I really don't want to write a bad review about anything in Cooperstown. It's such a special place, but this visit was really bad. It seemed extremely busy for the restaurant staff, even though half the restaurant was empty. Our waitress probably took 20 minutes to come greet us and get a drink order so we sat and watched others getting service and we didn't even have water. Not ideal with children. We ordered, I'm gluten free and ordered a gluten free meal and while I was explaining the gluten free necessity, I asked if I could have the fries. The waitress said yes. Our food came out on phases and we never got to ask for anything like extra napkins or where the rest of the food was. People who came in after us ate before we got our food, it was not a pleasant experience. I started eating my food, which came after everyone else's and even though my main wasn't very yummy, the fries were good. Finally, when we were ready to get out and just run away, I told the waitress the fries were good and I was happy they were gluten free ... you have to try to be positive when it's this bad, right?! She said they weren't gluten free fries and she forgot about that. Even though it was specified clearly. I was very upset, this could ruin our short weekend up there. Everyone passed to box up any leftovers, which is rare for us. When we finally got the bill, I told the waitress the table was really sticky and needed to be wiped down, maybe the next person didn't need to stick to the table if they endured what we did... she said it wasn't that the table needed to be wiped... it was the chemicals they used to clean the tables were eating away at the table top finish Had been here before years earlier and enjoyed it, so was very disappointed to have such a long and unenjoyable experience here. I hope they turn things around, if they do, I won't know but love this town and this area. Two stars because we sat at a table with chairs that didn't break. Good luck guys! read more

You can't go wrong with Mel's. Food was great and service impeccable. Michele was our server and she was pleasant and extremely attentive. Great spot! read more

We had an incredible lunch & dinner at Mel's on Friday!!! The entire staff was friendly, attentive, & kind (even on what's likely the busiest day of the year - the day of the parade of legends for the HOF!) Food was all delicious (I'll dream of the risotto for years, mmmm). They were so accommodating of my dad's needs & the service was impeccable. We will definitely be back!!! read more

Best blueberry/walnut bitters Manhattan and fried mozzarella in Cooperstown! This is our second year here and this tops our picks. Make reservations! read more

Mel's at 22 - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

Delicious beet salad. Excellent clam chowder. Great service. Ate outdoors very relaxing. read more

Stopped for lunch on my second day at Cooperstown NY to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. Mel's is a nice place one room with a bar and high top tables the other with regular tables. Very bright interior. I was quickly seated and ordered. The soup of the day was an excellent tomato basil. Nice rich flavor. I ordered the deep fried haddock sandwich with tater tots. All sandwiches come with fries or tots with garlic fries extra. The fish was nicely breaded, hot and crispy. Nice flavor it came with lettuce, tomato, and a side of tartar sauce which I did not use. The tots were perfect. Great service I'd highly recommend it for lunch. There is a full bar with 6 beers on tap read more

Mel's at 22 - Haddock sandwich with Tater Tots - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

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Wow what a great find! We stopped in for lunch after shopping on Main Street and I was blown away by the beautiful ambiance of a clean, well decorated, and tidy restaurant. Then came the best burger Ive ever had in my life. I know that's a big statement but seriously- cold crisp lettuce and tomato, thinly sliced red onion, crunchy dill pickles, thick slice of melting cheddar, a burger patty hand made not frozen and it was well seasoned, not over salted but not without flavor, and all of it packed in a soft but sturdy brioche bun. It was perfect. Tots were yummy too. Service was fast and friendly. Location was easy to access. Add Mel's to your must-eat list in Cooperstown. read more

Great place for lunch and maybe more. Salads were super fresh. Burger and Reuben were excellent. Prices were very reasonable especially for the quality. It's busy, but worth the wait. read more

Tamika was an amazing server who helped us enjoy a wonderful meal. She provided us with the specials and recommendations as we choose our meals. We all choose a first course. For my boyfriend it was the chunky and thick clam chowder. For my son it was the Caesar salad with crunchy croutons and big Parmesan cheese shavings. For me it was the roasted beet salad minus the goat cheese. All were large servings and delicious. We all started our meal with cocktails. Boyfriend got Blanton's bourbon on the rocks- very generous pour. I had the spicy jalapeño & cucumber margarita and my son a whiskey apple cocktail. Well-made and yummy! Dinner serving were amazing! Boyfriend a tender cooked medium French pork chop with mashed potatoes and green beans. Son had 4 scallops with creamy lobster risotto that he ate every bite and stated it was delicious. I enjoyed their vegan choice which was a miso noodle bowl with mushrooms, rice noodles and bok choy! Very flavorful and filling. I was offered protein to add but declined due to my first course salad which was quite filing. No regrets! Definitely would dine here again and a great choice while in Cooperstown. Tomorrow it's up early and to the National baseball hall of fame. read more

