Outstanding! Each time I come to PO' Melvins, I try something new---and each time it's outstanding. Tasty, big portions, made from scratch with tons of TLC. And the wait staff sho' do get after it and take good care of you. Looking forward to my next trip read more

I've been coming here for the past 9 years, a lot less the past few years because I don't work in the area anymore. This place is a bit of a hidden gem in DFW! A lot of the folks that come here are regulars or have come here for years and that's a testament to the food and the staff. The portions here are pretty big and there's never been a time where I've left this place not completely stuffed! My favorites are the fried catfish (usually with fried okra as the side) or the fried/grilled pork chops (also available with red beans & rice). Just an FYI, the cup with the green onion sprigs in ice aren't there for decoration! I like to take a take a bite of the green onion with each bite of fish or pork chop. For dessert I usually like the bread pudding. It's a bit too rich to have on your own, but definitely a perfect portion when shared. read more

Very good food and service here. Giant menu and big tasty portions. Accept Amex too. read more

Great people great food. I have been eating here since 1988. The food is very authentic to Coon Azz.

Stay away from the peach cobbler... it is far from down home cooking! It's nice that they use fresh peaches but it does it no good that they were undercooked. Also, there was NO seasoning (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc). Their other entrees are decent. read more

Po’ Melvin’s - Bland undercooked peach cobbler - American Near Me - Irving, Texas

It's been a while since I visited Po Melvin's. The renovations look good on the inside. Service was great! The roast beef po boy was just as I remembered. Perfect fresh baked French bread, rich meaty brown gravy, perfectly cooked roast, and dressed with mayo, lettuce, and tomato. Also had mini meat pies, cornbread, and gumbo. All was tasty, but the RB poboy is my favorite. Got a bread pudding to go! read more

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Sometimes I just crave some good southern food. Because I was in a time crunch, I placed an order to go: fried pork chops, cajun rice, collard greens and mashed potatoes. The pork chops were indeed fried very well, as promised and remained hot and crispy all the way to my office cubicle before I devoured both of them. The greens were great as was the mashed potatoes (you can taste all the buttah!) but the Cajun rice tasted a little under and bland so I would probably try another side next time. I also liked how for some reason they gave me a sprig of green onion and two lemon wedges in my to go container. Not sure if they thought I ordered catfish or if they just do that with all to go orders but I enjoyed the randomness of it nonetheless and used it. All of that plus a roll for about 10 bucks. Also, I see that they have a 1lb chicken fried steak with some fries challenge...pffft. I can SOOO eat that. Will visit again! read more

Po’ Melvin’s - Fried pork chops, greens, potaters, cajun rice and a roll. And for some reason a thing of green onion and lemons. Delish - American Near Me - Irving, Texas

I ate here for the first time in 20 years last night, and it was pretty good. Observations: 1. Catfish fillets are chunky and huge if you order a catfish plate, but tiny if you order a colossal seafood combo plate, annoying if you chose the premium priced latter. Recommend you order the former, and avoid the latter, accordingly. 2. Side of fried okra came out soggy and cold 3. fried pickles were plentiful, crispy, hot, and delicious 4. remodel upgrades the place from dive to Appleby's- Chili's-level ambience Pretty good, not in a major hurry to return. read more

Food was delicious and service was excellent. My family and I ordered the fried catfish, grilled catfish, red beans and rice, Cajun rice, black eyed peas and cabbage. We will definitely be back. read more

Great service, home style food, like my Grandmother made. Prices are very reasonable. I will go back!!!

There is nothing poor about Po' Melvin's. Nothing healthy except the portion sizes, either (except the salads). To the point - deliciousness. I was craving catfish and okra. Jumping on Doordash I found this place. It was about 4:30PM, and my delivery time was 30 minutes. My catfish came with fries, and I added the okra. The catfish was one big fillet. The breading was wonderful. Not too thick, but crispy and tasty. It wasn't particularly seasoned and this was a good thing in this instance. The okra likely came breaded to the restaurant, but that is actually what I wanted, so I loved that as well. Previous reviewers stated that the fries were "raw" and underdone. However, I didn't really see this. They are fresh cut (kind of like Five Guys) so they tend to be heartier. This may have been the biggest highlight for me. When you open the box it has a delicious roll and a green onion on top. Loved that. I did also have the jalapeno cornbread, which is apparently quite popular. I will say - it's very eggy. Like not sweet french toast but cornbread. I cannot eat fried eggs and I could not eat this. It had that texture. Finally, I want to comment on this salad that came with it - my goodness, it was FRESH. Iceberg mix, shredded carrots, tomato slices. YES. This place is worth an order, trust me. Run, don't walk. Hit the door, you can even Dash. read more

