Went for a late breakfast and was completely satisfied with everything. Serving sizes were great, the bacon and sausages were cooked perfectly and the service was exceptional. The price was average, not the cheapest breakfast I've had but the food was worth it. I recommend the Big Mel for those that want a filling breakfast. It has bacon ham and sausage for those that hate to choose. read more

Mel's Diner - The Big Mel with pancakes. - Diners Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Its good! I love the environment there! And it's a great place to go for us students! read more

Mel's Diner - Diners Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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Ok Food, Amazing service. Came here around 9Pm on a Saturday night, the place wasn't too busy neither too crowded. It has a very American vibe to it, red and white decor, high ceilings. Our server was great, followed through our order, brought us water without asking and refilled it without asking as well. I ordered chicken and waffles and my foodie partner got something with beef, cheese and eggs (cant recall the name). It wasn't bad, it wasn't good, it was OK, let's just say I wouldn't come back to eat it myself, the waffle was a little on the sweet side, and the chicken tenders lacked flavour. If I come back here I will probably try something else and see how is their other stuff. I also had Vanilla shake with Blueberries, that was pretty damn tasty, I will definitely not hesitate getting a shake from here if I am ever feeling it. read more

Mel's Diner - Chicken and waffle - Diners Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

A good spot during odd hours like at midnight or early breakfast. Usually a line-up and expect service to be slower than expected. Sometimes they forget to bring the drink and paying by card can take a while since they serve other customers in between a group of friends using one machine. Food is in big filling portions for a decent price. I came here after bomber once and ordered the sheppards pie which came with a side salad and garlic bread. Very saucy beef and vegetables with creamy mashed potatoes like comfort food should be. Ended up leaving half a piece of toast behind. The cup for soda is huge - don't think I'll ever ask for that free refill. Also came here for brunch after all my finals. Food was served at the same time to my group of friends. I got the lobster benedict and absolutely loved it! Big chunks of lobster and perfect hollandaise sauce...egg is slightly overcooked but won't complain too much. Home fries were nothing special. Will definitely revisit since it's a walking distance away ~ read more

Mel's Diner - Diners Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Service.. omg.. no other words... so SLOW. Food and milkshakes however are great. I had their steak and eggs (even for dinner), country fried steak, lemon fish filet, mac and cheese grilled cheese, sheppard's pie, and more. Their milkshake combinations are great, probably the one thing I enjoy the most. Overall, the place is a cute area, but line ups can be long. Service needs to be improved. I once had a waiter that just gave me a "I don't want to be here look". It was not the most pleasant experience, but if I want a diner experience, I would go here since there are not many places around the UW area. read more

Been to Mel's numerous times and it's a pretty decent place to grab breakfast/brunch, except not really unless you're able to snag a spot in the morning when it's super busy. They get very busy on the weekends so come a bit earlier so you don't have to wait too long for a spot. I've gotten the healthy Mel's platter (health nut) and it was ok - beans were a bit too sweet for my liking. Prices are a little higher than regular breakfast places. I recently got Mel's beef burger with the fried egg and cheddar and that was pretty delicious, a little pricy though. Service was slow but to be expected during peak hours. read more

Mel's Diner - Milkshake - Diners Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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Retro-style diner with all your usual fixes of breakfast items, burgers and shakes, and brunch foods. The menu is huge, and you're sure to find something for that craving the morning after a long night. 3/5 - Food 4/5 - Overall Experience With many items on the list, it's hard to decide what to pick. The pancakes are fluffy and light, and slightly sweet even without syrup. These are great on their own or part of a meal combo. Many meals have the option of adding pancakes on the side for a few extra bucks. The standard breakfast fare of eggs, house potatoes and sausages are good, but nothing out of the ordinary or spectacular. The potatoes are seasoned, but lacked the crunch that's indicative of a good deep-fry. I also tried the meat-lovers hash. This is a casserole style dish, filled to the brim with potatoes, meat, and cheese. The dish disappointed me, as the potatoes were not diced or shredded, and just cubed and boiled. This left a soggy texture-less base for the hash. The cheese on the top was barely melted, and was hardened by the time the dish was served. This resulted in a plastic-like sheet of cheese on top. Overall, not a good potato hash, but definitely will fill you up. The milkshakes are good, and they have seasonal ones on rotation. The inside is what you would expect a diner to look like in your '50s film in the movies. Bright coloured booths,chrome finishes, and servers with white aprons. This diner is a great little standout restaurant in the otherwise dreary plaza at Waterloo. read more

