The owner was fabulous! The food was horrible t, fresh and delicious! The establishment was clean and cozy! Highly recommend!!

Little hole in the wall place. Small with only a few booths and tables. Went for breakfast and lunch (different days) and the food was excellent, plentiful and very reasonable. The staff was exceptionally friendly. If I'm back in the area, I will be stopping in again. read more

Mel's Old Times Cafe is exactly what'd you expect in a small little town in the South. They have a quaint, cozy feel with a few tables and booths and are serving up affordable classic dishes - a solid option after visiting Fall Creek Falls for a simple bite. We got their classic breakfast with two eggs, toast, gravy and breakfast meat (bacon, sausage pork loin are a few of the options) with black coffee. Honestly, can't be beat for under 10 dollars. This is definitely your classic greasy spoon diner, food comes out quick and hot and overall hits the spot. read more

The food was great and the service is too. Very friendly staff. Worth the stop. Perfect little town cafe read more

Mel's Old Times Cafe - Ate as much as I could - Diners Near Me - Spencer, Tennessee

We stopped at the cafe while visiting fall creek falls. The staff was super friendly, food was tasty overall a great experience. read more

Food is great!!! We really enjoyed the small diner & service was great too. Staff & owner were friendly & welcoming.

Exactly what you want from a tiny town diner kind of place. Friendly " hey darling'" and straight up delicious food. A classic " meat and 3" that changes up daily and a really good burger I made a double and couldn't finish. Worth a little drive to find this place. Tell Mel I said hey ! read more

The burger with wedge taters was DELICIOUS! I hate that it's so far away from my home but don't miss it if you are in the area!

My husband and I had breakfast at Mel's Café. The food was excellent. I had the breakfast special and my husband had bacon and cheese omelette. They have some of the best gravy and biscuits we've ever had. It's a tiny place with a lot of personality. Would highly recommend. We wanted to go back but ended up cutting our trip short. read more

We went to FCF and enjoyed our day. My wife found Mel's on yelp and we went there. Enjoyed our meal and the folk's there pointed us to the Amish store. Highly recommended and certainly enjoyed talking to Mel and the staff. read more

The Spencer/Fall Creek Falls area does have a wide selection of restaurants but we tried Old Times Cafe this morning for breakfast. It was a very good country breakfast! We had eggs and bacon with biscuits and gravy. I also added some country ham. Very good meal and I would definitely eat there again. They do not accept cards but there's a bank with ATM close by. read more

Mel's Old Times Cafe - Front of Restaurant - Diners Near Me - Spencer, Tennessee

They had a grease fire and ate currently closed. Be sure to call before you drive to the restaurant.

This is one of the old-time cafes that you see in a small town. Great food and very friendly owner. If you want a good meal this is the place. It has a great atmosphere and ambiance you see in a small town. I would recommend this din err to anyone. read more

Great home town cafe experience. No joke, the best cat fish and slaw we've ever had. Burger was good and hush puppies were amazing. If you like country cooking you'll love this place. Don't be snooty about the building, it's old but very clean. We met Mike, the owner and he couldn't have been more personable. If you're traveling up/down HWY 111 or camping at Fall Creek Falls it's worth the trip. Yummy!!! read more

See all

Smells like old grease when you walk in. There are 5 tables in this tiny place. Breakfast ends at 10 am. Parking outside can handle 3 cars. Had to leave on our search for breakfast on this Monday morning. read more

Great little spot We were coming back from a hike around Rock Creek and this little gem pooped into our sights. At First we did t think they were open but we went in and the food was great and very friendly staff. The sign says they are for sale. Hope someone buys this place before it like so many others become a memory read more

Great food and service!! Each day is a different special. Chicken liver on Thursdays are my favorite. Not open on the weekends.