Drinks are good but the food is better! 100% will be back and a regular on my list. Would recommend to anyone

Good food! Their service and food was impressive. i ordered the fried catfish and the taste and texture was good. the staff was very kind and prompt to help. i liked their ambiance with the dim lighting and Mardi Gras theme. very clean too read more

Tye waitress wasnt the most welcoming but the food was delicious i will be back but only for takeout

The best thing about this place is the staff, they are some of the nicest people. But the food on the other hand was bland. They could have used more seasoning. read more

In the area and popped in because is was a short Uber ride from hotel. I ordered the chicken and dumplings which was disappointing, not flavorful and was comparable to something from a can. My friend ordered the hot wings and they were delicious and the cornbread also. Maybe just the chicken n dumplings is a miss here. 2 stars because service also was subpar read more

This place was good and big large portions. The Po boy was soo good but it need a little more flavor Bc all that was put on there was mayonnaise and it kinda was not enough. the grilled chicken sales was soo good and very big. The fried pickles were very fresh and tasty. I would definitely go back. read more

Po’ Melvin’s - Fried Pickles, Grilled Chicken Salad, Fried Shrimp Po Boy. - American Near Me - Irving, Texas

Not authentic on any way. Too expensive and a menu that doesn't go together. Terrible wait staff.

Po'Melvin's has the potential to be great, but lacking in some areas. I'm from Louisiana and they claim to have the New Orleans flavor. I wish restaurants understood that every single food item does not need to be heavily spiced to be consider "Louisiana cuisine". However, the food is decent. The spices in some of the food choices can be overpowering. The customer service has always been great for me, the food comes out hot, and the portion size compared to the price are more than fair. It's definitely worth a try! read more

This place has been amazing for my entire life. We loved it 30 years ago when I was and kid, it was fantastic when we went last week and it was the same every time in between. read more

Great Food and Service.. Been multiple times and have always been satisfied with the Food and The Service.. If you dont already know.. you need to go.. read more

Po' Melvin's is a good place to go for southern style cooking. The restaurant is nice and the server was friendly. By far, my favorite item on the menu is the Louisiana style fried meat pies appetizer. They are authentic and delicious! They come six to an order with ranch dressing and homemade jalapeno based green sauce in the side. I ordered the fried catfish filet which comes with fries and a side salad. It is a nice piece of moist fish, perfectly cooked. It is nicely salted, but could use some Cajun seasoning. Order some pickled jalapeno slices and you'll be good to go. My husband ordered the blackened chicken salad. It comes in a large bowl and seems very fresh, but the chicken isn't really blackened, it just has a lot of seasoning on it - still tastes good though. The salad comes chopped, odd since it is a large salad, and dressed with a mountain of thickly shredded cheese, also odd. He would have appreciated more lettuce and a lot less cheese. They are playing Christmas music which is nice, but it's a coupe of levels too loud. Po' Melvin's is an Irving staple that we have been going to for years. We will definitely be back. read more

Po’ Melvin’s - Blackened chicken salad. - American Near Me - Irving, Texas

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Best Po' Boys ever ! I highly recommend the fried shrimp one! Great fries too! If your in a rush it may not be the best option. A lil slow in the delivery but very nice staff! read more

Fantastic food and ample portions. Love their catfish! This restaurant is locally owned, so going there supports local businesses.

My bf took me to this place and now I'm hooked for seafood! Good portion sizes and not too bad on price. I've had the grilled catfish and grilled pork chops. Very flavorful along with fast friendly service. Fried pickles are awesome! And OMG the bread puddling! Try it! Definitely a treat! read more

Po’ Melvin’s - American Near Me - Irving, Texas

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I have been coming here since 92 the food is still great. The crazy thing is with prices going up on all goods and restaurants margins are tight Mel's still has great prices. The food and service are always on point. Be advised that lunches can get busy. The roast beef po boy is all that. CAN SOMEONE SAY MEATPIES. If you don't know then you need to find out. This is just good simple food. It has been a minute since I have been in, but it now back in my rotation. read more

