Original Mel’s

I went to eat there a while back and I love breakfast food like no other. I ordered some eggs hash browns with sausage and I go to eat a bite of my egg and there was a staple in it! I just don’t understand how the cool didn’t catch a damn staple in my eggs!

Great friendly service fantastic food fair prices and they are open all night love this place

This Mel’s is very slow in service. Not very crowded, yet a wait for a table, a wait for a waitress to take our order and forever for our food. Not worth it with so many restaurants to choose at the outlet stores.

Amazing service. All the staff were have great smiles. The food was good also. I was there for lunch and had one of the lunch specials. Great Value.

First and foremost: I do not appreciate the behavior that I just witnessed. There was a blonde girl who I assumed was the hostess. She was talking on the store’s phone. It appeared to be a personal call because she was laughing. After awhile she looked up at us and said «I gotta go, there’s people at the door.» Sorry to disturb your call, girl. After we’re finished, we go up to pay and the same girl was our cashier. This dude sitting as close as he could to the register at the bar was dead staring at my husband as he was paying. The girl looks over at him. Her eyes moved to my husband, then back at him. The guy nodded and smiled, and she smiled too. She then mouthed to him, «I love you.» So I don’t know what the joke there was with my husband, but please clue me in if you’re reading this. I’d love to know.
Now as for the things that are supposed to matter… food’s okay. Good for a late night out. It’s always clean, so there’s that.

One of our favorite stops on our way to the bay… good food, prices, and customer service… they never disappoint!

Always like to go here when I’m home. The mels burger with cheese is my go to. My daughter likes the kids burger and she is a burger expert. Then hamburger buns are really good. There ranch dressing is homemade. It is also good for desert and for breakfast fun atmosphere with lots of 50s memorabilia and juke boxes on the tables.

The really good, at night anyways. But the food was not impressive. The chili was okay, but needed more spice. I also didn’t get my corn bread. The fries were pretty good and super hot. The Mel’s Monte Cristo is straight garbage. It’s deep fried– but takes greasy to a whole new level. For how greasy it was, I don’t understand how the turkey could be so dry! I also missed over reading about the turkey. Then it comes out with syrup. I thought with the pineapple it would be a good spin; I was wrong. The grease was so terrible, 30 minutes later I introduced mr. Pukey to the back of my throat. I feel much better.

My bf and i come here all the time and we love it but the waitress Missy isn’t very friendly and we hope to never get her again and we noticed how unfriendly she is to everyone else definitely think she should choose a career that doesnt involve talking to people.

I have gone here a few times. Every time I am disappointed.
The food is mediocre. The menus need to be cleaned, there’s nothing worse than a sticky menu. Gross! Run down inside, and not very clean.
The staff doesn’t provide very good customer service. They seem to not really care about their jobs, or if you have a good dining experience.
This last time that I went, I didn’t even eat my food. I ordered wings, and they were disgusting. The buffalo sauce tasted really weird (how do you mess up buffalo sauce?) and there was a bunch of huge black flakes all over the chicken wings, like they need to clean their grill or something. The cheese fries were seriously burnt and also tasted like whatever they used to cook them needed to be cleaned. YUCK.
Perhaps you could get away with a milkshake and just enjoy the novelty of using those juke boxes, but I would stick with Denny’s.

The 50’s theme and decorations were AWESOME!
I went there for breakfast around 6 AM today (Sunday) and I was the only customer. Needless to say, I was seat5ed immediately, given coffee & ice water and a menu.
They were patient as I looked through their very interesting menu. I ordered an omelet and hash brown’s. I took most of the generously sized omelet home with me. They kept my coffee cup topped off.
Prices were average for this type of restaurant. Or, perhaps, a little less than average.
I’ll definitely be back soon – most likely for breakfast on a weekend.

Just had the worst experience here. Came in and we were seated immediately and the host said our server will be with us shortly. We kept seeing our server come to the tables behind us and in front of us and not even stop and say «I’ll be right with you guys» or anything. it’s like we were invisible after waiting patiently we then decided to leave and dine elsewhere.
If you choose to dine here beware of the short overweight Latina unless you want bad service !!!

During our road trip to Portland, we decided to dine here at one of our pit stops. I actually have never heard of this place but my husband has (but he’s never tried it) — I really like the retro-​ness of the diner itself and our waitress was very friendly.
My husband ended up getting a Reuben sandwich — we substituted his fries for the cheesy mel fries because that’s what Unilocalers recommended! The sandwich was good and the fries were decent… some of the cheese didn’t really melt well though. I had an omelet, which was very delicious, but most of the potatoes in my hash were not cooked at all. I ended up not eating most of it since I didn’t want to get sick eating raw potato (and didn’t think it was worth it to have them re-​cook the hash in the kitchen since I wasn’t super hungry). We both also shared a milkshake, which was very yummy!
Overall it’s what you would expect from a diner — can’t say it’s amazing but it’s pretty good!

