Honestly, I didn't go for the food because I wasn't even hungry. I happened to be in the nether regions and dropped in to take a gander at the historic spot. Well, Mel's may be old but it's still sexy - so fresh and so clean-clean in the dining area and the character really shines through. I felt as if I had walked into a vintage single wide trailer-esque model with an additional wing built on. Classy. Diners are last (and least) on my list when it comes to meals so I wasn't expecting much. But for what I got - I'm impressed. Just ten $1 federal reserve notes got me two fluffy pancakes, omelette, and home fries. Definitely a belly full, if you like beginning your morning this way. Next time, though, I'll go straight for the home fries. Yum! With salsa...Home run! read more

Growing up watching Alice, I absolutely had to try this diner out. Wasn't expecting much but OH WOW! Had the chili and burger with onion rings and I'm coming back on my way out of town for breakfast. Thank you guys!! read more

Walking in was a blast from the past. Watched the show as a kid. My wife and I ordered the Everything and Gyro Omelettes. They were really good! Pleasantly surprised. Rebecca was our server and was super nice and attentive. read more

Stopped for a bite on the way to Sedona not knowing the history of this place from "Alice" tv show I watched as a young girl. Was not busy at all and sat down to open seating and ordered... food was out in less than 10 mins. Nothing fancy just your good old average breakfast food. Wait staff was attentive but nothing over the top... keep the coffee flowing. read more

There's just something comforting about a place as resolutely old school as Mel's. Even though this Sunday morning was my first visit, for some reason it just felt like I was visiting an old friend. Whereas Welcome Diner (just a couple miles east of here) serves diner fare with modern and new age twists, Mel's menu remains old school and proud of it. The diner itself has been relatively untouched by time (even though ownership has changed hands a few times). Before I came here I guess I was expecting something along the lines of faux nostalgia with 50s music blaring in the background and waitresses in sock hop outfits (along the lines of Phoenix's 5 & Diner franchises). Nope. Unpretentious, laid back, friendly, and affordable. Great reviews from the Phoenix New Times got me in the door. The verdict? The restaurant is situated on Grand Avenue just north of the I-10 freeway and about two blocks directly south of the State Fairgrounds. The immediate surrounding neighborhood has certainly seen better days, but Mel's has endured at this location since 1963. You may have heard all about the references to Mel's place in history as the setting for the late 70s-early 80s TV sitcom Alice, but I won't go into that since I never saw the show. Instead you can just Google it and learn for yourself. For me, my first visit was all about getting a hearty Sunday morning breakfast. I arrived a few minutes after 7am. To my surprise the front counter was almost full and several people were already grabbing spots in the surrounding booths. The majority of the clientele were retirees who are clearly on a first name basis with Becky (the head waitress this morning) and with each other. The restaurant is larger than it looks from the outside and can probably seat about 100 people at full capacity. I grabbed a chair at the end of the front counter. As I said, the menu here is old school so if you're looking for a menu item that stands out or something innovative to blow your mind, you'll be disappointed. But I was here specifically for something old school. So for me it was a sausage omelet with hash browns and a mini stack of pancakes to get my Sunday morning started. Food came out in about 5 minutes. I was actually quite impressed with how much meat they put in my omelet (at least 50/50 meat to egg ratio in this version) and the potatoes and pancakes were both spot on. Nothing fancy, nothing new age. Just good down home comfort food. All the while, I would listen to the restaurant patrons share stories with Becky, with one another and even with patrons sitting at booths at the other side of the room. Even I jumped in to ham it up with some of the old timers. I was in and out of here in about 30 minutes, but I suspect many of the other patrons probably spend hours just drinking their coffees and spending time with their groups of friends here regularly. Total cost for the food, tax, and tip came to just under $10. Interestingly Mel's actually reminded me most of some of the diners I used to frequent during my college days in Flagstaff. Places like Mike & Ronda's (which has a location in Glendale as well), and even Country Host. These are spots that serve old school, inexpensive comfort food in a laid back, welcoming atmosphere. People from all walks of life would pop into these places (as I'm sure is the case at Mel's). College students, truckers, suits, families, people down on their luck, you name it. In fact if you're a Downtown Phoenix college student and reading this I would highly recommend Mel's as a spot for a good hearty breakfast or lunch on a college budget. For me, Mel's was a surprisingly decent find with food that was both familiar and top notch. For over half a century, Mel's has been a survivor in a ever changing Phoenix landscape. And my tummy couldn't be more grateful. read more

