Stopped by this place while walking around town in the afternoon. Space is cool, very modern, and updated. Place was pretty much dead and empty. First impression, prices were a little high. Thought I would stay & give it a shot. Ordered the breakfast burrito & a coke, total was $21.93 including tax. Burrito was ok size, flavor was pretty great, presentation also good. I would say maybe for a nice dinner or lunch business meeting this place is good, but if you're looking for something that won't kill the budget this probably isn't your place. I also couldn't understand, I went in the afternoon, place was dead but I literally had to ask for everything. Utensils, refills, a check. Who else are you serving? It was me and one other table. There's other places I bwould probably go before I'll be back here. read more

Mel's Kitchen - Breakfast Burrito - American Near Me - San Francisco, California

I really enjoyed the food at this restaurant. It was my first time there going tonight with a friend of mine. Although the food was great, our waiter was being very rude to me since I was asking all these questions regarding deals on their menu and that sort of thing. I wasn't doing it to waste his time, but to make sure I was actually getting the things I wanted. I don't like that sort of customer service. Be more patient, for god sakes! read more

Really not worth it.......... Don't try it. Food was very bland and very small amount of portions . Expensive prices .

Stopped in for late lunch; great food. Had the Mel's Cubano, wings, Asian Salad. Service was friendly and fast with Stephani

i reviewed Mels several months ago. gave them a semi lukewarm rating due to poor service. went back recently. review is no longer lukeward. It is now icecold. without going into whole story. gist was, ate lunch then ordered dessert, a chocolate sundie. waited, waited, waited, when i rea;ozed had been waiting for over half hour i got up and left. again there were about six people. Something is badly wrong with the service in this Mels. but look on the good side, now that they have one less customer perhaps the rest of you will get better service. I will no longer be returning and i will take my large tips with me. the manager, i believe her name is Antonia should really take a good look at her serving staff. or perhaps Antonias bosses should take a good look at her. I might consider returning is if the staff and especially antonia were to apologize to me personally. Hey Mels, you dont stay in business long if you treat your customers the way your staff treats people. im sorry you guys but no more nice tips. read more

I loved it! I liked the whole large windows and San Francisco Vibes this restaurant offered. Very Nice and quite impressive for a Mel's Restaurant. Bathrooms are nice and clean! Good mixture of drinks and bar set, something you won't find in the Eastbay. I would recommend this location although the drinks may add up your tab. read more

We saw Mel's Kitchen as we drove past on a Tuesday night and decided to stop by to grab something to eat. We were promptly greeted and seated by our lovely server, Lorenzo. Our food came out quickly and it didn't take long before our food was gobbled up. Satisfactory for a quick bite, but even better with an Oreo milkshake! read more

Ricardo was excellent! We stopped by for a quick drink and ended up staying longer than expected. Ricardo waited on us, gave us delicious recommendations on drinks and was very attentive. Great smile and attitude. If you're in the area stop by for a Sutter Break ! read more

What a terrible experience! I came in with my husband and daughter to grab some food. We stood by the sign that says "wait to be seated" without being addressed for about 5 minutes until I stepped up and asked the cashier Marcos where the bathroom was. After he made eye contact and ignored me I asked in MY FIRST LANGUAGE Spanish. He ignored me again and I asked if he spoke Spanish. He said "yes, I just don't respond to that?" Utterly confused, I asked what I said and he mimicked me with a gringo accent saying "el baño". I pointed out that I had asked in English first and he said "I know I'm just offended now, but I'll tell you where it is"... I apologized and walked out...wth?! Why couldn't I just be directed to the bathroom or seated? All of the extra stuff was extremely unnecessary and anal. I'm a travel agent and will be sure to warn my clients against this place. People who hate their job make for an awful customer service experience. I'm heading to in and out where I know the customer service will be amazing! read more

