Good service because there is no one there to serve.Crap. 25 dollars gets you 1 basic burger and sweet potatoe soggy fries. No drink. It's nostalgic but not tasty. The line at out and in the burger was too long so I sacrificed a meal by going here. Mels needs to just close the doors and let anything new take the place I'm feel taken advantage of read more

The Original Mels - Save your money by going elsewhere - Diners Near Me - Pinole, California

This place is so cute!! If your looking for a fun 50's diner experience with good basic food, Mel's is your place! They offer dine in, outside dining and drive through. I ate inside on my visit and the restaurant is super clean. The decor is adorable with 50's themed items. We were seated at a booth that had its own mini jukebox you could play music from for a small price. Their menu is vast, serving breakfast all day, lunch and dinner items. I chose the Meldog with fries and it was tasty! Our server was attentive and helpful. There were so many things I wanted to try, that I will be back sooner, rather than later. read more

The Original Mels - Inside Mel's Diner - Diners Near Me - Pinole, California

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Haven't been to Mel's in years! Got a patty melt with pepper Jack cheese and curly fries. Hit the spotttttt. I was with my family late night and everyone seemed to enjoy their meals except one. He ordered the fried chicken meal and maybe 5 bites into his meal, he discovered that his chicken was still frozen. Daniela (I think that's what her name was) was very embarrassed and immediately had the kitchen remake the food. We joked and said they're not just gonna throw the same chicken in the microwave are they lol. We were notified that it would take another 15 min to make a second fresh batch. About 5 bites into the new batch... we discover that the fried chicken is FROZEN AGAIN. At this point my brother just wanted a refund despite the efforts of the staff offering anything from the menu, even a steak dinner. Aside from this mishap tho, everything was great. TLDR; don't order the fried chicken read more

All I can say from this experience is "wow". I consider myself a great cook but due to time constraints, I searched from Vacaville to Emeryville to cater breakfast for about 60 people at work. I went to the Mel's Original Diner in Pinole and met with the general manager Juan Garcia. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the establishment, the courteous staff and Juan himself. I ordered scrambled eggs, bacon, pork sausage, turkey sausages and potatoes. The staff did an amazing job and the food was outstanding. Juan is a great manager and is doing a fantastic job with this establishment. I visited three times and paid close attention to how Juan and his staff treated their guest/customers. Thank you so much Juan and made believers out of my staff who plan to visit your establishment. I will be back. Great food read more

You can count on the food to be consistent and delicious. Services are efficient, including delivering the food in a reasonable amount of time. Breakfast is nice and hot! Good coffee and excellent biscuits. read more

I would recommend Mel's to anyone and everyone, because the the the people there or most of them, there's always 1 or 2 workers that have attitudes. So you just put up with it, put the rest of them up into it, including the manager, are all fine people. I even have hmm, a seat. Did I go to and when I sit there and eat before even get settled down? Some reason they're asking me what I want to drink. Eat or if I'm ready to order it's always clean. It's not noisy. Sometimes there's too much sports on the tv, but that's something I have to put up with, because lots of people like the damn sports read more

Decided food I like that the dining room tables are spread out with lots of seating. The decor is pretty neat. Lots of food options to choose from on the menu. Service was great. read more

Mel's is a great family diner which has reasonable prices. great service, and huge portions. It has a diner vibe with music playing in the background. Great place for all ages. read more

I placed an order and specified a specific allergy, confirming twice with the hostess, Emily (who abruptly ended the first call). She assured me the order would be prepared correctly. However, when my order arrived, it was nothing like what I requested. When I called to speak with the manager, Martin, he was not only unapologetic about his employee's rudeness and the mistake but was also unhelpful. read more

Used to frequent this place back when my grandparents were around. They used to split clam chowder and a club sandwich. The cooler weather had me craving their Buffalo Chicken Salad. Always a good place to get those classic American comfort foods read more

If you get the drive-through check your order .. FYI My experience they gave me the Yeah, the order didn't not come out right but we were starving so we just left didn't have time to disputed read more

Great breakfast with the family! This place is always full in the mornings but it's worth waiting. Great food!

