11.00 (despite the lower price listed in the lunch menu via Unilocal).
I ordered at noon, and got my food by 12:20pm. The restaurant… Great atmosphere. Friendly people! Music in the background via playlist (s). Bright decorations.

For two years I’ve been coming to Melanio’s and it is my absolute favorite place on the peninsula!
Claudio’s dishes are nicely crafted and tasty and the service is warm and friendly. The atmosphere is cozy but with a buzz of fun and family. The live music and art on the. wall, as well as the folks behind the counter give Melanio’s Bistro a lively friendly character to match the scrumptious menu!
I always feel like I am coming to meet with friends, even if I just pop in for a coffee ;-)

very sad to write this; this used to be a delicious economical place… NOT anymore Today i tried their empanadas they taste rotten (by far the worse i’ve ever had) and their fries were too salty from frozen potatoes, they had the texture of rubber… all that for $ 16.31
The guy at the cashier register was friendly & pleasant, the place was clean, but quality of food was AWFUL

The blueberry scone was very good, coffee was so so, not so smooth and maybe a little burnt. Would try again.

Food is a 2.5 star, service bumps it up to 3.
I came here once for a chicken pesto panini, and it was awesome. However, my friend’s italian soda had dead ants that came from the syrup which the girl neglected to see as she poured, mixed, and hande us the drink. Wasn’t comped either.
Just came here again yesterday, tried two other sandwiches, the spicy chicken on dutch crunch and the chicken parmigiana on a french roll.
Both breads were really good, soft and chewy and toasted right.
However, the sandwiches were poorly assembled and the chicken parmigiana was missing the marinara (hello!). While we’re on the subject of missing, the spicy chicken was missing the spiciness.
Bottom line, though, is that both sandwiches were still tasty but just not worth $ 7+ for something that was carelessly made (and kind of skimpy). Even if the guy behind the counter is really nice.
Not sure I’ll be back a third time…

Finally ordered from this spot and it is sooo close.
I walk by here all the time and it looks nice insde. We ordered 2 sandwiches 2 go.
One pastrami on rye and one philli steak. Both hot. The pastrami was really tasty and the steak was even better. Very healthy and home made tasting. For the price I would like to see these larger, or come witch chips maybe. Something, and we waited almost 30 minuts which is crazy since the place was not packed. So i have to pull dwn a star.

Pros: Great study space
No extra charge on soy milk!
DEEEElicious smoothies!
Cons: Ridiculously slow service
Poor espresso flan (bad texture)
Bland sandwiches and salads

This café had an amazing ambiance. It really felt like i was in a café.
People were inside on their laptops, reading books, socializing with one another, all while sipping on coffee or eating a coffee cake.
The bf and i usually come here for their carrot cake, which is amazingly divine. The staff is also very nice and helpful in helping us select a dish from their menu.
They do accept card, which is a plus in my book. Definitely coming back for more carrot cake: D.