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Pretty awesome place, and seems like Mel's at 22 is the place to be! It was so awesome that I visited Mel's at 22 two times during my 5-day Cooperstown trip. I will say that the service staff is super friendly and fun (especially Steve, the bartender). Just be aware that the lunch menu is quite different from the dinner menu. Before arriving at the restaurant (for my 1st visit), I saw a bunch of yummy pictures on Yelp featuring lobster risotto, crab cakes, and lobster Mac n Cheese. Unfortunately, during my lunch visit, those items were unavailable. However, I managed to satisfy my seafood craving with the clam chowder, which I highly recommend, and the fish sandwich. Oh, if you get the fish sandwich (or any other type of sandwich) definitely substitute the regular french fries for the pesto fries. If I ever visit Cooperstown, NY again, I will definitely stop by Mel's at 22 to try the dinner menu and to have a drink or five. read more

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Make a reservation! On a weekend long wait to walk in for dinner. We made reservations for next evening but decided to come for lunch because it wasn't crowded. Came here on reccomendedation from friends who are in Cooperstown often. It's a weird vibe. Bluegrass country music, shabby chic decor with leather bench seating and chandeliers hanging. I don't care, I'm here for the food. It was good, but didn't live up to expectations. Maybe dinner menu is better. Lunch is mostly salads, paninis and burgers. The flies in the bathroom were a real turn off. Ladies room. Not one or 2, like 10! And the toilet paper hadn't been replaced. Just nee roll laying on top of empty roll. The place just opened for lunch. I decided on beer battered haddock sandwich with salad as my side. Specifically asked no tomatoes. Thank God I'm not allergic I just hate them. So when my haddock came with juicy tomato slices on it, which the juice soaked into my sandwich..I was disappointed but didn't say anything because it took a really long time for our lunch to come. My husband got a southwest salad with chicken, which was generous portion and looked good. Again, just took to long. The beer batters haddock was delicious, but uninspired. The roll does it no justice. Too small, and fell apart while eating it. Need a larger more dense bread to support the serious cut of fish. Could use some cheese or something. But the fish itself was delish! Service was slow& ehh. Took forever to get our lunch, and way too long to get the check. Waitress never asked if we wanted another drink or dessert. At this point the bathroom flies had I heated into the restaurant. As we got up to leave my husband noticed the leather bench was stained in many places. Overall was disappointed. Glad we did lunch and don't hold out for dinner here. Maybe just an off day. But clean up your act. It's too classy a place to be so gross. read more

Mel's at 22 - Southwest salad with chicken. Nice portion! - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

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Fantastic fish & chips. We ordered take out so I can't comment on the ambiance but for a nice little restaurant in Cooperstown it was a high recommend. read more

QUAINT & CUTE PLACE, GOOD FOOD. I was recently in Cooperstown, NY with a friend for a couple days and we really enjoyed Mel's at 22! The restaurant is super cute and quaint. They also have a nice outdoor patio with additional seating. They have a very diverse menu - everything from butter chicken, to pastas, to burgers and salads. We each enjoyed our food and the service was good. Would definitely recommend and go back. read more

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Staff was nice and responsive. Atmosphere was chill and nice. Very clean. Food was very good-- not great but very good.

We where in downtown cooperstown and we saw this place so we stopped by and they where busy they only had outdoor seating. I'm a big guy and I had trouble sitting in the chair outside but the waitress was super nice and got me one from inside. My wife ordered Cobb salad with salmon and it was very delicious, we even ordered one too go for dinner. My son had the shrimp basket and he liked them. I had the California burger and it was okay nothing special. My son ordered a turkey bacon wrap and it was delicious. I believe this place is more know for salads and sandwiches, but stop by and check it out. read more

Outstanding bar and dining service and amazing, creative menu selections. The Barn Burner Burger is huge and flavorful. Love the tots! Mac and cheese has a delicious richness and is full of flavor. Every single specialty cocktail is wonderful! Yes, tried them all. read more

Mel's at 22 - Manhattan - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

I didn't find the menu very enticing nor was it particularly diverse or healthy. They could use a homemade veggie burger and GF options. Service was pretty poor too read more

Visiting Cooperstown and someone at the hotel suggested this place - Glad they did Started with the Clam Chowder - Plentiful but could have had a little more taste. The Burger came out medium rare as requested and had a nice charred taste to it The salad was also great - The Calamari was the best I've had in years - Perfectly breaded and perfectly cooked - I you like calamari YOU WILL LOVE THIS PLACE - WOULD COME BACK JUST FOR THIS ITEM. read more