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If you want to go to American style diner breakfast or lunch this is the place to go decent prices friendly faces and great service

Dirty, run down over seasoned or a dirty grill flavored burger dirty bathroom but the wait staff were pleasant

Drove by here. Wasn't hungry but wanted to get away from the sun as we had just finished ballooning for a birthday party in the park and were sunbaked beyond reason. Even the glare in the car was to much. Decided to go in because the yelp reviews were alright. Grabbed a chicken fried steak special and a root beer float to split with the wife because, again, we weren't hungry but wanted relief from the sun burning us through the car window. Server took order and all was fine. As food was quickly dropped off at our table we were informed there would be a charge to split plates. Not to dirty a separate plate but just for 2 people to sit at a table and nibble on a dinner plate. No mention of a charge before the food arrived. As for food everything tasted frozen. The vanilla ice cream in the root beer float tasted freezer burnt. The veg tasted like it came from a freezer bag. The gravy on the mashed potatoes was a VERY different temp then the gravy on the chicken fried steak. We did not taste either. Menu says 'mels diner was filmed on location right here' yet nothing looks like the show except the sign out front. When complaints were brought up to (.....well we weren't given the manager but the woman said she could help us since the manager was unavailable. The manager was, im assuming a man who had a backpack on in the back who she had spoken to for a while; obviously ready to leave for the day.) the woman who was willing to assist us we were met with defensive answers such as the vanilla ice cream is fine because an old lady just had strawberry and she didn't complain and only the sign was filmed, not the interior. Why bother advertising on your menu about the filming if you won't take the extra step to at least attempt to make it look like what you're advertising? Just because it was made in the 60's doesn't mean you can't make it better. In the end we offered to pay the bill but were comped so we left a tip and left still hungry and very confused. Overall 0/10 would not go again. read more

Exactly what is expected. Really nice staff, very accommodating and very engaging. It's a diner through and through. Which is what you need sometimes. Nothing fancy, nothing unusual. But clean, quick, and good. read more

Mel's Diner. i had to give it a try, a schoolmate once told me it was a good breakfast, and a teacher concurred. i never went. but for some reason i wanted to go. so myself and 2 friends gave it a shot. i was quite shocked by what i saw, and i told my friends, who are now getting sketched out by the place, "remember, i heard it was good." i didn't read a yelper's review of this place so i wasn't aware of the umm decor. holy crap what a sewer of a diner. the carpeting as described by others is horrid. i compare it to what you might expect of a homeless shelter. or at least a squatter house. the attire of the waitresses was right on target with another yelper review. i couldn't imagine we went at the same day. so i guess it's the norm. think skanky truck stop hooker. and no not the child prostitute hookers. she was a lovely waitress, not nearly as bad as others have described. she was fairly cheerful and very helpful. i did not see the surly busser. but a sweet Hispanic lady was pouring coffee..i couldn't understand her, but only because she spoke very softly. love the misc. coffee mugs of random design. i ordered an omelet with sausage, i asked what kind of sausage comes in it, and she asked what kind would i like. :D WOW. a choice? i chose patty sausage because i cannot stand sausage links chopped up into an omelet. i just hate it. this was great. i was entirely pleased with the omelet. i also got hash-browns and sourdough toast. hash browns needed seasoning, just like all potatoes. i quickly aided my hash browns with the remedy. salt. toast was covered with margarine. eh. not a fan of that. but it was fine with grape jelly. :) my two friends ordered 1 egg with bacon. the kicker and you would think this would annoy a waitress. one friend ordered food 15 minutes after my other friend and i ordered. we even already had the bill. lol. she took the bill and made the corrections without anything that was even remotely ill temper. not quite as described by other yelpers. i give this place the 4 stars because the food is actually really good. and i enjoy the scum of the earth shit-hole restaurants. ONLY if the food is good. and to be honest. my omelet was better then any omelet i got at the Biltmore or the Princess. it wasn't super oily and it was simple and well executed. i will definitely be returning. maybe after a tetanus shot so I'm inoculated against fly :) cost was cheap cheap. 3 people with moderate breakfast orders. under 20 bucks. read more

