This place is slipping. Poor value for the money now. Almost $20 for two sausage patties and three slices of French toast. All of which could have come out of the freezer into the microwave and on to my plate as far as I could tell. Piped in music was too loud and the a/c set too low. Can't fault the service. Waitperson was polite and attentive. read more

We usually have good service here, but today was horrible. Elizabeth was our waitress. It took her a while to come take our order, no worries it happens. Elizabeth took our order without writing anything down. Some people have the ability to do that and remember everything, but not her. Food took a while to come out, even though we were the only people waiting for food. Then others started showing up. She brought out two burgers and a sampler, problem is we only ordered one burger, a sampler and a cheesesteak, with no mushrooms, since she asked if I wanted them. When I told her I didn't order that, she asked what I ordered and went to go change it. The other two tables were served their food while I was sitting around still waiting. Both people at my table were done eating when I had finally got my food. When Elizabeth dropped off my food, there was little to no conversation. She dropped my food off and said here you go. No apology, or how's everything else? She definitely avoided eye contact and interaction. Oh look...mushrooms on my cheesesteak. Not a big deal since I'm not allergic. When the bill came we were charged for the mushrooms. We had to talk to the manager since the manager had no idea she made a mistake, and the manager probably wouldn't have known if she wasn't so rude to us. The manager wasn't any better than her. This was the worst experience we've had at this specific restaurant. We don't plan on coming back. If you want great service at Mel's, go to Vacaville. Even Boomtown Mel's and Reno's Mel's (before it closed) had great service! read more

I always love coming here every Sunday morning with my husband and today the service wasn't the best and today we weren't really attended much and we found dirt inside of one of our drinks. read more

The Original Mels - My husband had dirt inside of his cup this is very unsanitary very unpleased with this place today. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Fairfield, California

Got a patty melt. Good sized piece of meat but the shape didn't cover the rye bread. Very tasty although the grilled onions were still pretty crunchy. Hot seasoned fries were delicious. Kept my soda full without asking. I like all the neon and the artwork and you can't beat the 60s music! read more

Toasts were served late.When my toasted bread was served I flipped it and it was very dark because it was burned. Not sure if the cheating came from the cook or the server. read more

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I've been to several of these as they are a chain. Everything here is decent. Clean and the service isn't horrible. It's not the best but hey... it's a diner what do else would I expect? read more

Went here for the first time on a saturday lunch rush hour. The location was pretty packed and busy. First thing i noticed was their cool vintage interior. The inside is full of wall art that brings you decades back. We liked that concept! We got seated after a couple minutes of waiting for the front receptionist and was greeted right away by the server with the menu. I could say that the menu has so many items to choose from. Burgers, sandwiches, steaks, breakfast items and more. It is similar to Denny's menu. We placed our order after a few minutes but didnt get our food until after 30 minutes. I even had to follow up and the server apologize and admitted that kitchen is behind with orders. This is where i take one star off. Pricing- not bad. Most full entrees that comes with two sides are around 15$. The only thing that i will take a star off again is the serving portion. The portion is filling but usually we will have to go boxes when we visit other restaurants, but here, we finished it all. Food quality meets my expectation except for the fried breaded shrimp that looked so dry. Ill take one half star off here. So 3.5 stars in total, but cant do that so ill just do 3 stars. Server was attentive on filling our glass with water eventhough she was busy. Overall, i would come back and recommend the place. I would just not do it again on rush hours. I forgot to take pictures, maybe will update this when i come back. read more

This place has a sign in front open 6am daily but it really doesn't open till 7am so we waited, 710am still not open. You see employees but ignores you... why read more

The Original Mels - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Fairfield, California

I am late posting this. Breakfast time. Liz is our server, so sweet and helpful. Enjoyed our breakfast, mine was Eggs Florentine: Grilled English muffin halves with sliced tomato (I ordered without tomato), fresh spinach, poached egg on each and hollandaise sauce. Served with fresh fruit.($13.49) Cranberry juice large. Liz provides excellent service to her guests. Atmosphere is quiet and pleasant. Clean facility. read more