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First, and most importantly, the food was mediocre at best. Went at lunchtime and the place was very crowded with families and kids. There were 4 adults at our table. We ordered a variety; burgers, clam chowder, lobster roll, salad, fries, & tots. The burger was ordered well done, but came out medium rare. We returned it for another. The chowder was thicker than paste and the taste was not authentic. The lobster roll was served on greasy buttered Texas style toast. Needless to say, we won't be going back or recommending this restaurant. But, the waitstaff was very nice and helpful. read more

This is not Alice's Mel's place. I believe there is a picture of who, I think, is Mel at the front of the restaurant and I expect that Mel is, or would be, very proud of this restaurant. I had New England clam chowder, which had a crap-ton of clams, and the duck special with soba noodles in a miso reduction. All off-the-hook good. Duck was served medium rare at request. Crazy good dressing on the salad. The whole group raved about it, which is really unusual for this group. Others had the three cheese Mac and cheese, salmon with rice noodles in a spicy Asian sauce, and everyone raved about their meals. One negative is that you pay extra for shrimp on Caesar salad and they charge $6 for four (4) smaller sized shrimp. It's kind of nit pick, but little things like that can affect an experience. They serve Ommegang beer in bottles and generously potent mixed drinks. Service was paced very well and was incredibly friendly, professional, and accurate. The hostess was friendly and accommodating. Definitely a place to which I would go back the next time I visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Stottlemyre, Allen, Ott, all of them, would have loved this place in the heart of baseball. read more

The perfect little spot to have a delicious lunch, with bright windows to read by. Food came out quick, service was lovely. Items on the menu for everyone including fresh specials. Absolutely going to be back again! read more

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Visited the hall and hungry after. Mel's is just a few blocks down. Most people were eating at the places closest to the hall and were full and typically places that close to an attraction aren't great so I walked a couple blocks. Space is great, outdoor seating available, food was great. Highly recommend walking the extra 2 blocks for great food. read more

Food was pretty good and the service was great but the he place isn't the vibe you know.

I went to this spot with my father for a beginning-of-trip dinner. We were very pleased with the quality and portion of food which we ordered! There service was excellent, especially when the chef accepted our constructive criticism and personally spoke with us about his restaurant. If we ever come by Cooperstown again, we will definitely stop by this spot again! read more

Mel's at 22 - Fresh Mozzarella, Tomatoes, Basil, and Vinaigrette - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

Had the lobster roll special and it was Devine. Brian does a great job with his lobster roll.

The pasta dish from here which I wish I had gotten I will probably continue to hear about for the next 6 months lol. My mom got it and couldn't stop eating it, and still hasn't stopped talking about it. Since we had pasta the night before I didn't want it again so I got a burger which was really good. I did try my mom's food and yeah it was definitely good. Ravioli in like a cream sauce. Burgers were good and my son enjoyed his food when he wasn't trying to leave us to go hang out with a group of girls next to us. He's 3 btw lol. My son also for the first time got to meet a hand dryer in the bathroom! Seriously he ran like it was an alien landing to take him away. When he didn't want to walk back to the table, instead trying to go somewhere else I just put the hand dryer on again and he listened :P Perfect last night for dinner while in the area. read more

Good food and drinks to go in Coop.. their clam chowder is my favorite! Perfect spot with friends and family! Nice staff but overwhelmed.. read more

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Had dinner @ Mel's the first night we were in Cooperstown. Luckily we just there and had not wait to get a table without reservations. Would highly recommend making reservations especially during busy season. Service was good and staff friendly. Agree with the reviews about sitting right next to the kitchen - that door is loud every time the staff does in and out. Can you say food coma? We must have been really hungry... Appetizers were great! Recommend the clam chowder and tater tots! Complimentary fresh hot baked bread with butter was good too. Mussels and fries were ok. Main course: Highly recommend the lobster risotto! Agree with the other reviews...must have dish, even if you share. We shared several dishes so we could try. It was delicious! the bone-in ribeye (was actually bone out, even better) was good too. It comes with side salad. Roasted veggie ravioli was ok - prefer marinara vs tomato sauce. Salmon was also good. Too full to have dessert, but save room if you go. Will come back when in town again. read more

