The service takes this place from 3 to 4 star!! All the waiters were so personable and nice 1. Eggs and Hash brown: looks plain but really filling and perfectly cooked 2. Banana Split: the ice cream takes cheap but it was a good sharing portion and cute to take pictures with read more

The Original Mels - Eggs and Hashbrowns - Diners Near Me - Auburn, California

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Did a call in order and they were extremely friendly and when I got there it didn't change.

I'd love to try it again but everything was just average. Wasn't too busy but I had to wait several minutes to be seated. Staff was pleasant but rather cold, but they seemed extremely friendly to regulars. Ordered coffee and chicken fried steak. The eggs came out incorrect and they took back the plate and scraped off the scrambled eggs and added the correct eggs which was a bit tacky with some scrambled eggs left behind. The creamer pods were curdled which ruined my coffee. Chicken fried steak was pretty good typical frozen Sysco-like quality. Business was very clean and I like that they give back to the community and sponsor the local cars & coffee. read more

Ordered a bowl of soup and an order of chicken tenders in person at the register, I told the worker I would wait outside on a bench and the employee said okay and they will bring it outside in 10-15 minutes. I returned inside 15-20 minutes later and asked the same employee who took my order if it was ready. She asked if I placed the order on the phone, I explained I placed the order with her directly, and already payed and tipped. She looked at the counter from the kitchen and realized my food had already been ready and was just sitting there. She packed up the order and did not give me a spoon for the soup. If you can't remember that you took my order and can't see it sitting on the counter getting cold, the least you can do is give me a spoon. 2 stars. read more

Jaclyn was our server and gave us great customer service. Food was good and served in a timely manner

I love this place, I have been here a few time especially when I lived in grass valley this was a few minutes away. Their customer service is amazing, and their food is delicious! It's a real diner and omg their shakes are the best! So bad for you but sooo good!! I love the interior, the friendliness of staff, and the food is great too! read more

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This restaurant is going downhill. Had lunch there today and neither the French Dip sandwich nor the Au Jus had any flavor. To top it off, the restaurant was filthy. The napkin dispenser looked like a petri dish. The salt shaker and ketchup bottles had a slimy substance on them. I was compelled to get up and wash my hands after using them, before eating my sandwich with my hands. The bathroom wasn't much better with accumulation of stains and foreign material on the paper towel dispenser. I won't be back unless they up their game regarding cleanliness. read more

The Original Mels - Dirty napkin dispenser and juke box. - Diners Near Me - Auburn, California

Jalapeño burger -- oh so good! We went for the first time and it was so good we went again the next week! Eggs Benedict -- YES! This is a must. Great service. Good food. What's not to like? From burgers to ice cream sundaes and your favorite breakfast classics! And potatoes made which ever way you want! Want tots and hash browns? Or garlic fries? But you want them curly? Done! Done! Done! Oh man... with that excellent service we'll definitely be back. read more

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My expensive nearly $17 French dip sandwich. Pros: nice side salad. Cons: hardly any meat. Looks sad (see picture). If I'm paying this kind of money for a sandwich and salad I expect better. read more

The Original Mels - French Dip. This was 16.50 plus tax. - Diners Near Me - Auburn, California

I got good food. I got good service. The people that work here are friendly. They have a jukebox to play music. The Jukebox only takes quarters or credit cards. read more

We've been steady customers here since it opened. The 1950s & 1960s abmience is one big reason! The music, the food and the staff are all so cool! Tony pickes his staff carefully. They are always professional and can explain the menu right off the top of their heads. We frequently get the Mel Dog and you won't find a better hotdog anywhere! read more

They always remember my elderly father's name (he comes in pretty regularly) and I'll give them five stars just for making him feel welcome. Otherwise I'd still give them a solid four. Pretty standard diner fare but I will say it's consistently good food served hot, and friendly staff. read more

I don't think I've ever had a bad meal here. The service and management is always amazing. It is one of my favorite spots to go to, because I know that the food is good and the service is great. read more

I'm a member of a club that has a meeting here every month... very handy since they have a private room in the back. The door going into the room is so heavy and hard to open/close, it's almost like being in a vault! We typically have around twenty people at our meetings, and there seems to be room for more - probably at least thirty or maybe even forty people could fit in the room without too much trouble. I enjoy Mel's... there are two locations I visit on a regular basis - this one, and the one on Douglas in Roseville. I've been happy with the service and food at both. The staff has always been friendly and well trained. The food is pretty typical diner food... and always well executed. They seem pretty willing to make substitutions and so on which I appreciate because I generally make a few dietary adjustments to lower the carbs - drop the potatoes and/or bread or whatever... they've been pretty accommodating with that kind of thing. I love the decor too! I always seem to find something new and different on the walls. Fun place! read more