I ate here for the first time while visiting a friend in Waterloo and I was left unimpressed, not by the food, but by the service. None of the three waitresses working on Saturday afternoon knew how to smile...is it that miserable to work at Mel's? I asked for my eggs over easy and got super hard eggs instead. When I waved to our waitress she just stopped and looked at me from about ten feet away. I'd never been treated like that before by a waitress, so I waved her over again while she was staring at me and she just said "I'm listening". Uhhh??? I told her about my eggs being overcooked and she just said "okay" and walked away. I mentioned to my friends how she just blew her tip...and I think she must have heard because she was super attentive and nice for the rest of our meal. She even went so far as to participate in our conversation while we were paying our bills. Congratulations to her, she ended up with a tip because I felt bad for her desperate attempt to make up for her rude service, but seriously, the waitresses here need to keep their attitudes in check. The food (after getting my new eggs) was pretty good. Standard breakfast fare, perfect at 2 PM after a late night out. Definitely don't make a point of eating here if you know how to cook your own eggs, but it's an ok choice for the lazy who want to watch some cranky waitresses frown while pouring coffee. read more

I eat here once and it burns down in a fire the very next day. My hunt for good burgers in Waterloo/Kitchener/Guelph continues... *sigh* (Seriously, I hope they rebuild. I want to go back.) read more

Mel's became a staple of my undergraduate career after it re-opened a couple of years ago. For a long time in my life, it was missing, mostly because it had tragically burned down in April of 2010, just after my first year of studies at the city's namesake university had wrapped up. I've had a lot of great memories here. The place feels like an old style diner, the majority of the experience is via the booths that line both side walls of the restaurant. One of those "great memories" was discovering a thing called "poached eggs", and then discovering further that there are "hardnesses" of poached eggs - "light", "medium", or "hard". Man, did I have a field day for breakfast that day (one of each, I got three poached eggs! Haha!). I've also particularly enjoyed their burgers, since diners are usually more well-known for those kinds of things. I never tried that massive 3lb burger, but I promised myself I would before I die - so keep an eye out for that challenge later, I'll definitely Tweet about it, or at the very least update this review to reflect that. The beer selection isn't readily obvious or available, but they have one - you just have to ask (and show ID, of course, if you're my age and look way younger than you actually are). The environment is definitely nice and casual, and great for smaller groups (2-8) as well as individuals, but if you're trying to host a party of 10+, good luck! The biggest downside of this place is the sheer size. For the popularity of the restaurant, you'd think they would have bought more space, or at least found ways to clear and rotate tables more efficiently. I get that they're a smaller establishment and are trying their best, but clearly things can be done a little better. Let's get down to brass tacks, though! Pros: -- Great selection & variety of food - one of the best I've seen in a long time, actually, especially when it comes to the breakfast selections! - just be sure you order exactly what you want, since sometimes the menu items feel a little more restricting than they actually are. -- Great prices - I've never seen a dish over $20 on their menu, pegging this at a great mid-ranged diner within walking distance of UWaterloo. -- Some of the best breakfast foods I've had in a long time. Pancakes / French Toast here is awesome, and the bacon is always freshly cooked & exactly the way I like it (a little crispy, but not at all greasy). Cons: -- Inconsistent quality. Some days I feel amazing when I eat there, others times it's just "meh". At the start I thought it was because it was a honeymoon effect, but as time went on (read: three years), I realized it was more because they're better at breakfast than they are anything else. -- Burgers are the biggest "hit-and-miss". Some days, they'll be exactly as ordered, others will be like "wait, is this medium? it feels like well-done!" -- Fries are a little too greasy for my liking - even the sweet potato fries! (I'm a huge sweet potato fry lover, BTW!) This is especially unfortunate because while I like these fries, and the portion sizes are great, I can never bring myself to eat all of them because of how greasy it is - that's how terrible I feel about myself. -- Beer selection (I don't think they have a lot of other alcoholic beverages?) isn't amazing. I guess it's a diner, so I let that one go without being penalized. -- Bathrooms are a little cramped - sink isn't intuitively well-designed (have to pull up and hold to keep water flowing - annoying when trying to wash both hands simultaneously). They don't seem to clean them a lot (the men's, anyway), or replace the paper towels that often. (this could be because it's not their focus, which is fine, but it's been the same experience for over a year in my experience) Overall, I'd recommend this place for newcomers to town, or to new students/residents to the Waterloo area. I wasn't a "regular" here by any means, but it's a solid place to go to, provided it's not busy (wait times can be 1 hour if there's no seating, since the max I've ever seen is two wait staff, and two cooks, at any given point in time). read more

