Original Mel’s Diner

Extremely Happy Staff, friendly people and great bites. I readly enjoyed there ground round steak tonight smothered with gravy and sauteed mushrooms and grilled onions with mash potatoes, and fresh steamed veggies. The restaurant is looking more polished and upbeat. Restrooms have been freshly painted and cleaned. I had a great visit at this Original Mels. Thank you to the Staff~

I would have rated this place 5 stars months ago, the food was excellent. However, now all that has changed. I’m assuming there is a new cook because my last 3 visits my breakfast was not good. The problem is NO Flavor. My steak was flavorless as if absolutely no salt was used. My eggs were also flavorless and tasted like a fresh bird. My potatoes were horrible! My potatoes were over cooked, burnt, and oily. The new cook has no skills! Sadly, I plan to avoid this location. If the cook is no good, you have no business.

Okay where to start? My son and I we’re looking for a place to have the good old-​fashioned breakfast. We assume the original Mel’s diner would be the perfect choice. Overall the meal and the service mediocre too average.
Food:
The menu is a little clunky to read. We where looking for items that came with pancakes but they only have one dish. everything else we are going to have to add pancakes waffles.
The the pancakes were delicious, the coffee was okay, and the hash browns undercooked.
Service:
The service is mediocre. The servers really don’t have the 1950s, they where T-​shirts, jeans in some cases ripped up jeans. Maybe I’m nitpicking but I don’t like my food delivered by a person with a large dangling nose ring. The coffee refills were short and my wheat toast was forgotten.
Overall:
If you’re looking for a fun 1950s old fashion diner with the experience and sassiness of that era, well this is not the place for you.

Met our Oregon bound friends here for breakfast on. Sat. morning; best to get there before 9:00 as it fills up fast. I love corned beef hash so when I saw it listed on the menu as homemade I thought I would be in for a real treat. The presentation with chunks of meat & potatoes & two scrambled eggs on the side was really appetizing but wish I could say the same for the hash. There was a distinct vinegar taste to the meat like it had been brined in straight vinegar, very «off tasting», not like corned beef hash should taste at all. I tried to eat it but that vinegar tang was just too much. All the others in our party were quite satisfied with their food and the service was friendly & efficient but I was very disappointed in my choice of food after our server said that the hash was really good. Won’t be ordering it anytime soon.

Really glad i chose to have breakfast here. Came in today (Thursday morning) and was seated really promptly. The waitress was well mannered with a huge smile on her face. Would recommend.

We went to dinner last night and the staff were all so friendly! I can’t even tell you how many people checked on our family to make sure we were doing okay!
The food was good. Very family friendly!

Mel’s original diner. A classic. I had the beefy cheddar sandwich with gravy fries. Soooo good. I ate it before I could even take a picture. I was with 2 little ones who had corn dog and grilled cheese. Each was served in a cardboard car with Oreos which made me Wish i could get a kids meal. Great service and reasonable prices. Big thumbs up!

I had a good Philly Cheese steak sandwich here. It was BIG! It had plenty meat and lots of cheese sauce. So much sauce it was dripping on my fingers. It came with a generous portion of natural cut Mel fries.
I like the old nostalgic décor of Mel’s. It’s a fun trip back in time. Mel’s has some great old style comfort food too!

This place was popular when we dropped in for breakfast. The interior sets a great relaxing mood, and all the workers were nice and friendly. I had perfectly cooked eggs Benedict, and I really enjoyed their hash browns! Service was a bit slow but it’s understandable since the place was packed.

The food was very good. And the milkshakes were amazing.
It was my first time going in today and the customer service was excellent! The strawberry milkshake tasted very good and it had fresh strawberries in it! The Mel burger is really tasty as well. The food was all fresh… Garlic fries are super good!
The place was empty which I liked, probably because I went after the lunch rush!