Got an update on the coffee situation. They don't charge extra for each refill. We were offered a refund on the charge as they want to make sure customers are aware they won't be charged to keep their coffee mugs filled. It was good coffee too! Thank you guys! read more

We were stuck at CPMC for a procedure so I decided to take my mom to eat breakfast across the street at Mels. The host( I think he may have been the mgr) was very pleasant. He asked for our ids and vax cards. I was surprised and excited that I finally got to show my card to someone. Lol. Sooooo I was totally sidetracked because I received a phone call from the nurse after I ordered my food so I did not take pics of the menu or the food. But let me tell you.... the Chilaquiles my mom ordered were good! I was shocked. Of course, i had to run across the street and by the time I came back our food was at the table and my plate was a tiny bit cold. Not Mels fault. But my mom had ate all her Chilaquiles by the time I got back and I only got to try a tiny bit. My food was good. I ordered the Country Fresh Eggs breakfast and I cant complain. My only regret is leaving the restaurant and coming back to my mom eating all her Chilaquiles because they were so good. I'll have to come back to order them another time. I definitely recommend this spot. read more

Great food and service! Awesome interior and concept. Has a very upscale feel and sleek design.

Food doesn't seem as tasty as the 3 Mel's Drive-Ins in SF. Avoid the corned beef hash, one of my favorites, but both my friend and I thought it had a weird "aftertaste"... should have sent it back, but we were to hungry to wait. Would go here vs other Mel's Drive-ins only if you want alcohol with your meal... or in the neighborhood. Menu missing some of the staple entrees the drive -ins have, like the turkey dinner. read more

Great breakfast place! Their fries are *mwah* perfect! Very friendly staff and very attentive without being annoying. I had a BLT and my friend had a chicken sandwich and both were great hangover food. A little expensive but definitely worth it! read more

My server Ricardo was fantastic! The cooks did a great job too. All my food was awesome! The entire staff was all working so hard the whole time. Great service all around! read more

Best meatloaf I've had in years! Great service, great food, great deal. Definitely treat yourself to a terrific chocolate milkshake for dessert! read more

The Oreo milkshake is to die for - and the fries are the best! This should be everyone's go to diner spot.

Upon entering this establishment, I had HIGH hopes. The restaurant is recently renovated, has a nice atmosphere and looks quite clean. That's where it begins and ENDS... We seated ourselves and noticed only two other tables in the restaurant at the time of our arrival. We ordered and waited for nearly twenty minutes for our order to arrive. We ordered scrambles so that really shouldn't take that much time. I also ordered the chicken noodle soup as an appetizer because it was a cold night. I was facing the kitchen area and noticed my soup was up in the window ready to be delivered for at least 15 minutes but our waitress never came back to deliver it to me. Come to find out the waitress was also the manager. She finally delivered our entrees, again just scrambles, and told us that the toast would be just a "few more minutes" because of "the kitchen." I then asked her where my soup was and she went and picked up the soup that was ready for 15 minutes in the kitchen's window and delivered it to me. It turns out I couldn't eat that either because the soup was now cold, to at best, lukewarm. Our toast was finally delivered to us because I got up myself and went and got it from the kitchen as I could also see that sitting in the kitchen window getting cold for over five minutes. I also had to ask the bartender for a water refill during this process and the manager never came back to check on us until we were finished with our food. The food at best was also just mediocre. The only reason why they get one star is the manager took off one entree and one drink off of our bill because I told her we were "not paying full price for such crappy service and cold food." My advice..."Go around the block to Polk street. Many other choices there to choose from." read more