Atmosphere really nails it here. They have a "Godfather" count on the wall indicating how many people have successfully finished the 3lb burger at Mels. Oh, 4$ burger mondays are a treat as well. Large portion sizes and great service. If you're looking for brunch, they have a mel's special for 5$ and a 4$ breakfast before 8am. Great value all around. read more

Mel's is great. One of the very few places open 24 hours around campus. The best part is they have all-day (ahem... all-hours?) breakfast, so you can get your pancakes, eggs or french toast at 3am if you want. The portion sizes are also a big plus considering the very reasonable prices. I always end up ordering way more food than I can actually eat. read more

The eggs benedict was awful, eggs poached way too hard. I always order the hollandaise sauce on the side so it wasn't drowned in it. That was the one good thing. I suppose that was the Canadian version of home fries???? Seriously????? I ordered the peameal eggs benedict. Peameal is similar to polenta. They fail to tell you on the menu that it is actual 'peameal *bacon*....Canadian bacon rolled in ground peameal. I didn't want meat so I left it and ate the eggs. But the worse thing was that the food was served room temperature and it took about 2 seconds to get cold. Cold, over cooked eggs. "Lovely". Total waste of money. This is a college kid hang out. College kids will eat anything. Especially if they are hung over. I believe that pretty much explains the cold, poorly cooked food. The friendly service did not make up for the bad food. read more

Very depressing food, very absent servers. We waited a long time for the waitress to come over with menus. When she finally came, I ordered fish and chips, while my boyfriend ordered meatloaf. Again, a very long wait for our food. Two other tables who came after us got their food first. When my fish and chips came, it was missing the coleslaw, I had to go up and ask for it. The coleslaw tasted like it had been sitting out for a long time, like old stale carrots and wilted lettuce. The fries were incredibly bland and oily. My boyfriend's meatloaf was slightly better, but his side of veggies was literally soggy unseasoned boiled zucchini. The waitress took so long to come let us pay that I gave up and went to the counter to find another girl. We definitely won't be back to Mel's for a long long time. It was an incredibly depressing and disappointing experience. read more

Like many others, I used to go to Mel's with a couple of friends back in first year. It was open late and the food wasn't bad. Coming back, this place isn't as popular as it was back then. That's probably because the food is just okay now. Mel's Diner is, to me, a place that you'd go to if you were really too lazy to make your own breakfast. I ordered the Big Mel (with french toast and over-easy eggs), and my boyfriend had the Great Canadian (over-easy eggs). It's the worst french toast I've ever had, and I'm sure most people could do better in their own kitchen. My boyfriend's peameal bacon was tough to cut/rip/chew through. Bacon was overcooked and oily (left a pool of oil that seeped through my french toast and eggs). I think you get the picture. It's also like $10 per meal. Overall, it's not a great experience. As I said, if you're feeling lazy and just want to step out for a meal, you can dish out about $10 at Mel's. read more

The breakfast was amazing. I loved the french toast very much. The atmosphere gives out 70s diner vibes with their jukebox. Although beware when you want to tip using the card machine as most places put 10% as button 1. But at Mel's its 20% on button 1 and 10% on button 3. Read cautiously before entering! read more

Great burgers with a happy diner atmosphere. Service can sometimes be slow, but they are often busy. Benches can use some help (some are torn). I recommend the "Easy Rider". It's good for two days of leftovers! read more

I've been to Mel's 5 times in 6 years. Twice before it burned down and three times since it was rebuilt. This review is about the last time I went and my experience that day cemented my opinion of the place. I went there a few weeks ago on a quiet Saturday afternoon. The food was decent. I had the Cadillac burger. This burger's got a really big patty with onion rings and asiago cheese on it. I liked it a lot. The fries were great. The portions at Mel's are really good for the price. Three servers were on shift but they were all un-attentive and incredibly slow. We were not able to flag down our waitress to refill our water glasses and despite asking for the cheque, we were not given it. After 15 minutes, we went to the cash to pay and were told the bill was coming. 10 minutes later it still had not arrived. The wait was unacceptable to me. I give Mel's 2 stars. If you have time to kill, definitely go to Mel's for a pretty good burger and fries. read more