Yes, this is the place from the opening credits of the sitcom "Alice" from the 70's. Located near downtown and roughly 15 minutes from the airport, it's in a seedy part of Phoenix and surrounded by industrial type buildings. Open only for breakfast or lunch, in this area, you could do much worse. Food is diner food with plenty of calories and grease to go around. Stick to the basics (not that the menu get's complicated or anything). Eggs Bacon Hash Browns etc... A cheeseburger at lunch. Not exceptionally clean. Use the bathroom somewhere else before arriving. read more

These are the hash browns that elicit paragraphs of purple prose on the art of the perfect hash brown: crispy outside, creamy inside. The bacon is pretty damn good, too, It's important to remember that Mel's is not a loving, Disneyfied, hipster recreation of a vintage dive diner. It is an actual dive diner, divey continuously for however many decades, originated in the era when Phoenix was the spot on the highway where your radiator blew. As a genuine dive. It's quite magnificent. Service is quick and unpretentious, food is good, prices are low, and you can have gravy on your biscuits and salsa on your eggs. read more

My husband and I came here on Sunday morning to have some breakfast and to take pictures. All of the servers were very friendly and took great care of us. They were not very busy and we got our food within about 10 minutes. I had biscuits and gravy, 2 eggs over easy, and sausage patties. The sausage was yummy, biscuits and gravy were average, and the eggs were undercooked to the point that when I broke the yolk it was like water all over the plate. The husband had eggs, bacon, hash browns , and toast. He thought it was comparable to Denny's ...so just average. The best parts about this place is the nostalgia, the prices, and the service. We paid about $12 for 2 meals, coffee, and soda. I may be back again : ) And there were very interesting types of people coming in and out, this kept me entertained the whole time. Also a great couple sitting next to us bought a homeless guy some food....that was nice of them...I was going to do it ....I swear I was...they just beat me to it : ( read more

I am so sad to write this review. My December review was a glowing one and since then I went back to try their all you can eat their fish and chips for $9.99 We tried the bargain meal and found it to be delightful. Didn't bother to write it up because I had already given Mel's Diner a great review so why repeat myself? We decided to have the fish and chips again. Why not? Delicious is delicious, right? Well today not so much. The fish was heavy and thick and we discovered why. The crust was so thick it was an entity onto itself. I mean rolls of thickness. This was NOT the case the last time we ate it. I left my food but hubby decrusted all the fish, ate it and did not ask for any more. This is highly unusual since this is an all you can eat promotion and he can put away quite a bit. To give you an idea of the heaviness of the crust, please note the photo. I have never experienced something like this before. I even thought that the fish I tasted was not fully cooked on the inside because the crust was so thick it kept the fish from fully cooking. The waitress was nice enough when we explained what was wrong with the fish but it is really not her fault. Not returning. read more

Mel's Diner - Large amount of crust on fish! - Diners Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

My wife wanted to go to Mel's Diner. So we went for breakfast. The diner is well weathered and in an equally over aged area of town. The place has a cute 50's appeal. We had a quite attentive waitress, which is a good sign. Thats kind of where the experience ended. Our food arrived about a half hour after being ordered. We suspect patrons had called in to order because they came, ate and left before our food arrived. My wife's skillet was visually appealing and she did enjoy it. I ordered chicken fried steak, home fries, eggs basted very light and biscuits and gravy. It is a rare experience to get eggs basted very light properly. They were perfect. The home fries made me wish I was home. Very bland, hardly any browning, and 3 tiny pieces of green pepper and one of onion. Pitiful to call them home fries. Only the taste of oil was present. The chicken fried steak was amazingly tender making me wonder if it was something else; it was smothered in a tasteless white liquid trying to be gravy. It failed miserably. Again, the only recognizable flavor was oil. By the time I had just almost finished my meal, the biscuits and gravy finally arrived. I know they were biscuits and gravy because the server told me, and it was the only part of my order that had not been served. If you like oil, ZERO food taste and very slow service, Mel's diner is your place...its not mine. An opportunity for a memory dashed on the rocks. read more

Mel's Diner - Tastless Chicken Fried Steak. - Diners Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Gotta love this diner near downtown Phoenix and hey the seats have been reconditioned recently which gives your posterior a nice cushy feel. The coffee the specials and the wait staff are all excellent. read more

Mel's Diner - Coffee - Diners Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

NEVER EVER EAT HERE! YOU MIGHT DIE!!!!!!! It is so disgusting. The food tastes like grease and the omlette was scary. A FLY was in my apple juice.. A FLY!!!!!!!! It reaks of smoke and is just plain nasty. The only good think about it is the sign. If there were zero stars I would give it zero stars. And I like diners. My boyfriend and hunt them out in other cities. read more