Stopped by Po' Melvin's for dinner with a couple friends on a Saturday night. I arrived after they'd already been seated but the waitress came over pretty quickly after I sat down to get my drink order. Our waitress was very attentive and helpful, answered any questions we had about the menu and also gave suggestions. The food itself was hit and miss. Our appetizers were great. I ordered the fried pickles, which were delicious and not too greasy despite getting to the table still hot and fresh. A friend ordered the Louisiana Spicy Fried Pies, both beef and craw fish. I only had the beef, it was really good, and my friends seemed to have enjoyed their craw fish pies. That's about where the goodness ended unfortunately. For my entree I ordered the chicken fried steak po' boy with fries and a side of yams. The sandwich itself was way bigger than I'd been expecting so if you want a lot of food, it's a good deal. The yams were great. Not the best I've had but far from the worst. However, the po'boy (which consisted of the chicken fried steak, lettuce and mayo) left a lot to be desired. The french loaf it was on was pretty good. I tried some of my friend's mashed potatoes and they definitely seemed to be like the insta flake mix kind instead of made from actual whole potatoes. All in all, this place wouldn't be on my list of repeats considering that my two friends got different entrees and felt the same way about their food as well. If I did stop by again it would be to share appetizers and maybe grab a couple of drinks. read more

Po’ Melvin’s - Fried pickles with ranch - American Near Me - Irving, Texas

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Outstanding!! We enjoyed it so much! We had chicken fried chicken and chicken fried steak, both were delicious. The jalapeño cornbread was really tasty. Server was friendly and service was fast and efficient. All of the sides we had were very good. We will be back! read more

Great place to eat with great people. Love the atmosphere and the service that they provide. Lil Mel runs a great restaurant.

I wanted some fried pork chops since Easter Sunday and today I decided to try Po Melvins since I read good reviews. I ordered the fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, greens and yams. I am from Georgia so I was expecting that southern flair. I was very disappointed with the food received. The pork chops tasted like chicken fried steak and I thought that's what it was until I seen the bone. The greens tasted like they came from a can and the yams were a little bland for me. Needless to say I probably will not go back if I truly want down home cooking. read more

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT! Po' Melvin's reviews are erroneous. My husband and I visited the restaurant on Saturday 10/29/2022 at 7:15pm. + Well staffed waiters and kitchen staff + Food was delivered timely + Staff pleasant - Fish and shrimp deprived of the most basic salt and pepper seasoning - Dozen or so customers on a Saturday evening: Which means there was - Marine Corps Plaque on the wall in which the staff was ignorant of it's meaning when asked... Which leads us to believe they are not the original owners - Restaurant had no smell of food, which is the first sign of whether the food is going to be good but I ignored that because of the lying reviews This restaurant should practice cooking with seasoning their food, or go see how other canon restaurants seafood taste or at least ask customers if they want food for seniors that have a restricted low salt diet, or mid range or if they want it spicy... We through the Colossal Seafood Platter in the garbage at the AMC. It wasn't worthy enough to make it back to the hotel. It was a Colossal Disappointment ask them to taste the corn meal seasoning before they fey your fish or shrimp. read more

Well , the fact that it's been open since 1988 is surprising. I payed $20 for boxed mashed potatoes, frozen fried okra, and days old chicken in the dumplings.... I mean 2 dumplings I got. The peach cobbler had no love... it looks like they read the recipe off of the box . Maybe when they first opened this quality was acceptable since people where still traumatized from this depression era meals, but this was unacceptable. Luckily being in Irving there is plenty of fantastic food . But if you find yourself in this shopping strip. I recommend the subway just a few doors down. The anemic side salad was half brown and soaking wet... just don't next time. read more