There isn't a whole lot in Spencer, TN, but the Old Times Cafe is nice little diner to grab something to eat. The restaurant is very affordable and the owners are very nice and stopped to see how the food was. I got the bacon cheeseburger with fries and it was a good diner style burger. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the bacon cheeseburger before I ate it. I don't know if I'll ever be back to Spencer, but if I do I'll make sure to stop by Old Times Cafe. read more

See all

This place is a hole in the wall with delicious comfort food. We had the fried catfish and it was great! The owner is very nice and has been in business for 24yrs. Definitely swing by if you are in or around Fall Creek Falls. read more

Mel's Old Times Cafe - Fried catfish, slaw, and onion rings. - Diners Near Me - Spencer, Tennessee

Outstanding cafe in Spencer! During our week at Fall Creek Falls, we had eaten in Pikeville, Crossville, Cookeville and Nashville. The Old Times Cafe is as good and better than other places we tried (we stayed away from chains). There's something for everybody, very well priced, friendly excellent service. We had the seafood buffet, outstanding! Lemon pepper grilled chicken, superb, and chili cheese dog with onion rings, a 10! Just like the good ol' days. Cash only. Highly recommend!!! We would love to try their breakfast. read more

See all

Awesome place! Visited yesterday while camping at Fall Creek Falls state park and the people here were so friendly! (Workers and patrons alike) Loved the small town atmosphere, they all knew each other. But, also welcomed us. Both my friend and I had the BBQ pulled pork sandwich and really enjoyed it. She had fries and I had potato wedges. All came out hot and delicious. Only 4-stars because we don't think they accept cards...got too nervous to ask and one of us ran to the atm at the gas station before paying. We didn't want to disrespect the awesome small town atmosphere this place had! read more

Mel's Old Times Cafe - BBQ pulled pork sandwich with potato wedges ($7 -ish) - Diners Near Me - Spencer, Tennessee

Great little diner off the 111. Stopped for breakfast. Had 2 eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast all for just $3.99... absolutely amazing deal and great food. Service was also awesome! Will stop again. read more

We came here for dinner on our vacation at fall creek falls! Yummy good old fashion cooking! Loved the food and the sweet workers! Best hole in the wall in spencer! read more

Very unassuming, casual little restaurant. We had wonderful burgers at a great price. The owner was very friendly and the service was top notch! Definitely give this place a try. read more

Yummmy!! Good food after a long hike at Falls Creek Falls. Inexpensive too. Nothing fancy but full of really nice people!

This place has amazing food! It also has a lunch special. The only problem is its a little pricey, and they like to close early. And If it is holiday time they close for weeks. read more

This place was delicious! Stopped by on our way to Stone Door. Got the burger and corn nuggets! The owners are so sweet and you can tell they care about their customers and their business. read more

We stopped on our way to Fall Creek Falls and chose to stop there on the way home. Wonderful food and wonderful people. Really nice to find a place like this read more

Great home cooking, home town eating spot BLT , good hamburgers, Salisbury steak mashed potatoes gravy and baked apples read more

This is neither a large or a fancy establishment. However, it is family friendly with kind and prompt service. The hotplate food is exactly what is expected of a country diner. The short order left a bit to be desired on quality. Overall a good experience as my family was passing through the state. read more

Awesome home cooked food! We happened by this place on our way to visit our son at college in Kentucky and needless to say we will definitely come back next time we are passing through... we had the lunch bar which consisted of liver and onions, chicken fried chicken, green beans, corn ,mashed potatoes, pintos and cornbread and for 3 people the total was only $21! Delicious food and friendly people! read more

Placed a 2 go order & half the food was not given to us. Cheat!!! When we called multiple times, they would not answer the phone!

We really liked this place in Spencer. Really nice folks on it and have owned it for a long time and that says a lot. The food was really good. I had the fish green beans and mashed potatoes and my wife had open faced roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and green beans. Good portions and very reasonably priced. We were in the area for a couple of weeks in this is definitely the place to eat read more

Great little southern cafe. Good food with classic offerings, great service from friendly staff. Fast too. Phenomenal prices. Very happy we stopped it. read more