The Original Mels - the interior of a diner - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Fairfield, California

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Should have known better. Fairfield is t known as a culinary destination. My first choice was to go to Red Lobster but there was a 30 to 40 minute wait. So we went to Mel's and got seated in a few minutes. It was pretty much empty. That should have been my first sign that nothing good was to come of this. Since I can't say anything good about this, I will just list their inadequacies The water tasted foul The food was tasteless They also got my order wrong They made no attempt to fix the problem Hence, I felt no need to finish my food nor tip the useless waitress I paid and left Save yourself from being disappointed and just eat somewhere else. McDonald's is just on the other side of the freeway. read more

Very attentive service, had my coffee refills on time, good portions of food. Environment is a classic diner experience with some good music playing in background. read more

The food and food size is always great. I never have any complaints when I go. Ordered the corn beef hash, vanilla milkshake and mozzarella sticks and all were delicious. read more

Thank you! said super rare stake and it was thank you and said crispy hash browns and they were perfect ! Thank who ever cooked it around 8am on oct 2. no one has ever done the stake that rare at this place and have to add why does Vacaville suck so bad? Well fairfield does not and not to far all Vacaville people drive to Fairfield and get a good stake ! read more

Ate here a little while back and did not have a good experience. Like others have mentioned in their reviews, I did NOT feel good at all after my meal. I ordered the chili omelette and while it was decent, the way it made me feel afterwards was not. I didn't get sick, throw up, or anything like that, but my stomach was in knots and there was quite a bit of discomfort for a couple hours. Since then, I have refused to eat here again. To be fair, I have eaten at other Mel's locations without this problem. read more

My wife and I went here for an early dinner today. The woman who brought the food to our table was not the same woman who took our order and who was helping us but when she brought the food to the table I immediately noticed she had very long fingernails (at least 2") that were touching my food while she was placing my plate on the table. To me, this wasn't very sanitary and was an immediate "turn off" to the dining experience. She placed our plates on the table and hurried off. I brought it to the attention of our server. Not very hygienic. Normally the food and service are good. read more

Pretty good food. I had a cheesesteak, and it was just as good as any cheesesteak I've ever had. I will get this again. The wife's belt was excellent. read more

It's hard to believe this place isn't local as it has all the charm and feel of a business owner that cares. As soon as you walk in you're greeted with loads of 50s and 60s decor, including a big juke box in case you have any favorites from that era. Every table also has a mini juke box, but it only takes quarters so I wasn't able to try it out. I really liked the vibe of the place as it reminded me of simpler times when we didn't have to worry so much about things like global pandemics, fake news, or my crashing amc stock. As far as food this place stays true to our American values of humongous portions at fair prices. I wasn't able to finish the Santa Fe chicken burger and my spouse said her salad was enough to fill her up for the whole day! I also tried the breakfast burrito a different time I was here and it was ginormous. If you just want an old fashioned American breakfast or burger then you can't go wrong here. The service was good and I didn't feel rushed when we finished. I see some negative reviews complaining about things taking too long and to be honest I've only stopped by on weekdays when there's usually only like 2 other families in the restaurant and it takes less than 20 minutes to get our food after ordering. Overall I would highly recommend if you want a no nonsense American meal and good vibes. read more

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I love the crispy buffalo chicken salad and the side Caesar is great, but the veggie Pattie's are horrible. Very mushy and lacked flavor. Husband got a regular burger and said it was good. read more

Food was good, it always is when we go there. But the servers were arguing amongst themselves and it was loud enough for the customers to hear. Wow is all I can say, they need to take the bickering to the back room. read more

We just happened to fall upon this place driving through Fairfield. So glad we did!! We visited about 5pm and it was pretty empty. We were able to chose where we wanted to sit. We were greeted right away by a younger guy who was training a girl. They were very friendly and attentive. There are lots of items to choose from the menu. Something for everyone. We started off with delicious chili fries. My kids had kids meals. They were so cute. They come in a little cardboard made into a pink convertible car. I had the most delicious burger, San Francisco melt. It was a cheat meal for me and worth every bite!! My kids ask if we can go back all the time. It's a little far for us, but it will be our new pit spot while driving to Discovery kingdom. read more

