The Original Mel’s

Always good service. They have little car boxes they make that change everytime we have been there we always ask for one to give to our 1 year old son who loves cars. They always willing give us one for him! Always makes our night!

I love mels, but the staff at this one is much less friendly than at other branches and there is not quality controle over the food. I ordered a scramble without sour cream and it had sour cream, not I big deal but instead of fixing it they just buried it under more potatoes.

Stopped for a quick weekday lunch with a girlfriend. Service was Great and quick, food was pretty lame though. Sweet potato fries weren’t sweet kinda bitter. Cole slaw had ZERO flavor, not sweet not zesty just milky and bleh. My turkey pastrami bacon sandwich looked good but even that was totally lacking flavor. Not sure how they can get bacon with no salty smoky flavor. Big white bread is all I could taste. Girlfriends French fries were good though. I wasn’t sick or that would totally explain my feelings. Worst part of it all… I took half the sandwich Home. Got a BAD STOMACH ACHE an hour after lunch. That lasted til I went to bed. Felt better next day; ate the other half sandwich for lunch & got Sick all over again :/

Waiter blew his nose… the handled silverware… dirty washtubs, the comes over to take our order… never washed his hands! NOPE… gotta go! Walked right out!!!

Huge portions of amazing food! Great service and love the music and atmosphere. I had the cheese steak with the gourmet fries and couldn’t even put a dent in my plate.

Gotta rate this a top box. The design of the place gives you a sense and the feel of a 1950s diner. Great place to take a lady on a date whether if it’s late night after the drive ins down the street or just meet up with a lady for the first time (Catfish reference, hahah). Price of the food isn’t so bad: a lot cheaper than your usual breakfast eat outs compared to IHOPS or Giant Orange. And the food, AMAZING!!! Totally recommend the Steak and Egg with Mel’s potatoes. Yummy

I’m never disappointed when I come to this Mel’s. The last time I visited, the service was great and my burger and fries were delicious. My friend and I spent a lot of time just conversing over our meal, but during that time our server checked in with us (very politely) to make sure that everything was going well. Nice environment, very clean, and great food.

My son and I ate breakfast at Mel’s. It was a good breakfast. The pancakes were large and light. My son ordered a simple breakfast of over easy eggs and toast. What he received was a feast. Home made potato hash browns were included for $ 6.99. The waitress was very sweet. Coffee was weak, but otherwise I will go back

I was craving sugar in the form of ice cream after a busy day in Sacramento.
Sharing the parking lot with my hotel was Mel’s! Perfect. Exactly what I wanted and only steps from my hotel room. We parked the car and headed in for a late night snack.
We were sedated immediately and, after saying we wanted only dessert, were greeted with a large dessert only menu.
I ordered a Black and Tan with some modifications. I don’t like chocolate so I asked to leave the chocolate syrup off and stick with just caramel. The waitress was more than accommodating to me and my weird request. She subbed the chocolate for extra caramel.
When dessert arrived it was a bathtub of ice cream! It was a huge pile of ice cream covered in caramel. It was overflowing before she even set it down in the table!
While devouring our treats, they checked on us several times without being overbearing. They were slow for the night but I noticed when they weren’t serving customers they were all cleaning up around the tables. Nice to see instead of just lounging around.
When we were ready to pay they were quick to meet us at the register and wish us a good night. I never came close to finishing my massive dessert but it was delicious and exactly what I was craving!

Ordered the patty melt with mels got food poisoning from it not sure what they did but oh man i didnt feel good at all! Never eating there!

I love being able to write such a positive update to my previous review! My friend and I were driving around on a rainy Sunday looking for a breakfast place that wasn’t too packed. We’d already struck out 3 times, and were considering just settling for McDonald’s (McSadface). We spotted Mel’s and (despite my previous bad experience), decided to give it another shot.
We were seated and served our meals very quickly, especially considering how busy it was. Awesome to see that this place is running like a well-​oiled machine now. They’ve done a complete 180 since my last visit, and I wouldn’t hesitate to frequent this location.
One thing that’s always annoyed me about the Mel’s menu as opposed to Denny’s or IHOP: they don’t do breakfast combos correctly. Apparently they think that only omelette-​lovers enjoy hash browns and bacon as side options… but us pancake fiends need some bacon lovin’ too!

service was terrible, food ok, but it took way to long to get out 3 foamy milkshakes. Also, tweakers were chillin in front of restaurant… Also noticed the CONDITIONAL PASS score card.

Dog Food. I ordered quickly, I was friendly, and I paid a tip for a to-​go order. What could go wrong?
I received a pile of soggy cold GARLIC fries served on top of a giant pickle slice. My pickled fries were garnished with a generous scoop of actual minced garlic. very literal garlic fries. I asked for ‘a little’ pink on my mushroom swiss burger. The meat was charred and tough, the swiss was hard and chewy, the onion straws soaked through the bottom bun and it fell apart. Wet lettuce and tomato were tossed into my to-​go container directly on top of my burger and soaked through the top bun.
I waited 20 minutes. The entire time the waiters were loudly complaining that the customer’s were not tipping enough. I come from a family of small business owners and we know the value of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. This was one of the worst meals I have ever eaten. I love Mel’s, but I will never return to this location.