The food was was great, your traditional diner food. You can never go wrong here. Reason for my 2 star rating, our waitress had attitude and made my sister and I feel like she didn't want to even help us. We sat down & ended up getting our food to go. Maybe she was having a bad day but doesn't justify that we had a bad experience. read more

In the last month, this location has given up. Over priced cafeteria food. I ordered a shake, and picked it up ten minutes later, it was a frost bitten rock. Pre made that morning or yesterday. I have yet to experience pleasant customer service from the staff. I have 7 years of food industry experience and all I can do is cringe. read more

The Original Mels - I just paid $16 for this... am I at the Fire Festival?!? The shake as frost bitten. It must have been made this morning or yesterday - Diners Near Me - Auburn, California

Decent food. Good music. Good service and sweet workers. Sometimes that is exactly what i need.

On the road again. Story of our lives. Driving through Auburn and starving of course. It was Thursday night before the new year and there were plenty of seats to be had. We were seated right away and our server was excellent! The mint chip shake hit the spot. read more

The Original Mels - Mint chip shake - Diners Near Me - Auburn, California

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Inside a strip mall off of the Grass Valley Highway and across from the big blue Best Buy is the teal and flamingo-pink retro-themed diner. Their signature thick, circular black framed clock sits above windows painted with current specials like steak-and-eggs for under ten bucks. Inside is a large, bright space of comfy black booths surrounded by boomboxes, photos of vintage cars and stars, old-school food and beverage signs, and a few neon signs with sayings like "Home Style Cooking". Elvis, The Temptations, Beach Boys, and a bunch of other songs from the 70s and prior blast overhead as service bop between tables to take orders and deliver - all with a great attitude and smile. A busy grey, pink, and yellow menu sports various American comfort foods like burgers and sandwiches and fried basket combos. I decided on the old comfort of a reuben and fries, but with a sidekick of an orange creamscicle shake. A decent wait would have both items arrive at the same time; the milkshake in its tall crystal glass and spare tin with extra, and the non-swirly rye housing the pink meat with side of fries. For a quick little diner chain, they can whip up a fairly good reuben of juicy meat, savory dressing, and the bright pickledness of the sauerkraut. It may be a tad greasy in some incarnations, but its a satisfying little sandwich even when comparing to those I've had in Auburn. The fries are your no-nonsense unsalted golden sticks with a puffy and steamy inside. With ketchup and salt by your side, it's easy to make it how you like it seasoning-wise. The milkshake's a refreshing delight to dilute some of the reuben's naturally odorous self (not a bad thing, just show me a reuben that doesn't leave the cologne of...a reuben in your mouth). The creamy vanilla had a compliment of bright-but-artificial orange sorbet/ice cream that had a slightly icier texture. It tastes just like orange creamsicle ice-cream pops you get from the ice cream truck or frozen isle on a hot day. It's refreshing and gives a sense of pure nostalgic joy. For a Mel's, this one is definitely one of the better incarnations of this retro-themed chain with some of the most friendly staff to boot. If you haven't been to a Mel's, it's worth a visit if only to absorb the vibrantly decorated interior oozing with 1950s charm; including the lighting, music, photos, and the Thunderbird food baskets. For an option in fast American comfort food, it can be proud to stand above a few other well-known establishments with food that can, thankfully, at least bring some flavor to the table and not be in a pool of grease. That, and this has some of the most vibrant staff for a Mel's too. It gets a great 4 (3.5 round up) from me. read more

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This place gets 4 stars because, while the food was your standard diner fare, nothing to write home about, the decor is really groovy. I forgot that this is the place that the classic movie 'American Graffiti' was filmed. And of course, seeing all of the old photo's and props and whatnot, brought back the memories of the movie and how many people were in it. Cindi Williams, Harrison Ford. The list goes on and on. I don't recall the Mel's in Reno (where I live) having as much movie stuff around, but this place was loaded. You could spend an hour just wondering around, looking at all of the stuff on the walls. Aside from that, it was clean enough, staff was very friendly and, like I said, the food was good, too, for a diner. We had the daily breakfast special, ham and egg scramble with potatoes and a couple of biscuits and gravy. Less than 8 bucks. Recommend for the food and even more for the memories. read more

