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Mel's Blueplate Express

4.6 (76 reviews)
Closed • 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM
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Mel's Blueplate Express Photos

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MEL'S BLUEPLATE EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Dogs allowed

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burger and rings

best burger in Texas in my humble opinion. Service was excellent. I can't say enough good things about the burger. It's in a gas station which is an excellent disguise.

Drinks
Rachel Macie H.

A DIY Local Spot hidden inside a gas station you just know that screams what's good and let me say it totally was in just that way! So coming here in the evening I was kinda bummed because they were out of almost every thing I asked for but it wasn't their fault as this place gets slammed by the locals to the point of where the people working know them by name which just shows at that point how much of a locals spot this really is. With that said I went with the patty melt as they had it and I was just all for it at that point and let me say that was a good idea as this really was one one of the best patty melts I've ever had as the bread was perfectly crispy the meat was tasty the cheese was gooey the onions were scrumptious and that special sauce was the kicker to tie the whole thing together as it was just a really good burger like if I lived here I'm sure I'd be back to get that every so often! My fries were extra crispy just the way I like them they were also out of those onion rings but the fries definitely made up for it being seasoned and extra crispy! It's also a convenience store inside so they have all kinda Random things to buy so I got a Gatorade as well just because that sounded good and yeah let's just say this was a good choice to come here! Overall super yummy small little spot that's packing lots of good stuff into a gas station so do yourself a favor and come here to fill your tank you'll be happy you did!

This food here is delicious and tastes home cooked. It's inside of a gas station so it's kind of interesting to be able to eat in the gas station itself. You can get drinks and other things from the cooler and shelves while you wait and it is worth the wait. We had the fried seafood basket and it was really good! Come here if you want a homestyle meal at a reasonable price!

Mac and cheese, fries, cheeseburger with grilled pineapple and fried egg added
Heather M.

Amazing! I love any burger joint that has awesome add-on options and Mel's sure has them! It's so damn good. The mac and cheese is simple and delicious, and the seasoning on the fries is great. It was all ready right when I walked in to pick it up. Perfect timing. The staff is super sweet! It always makes me feel even better about supporting local when you see how genuinely appreciative the workers are. They're in the Valero gas station and prove once again that gas stations in Texas are not to be missed. Go give them a try!

Cheese burger and onion rings
Rachel F.

This place was so great! The burger and onion rings were done so well and my husband loved his shrimp po boy! Love me a good hole in the wall gas station find and this one did not disappoint.

Cheese burger
Stephanie W.

Have you ever eaten inside a gas station that wasn't buccees? Yea, neither had I but I will certainly be going back!! Mel's is hands down the absolute best burger on the island!! The patties are handmade so they're nice and thick and full of flavor, topped with sliced white onion, pickles, tomato, lettuce, mustard & mayo (chefs kiss!). Perfection! The onion rings sell out all the time so if you want them, call ahead and ask. They're hand-battered and sooooo good! Now the fries. Oh the fries. When they're seasoned they're divine!... but sometimes they don't season them so check the bag before you sit down to devour them.

5-23-2025 menu

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6 months ago

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9 months ago

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7 months ago

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4 months ago

Such a surprise . So good and friendly . We took out a delicious burger and the buffalo chicken sandwich. Great value and great food.

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11 months ago

The best burger on the island! Don't make any plans for afterwards, nap will be needed.

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10 months ago

Friendly service. Good food. Always pleasant times at Mel's. Burgers, chicken, shrimp, pork chops, fries, onion rings

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10 months ago

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4 years ago

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1 year ago

It's in a gas station, but omg it was great! I would definitely recommend it to everyone that visits

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9 months ago

The staff was so friendly and helpful. Everything was hot and delicious. The onion rings were perfection.

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

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1 year ago

Great food and friendly service. Don't let the fact that it's also a gas station fool you. Great food!

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1 year ago

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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9 months ago

Vibes? Immaculate!! Decor? Non existent. Service?1hundred (got called hunny ) Food? High key needed more salt.