If I could give it 0 stars, I would. I came here not knowing they had changed it to... Whatever this was supposed to be. Ordered the fried chicken with mashed potatoes. When it was brought it seemed fine, I could see the steam coming off it. But once I bit into it, the middle of it, all the meat next to the bone was ice cold and raw. I thought it was frozen because of how cold it was. So I informed the waiter that it was still frozen or raw or whatever but it was not cooked. He took it back and came back saying "I told the cook who informed me that our food is never frozen it's fresh." That doesn't make me feel better!! At least it if was frozen, most of the bacteria might have been killed. Instead I just had a mouthful of raw, fresh, uncooked chicken. So then when they brought me a plate of fully cooked chicken, except they used the same plate with the same mashed potatoes from the first time because they were now cold. It was a miserable experience all around and I am so upset they changed it from the Mel's I knew and loved that was there. I won't be going back, ever. Oh, and my dates hamburger was dry and overcooked. But at least it was cooked. Oh yeah, and I got sick that night. Cause that's what happens when you eat raw, uncooked chicken. read more

Love Mel's Kitchen! The staff is friendly, the decor is great and I will always love American style diners! The iPad ordering is a little strange, I feel it makes the server focus more of the iPad then the customers so that's why only 4* bit other then that a huge fan! The place is always super clean and so are the bathrooms! read more

Never. Again. Service is good, but the food is DISGUSTING. I'm laying in bed right now with the worst food poisoning I've ever had after eating at this garbage dump on Sunday. read more

Nice atmosphere, great service from Luis! Breakfast good. Wonderful how they remodelled. read more

Mel's Kitchen - American Near Me - San Francisco, California

Visiting SF and staying at the Courtyard by Marriott. Husband and I decided to have lunch at this place. The service was amazing, clean place, however the food was not. I ordered the chicken sandwich. It was old and chewy. The fries were very good though. read more

I came to Mel's Kitchen for breakfast, the food was great and the service was amazing. The staff was very friendly, the host, the waitress, and even the cooks where all awesome. I will be sure to return to Mel's Kitchen again when I am in the area. read more

Very nice place, clean, recently remodeled in the last year I was told. Great breakfast, excellent service and a super clean place...if it's that clean the food has to be good and it is! Attached to the new Marriott Courtyard so a bonus for Courtyard guests. I'll go again tomorrow. read more

It was my first time here, it is very clean. Personal are very friendly. I love food. They have a bar now i had a mimosa with fresh squeezed orange i highly recommended it . read more

Greasy greasy deep fried classics, you could fry a whole separate meal with the grease from the French fries. I send the grease drenched fish and chips back that seemed to come out of a box in the freezer; not the light fluffy batter that you would expect with fish and chips. So I ordered a slider that was about 2/3 the size of a standard slider. It was a good slider but for $5, I should've gone to In and Out and had a decent burger. Nasty to the nth degree. And to boot, Primo our server was super slow, told me the food was overly greasy because it's fried (well duh), there's a right and wrong way to fry food. Don't waste your time here for food... read more

7pm on a Wednesday, sat at the bar. Nice bartender took our order correctly and wrote it down. Manager (or owner?) was hanging out awkwardly. Order was 2 x MEDIUM RARE burgers with over-easy egg and crispy fries. Plus one Oreo milk shake. Burgers came WELL DONE, eggs hard, everything over cooked and certainly not medium rare. Only redeemed by some decent fries. $8 milkshake was milky, no Oreo flavors, not even filling the tin. Why bother. Shame. New decor comfy and clean. Nice that they open late but probably won't go again. read more

Food was simple and good. Definitely kind of pricey for diner food, but its also san Francisco.

Nope, nope. I was hoping its better since its remodeled and no longer called mel's diner. Order the $27 steak with fries with veggies. Steak: i ordered medium rare, came out well done. I looked for my server to address the steak but i couldnt find her. Super chewy no flavor. It came with sauce, burned or over cooked maybe it was just sitting there over a stove. Veg, omg!! What have they done. Sour, soft, gooey, over cooked. French fries: only thing thats good on my plate. Came with some sort of aioli not bad. Should have ordered eggs or something that they cant mess it up but than their cooks might just mess it up. Set at the bar thinking will have lil chat while i eat n watch sports but bar keep was only good for refilling my drink. Server: 1 server tried, i mean wasn't busy maybe maybe there was 3 tables. Take my order, bring my food and gone. I asked my check from bartender he said WAIT. server came thank you here is the check. No how was dinner or nothing. I love steak and fries. I brought up eating steak. I never had to eat steak with ketchup. Sliced beef and ketchup maybe. Never steak and ketchup. Ketchup was the only thing that made my steak eatable. No way to give less than 1 star. read more

