We are NOT a fast food Food is good. Huge pancakes and biscuit gravy. Reasonably priced. Lots of rules that take away from an otherwise great atmosphere. Here's a few Breakfast ends at 10:30 daily Can not substitute for biscuits and gravy Not available during festival weekends May not be done all the alway through No refills for the juice, milk or hot chocolate No substitutions Employees only, Go Away Keep Out Painter should have used masking tape Coffee's good Server was reasonably pleasant read more

Mel's DIner - Lots of rules. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Prairie Grove, Arkansas

I took my 89 year old friend from the nursing home to get out to eat. They got us a table that would accommodate her wheelchair. I helped her with the menu with a good variety of foods to choice from. Portions were large. In some ways I wish they had senior size meals as she was only able to eat half wasting half. She did enjoy and most of us took home left overs. I forgot about my discount card till I got home. Darn cause there were 4 adults on one ticket. Only thing was my daughter and I both wanted a prime rib and they only had one left and it was 5 pm in the evening. So my daughter let me have that one. She ordered something else. Only thing baked potato had large black spot in out side end. Steak was a little tough. Should had stuck to medium rare instead of medium. Was I took my 89 year old friend from the nursing home to get out to eat. They got us a table that would accommodate her wheelchair. I helped her with the menu with a good variety of foods to choice from. Portions were large. In some ways I wish they had senior size meals as she was only able to eat half wasting half. She did enjoy and most of us took home left overs. read more

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This place is a good diner. Standard diner atmosphere and look. But it is made very clear that they are not fast and that is simply how it is going to go. It WILL take quite awhile to get your food. Ive been twice and with less than 6 others in there, took over an hour. read more

This is such a wonderful place! I loved the food! I'm glad it's not fast food. The chili is probably the best chili I ever had! I'm coming back for sure! read more

This is a restaurant owned by a husband and wife who are the only employees. I was told they have good plate lunches but went for breakfast. The wife was unfriendly to the point of being rude, and the food was barely cooked. I ordered my eggs over medium hard, but they came over easy. The toast wasn't actually toasted. It was just warmed bread. I'll never go back. read more

Great service great food. Couldn't finish it all! Small town cafes are always the best! read more

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Bacon. Bacon. Bacon. Oh my. You won't find it better anywhere else. Don't come for fast food. They make everything fresh. So it takes a bit but oh so worth it. read more

This place is cute on the outside and gives off a nice, small-town diner vibe but my husband and I were disappointed. The first time we came, we pulled up to the drive-thru window assuming that's what a drive-thru window is for, but the lady/owner was kind of rude to us and quickly explained that the drive-thru is actually for calling ahead of time to place an order and pick up. She seemed really annoyed at us, but how would we know? We had never been, there are no signs explaining this and I've never been through a drive-thru that wasn't actually a drive-thru. Anyways, we decided to give the place another try since we are in Prairie Grove often and food options are limited. The second time we called ahead and placed an order and picked up inside. The inside of the diner is cute, but the bathroom was pretty dirty. We both ordered cheeseburgers and fries, but they weren't that good. Both burgers and fries were warm, but lacked flavor and just tasted bleh. We love burgers, but I couldn't finish mine. Maybe their other food options are tastier, but we wouldn't recommend. read more

A must stop while in PG. Waitress is attentive and will get you anything you need! The food is consistently delicious. You can't go wrong with breakfast or lunch. I like going here because it feels like one of those small town diners where you know you are supporting a local family. read more

Love this place! Nostalgia everywhere. Wait service like I remember back in the day. Grits cooked perfect, fresh made biscuits, great tasting coffee. Will visit again when passing through! read more

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An authentic treasure. Excellent hamburger and fries. Lovely service. Took less than 15 minutes. If you can't wait that long, please go to McDonalds. read more

I will tell you this: they are NOT permanently closed. I ate there today. I've lived in Manhattan for over 15 years now, and I've had many, many burgers in that time. My sister lives in the area and took me here today. The burger was absolutely superlative. Nicely charred patty, soft warm bun, fresh romaine, excellent sauce, perfect sweet potato fries. It literally rivals Shake Shack any day. The waitress could not have been more friendly. The ingredients were fresh, delicious, and well-balanced. There was also a decent crowd for a November early lunch. Keep it up, Mel's! read more

Diner with a good menu. Hot inside. Seats and sear backs weren't the cleanest. Outside seating looked good. We were there close to closing and didn't feel welcome. That feeling you get when they want to just close. read more

I came in to pick up and other thru the drive thru no one answered after 10 mins of waiting then I go inside to find out that they never excepted my order online and never answered my phone called after I called 5 times will not be coming back! read more

Good food and service. But must times we try to go they are closed. Wish they had more hours open

our waitress must have been having a bad day. brought out the wrong drink for my lunch partner and I had asked for a different drink because I thought what I asked for tasted bad. her attitude was "hmm I never had anybody complain about it before". not a very good attitude in my opinion. read more

I've been here twice before and not really had great experiences, the food was decent but service is always rude. Next time we tried breakfast and it was bland and boring so we didn't return for a few years. Tried to give it another chance this morning and ordered breakfast online, since they have that option. It says to call them if you do not receive an email confirmation and we did not receive confirmation, so I called...4 times...no answer. So we pulled up at the window to a rude lady that said "if you didn't get a confirmation then I didn't get it." We told her we called multiple times and no answer. She just stared at us and said "it's real busy in here." There were three cars parked..didn't look that busy, but it seemed like she was too bothered to deal with us so we just left. Don't offer online ordering or a drive through if you don't want to use it. I don't understand how this place is still functioning with how many bad reviews I've heard about it. Seems like they only treat regular customers and friends with good service and respect. read more

Place looked run down from the outside. Gravel parking lot with minimal space. Small place inside and could be cleaner. Friendliness is not important there. Food was not what I expected and not worth the stop. Left more hungry than when I got there. read more

The WORST service I've ever had. The waitress was slow, and VERY VERY rude. Actually rolled her eyes at me then asked for a To-go drink. Normally I would always tip 20% but not today. The food was ok...I got a grilled cheese and chili even though I initially wanted an egg breakfast our server rudely told us we all had to order lunch or all order breakfast....never heard of such a thing in a restaurant but I guess it's how they again do NOT accommodate their customers. I will not be returning for any future meals at this restaurant when Lincoln has American drive inn and their people are friendly and the food comparable read more

Decent diner fare! Great retro atmosphere. Nice location in Prairie Grove on street surrounded by antique stores.