Underrated and overlooked. Mel's for breakfast is awesome! Generous portions at a fair price. read more

Mel's Diner - Pancake - Diners Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

So those of us from a certain age will probably enjoy the nostalgia this place brings to mind due to a certain 70s sitcom. Equally for others of a certain age it may be nostalgic because it is pretty much the epitome of diners. I was in Phoenix visiting a friend we decided to give Mel's a try. We showed up for a late breakfast. I can't remember the exact name of what I got but basically it was a southwest style omelet topped with ground taco meat with a side of hash browns and toast. The portions were definitely generous and the food was delicious. Funnily enough, I can't recall if they had grits on the menu...hmm. Our service was great, I'm pleased to say. Our server was friendly and attentive. Definitely no complaints there. The atmosphere was casual and sitting at one of the booths, you could easily carry on a private conversation. I'd definitely go back and try something different based on this visit. Although that omelet was so good I'd be tempted to order it again and maybe a side of grits if available... read more

First, ignore all of the old reviews. That's a shortcoming of Yelp, that somehow in their default sort, a 4 year old review is higher than a week old one. Ignore the oldies. I've lived in PHX my whole life and driven past this literally hundreds of times. I heard they had new ownership and were giving it a better go. Mission accomplished. We went for breakfast. I had a fantastic gyros/feta/tomato/onion omelette. The price and side dishes were great too. Dad had a sausage and egg skillet and it was about twice the size of anything at Denny's or IHOP. Like all real diners, I'm there must be a Greek involved because gyros/feta/tzatziki pop up here and there on the menu. Some of the old reviews knock the decor, It's been freshened and they removed the old flooring revealing absolutely beautiful real terrazo floors. Yes, it's still a bit dumpy (especialy near the enterance and the bathrooms) but hey- it's a REAL 50 year old, highway-side diner. Go to Ruby's or 5 and Diner if you prefer your realty to be fake. The service was perfect, friendly, confident, fast and everyone helped - 3 waitresses and a busboy were nearly fighting to keep our coffee full. Can't wait to go back for the "hand cut and huge" pork loin sandwich which besides a side dish, includes cup of really good looking chicken soup. I've only been there once, but anyone who knocks this place fails to understand what a true diner is. Edit and Update: After my 2nd visit, I am lowering it from my previous rating of 4 stars to 3. I hyped it to friends and we all went there for gyros. They were out today. But the main reason for the demotion was the bathrooms. They are just nasty. Quaint and old is okay at the right time and place, but the bathrooms are trashed, worn out, dirty and poorly maintained. Step it up in the can! read more

I was looking for a place to take my parents while they were in town. Let's just say this wasn't one of my finer selections. I called ahead to see if they took reservations since it was noon on a Sunday. They just said "we close at 2." Ok..... My parents called for directions and were told "I don't know, I only know how to get here from my house." It's a novelty that the movie "Alice" was filmed here and the outside was used in stills for the tv show, but other than that there's no reason to attract visitors. The service was not very good, it took awhile for a waitress to take our order. We waited 45 minutes for our food (nothing too complex, eggs, French toast, a salad). I will say the waitress did a great job with quality control because she sent one order of eggs back before it came to us since it wasn't cooked over easy as we'd ordered. Food was mediocre. The potatoes and eggs were dry. We won't be back. They get 1 star for being featured in "Alice" and one star for serving us edible food. read more

Great food,and a fun place. Spotted this place months ago,and decided to try it Photos of the cast from the show Alice are around. The place itself needs some work, but it was fun to see the filming location. Would love to see the outside sign restored, as it is a Phoenix landmark. read more

Best Food Ever!!! I love this place I've been going here for a long time. Every time is perfect. I highly recommend. YUMMY!!! read more

This place has good reveiws , guess they dont mind the roaches , went for breakfast and my granddaughter went too get one of there books from the shelf they have and there was a roach on it , the waiter came and we told her but she didn't seem to be bothered by it so we just left not going back for sure read more

Disgusting !!!!!! Everything is frozen or canned, frozen pancakes, frozen strawberries, no fresh juice , no bananas, nothing fresh! DO NOT EAT HERE!!! read more

Great breakfast, even better service. Eggs cooked perfectly, crispy hash browns, sausage a little dry. Biscuits were fair. Menu looks inviting for lunch. When one goes for an early breakfast smiling faces are appreciated, everyone in this place looked happy in their job. read more