Mel's Kitchen - Steak frites. - American Near Me - San Francisco, California

Was there this evening and Ricardo and cook and server were unbelievable in their SERVICE ETIQUETTE FRIENDLINESS and the FOOD was to my pleasing (which is hard to do as I am VERY picky)!!! Whoever the Owner is of this establishment you did RIGHT by hiring these men; you have GREAT employee's and SHOULD RECOGNIZE their WORK. I watched as they engaged with the other customers and how they worked and if you ask me, you may want to consider giving these men a KIND raise; as they are keeping your place well managed serviced and with kind pleasure... (It shows, as they take PRIDE in their work). I am a HAPPY customer overall from staff to food and that's saying A LOT coming from me!!! I hope MANY MORE people will give your place an opportunity to experience such nice staff and Good food. I always say, HAPPY employees make a good place to eat chill and have great service. I hope the owner sees this and takes into consideration giving these men a "lift" in wages to HELP the cost of living expenses here in the Bay Area. You Sir/Madame have a GOOD team, do right by them. Thank you. read more

I took the kids here tonight. Mel's is always an easy option and despite the diner vibe, they have some surprisingly healthy choices. We have recently gone gluten free, and while they don't have a lot of gluten free options the do have GF bread. My son had the grilled cheese and he said it was the best he had ever had. My daughter also commented on how dependably awesome their shakes always are. Anyway the kids specifically asked me to give it a 5 star so here we are. The newly renovated space is nice. Instead of diner they are going for the fifties steak house look. Nice. Service was great. Lorenzo was amazing. Both this time and the last time we were here! read more

The lady who works there is very rude. She looks like the manager, wears a blue jacket very passive, can't put a happy face. I also heard her yelling at at some of the male workers. Male workers are very nice and funny read more

YAS Mel's Kitchen YAAAS! My new favorite spot. Came here a few days ago with some girlfriends, we sat up at the bar and ordered some drinks. The specialty cocktails are amazing and dangerous;) I loved the interior, still gave me all the diner feels but the lighting and colors felt very inviting (checking it out for brunch this week) I got the Impossible Burger and I was very happy with my selection. Overall, I was very impressed by the new concept. read more

Visited a few times while in town for business. Overpriced but fine for a quick dinner or breakfast. Until my meatloaf arrived with a hair in it that may or may not have been human. Showed it to my server who apologized nicely but left me with the impression it wasn't the first time. I was tired and hungry and there aren't a lot of choices in the hood. So I ordered a shake a shake to go. Incredibly, they didn't comp it. $9 plus tip. Not going back. read more

Crappy service. I had to stop the waiter to ask for cutlery, for more water, and the food is at best bland.

Lorenzo served us a great Meal! The menu is similar to Mel's diner but it's served much more elegantly... The only upscale diner in San Francisco!! The chicken soup was like my grandmother made. Professionalism with a smile . read more

Great service and yummy food! Ricardo took the time to say hello- this is a very stressful time for our family. Pleasant staff and clean restaurant. read more

Service awesome food was ok been here a few times but continue to come back because one it's close to my house and two the bartender Luis is pretty awesome read more

The service here is the absolute best. We came in (6 of us) and were hoping for diner food. They then proceeded to bring out the lunch menu for us (at 9pm) so we could get our fried chicken, French fries and milkshakes. Damon and Bryan are the best!! We will absolutely be back just based on feeling so welcome. The food was really good too!!! read more