To be honest, I never thought that I would be somewhat a regular at Mel's, however, I am grateful that they are nearby and survived COVID a.k.a. business killer (and human killer too). Their food is comfort American food at a reasonable cost! We typically come for dinner and order their dinner plates.. They have changed their menu in the past couple years, they discontinued serving prime rib dinner and now, they no longer offer the pot roast. However, we still like their turkey plate, chicken fried steak plate and THE RIBEYE steak is so so so so good and the price is a fraction of what you would pay at Outback steakhouse (a block down the road!). We also love that the service is always fairly quick and efficient and of course, we love the oldies decor! One thing though, we always love the cornbread more than the garlic toast that comes with the dinner plates. read more

big fat zero Who puts white milk gravy on a DINNER chicken fried steak, THEN..... a canned mushrooms on top of it!!?? I ordered broccoli with butter on the side, broccoli cold wouldn't melt the butter lol COMPLETELY HYSTERICAL had to laugh because when I called it on the waitress......." Huh?" "That's how dinner CFS comes" lol No tip except fox your food Never again god thing I'm just passing throughChicken Fried Steak read more

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An amazing place for an American classic. My favorite go to meal is their chicken fried steak paired with either a root beer float, or a milkshake. Staff here are friendly and food comes out quickly. read more

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Karen who was working the drive through gave exceptional service accommodating all my requests in a super nice manner in a timely fashion food was great thank you so much Karen your appreciated!! read more

Great food/ best breakfasts you can find. Bacon is incredible. As is rib steak. Eggs Benedict are delicious and extremely filling

Mels diner is always a awesome spot. Breakfast lunch and diner. Great for all occasion. Keeps the classic look and service is on point. Had service with a smile and staff on top of drinks and satisfaction. I recommend this location. It feels more welcoming when your staff smiles and is on top of ordering. The parking was available. And I did not use it but I saw a drive thru. First time for me seeing a drive thru for Mel's. read more

The Original Mels - Diners Near Me - Pinole, California

Customer service was okay but food wise-i do want to warn some people who are thinking of eating out here. There was mold on my bread....YES. MOLD. Although they sent it back to give me a new one, i still felt disgusted on eating the second one. On top of that, they missed out on the putting ham that i had requested on my second order. So it got sent back AGAIN!! Third times a charm i guess. I dont think we will be going back. read more

The Original Mels - Mold - Diners Near Me - Pinole, California

Was seated right away service was great food was great . My server was very nice and worked hard

I love the old school vibes - classic cars and neon lights. Great food too, large portions and great friendly and fast service! read more

The Original Mels - Table - Diners Near Me - Pinole, California

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Excellent customer service, they are very loyal to their employees and they have a great staff. Full menu and consistent food quantity control. I have eaten here since the opening and will continue to eat here with my family and friends. read more

Good Service on a late Friday night. Sandwiches were solid (french dip, chz steak, roast turkey), with excellent meat and very flavorful. Fries were meh. For the price point and the service, would still recommend for solid American Diner food (and face it, you really didnt need those french fries anyway, amirite?) Bring quarters for the jukebox (one at every table!) read more

A huge menu selection and the food here is pretty good. I've got several favorites that are my goto. I like most of their sandwiches and there's plenty to choose from. The blue plate dinners are nice comfort food when I'm in that kinda mood too. The service is always friendly and fast and they get the extra star because they are literally the only restaurant in Pinole that has decent air conditioning during the hot summers! Yes that matters when your house is 80 degrees inside and it is 95 outside. lol. And on those type of days they've got delicious shakes, malts, freezes (my fav) and sundaes. read more

I must say, when I first discovered this breakfast place, I prefer Mel's over the 2 famous breakfast places in the world IHOP and Dennys. Mel's has all my favorite breakfast food and never fails every time I go in. Service is always friendly and fast. They are good at checking up on you if u need anything. The inside I love it. I love all the arts all over on the wall. I won't change a thing. #1 Go to breakfast spot good and affordable for a big family. read more

We just had Mel's for the first time. Definitely surprised it was like a 1950s diner. The atmosphere was absolutely awesome shout my son had a blast we were only there temporary Lee because we ended up ordering through the drive-through versus actually sitting down. The staff were very helpful. My son got to get a little cardboard car which was nice of them. The food was absolutely delicious. We got the garlic fries with the San Francisco burger as well as the Mel's gourmet fries which were absolutely phenomenal. Definitely come with time on your. read more

This place exceeded my expectations. I came here for brunch on a Saturday morning, walked in and it was packed, so i expected quite a wait. Wrong! I was greeted by a friendly and perky host and was seated immediately! Our waiter, Gustavo, was amiable and attentive, considering how busy they were, I was impressed by his punctuality. I expected a bit of wait for the food to arrive, Wrong again! The food came out impressively fast, hot and with perfect presentation. Every bite was delicious, the vibe of the restaurant was uplifting, with 50's music in the background and happy faces all around. I'll be coming here again and often. Highly recommend. read more

The Original Mels - Cheeseburger with curly fries, Belgian waffle, and a breakfast burrito with Mel's potatoes - Diners Near Me - Pinole, California

The food was great they have never done me wrong! Service is great and the theme of the restaurant is so cute! read more