Ehh. Not too impressed. Got the regular cheeseburger with grilled onions added & the meat was extremely dry :/​However, the garlic fries & chili cheese fries we ordered made up for it.
Also, the bun the burger comes with is really soft, almost too soft to even hold the burger together. Maybe next time ill try the breakfast.

At least I can remove another chain from my list. What a nightmare.
We popped in for a Sunday brunch and thought the menu promised good options. I ordered Eggs Benedict with avocado instead of ham and Hollandaise on the side. Simple right?
Apparently not. My husband received the entirely wrong order when the food was brought out. My poaches eggs were completely hard boiled and swimming in water. It took easily five minutes to get the attention of the staff while four stood chatting behind the bar. When we called attention to the errors, the waitress took the plates and we heard her chide the cooks.
When she returned with the correct orders, we were starving. This time to correct the over cooked eggs they served me barely cooked and mucous-​like eggs. Having reached my limit, I scraped off the goo and tried to eat the avocado and English muffin underneath.
Lo and behold, the avocado was so unripe I had to cut it with a knife. To make matters worse, the coffee was more than $ 2 and we never received or were offered a single refill.
In conclusion, Mel’s is a no longer a destination or even an option for the future.

Had a great experience, first time at Mel’s. Great décor and very retro feel. Waiter was nice and attentive. We were the only ones there then got a bit busy, but waiter still checked on us. Food was great, I got the steak & egg and the steak wasn’t dry or tough.

I live very close to Mel’s and everytime I go there the food is amazing, the wait staff is attentive, and service is fast. The restaurant has a cute diner feel but they also have TVs all around so you can catch whatever football or basketball game is on. I probably go to Mels twice a month for weekend brunch but their lunch and dinner food is also really good. Overall one of my favorite places to eat in Sac.

The atmosphere of this restaurant reminds me of Johnny Rocket’s. It has a nice retro vibe to it. It’s a typical all-​American diner like Denny’s. Not the greatest restaurant compared to Denny’s and Lumberjack’s which are on the same strip as this restaurant.
I ordered a breakfast item on the menu, the french toast combo with eggs, sausage, and bacon. The food came out at almost warm to room temperature and just average.
The service, however, is horrific. After our server took our order, he never came back. My party came on a weekday for lunch around 11am. There were a total of about 3 tables in the whole restaurant, yet the food took over 30 – 40 minutes to arrive for 4 people. Drinks went empty, food was done, yet the server was no where to be found.
When we walked up to pay, the cashier/​server was very rude. She gave each of us our checks and didn’t say a word or smile. On the way out, we told her thank you and didn’t get any response whatsoever.
2 stars for the okay-​food. None for service, and not coming back.

I always enjoy a themed restaurant that adds additional interest to ones meal. This place has a nicely designed 1950’s style building with an interior of cozy booths, juke boxes, and wall art replicas that invoke memories of what was popular in the 50’s.
My family and I have lived in that era and because we are always on the look out for good breakfast places, this restaurant sparked our interest in reliving some nostalgic memories while we dined. The menu has a large selection of breakfasts, lunch and dinner to choose from. A variety of delicious looking items are featured. I ordered my usual breakfast favorite of two eggs over medium, country potatoes, toast and coffee. But my boyfriend is often faced with dilemmas of food restrictions. He had a less than satisfying experience since he must make special requests to decrease his sodium intake and minimize foods cooked in grease. Unfortunately they would not make food substitutions nor do they offer lower priced meals, meaning there are no senior discounts. While I’m not bothered by this for myself, I was concerned about adding to the ticket total since my elderly dad insists on paying the bill.
Our meals were OK and so was the service. The manager also checked in on customers to see how they were doing. While I may be a child of the 50’s, I can’t say that I remember going to restaurants much back then. We were the typical financially limited family that often ate home cooked meals that included canned goods and frozen dinners. Needless to say, cooking was simple and basic, a little like what we ate at Mel’s…good enough to eat, but not outstandingly memorable.

I have always liked the fifties and early sixties theme. It seems like such a happy time. Unfortunately, Mel’s Diner has managed to combined the fifties theme with the great depression. It seems more like nightmare on Elm Street than American Graffiti. Somehow, over the years they have sucked the fun out of it.
Entering this restaurant, it reminds me more of an old McDonalds than a drive in. Way too much plastic. The wait staff is adequate but does nothing to add to the atmosphere or make me want to return. They are just your average fast food garden zombies. Training does not appear to be a strong point for Mel’s.
The menu has become boring and inflexible, and has little to offer as far as low price options. They have a few items during the week if you are into lots of salt and grease. Make sure you make a reservation at your local emergency room for lunch and the head cardiologist is schedules to be in the building.
After staring at the menu for quite some time and being told several times that I could not make substitutions, I settled for a short stack of hotcakes.
It has been a long time since I have been to Mel’s and it will probably be even longer before I return.