The last time I was at an Original Mel’s was a while ago in San Francisco… ‘And that was quite a while ago.
I dig the throwback vibe, the music, in addition to the nostalgic kitschy-​like décor. As many times that I’ve driven by, I have yet to actually take some time and pay Original Mel’s a visit… I was trying to avoid a heavy meal as I was already tired and had a fair amount of work ahead of me on this late, Monday afternoon. So, naturally, I chose Mel’s which is known for their extensive, low calorie, salad selection… (Insert sarcastic tone here) Well, there goes any chance of me getting any work done later. «C’est la vie… Let’s eat!»
Seriously though, I actually did consider getting a salad but thought, «Who the hell goes out of their way to hamburger joint to order a salad…» ‘Exactly.
Mari P, greeted me as I walked in, I chose a seat relatively central to the front counter and dining area so I could get a good view of the diner and do a bit of people watching. Mari returned a few times to check on me as I decided on what to order… I’ve been craving a really good BLT. (Mimi’s in Fairfield makes a pretty mean one. the BLTA.)
I eventually decided on —
BLT lunch special w/​an added request for cream cheese; comes w/​2 sides ($ 6.99)
Onion rings (Side 1) *Addl charge from standard fries
Cole slaw (Side 2)
Joey’s Caramel Monkey Crunch Shake ($ 6.79)
Total: $ 16.20 (+ tip)
As you can see, I slid from one end of the spectrum to the other and ordered, glutenous w/​extra cholesterol… ‘And just as predicted, I was completely sloth-​like in getting any work done as the high caloric, food coma took over. (However, I did manage to nap for couple of hours.)
BLT: The sandwich was good, was surprised to see it served on a ciabatta versus the traditional, toasted, white, sandwich bread. I had placed a special request for cream cheese to be added to the sandwich.
Note: The next time you order a BLT, ask if they can add cream cheese to your order, it takes the sandwich to an entirely different level. The sweet and savory of the sandwich combined with the buttery-​like cream cheese, «Good sh*t!» (True story.) The BLT had a fair amount of bacon, covering the sandwich edge to edge but you can never have too much bacon.
Onion rings: Good flavor; a bit on the soggy side, not crispy; good portions — most places will give you 4 – 5 rings but Mel’s gives you a good handful.
Cole slaw: Fresh; good portions; a bit on the mild/​bland side (Needed a dash of salt & pepper)
Joey’s Caramel Monkey Crunch Shake (Caramel, chocolate, banana, Oreo & malt powder) $ 6.79: Good; too sweet for my taste but thought it was worth a try since I was already eating a heart attack, power lunch.
The service: Mari, the hostess/​waitress was friendly, professional and helpful.
Verdict: 3+
— Big Aloha!
Food: 3+
Ambiance: 3
Service: 4
Value: 3+

I’m basing my review solely on the environment, service, and QUALITY of food. I’m a vegan, so my choices were very limited. The whole place is very well decorated. Their theme is 1950’s and it was just that, tons of classic pictures on the walls, little jukeboxes where you can pay to play some oldies music, vintage booths, etc. The service was awesome, our waitress was charismatic and fun. I ended up ordering a veggie sandwich without cheese and mayo. It was plain but still good, I got a side of fries and that definitely completed the meal. Again, I couldn’t tell you much about the food but their menu was very extensive and had tons of choices which all looked appetizing, what would seem, for other people.
Overall, I’d recommend to friends and family but would not return again for myself, unless I came with friends who’d want to go.
Pro: Awesome atmosphere, great service, big menu with good prices.
Con: Lack of vegan options.

Breakfast for dinner. That’s one phrase you can always win people over with. This place is just a typical American diner, except with a retro feel to it. Food wise, it tasted the same to me. Nothing really stood out, but it was still very satisfying.

Yum. Delectable.
I love the Original Mel’s restaurant.
You can never go home hungry after eating at Here. They give you plenty of food on your plate.
The design of the restaurant is about the same as any other Mel’s establishment.
When you first walk in There is a sign that says, «please wait to be seated.» We didn’t mind. The hostess at Mel’s in my opinion has always been very welcoming and accommodating. The food here comes to your table pretty fast but noticably homemade and not package bought. My favorite mouth watering meal is on their breakfast menu. I can not leave out how delisious their milk shakes and malts are. Yum.
Yes, I will continue to frequent this wonderful chain restaurant.

I usually dine here when I want to spend some quality time with my parents. The customer service here has been consistently superb. The staff are always friendly and helpful, which is always a plus. The food, however, is usually a hit or miss for me. Don’t get me wrong, the food is decent, but I just wish it consistently flavorful. There were a couple of instances when my food tasted bland, but thank God for Tabasco sauce and black pepper.
Overall, this restaurant offers excellent dining experience with average food.

What we order:
Country fried steak and eggs
Steak and eggs
Large OJ
The server was nice and polite but the food was… The country fried steak was burnt as heck. My GF barely ate half of her fried steak and I finished the rest of her food for her. The country fried steak was not worth it. The steak and eggs was alright. It did its job. Would I order it again? No. As for the OJ, we found hair!!! Hurrrrrrr?!?&$@ Why Whhhhy?! Gross.
The reason why we give this place a 2 star because the server was nice and the steak and egg was alright.

Always starving after school, we tend to go out for a bite to eat when Jess gets out. Today it was Mel’s Diner. It had been a while since we’d been there, I’m glad we decided to stop in.
The place is full of American memorabilia and the music playing from the juke boxes on the tables are fun and up-​beat.
We both ordered burgers and fries with soda to wash it all down.
The service was good. Nothing over the top, but not lacking either. Our food was delivered quickly and hot. Cooked perfectly, our burgers were yummy. The fries, on the other hand, were lacking.
The table and menus felt a little sticky… But over-​all ok.
Only able to eat half of my burger, the rest was packed up to bring home for later.
Overall– good burgers, fun atmosphere and friendly people.
Food: 4
Cleanliness: 4
Service: 4
Value: 4