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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6 years ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

The best little hidden gem the food is so delicious and always fresh! The staff are the sweetest and great customer service

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Page 1 of 2

Ask the Community - Mel's Blueplate Express

Is this the same as Mel's Blue Plate Diner? My husband and I ate there 8 years ago and I'm headed back to Galveston and was looking to eat there again, but I don't remember it being in a gas station.

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Shark Shack Beach Bar & Grill - Grilled Shrimp over Fettuccine Alfredo!

Shark Shack Beach Bar & Grill

4.5(1.3k reviews)
4.2 mi
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Shrimp tacos are the best. We have always had great service. Love its located right on the strand.read more

Cutting across Texas to New Orleans, I knew we would be skimming the shore of the Gulf of Mexico…read more Shut up. My review, I can call it what I want. That being said, it had been some time since I've gotten some proper fish-n-chips. I had to remedy that. Especially since the BBQ fiasco the other day, I was going to go on a hunger strike, but once I made the sign, I got potato chip fingers on it and started to eat it. So, I decided to fight fire with fire, and figured I would eat myself happy again. Which I'm never mad about. Sometimes I make myself angry just so I can eat myself happy. And now, the rest of the story. I have learned that I enjoy Cod fish for my fish-n-chips. And I think also Haddock. I am not a fisher nor a fish. So it's hard for me to say. But I know Cod is one for sure. I also sometimes have baby mouth and am afraid of new things. I do know I love my fish battered and deep fried. I also know that Shark Shack had good reviews for their fish, so, that was all I needed to hear. Plus, it was a perfect little eatery with bar seating, table seating, and gifts! So you can bet your bottom dollar tomorrow I ordered the English fish-n-chips. Boy oh boy. Just like how Britain colonized all those countries back when it was the cool thing to do, these fish and chips colonized my taste buds. Respectfully. This plate came with FIVE logs of fish. FIVE! Maybe they were tubes of fish? Honestly, I don't care what shape they came in, they looked perfectly crunchy and perfectly brown and perfectly fish. The super cool extra bonus? These fish came with CRISPIES! I've only ever seen crisps with fish from Long John Silvers, whose fish is probably as far from Cod or Haddock as legally possible. I actually think one of my pieces of fish from there had shoelaces. Didn't matter. Still ate it. Respectfully. (If you aren't privileged enough to know what fish crispies are, there little batter pieces that fry or fall off the fish as they cook. Basically little crumblies. If you make a wish over a fork of them and get the forkful in your mouth without dropping any, your wish will come true). Homemade tartar sauce was good, but there was a certain flavor profile that I wasn't a fan of. It was still good to use on the fish rods, it just tasted a little too much out of the tartar sauce field for me. The meal was wrapped up nice and tight with lovely square-cut fries. Perfect doneness. Perfect Ketchup vessel. I could just stare at a pile of them all night. Mostly because I'm weird. Perfect Fish Capsules: 12/10 Ideal Fry Sticks: 12/10 Times I Would Re-visit: Infinite

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Top Rated Seafood & Burgers in Galveston's Downtown, just 1 Block from the Cruise Ships!

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"Famous for Fish Tacos!"