A friend had been wanting to try Po Melvin's for several months because it's pretty close to where she lives, but unfortunately our entire party came away from the experience wishing it had been more. We came on a Saturday night around 6 and were seated immediately - the place filled up with the dinner rush as we were eating. There were many things on the menu that we wanted to try, so we ended up ordering a bunch of stuff. For appetizers, I got a small bowl of the seafood gumbo, and my friends ordered the fried pickles and the Louisiana spicy fried pies. The fried pies were pretty good, as were the fried pickles (usually places either overbread the fried pickles or overseason them so they're way too salty to eat, but those issues didn't happen here), and I enjoyed the gumbo a lot. For entrees, I ended up ordering the Chicken Fried Steak because it was billed as the best in Texas, with three veggies on the side: mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and fried okra. I picked brown gravy for both, which was a great choice -- their gravy was clearly house made and had chunks of roast beef in it. Super delicious. However, the chicken fried steak, while nicely breaded and fried, was clearly not seasoned beneath the gravy. My friend had the same complaint with her chicken fried chicken. The okra was fried well but also bland and flavorless. The mashed potatoes were obviously powdered, and the corn was from a can. I understand that the prices here are a good deal and portion sizes are pretty generous, but given that some of the items on the menu clearly ARE made from scratch made me even more disappointed by the things that weren't. I'd rather pay a little more for fewer sides if the quality of the food was better. The yams that my two friends got with their entrees were really delicious; I would come back for those as well as the jalapeno cornbread, which was flavorful and moist. You could definitely tell that those two items were made by actual chefs in the back of the restaurant. If Po Melvin's could raise the standard of the rest of their menu to match the genuinely home-cooked style of some of the better items, I think people would enjoy their experience here a lot more. Nevertheless, our server was great and very attentive. She kept circling back around to fill our waters and even anticipated our desire for a refill on the dinner rolls when she brought our entrees to us. read more

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I was very underwhelmed for it to be a creole Cajun restaurant. They redecorated it real nice but the food was just okay. The red beans and rice was the best thing they had. The cabbage was bland and seasonless. read more

It's been a few years since my last visit, but a friend and I were craving Southern, so we dropped in for lunch. By coincidence, it was Fat Tuesday, so our minds turned to items befitting the occasion. We each selected a bowl of gumbo, and got a fried oyster and shrimp po'boy to share. I had to have another loaf of that jalapeno cornbread as well. The gumbo was, as promised, not laden with fillers (although I'm not sure I'd consider okra to be "filler", I thought it was pretty traditional). Featuring a nice, dark roux, it had bits of crab and firm shrimp, and a great, complex flavor. I sprinkled in a little of the supplied filé and a generous amount of Tabasco, and the result was a very pleasing bowl, making me feel like I was actually in New Orleans. Very nice. Next up was the po'boy. Served on nearly impossibly soft and delicious French bread, it had a fairly generous mix of fried oysters and shrimp, as well as lettuce, tomato, and mayo. A side of fresh french fries was also provided. The sandwich was very tasty, with the seafood fried nicely but not super crispy. It's a pretty sizable sandwich, enough for two to share, especially if you have some of that gumbo. The fries were not very crispy, but still had a very pleasing flavor and texture. Finally, the jalapeno cornbread redeemed itself from the last visit; this loaf was moist and delicious, and even better with the supplied butter slathered all over it. Overall, this was a decidedly better meal than I had last time, and I'll make sure and try some other menu items on my next visit! read more

Quick service and fast food from order to the table. Red beans and rice was decent as were the green beans and pork chops and though they were skinny, they were delicious! In my humble opinion, don't do the gumbo or jalapeño corn bread, DON'T DO IT. read more

Orders the Catfish & Shrimp Platter with Greens & Black eyed peas. Portion: I wouldn't call it a "platter" based off the portion size. It comes with 1 catfish fillet & about 4 jumbo shrimp. Taste: Catfish could use a bit more seasoning but once I added the hot sauce it was good. The shrimp had a good flavor (batter could be seasoned more). Sides: The greens were good & so were the black eyed peas & roll. Overall with a bit more season added to each item they would most def get the 5 stars read more

Best SoutherFOOD place in Texas . Top to bottom from service to food to drinks to desserts . I always have the chicken fried chicken with white gravy mash taters colored greens. Unreal trust me read more

The food was just okay. The service was okay. The ambiance was nice. The cost was overpriced. The tea and sodas where 3.75$ each. I will not return. For what I paid for two dinners I could have gone to Texas Roadhouse, read more

Dang, I used to LOVE this place - reminded me of a childhood favorite that is now long gone from my home town - "Po Folks". Haven't been back to Po Melvin's for about a decade, saw that they had made some changes to the inside, but the menu has remained essentially the same, so I was highly anticipating the delicious fried shrimp, homemade french fries, dinner salad, and fresh rolls I remembered. Double Dang - the salad is no longer the shredded lettuce with croutons I once loved, just standard iceberg and tomato thrown into a too small salad bowl. The fried shrimp no longer has the spicy batter coating it used to have, and the rolls were tough - like they were left over from yesterday, refrigerated, then reheated. The home made fries were as good and plentiful as they used to be, so I was happy about that (until I overate all those fries). I guess will mourn and miss the old Po Melvin's like I miss my Po Folks in Pasadena. read more