First timers. The interior décor is awesome! The place is bright, clean and smells good.
We had breakfast.
The pancakes were pretty good, nice and fluffy and tasty.
Bacon was cooked perfectly and served freshly cooked, which makes a big difference.
The ham and sausage were OK.
The biscuits were a bit dry, but the gravy was pretty good. I just wish they would be more generous with it. Maybe it will save the biscuit if they drench it!
I could not give them 4 stars because it just did not get me excited enough to want to come back often. Too bad because it’s so conveniently close to home.

As a family with allergies we were offered no allergy list to know what we could actually eat. Aster asking me multiple people we were left with a host saying the manager said the salads were gluten free and that’s it. We can’t eat gluten, dairy or eggs so this was very disheartening and after this statement we decided to leave. We waked a few steps to Genghis Grill and had allergy cards and support before even sitting down. Mel’s may be good food but has no allergy notice. We will not be going back!

We came on a Sunday around noon for a late breakfast. The service and food during our visit was on point. We will be back!

Very disappointed in the food this time… Was expecting the ‘Mel’s Gravy’, which has a hint of sage in it… No sage, needed salt and they added parsley! The wait staff, still friendly and attentive, but if the food isn’t up to par, they are paddling up a dry river…

First time trying the Mel’s in natomas and enjoyed it as like any other mels I’ve been to.
The people were nice, good vibes everytime I go, but it always takes awhile for the food to come out, thankfully the food was delicious to look past the time.
I got the club sandwich with curly fries and a banana & pineapple shake. 5he shake was soo good I wanted to get another one. The fries were crispy and seasoned to perfection, my sandwich was full of flavor and definitely one of the best club sandwiches I’ve had in the area.

I came here after the Kings game versus the cavaliers, my buddies and I were drinking at the sleep train arena and we wanted to get a hearty meal after and boy did this hit the spot.
I ordered the San Francisco burger and, my goodness is this the best burger I had so far in 2015. The burger had slices of avocado, bacon, thick party, American cheese, dressed in thousand island sauce. Mel’s diner also gives you an option of side from fries, cole slaw, or a cup of soup. I decided to go with the minestrone soup and damn this was good, my buddies got the chick soup and they said it was really good (maybe it was because we were partially inebriated, lol). And the best part about it was it was all for about 10 $.
Our server was delightful, and check with us regularly even though it was apparent that she was very busy from serving the other hungry kings fan post game.
I would definitely recommend you guys try this place out after going to the Kings game!
Oh they also serve beers!
Large tv’s and booths!
Bathroom is available for both sexes.
All payments accepted!

What’s the point of a Mel’s Diner if its not open into the wee hours of the morning or isn’t 24 hours? The best part of Mel’s is going in at the end of a night out and getting the super cheap steak and egg special. The Arena Boulevard location keeps normal hours and their steak and egg special doesn’t start until 6am. BOO!
I did end up at this place after a Kings game recently. Since the sneaky free parking spots in this area are not really sneaky anymore and the area has become Arco Arena (or Sleep Train Arena if you’re new to town) parking lot #2, so getting out is near nightmare levels. To avoid the rush, we walked over to Mel’s to kill some time.
The service is perfectly fine, the restaurant is clean, and the menu is standard american diner fare. Its not bad and its not great. It still hits the spot for a post-​whatever snack, which is all I really came here for anyway. They also have some pretty nice flat screens mounted throughout the restaurant here, which was nice to see the post Kings game lowlights.

You didn’t give Scott his Au Jus. How dare you!!! Therefore, 1 star!
Maybe give people their Au Ju next time!

Came here craving Chili cheese fries. The wait wasn’t long and the portion was huge! It wasn’t the best I’ve had, but definitely satisfied my craving.
3 stars because it’s a pretty average restaurant and the price isn’t that cheap. I think I would rather go somewhere else for better tasting food but this would be a solid choice (especially for those drunk nights).

Steak & Eggs Special–
So after driving by Mell’s diner for a year, and seeing the steak and eggs breakfast special for $ 5.89 (offered only on weekdays) and having the day off from work, I decided to try it out. I must say that I was not disappointed. It was good and very filling. The service was nice too. Good traditional American food. Gotta love it!