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I called in to pick up an order. Order the corn beef and hash, asked if they can do extra corn beef, just the beef. They said it'll be an extra charge. That perfectly fine. When I went to pick up, it's an extra side of mostly potatoes and a few pieces of corn beef. The host snapped at me and said I can take it away for you. And I said I wish you could of said it's not possible on the phone when I asked. And he said there's just no way we can do it. And then mumble something under his breathe. That's just rude, especially when I knew to ask for such a specific thing, could of just said no. And no I'm left with throwing away a bowl of potatoes since I can't eat a lot in my diet. read more

The Original Mels - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Fairfield, California

I'll start with the bad and that is why the place gets a 3 instead of a 5, flies, I had to shoo them away the whole time I ate. One even landing on my glass of water. The good: the server was extremely nice bubbly and friendly she was on top of everything. She checked back in with me twice during my meal which I appreciate. The burger was very good, I had the mushroom Swiss burger. Fries were also good. read more

The Original Mels - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Fairfield, California

ATE HERE ONCE AND MY ENTIRE FAMILY GOT FOOD POISONED HAD TO SEND DAUGHTER TO ER. It's ran by teens who seem to undercook or re use old food. Wtf? A few hours later were all vomiting on the side of the highway!!!!! and I only had 1 bite of a breakfast burrito and some SHIT POTATOES. I could barely take care of my poor children because I myself was dying. what would happen if I had eaten the entire breakfast burrito? I'd probably end up in the hospital. The food was garbage and whoever works here and reads this fuck you and fuck your day read more

If you're passing by Travis Air Force Base you got to stop in Mel's diner. It's like walking back in the 1950s with American graffiti Fonzie and all kinds of other Decour. The food was very well-made and exemplary airy presentations on the plate. Pricing is very common $12-$14 a meal plus drinks and or desserts. read more

I love the chili at Mel's. It's got great flavor and the spice is perfect. However, today was the 2nd time I ordered it and did not receive the cornbread. I had it delivered by DoorDash who is NOT at fault. When I called the restaurant, all I got was "oh, sorry about that. You can call DoorDash and get a refund." Which I did. But very disappointed in Mel's. I guess I'll find a new place to order chili from. SMH read more

Horrible burnt and honestly the worst never coming again I haven't been here since read more

The Original Mels - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Fairfield, California

The service and food was horrible.I ordered steak and eggs.The steak was old and overcooked and my over medium eggs were hard boiled eggs. Never received my toast with my meal. The sampler was overcooked and cooked in old oil.The pancakes me husband ordered tasted like they were microwaved.The waiter was avoiding coming to my table.I asked to take the steak off and she stated that she couldn't because I had eaten the hash browns.The manager did take $6.99 off which was ok.I will not be returning. read more

I was greeted and seated immediately upon arrival. I requested the counter as I was solo dining around lunchtime. I had classic diner coffee and Eggs Florentine, with the poached eggs cooked perfectly and presented beautifully. I failed to take a photo as I was enjoying the conversation with Maryann the manager and admiring the Halloween and 50s diner decorations. read more

Food, atmosphere and service are great. Wish it was closer to home. Yummy. I got a Ruben and fries and it was also yummy. read more

The Original Mels - Mel's cheese steak - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Fairfield, California

I love Mel's -- I have great memories, from back in the day, going to the ones in SF with my friends. And I like going there now. I've been to this Fairfield one by the mall a couple times with my family. The food was great, but I have to wonder -- when the restaurant is mostly empty, why do they cram all the customers who show up right next to each other? I mean -- space us out! I'm surrounded on all sides by groups of customers and I can see rows of empty tables in the other side of the restaurant. read more

First time with my family and we had a wonderful time! As soon as you walk in, you can definitely feel the friendly atmosphere. The decor is amazing and feels like an actual diner! The employees greet you and take you to your table. The food was delicious and you definitely get a lot on your plate. We'll definitely be back for more!!! read more