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Eatcetera

Eatcetera

4.4(330 reviews)
4.0 mi
•$$

My partner and I needed a last minute get out dodge weekend from Austin, TX. We booked it on…read moreThursday and were in Galveston on Friday night. We drove in kinda late so we woke at noon and needed to eat before hotting the pool and beach. We both ate gluten free so I looked up gluten free restaurants near me and this was the first one that appeared that was not sponsored. The menu looked interesting- not the standard shrimp- shrimp- shrimp so I said let's do it! Wonderful service! Tasty food. Women owed. Saw the frames magazine reader favorite 2023 behind the bar. Our server, Gwen, brought us the tastiest gluten free cracker with a red pepper dip complimentary after she put our order in. Wow were those crackers good! I inquired of the brand and she brought me out a box and I took a picture of them. They did not taste like cardboard. Yay. Our lunch was great. Jasmine blackberry ice tea, and we both ordered the special combo. Choice of bowl of home made soup (Tomato Thai) wow was that flavorful. A nice size garden salad and a 1/2 of sandwich or panini. I ordered the gluten free Angus beef and mushroom with cheese panini and Ben ordered the gluten free Cuban. There is an up charge for the gluten free bread, however, worth it. It too was a tasty bread for gluten free. My emotional support dog, Luca, was welcomed with a smile there as well. Much appreciated because he travels with me. Very clean front of the house and back of the house from what I saw. I was in the restaurant business for years and i appreciate all of there touches. Bravo!! I give this place a 6 star. Thank you for having a place for us with food allergies. We will be back on our next get a way.

I absolutely loved this place! Cute, quaint little spot with a lovely staff. The owner was super…read morefriendly and the waitresses were so nice and knowledgeable about the menu. The food was sooo good. I ordered a few entrees to go and each one was delicious! I'll definitely be going back the next time I'm in the area.

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Eatcetera
Eatcetera - Meet George Jetson... killer art and music

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BLVD Seafood - Greek salad, full of texture and flavor. This is a half portion (we shared), so it worked well as an appetizer.

BLVD Seafood

4.4(1.8k reviews)
3.3 mi
•$$

Hands down one of the best meals we have ever had. We are from Houston as well as in the restaurant…read morebusiness. We are admittedly food snobs. our meal from start to finish was nothing short of spectacular. We highly recommend starting with the CRAB STUFFED SHRIMP, (yum). The WEDGE (get a half!) is so good and fresh (I had no blue cheese, substituted with ranch). The WHITE (loaded chowder) and the JOBBER (loaded gumbo) were totally delectable. They both came with crispy garlic bread. THEN, even though we didn't need it, we shared the CRUISER LINGUINI (linguini with clams, bacon, white wine sauce, tomatoes, leeks) seriously totally to die for. We counted at least 30 little neck clams. We could have rolled out the door by now, but nooo... we had to have dessert. We chose the Crème Brûlée Trio. The selections are seasonal. Tonight was coconut, tres leches, and pecan. Of course we added cappuccino and Baileys. We couldn't have asked for anything better. Our server, Misty was a delight. We WILL be back!!

This was a fantastic meal. We had some recommendations from people on the plane with us and we also…read morehad some recommendations from our Uber driver, but ultimately we needed to find a restaurant that had available reservations for the evening. We made an 8:00 reservation and then we're running late and called to let them know. They had no issues when we arrived even though it was 20 minutes late. The restaurant was smaller than I expected but very nice and when we arrived we were among the last tables to be seated for the evening. The servers were fantastic, and especially our server, Haley, who took care of all of our needs. She kept our water glasses full, kept checking on us and took care of all of our dinner needs. My mother and I started with the chowder and house salad. We then ordered our meal and my mother had the Cedar Plank Salmon and I had the Blvd seafood sampler with Redfish, shrimp and scallops and both of our meals were outstanding. The seafood chowder, even just a cup was huge with tons of seafood, so much so I was wondering if I'd be able to eat my meal. It was filling but I devoured the seafood and found that I love Redfish! Yvonne came over mid meal to check on us. I presume she was a manager. Blvd is an outstanding and reasonable restaurant and I highly recommend that you check it out if you are in the area or coming to Galveston for a cruise. I look forward to returning in the future.

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BLVD Seafood - Simply decorated but nice

Simply decorated but nice

BLVD Seafood - Desserts to finish your meal.