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if you are going here because it's popular. it is popular. the ambitious menu might fare well when it's slow. but they cannot cook a burger to temperature. get a salad or something that does not require skill from kitchen. my medium burger came out worse then well done. it was grey inside. I asked them to refire it correctly and they just sent me a different burger off the line that was also worse than well done. no respect for red meat. no respect for refire order. no respect for the guest who's burger went to me as a substitute. and no manager to do damage control. just the sweetest waitress that was appalled she had to handle the poor execution of a very weak kitchen. remember not to be mad at the servers folks. if you like food and are going here, that is a mistake. if you want to go to a popular restaurant this is the place. as someone who has lived here for 10 years, this place is on the downslide and only it reputation for being good is keeping it afloat. sorry. I never sent meat back in my life and for the first time the recovery was lacking. shame on you chef. read more

Mel's at 22 - Any red or pink was sunlight and reflection of tomato. And this was second burger sent out that was wrong burger from what I ordered. - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

Went on a Tuesday evening without a reservation and did not have to wait, though they were fairly busy Started with the New England Clam Chowder which was nice and creamy The entrees did take a pretty long time to come out, though we were warned this would likely be the case since my dinner partner ordered the duck The Southwest chicken dish was pretty flavorful, the salsa verde standing out more than anything else. Though the chicken was a little on the dry side and the menu said the dish also had chorizo but I did not see or taste any unfortunately Overall pretty solid experience particularly for the area read more

Mel's at 22 - Southwest chicken - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

Food was good but there was hair in my chicken tenders. We had to wait a long time for food plus drinks. They told us to to sit were there were already guest which had us wait 15 minutes longer. read more

Mel's at 22 - There is hair in the food - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

Amazing food and service ! Great location best hall of fame . Waitress forgot my beer and didn't get it till later and no Compensation read more

Excellent food and drinks! In town for a baseball tournament. We've eaten lunch and dinner and was very happy with both meals. The restaurant is on a corner with indoor and outdoor dining area. Great place to eat and enjoy the view! read more

Lime Scollops and Chowder - superb Chicken Parm - good Bar Area - quite noisy Drinks - very good read more

Saturday night dinner before going to Baseball Hall of Fame. Walking distance to the hall. Very crowded restaurant. Service was slower but it was a busy night. Food was very good and wasn't expensive. Nice pasta selection. Quaint restaurant. read more

Always delicious! GREAT VEGAN OPINIONS! I love the Black Bean Burger and my new favorite is the Vegan Greek Salad (packed with a TON of yummy ingredients). ONE OF THR BEST SALADS I have ever had!! The oils free dressing makes for an extra healthy, hearty meal. read more

Mel's at 22 - Vegan Greek Salad with oil free dressing - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

Our second full night in Cooperstown and we tried Mel's on 22 and so happy that we did. Our waitress was so nice and very helpful with information about places in town. I loved the chandeliers in the dining area and the local photographs. The chicken soup was very good, but the beet salad was amazing. We added blackened chicken to the beet salad and the chicken was moist and tender. We have decided to go back tomorrow for lunch. When you find something good.....stick with it. read more

Mel's is a gem of a restaurant with addictive, mouthwatering burgers. I found myself in Cooperstown for a weekend dedicated to baseball. Mel's was my first stop because of the great reviews and burger mentions. A "Southern Inspired" burger with an egg, pulled pork, cheese and slaw? YAASSSS. Cooked medium, the meat was so tasteful it melts in your mouth along with the cheese, egg yolk and sweet pulled pork. It was SO good I can back the next night to have it again. And it was THAT good again. Accompanied were pesto fries the first day which I did without the second day. They were a little soggy in my opinion, and after a couple bites they lost their luster. The tater tots were very good. I also tried two other burgers which were both tasty, but the Southern is a MUST have if you are in Cooperstown. read more

Mel's at 22 - Burger time! - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

Stopped here after visiting the MLB HOF during the Week of July 4th. It was busy and were told about a 30 minute wait. Got a drink from the bar but were seated after only about 15 minutes. Had a table outside as the weather was perfect. The server came by promptly and took our order. I had the Hometown burger and my wife had the chicken salad sandwich. Both were excellent. The burger was cooked properly (medium). My wife enjoyed the sandwich as well. Good IPA selection as well. Service was consistent throughout and prices were reasonable. Would definitely recommend. read more

Mel's at 22 - Hometown burger with tots. - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

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We came here 3 times during our stay in Cooperstown! That's how much we loved this place. Every dishes we ordered were all very good and the portion is generous yet the price is very reasonable. We especially loved the filet mignon, it was melting in the mouth and one of the best steak I ever had. All of their drinks were very good and services were friendly and professional. We also went there for lunch on one of day and their burger was also amazing. Make sure you make reservation! This is must visit place in Cooperstown. read more

Mel's at 22 - filet mignon and salmon - Bars Near Me - Cooperstown, New York