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I had such a great experience here. When you walk in you are automatically submerged in the decor and experience of a fifties diner. The food was absolutely amazing and exceptionally affordable. The service was friendly and fun and attentive and helpful. I will definitely go back and enjoy another experience in this phenomenal diner. read more

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I loved everything about this meal! Tables clean & comfy, plenty of parking, helpful, courteous staff. The meal came out hot & fresh. We were very impressed with the quality. Down to the last bite was wonderful. I forgot to check bathrooms but we'll be going back soon so I'll update then. They appear to have a drivethru but I haven't used it. read more

Love the vibes & waiters were nice and friendly !!! Food was pretty good, proportions and also weren't stingy with sauce which is always a plus! read more

We go here quite a bit. Usually good. But last night wasn't good. We ordered. Asked for stuff on the side. There were 4 of us. My two sons got their food first. My sons order wasn't what he asked for. So I got the server and told her. She rolled her eyes and came and took his whole plate. She wasn't rolling her eyes at me. But because the put salsa on his chicken that he didn't want. So we sat there for a long time. My husband got his bbq chicken burger. I still had no food and my son who had his plate taken away still had no food. It was probably 20 minutes later that I got my food. I ordered fried cod. I was shocked at how it was. 3 oval showed little pieces in a row not much bigger than a McDonald's chicken nugget. And a tiny condiment sized cup of cole slaw that was warm! My sons got his food too. Aren't foods that are messed up supposed to be fixed before anything else is cooked?! They also didn't come back through the whole time we were there to ask if we wanted refills. My one son had his food about 30 minutes before we had anything. I had to flag down people to get more water and iced tea. Forgot to add that both me and my son were feeling sick after we ate there. Same symptoms and we got two totally different foods. Stomach ache with severe intestinal pain, nausea, and the runs. read more

I live right across the street from Mel's in Fairfeild, I always get great food and service from most of the people working there Cesar is always great and friendly as my server and he is always on his game!!! read more

This Mel's is relatively new to the area, but overall we had a great experience! My husband and I visited this establishment quite late at night - around 11pm - with the sole purpose of satisfying our sweet tooth. We were seated promptly. There were not many patrons in the diner this late at night. The interior of the diner is nice & clean, not dingy at all. We ordered a sundae to share. We were able to choose 2 flavors of ice cream from a variety of options. The sundae contained a warm brownie, a kind of caramel/toffee sauce, crushed peanuts, and a maraschino cherry to top it all off. The brownie was a bit too floury for our personal tastes, not the fudge-y gooey consistency in the middle with a crisp exterior that I look for in a brownie. All in all though, a passable sundae that satisfied our craving for some dessert! The jukebox located on the table is way cool too! You just put in a few coins and you get to choose either one song or 3 songs. We played some nice vintage tunes to accompany our dessert! They have a nice selection of oldies but goodies. Overall, a nice, adequate, clean Mel's Diner with good service. Once I try their food (not just dessert, that is), I will be sure to update my review! read more

The Original Mels - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Fairfield, California

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If I could give this place zero stars I would. I came here with my family for Father's Day and after an hours wait we still did not have our food. When we went to the manager to complain they said they got 50 orders online and they were making those first. I don't want to sound like a Karen but shouldn't you serve the customers that are actually in your restaurant first. I had to go to my car and get crackers for my mother who is a diabetic and needed to eat. Needless to say I will not be coming back here ever again. read more

Pit stop on our way to Washington for a road/moving trip. Been to Mel's in S.F. for many late night munchies and it's pretty safe to stick with a simple breakfast or sandwich here, usually. I will say that the banana & pineapple milkshake was yummy! Never tried it before. Staff was nice, especially considering how late it was and we were the last patrons left. No complaints. read more

The Original Mels - Banana & pineapple shake was quite tasty. Pleasantly surprised! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Fairfield, California

My kids wanted to eat break fast before the movies so we decided to take them here. We were greeted by polite and pleasant staff who seated us immediately. Forgot how eating here as nice old school rock and roll vibe. The food was good. Typical diner comfort food. read more

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