Fantastic!! Don't let the old, vintage sign fool you, Mel's is very clean inside and has great food! The staff is all friendly and smiling. Ask for Marianna, she will treat you like family! Give this landmark diner a try! You will not be disappointed! If you don't like it, kiss my grits! :) read more

Forget everything else you've heard and take it from an ex-linemen, this is a great breakfast joint. Can't comment on anything else, but my omelet was one of the best I ever had. Wonderful hash browns and biscuits with gravy. Good coffee. Service maybe a touch slow as Christina was a solo act, but worth any wait. Dirty? No, but this is an old diner so the ceiling are not pristine. Everything about our food was absolutely clean. So this is a blue collar joint that serves a wonderful breakfast. Next I'm in the area I'll be back. read more

I work downtown, near the capitol, so when a coworker suggested we try Mel's Diner for lunch one day, I was game. I had passed the place many times, but had no idea it was *the* Mel's Diner made famous from the hit show "Alice." Being a photographer, I was more interested in visiting for the photo-op than the food so I knew I just had to bring along my camera and get some shots of this landmark...(http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimiahmedphotography/sets/72157623318556037/). After reading some of the reviews, I wasn't expecting much food wise. Low and behold I was pleasantly surprised. I thought I'd keep it simple, so I ordered a bacon cheeseburger. I was pleased with my meal which arrived in a decent amount of time and was cooked as I had requested-- well done but still juicy. I had cole slaw as a side which was simple but tasty. Not bad for a lunch under $10. The staff was friendly and even the infamous "Foul-mouthed Frank" chatted it up with us for a bit and showed off some news clippings he'd saved from articles featuring him in the New Times and others. Overall, I enjoyed Mel's Diner and have been back since. read more

Great food, awesome cheap prices, interesting people to ponder, as the other reviewer posted. I agree, the carpet is downright foul. Matches the busser's mood..never thought about it, but him being the owner would make sense. I hate walking in here hung over though, because I am always afraid the cops are going to smell the booze wafting from me like some cartoon... read more

Came for the nostalgia... stayed for some breakfast. Had the ham and cheese omelet very big and loaded... hash browns nice and crispy.... pancakes were ok.... added a side of grits.... which definitely were not worthy of a "Kiss my grits from Flo"!!!! This Texas girl knows good grits and these were not on par..... overall a quaint little diner with good breakfast read more

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Great place for breakfast & nostalgia. Omelettes & biscuits were fantastic. Quick to fill up ur coffe. And the waitress even said kiss my grits. read more

Always a really good solid meal in a very friendly place. With great prices and even better staff and ownership family friendly a great place to be if your a arizonan or a visitor read more

Love this place and the food. Eggs and those waffles were amazing. The decorations are amazing.

There's not much to look at from the outside of the building. They have daily specials that are very good. Any time we were in the Phoenix metro area before 2 PM we always hit Mel's diner for a great meal good food and it is reasonably priced. The waitresses have always been very friendly and make you feel like that's your home read more

I've been here before with family in the past, normally the food and service is good. Today we've waited an hour and a half to receive all of our food, plate by plate. It took 30 minutes for my family member to be told they didn't have something available and that he had to change his order. There's nothing wrong with changing the order but being told right away would have great. Disappointed. I was 27 years old when i came in to eat and now I'm 35 years old and still waiting for my pancakes and the check. I helped a woman birth her child because of the wait. read more

I can take it or leave it I don't know I've seen some reviews that said it was nice and clean but when I was there it was kind of dingy. And it seemed like the waitresses kept forgetting that I was sitting there read more

Service was great here, while the food itself was not bad, it wasn't the best either, ehh average. I heard there breakfast food is great but I got myself a burger which was alright, I didn't finish it due to the fact that I was hungover and had to take a dump. read more

LOVE!!! This made my holiday vacation! Thank you for the nostalgia! It would be awesome if the waitresses spoke like or said the sayings of the actors/ actresses! Service was great and food matched! I will definitely be back! read more

How does a place known for their grits run out?! This is the third time I have come here and they didn't have grits; three strikes and you are out; I'm done; I could almost understand if I was coming at the end of breakfast going into lunch but 8 am 9 in the morning?! Waitress said they ran out yesterday!!!! Someone needs to learn how to order for a restaurant that advertises their grits! read more