Everything was bland or overcooked. Spouse had an SF burger that was cooked to the point of having black skin all over it. It tasted like it'd been cooked once and reheated or dumped on the grill twice. Curly fries were surprisingly bland. The fried jumbo Shrimp were tasteless. The fried cod was clearly fried too long and the breading was dark brown, not golden brown. I looked over at another table and a girl was eating a corndog that has wayyyy darker breading than should be for a normal corndog. Is there a pattern of overcooking here? Service was good, and was the only good thing about the meal. I wasn't expecting amazing food, but it was really bad. I don't know a lot of restaurants that do so many things so wrong--not exactly a badge of honor. Bonus! Spouse was bloated and nauseous in the night after eating just part of the burger. Go somewhere else for diner food. Even Burger King has more flavor than this. read more

Excellent food, great friendly service . I never am disappointed. Very diet friendly salads. Great old time food

Welcoming atmosphere, friendly team, good food and large portions. Reasonably priced too, in nostalgic setting. I will go back, good Diner experience. read more

I'm kind of surprised I haven't written a review yet, given that I've eaten here two or three times. (Well, I was in a newborn baby sleep deprived haze for awhile, so that might be a factor, too). I know for sure that I've eaten at the restaurant twice (maybe one add'l time), and I've ordered takeout once (maybe two more add'l times). From the takeout that I remember, the fries were soggy since everything was closed up pretty tightly. But I remember the food being good, especially the milkshakes. From my most recent visit last night, we were happy to see indoor dining (every other booth is blocked off) as well as outdoor seating. I asked my waitress if she thought the chili or the meatloaf were better, and she said both were really good, but she liked the meatloaf better. So I went with that, and got a cup of chili as my side ;-) best of both worlds. I actually kind of preferred the chili, as the meatloaf was a tad bit dry, but it was still really good. The veggies that came on the side and the mashed potatoes were also really good, although the mushroom gravy tasted very generic. My husband got the San Francisco Melburger, and I know he's gotten that at least one previous time, too. He loved his. My toddler got the mac n cheese (if it's not Kraft, it sure as heck looks like it), and we were happy with the few bites he took. He has the appetite of a small bird, so the fact that he took more than one bite says it all. He also had a few fries. He didn't want to touch the fruit lol. Will we be back? Of course. I mean, with standard diner fare, you know what you're getting. read more

Food was great and has enough serving to fill me up. Went here for lunch and the place was busy. Staff was accommodating and was able to give us a table immediately once a group was done. Could clean the table better tho, but I understand that it was peak hours. Place was clean and lively. read more

Got the San Francisco Melburger. EXCELLENT May appear a bit pricey, but it is BIG and comes with great fries. Also got great onion rings as a side. Hamburger was very high quality beef, thick, and well charbroiled. Cheddar cheese, not plastic American cheese (Habit!) All elements of the burger were fresh. Service? Drive thru was speedy and food gets brought out to your car! Of course, it's Mel's!! Great service! THIS place beats all local burger joints! Hands down! read more

I had a chicken sandwich today and the chicken sandwich was absolutely extraordinary fresh bread, fresh chicken, avocado, lettuce, and I ordered the mashed potatoes and gravy. Everything we get here we come here a lot all of the waitresses and the cooks are excellent. You must come here you will not regret it, all the waitresses are very kind and very attempted to what I wanted anyway I wanted it me and my wife. We just enjoy coming here. We come here about three or four days a week. read more

Waiter ignored us our breakfast was not good. She did nothing to help after our eggs came noticeably burnt. The one star is for the manager that listened for a second on how bad the food was. read more

It's pretty nice out there, gives the old school vibes and they serve beer so that's already good enough for me. lol But yeah, seriously, the interior design definitely will take you back in time and you can order a very nice burger and choose the fries you want. The waitresses are very kind and will respond to you if you need anything else, they also come around and check on you, so I'd say it's worth it. Go try it out! I just didn't like the location but everything else was nice. read more

I went here for years. It was always a nice place to eat after work. What I dont recommend is that you order delivery through their app. I ordered a sunrise sandwich with ham and avocado. When it got to my house, it was sausage and no avocado. I called to see what they can do, and it turns out that the system didn't make note of the ham selection. It just defaulted to sausage in the order. I would have been fine with whatever, but the manager started arguing with me, saying that Im the one who made the wrong selection. That by itself was enough to lose this customer. read more

Oh my god. Me and my husband both had to go to the bathroom immediately after we ate our food. I had a fried chicken salad. He had the chicken parmesan sandwich. First and last time we will visit this Mel's. read more

Juan is by far the most fun server I've ever had, I hope everyone who comes in gets to have him as a server! the food is also super super tasty and the vibe of the place is so nice :) read more