I always enjoy eating at Mel's Diner. It has a great blast-from-the-past 1950s theme. Traditional southern staples, burgers, sandwiches. I also enjoy the their ice-cream. They recently put outdoor door tables and are offering delivery. One of my favorite local places to eat. read more

Food was good and the prices were comparable with an average diner. Would have given it 4 stars, but it took 25 minutes to get our food which was just 2 breakfasts and a couple of sides and there were only 3-4 families in the whole building. We've lived in PG for 2 years and this is the 1st time we've been here. We will come back once more to see if the wait time is any less. read more

I eat at Mel's dinner occasionally when I'm in town. It's a neat little place with a 50s kind of vibe. The burgers and tator tots are good. It's definitely worth a visit. read more

Had breakfast for 2 in the last week and it was so good! The owners were very friendly and made you feel like family. We spent less than $20 and could have probably fed 2 more people. We shared the early bird breakfast and 2 pancakes, couldn't finish even a half! Will definitely be back to try their famous burgers read more

Was excited to try this little diner until we sat down. The waitress was less than pleased to have to be dealing with customers. Definitely felt like we were an inconvenience even though there was only 1 other table of customers. Tried to order something off the menu made special for my child and was told no. I tried to explain that's the only thing my kid would eat and she rolled her eyes at me. I tried to go about it a different way and was told she didn't care. If you don't want customers why even have the doors open? read more

Old-fashioned diner fare. Love the lunches and just a great place to go a relive another time.

The whole restaurant is family ran. I enjoy all the food and the atmosphere.

Great food awesome husband wife team. Very nice nostalgic setting classic dinner and amazing food

Excellent burgers and sides. Incredible breakfast too! This has become our go-to place for meals all of the time. Great service and ownership. Definitely check it out! read more

We had a great lunch here last Saturday before browsing the antique shops. Hub's BLT we noticed was exceptionally good because the lettuce and tomato were nicely chilled-the perfect juxtaposition to the hot crisp bacon! read more

I took my kids today because the sign Read "best burger around". I HAD to check it out! And, it WAS the best burger around. They also serve Jones soda which I love. The folks here are super nice too. I am sitting here now at 9:30 pm thinking about that place, that burger! Best burger around for sure!! read more

This was one of the worst experiences I have ever had at a good establishment. I ordered the chicken dinner. There was most definitely something "off" about the chicken. It tasted like it had gone bad and smelled as well. I informed my server and was told flat out I was wrong and then ignored. I was so angry I hurried to pay and leave. The staff was rude, the food was gross and I should have listened to the many friends who had warned me not to go there. read more

Charming interior decorations (records hanging from the ceiling in the unisex bathroom) and a real working Payphone! They have very friendly customer service. The sweet potato fries are absolutely delicious and their hamburgers taste like homemade! read more

We loved the food and the atmosphere. I really enjoyed the sweet potato fries and the patty melt. The 50's theme was a lot of fun. They had lots of bright colors and patterns and Elvis music was playing. The little records that lined the walls were also a cute idea. I'm looking forward to going back sometime to try their fried pies! read more

Such a great place to eat! Good friendly people and a family environment! Love supporting our small business owners Brandon and Mel! Absolute best burgers around!! read more

Tried this place twice. The 1st time there were maybe 5 people in the place. We ordered and the guy who was cooking came out sat down and ate his breakfast before he prepared our order. We waited for at least 15 minutes before he got up and started our order. Also there were kids going in and out of the kitchen and hanging out back there. The man who was taking his break on our time looked mean and angry at us. The waitress was not friendly until I paid and left her a nice tip, then she perked up. Second time took some friends there for lunch because the place is cute. The same waitress lady was there and she snapped at us bc we ordered lunch and they weren't serving lunch for 10 more minuets. The next ppl who walked in tried to order breakfast, she snapped at them too and said we aren't serving breakfast because it's 10 minutes until lunch. What a joke they are! It was embarrassing in front of my company from out of town. We do now laugh about it and how crazy she acted. Others have said the same that they are not friendly. The food was not that great either for the price. One Stop is much better for any meal. I'm giving 1 Star because the place is cute and would be more fun if it was a friendly place to go. I also felt like it needed a good scrubbing. read more

We've eaten there twice. Once back in summer and then today. The owners wife is rude. She didn't want to give a refil on a drink and was friendly. We, a party of four, ate and then paid. We left and about 5 minutes later I returned to use the restroom. She stopped me as I was exiting and in a very rude tone asked me if I intended on eating there. I looked at her like what? I said we just ate here. She in the same tone said Oh! Flipped around and went behind the counter. For such a small town and such a dumpy establishment you'd think she'd have some manners. I wanted to say hey, come to Mississippi and we'll show you some hospitality! Prairie Grove is my hometown but people were nice and friendly when I lived there. She must be a miserable person. SMH vtatum read more

Honestly I'll never eat here again. Service sucks, I got sick from the food. They could have friendlier service and be a little more careful and not get hair in the food. read more