The Original Mels - Meal stop in Auburn. - Diners Near Me - Auburn, California

We called in a Togo order, the young lady taking the order was great. She repeated everything back and was very polite. Great job there! However, upon pickup, while standing in line a different girl ringing up customers kept taking her mask on and off to shout to other employees across the room. This defeats the purpose of wearing a mask. I was disappointed to see this. read more

This will definitely be our new spot when visiting reno!! We had an awesome Waiter and the food was great! They even had a veggie option for me! read more

The Original Mels - Diners Near Me - Auburn, California

Mediocre at best - very slow service despite a seemingly full staff. The attendants were more interested in talking amongst themselves vs. paying attention to the guests. Food also marginal. The huevos rancheros were a pile of goo. read more

I came here today for lunch while my car was being worked on over at Best Buy for geek squad the staff working was very friendly and got me seated right away the waitress was able to take my order right away and asked if I wanted to drink and first thing I noticed was How clean the establishment was And everyone that worked there was very friendly even the manager Jim who was working getting everything set up when he saw me recurve my food after a few minutes he asked me is everything OK and I said yes everything is very good my French dip was made exactly how I wanted it well done no pink that's the way I like it my french fries were nice and hot and my meal was very satisfying This is definitely a place for the whole family they don't just have lunch they have breakfast and dinner options available and appetizers they also had A dessert menu that featured ice cream sundaes milkshakes and malts Maybe next time I will try a dessert I also use the restroom here they were very clean and very well-stocked which I appreciate I highly recommend this establishment for anyone the food is delicious the staff is amazing and very friendly will definitely be coming back here again very soon next time I'm in town from work future visits and more great experiences to come Thank you mels in Auburn for all the great Friendly service I received today I appreciate you and all your hard work Happy holidays :-) read more

The Original Mels - French dip well done with au ju - Diners Near Me - Auburn, California

This place was accommodating for our needs in general, but did fall short in a couple areas. It was a little humid inside and smelled of burnt toast, not a deal-breaker, but it wasn't too overbearing. We took some time to finally decide what to order and decided on eggs benedict, only to be told it wasn't available after 2 or 3pm. When we asked why, the waitress said that the hollandaise sauce goes bad by that time. The solution that makes sense is that they should make more. I'd be happy with one of those instant packets from the grocery store whipped up even. They could just charge more after 2pm to cover the cost of making more I imagine. Either way, they were still a great place. read more

My friends and I are regulars at the Mels in Roseville, and noticed that this one was right down the street from a friend we were visiting about 6 months ago. Obviously we decided to all go out to eat here one night, and I was definitely not disappointed. The first category I want to cover is their service. Our waiter was extremely funny and even sat down at the booth next to us to chat. He was all smiles and even cracked a few jokes with us. When it was time to check out, the owner(?) chatted with us for a bit while we were closing out our bill. I definitely would say they had some of the best service I've seen at a restaurant. The second category is their food. It's pretty uniform quality when compared to other Mels. Something that confused me was when I told the waiter my regular order from the other location, he said that it's never been on the menu. Not a problem, I ordered something else, but this leads me to believe that they all have slight menu differences. Lastly, the atmosphere was that good retro diner theme. The staff is smiling and cheery, customers happily chatting away in their booths, it was a great time. Overall, This Mels is definitely a great place to visit. Highly recommend it. read more

Maya was so sweet and professional and helpful! Thanks for making me and my boyfriends experience, thanks queen'!!

Great service and fresh food. Had the eggs Benedict while my son and daughter in law shared the hash. They where served two separate plates already with the dish already separated which was nice. The Benedict was delicious. Service was pleasant. Priced reasonably. I shall return. read more

First: Service with Lauren was excellent! Very friendly and professional. My wife' git the meatloaf which was vet good, this time it came with Texas toast which is better than white bread.. I got the Monte Cristo which was pan fried not deep fried. I prefer it deep fried. Pan fried does not get the inside very hot but it was still good. Fries were hot and tasty. My last review I gave 3 stars. I am much happier this time read more

Best wedge salad ever!!! Staff makes you feel small town friendly atmosphere! Best place for breakfast too!