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ShyKatZ Cafe Deli & Bakery - Whoopie pie

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4.5(1.1k reviews)
4.4 mi
•$$

I cannot see how much my family and I absolutely love this place. We are from out of town and we're…read morelooking for a decent (and by decent, I mean edible not hotel) breakfast. We did not know that they made all of their food to order. We waited around 30 minutes to get our food, but well worth it! Please note that there is a sign warning you that because they are a small business, that when they are busy, wait times to get food can't take a while. If you do not feel like waiting and are in a rush, this is not the place for you. Please come back when you have time to enjoy the atmosphere and the amazing food. I was telling one of the servers to please pass along my compliments to the chef and the owners. I was having a rather rough morning on our first visit. The best way I can describe the deliciousness of the food was that I went from being a little bit meh, to a strong to feeling like I was having a warm hug. I ordered the biscuits and gravy my other half ordered the berries and cream cinnamon French toast, and my little ordered the Mickey Mouse pancake with cinnamon. We came back another day and all ordered the same thing again, and it was just as amazing as the first time. The inside of the building is quite rustic. Even though you are waiting a bit for your food, there is so much to look at that time just passes by. Even in the bathroom will keep you occupied, and not just with the normal activities . The staff was amazingly friendly. On the second day, the gentleman server did not know whether the Mickey Mouse pancake should have the cinnamon bun toppings on it (you know,...because kids might start bouncing off of the ceiling), or sprinkles and whipped cream. We requested the latter and he came over and put on a tiny show for my little. The gentleman made a fun little show of putting whipped cream on Mickey and let my little decorate his own pancake. Definitely a 10/10 experience and we will be returning when we are around these parts again.

A true local treasure! This place is very well managed, and you can tell a lot of care goes into…read morecreating a great experience. I loved the concept, and everything came together perfectly good food, good vibes, and good times. I'd definitely recommend stopping by if you're in the area. It's the kind of place you'll want to come back to.

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ShyKatZ Cafe Deli & Bakery - Full restaurant.  Husband in line for 25 minutes to order while I try to find a place to eat.

Full restaurant. Husband in line for 25 minutes to order while I try to find a place to eat.

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ShyKatZ Cafe Deli & Bakery - Dining room at ShyKatZ

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Cooper’s Landing - Seafood Gumbo

Cooper’s Landing

4.0(277 reviews)
2.7 mi
•$$

May 16, 2026 I've…read moreordered here many times thru door dash and every time it's fantastic! Ahi tuna for the first time (fresh and tasty) and my usual, bang bang shrimp

8.6.26 (Really should be ZERO STARS!)…read more My family came here for dinner. We "were" excited because it was close to where we were staying and the parking lot was packed several times when we drove by. When we drove up 2 employees were coming from under the building having a smoke break laughing and giggling. They walked upstairs and we never saw them again. When we walked in there were only 2 tables with customers, no bartender, no hostess at the stand, no employees anywhere so we just stood there waiting. After 5 minutes someone appears and sits us at a table 5 steps away from where we had been standing. (Also, you know when you walk into a restaurant you expect it to smell like good food or at least like food....well this place did not smell like any food at all) (This made me nervous) We needed to use the diaper changing station in the women's restroom well, it was in a bathroom stall and the door was locked. We did not know if someone was using the stall or if it was out of order. We knocked and knocked and no one answered. We came out and asked our server (who appeared after we had been sitting there for 15 minutes!) if it was out of order or what. She said she was not sure and had to go ask her manager. She disappear. Came back for our drink order and we asked what she found out what the restroom - oh she forgot to ask. She laughed and left again to go ask. W H A T! Also it was a Thursday evening and they are suppose to have some kind of steak special on Thursdays but we ask her what was the price and she said, "we don't really know the price", "It will be somewhere around $40-$50 or something like that." (Rolling my eyes) At this point we had been there for 25 minutes and no drinks, still waiting on the answer if the bathroom is out of order so we can use the changing station, no food has come out of the kitchen to the other customers or no real price for the steaks. I said we have to go, this place is a shipwreck and we did not want to go down with it without food! --------- I don't expect this place to be in business when we go back to Galveston.

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Cooper’s Landing - Dining room

Dining room

Cooper’s Landing - Gulf Coast Crab Cakes

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Mel's Blueplate Express - seafood - Updated October 2026

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