I deliver food for Door Dash so I visit a bunch of restaurants throughout the week. Of all the places I go, the staff and the owner at this Mel's are some of the friendliest folks you'll meet. Of course the food is delicious (it's Mel's) but it's the staff here that makes me excited to return. Cheers y'all read more

The Original Mels - Coca-Cola of course - Diners Near Me - Auburn, California

We found ourselves stranded and hungry at the Honda dealership across the street, so while our ride got fixed up, we walked across the street to Mel's. What an unexpected delight! Very kid friendly - crayons/paper kids menu, cool vending machines up front with balls/toys, and the manager gave our daughter a balloon when we left. Add to that that they have mac 'n cheese on the menu, and the kid was over the moon. We tied our dog up outside to wait for us, and the manager brought him water and a small piece of bacon...lucky dog! As for the adults, we enjoyed a cold Sierra Nevada in a chilled glass, and a very tasty Buffalo Blue burger + cobb salad. It's not like we were blown away by the food, I mean it's a diner, but it was totally respectable. I was also struck by how many regulars they have in there, truly enjoying themselves and socializing with the manager and staff. It was a very friendly vibe, we felt totally welcomed (and we showed up with a kid AND a dog....not exactly a recipe to be welcomed with open arms). We will be back for a friendly stop between SF and Tahoe. read more

Always a good place to eat. Like an more upscale Denny's with better service and menu options. Breakfast all day and kids meal in a car. Kids love it read more

The Original Mels - Diners Near Me - Auburn, California

Great place and ambience. Food is great!! Friendly service. Wall art is exactly what you would expect, signed pics from American graffiti. How can it get better? Rock o la jukebox with small table top jukeboxes on each table. So cool! My chicken fried steak and gravy was great (includes cornbread) and my wife's BLT was the best. Great place!! read more

Really cute place inside great for the kids and awesome food! You know I had whole cup of syrup fall on my lap due to it being on the side of my plate and just tipped over(I was covered in syrup down to my socks). I was a lil upset, but the attentiveness behind helping me clean up and bringing me a towel with club soda and then remaking my order cus I was in the bathroom so long cleaning up, then comping my order and doing so much to make up for it really said a lot . Something out of their control and I didn't even ask them for any of the gratuities and they really went above and beyond. definitely deserved five stars for the service today! Thank you to the manager and staff read more

I came here on the 29th the night of my birthday after going snowboarding at boreal. I ordered the rib-eye steak and a milkshake. Man o man was that steak good!!! Came with very large sides and my chocolate malt shake just went perfect. They sang happy birthday to me and I was ohhh soooo happy they had individual juke boxes on each table!! we Had a great time listening singing dancing and all. GOOOOOO GREASE LIGHTING read more

The Original Mels - Chocolate malt shake mmmm - Diners Near Me - Auburn, California

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We dont get many food choices in Auburn so we usually head over to Mels for fried chicken or a burger with fries. We never really had a bad meal there so five stars for Mels! read more

Overall improvement each time I've been back. Especially good for breakfast and the portions are plenty for two meals. It's a pretty solid spot for a decent meal and their servers have gotten better. Good job Mel's! read more

We had been happy customers since the opening until recently. Our last SIX, yes six orders were either wrong or bad. We were compensated but that doesn't make up for the disappointment of receiving something you weren't expecting when you're hungry and waiting for dinner. This was going to be the last chance, I even called ahead to Tony to alert him. Sadly it seems he became invisible and now won't be back until Wednesday. When your restaurant is being ripped apart online and with so much new competition you'd think some care would be taken in the training of employees. Mel's no longer cares, I predict a closing soon. Sad... Carole whose Niece Erika does the pick up. Sure going to miss Mel's. So even though we gave you the benefit of every doubt you feel it's ok to insult my intelligence? This was SIX times in a row where we tried to work with you because we were among your first customers. The last time one was another order was ham and eggs, eggs over medium. We got scrambled eggs. Don't know how scrambled eggs can be over medium. On the "fixed" order there was just one egg that looked like it was thrown on the ground first, not edible it was so runny. It seems you're no longer interested in your customers as reflected in other reviews. We probably spent a couple of k over the years. I really hope youlll try to salvage your business but you'd better start immediately. It seems liked we tried because we liked you and your wife but to be insulted seems as though you no longer care about your customers. This is also reflected in your lack of pri read more

We wanted a light dinner -- nothing fancy, but something more than fast food. Original Mel's fit the bill. Quick, friendly service; fun atmosphere for those of us who remember the 50s/60s; tasty food; and reasonable prices. read more