Me and my friends went on march 26 around 8pm we first got seated by the hostess right away who brought us menus and water and then continue to wait for 10 more minutes for a server to come over who done took her order waited another 30 minutes for food which was cold. Towards the end of our dinner we got a second waitress who brought over checks and after we paid the second server said to us " if you going to talk shit about your waitress do it quieter". Just want this thr is totally offguard as we were talking about so is the entire dinner about nothing related to the server other than are drinks being missed. Just thought this was handled in a very unprofessional way and wanted the server to know that nothing was said about her or her appearance, only the slow service. read more

I liked this place. Sadly It went up in flames during my exam period. I was asleep the morning it caught fire, but I saw the firetrucks when I woke up to go to school to study that day. Mel's favourite is the best, cheap and good. read more

The atmosphere and the service was pretty decent. The waitress recommended dishes and was amiable enough. The menu selection looks appetizing, I'm pretty sure I will be back just to try more dishes. The turkey dinner I got was quite satisfying, personally felt that the stuffing was too soggy and the gravy nothing too special though. read more

My friend and I ordered two burgers for take-out and it took FOREVER to come out. And then, we had two of the saltiest burgers we've ever eaten. I usually come for their breakfast food, which is very mediocre, but this burger was just next level inedibly salty. Also, their fries and home fries are drowned in salt. But, their burgers were humongous and extremely filling, which I guess was what I was looking for! Maybe try asking for less salt if you go. read more

Went there religiously when I was in school at UW. Subsisted on their bottom less coffee and all day breakfast. Lots of late nights there after going out to the pubs in town. Sadly, it burned down but was lucky enough to go back recently to visit the rebuilt version. It has maintained much of its charm and decor; though the food was worse than what I remember. It felt good to be back. read more

This place overall has been pretty good, but the last few times we have gone there have been issues with our food being incredibly undercooked. Like, very. To the point where it had to be sent back to the kitchen. The staff has been relatively nice about it, but we did have one snooty waitress who was annoyed about the situation. I understand that this place gets incredibly busy sometimes, but more often than not the staff seem super unimpressed and just not super kind when my boyfriend and I come here. I have mixed feelings. I would totally recommend this place to others, but tell them only to go when it's super empty and there isn't a crowd, so they aren't treated like an inconvenience. read more

This place is only good if you are looking for a nostalgic experience. Food's ok, but not great. The staff always looks pissed off. The reason this place is popular has more to with the location than anything about the place itself. I just ordered a vegetarian skillet, and got ham in my plate. When i told the waitress, she offered to take care of it, and got another plate. Again, i got the exact same issue. Ham in a vegetarian plate. At this point, i just gave up. I wasn't charged for the dish, but i went there for a meal, and left without eating, due to how the kitchen is managed. Doesn't instill a whole lot of confidence in how they prepare anything with such an example. read more

Great value on breakfast and burgers! The food quality isn't the greatest, but the portions are quite large. The coleslaw that usually comes as a side doesn't taste quite fresh, so I rarely finish it. The meatloaf was soggy and tasted like leftover meat. The spaghetti was pretty mediocre. The fish and chips are alright. The milkshakes are great though! read more

First time eating at Mel's Diner since the fire and it was an excellent experience. The diner captures the feel of a 50's style diner with their menus, jukebox, movie posters, seats etc. The service was quick, friendly and witty. The meals were pretty good portion sizes. I ordered the Original BBOP; a smoked beef brisket with swiss cheese, gravy and a side of sweet potato fries. The BBOP was pretty good a bit of fat in the brisket. The strawberry milkshakes were delicious! Be prepared for a wait during peak times. Cheers~ read more

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I went here last week with my partner. It wasn't very busy (around 10am on a Wednesday) so we were seated quickly. We were both very tired, so if service was slow, we didn't notice. I had The Big Mel and ordered pancakes (instead of French toast or something else that you can get with it), but the server brought me French toast instead. When I pointed this out, she left my plate at the table and came back shortly after with my order of pancakes. She let me keep the French toast, which I ended up taking home and having for breakfast the following day. The food quality was fine, but nothing exceptional (though I've had exceptional food here in the past). My boyfriend had the breakfast burritos (Huervos Rancheros or something?) and I tried a few bites. They were absolutely delicious, if not a little bit messy. It might be a little pricy for what you get, but the portion sizes are very large, the atmosphere is nice, and the service isn't terrible. read more

I've eaten here a few times since it's close to where I rent. Waitresses are terribly unfriendly here. The original BBOP sandwich is disgusting. The tender shaved beef was extremely dry and tasted like leftovers. The 'au jus' didn't help. I could not stomach even half of the sandwich. The only thing I would recommend eating here would be from their breakfast menu. It's pretty basic and not spectacular by any means, but it's fine if you don't feel like cooking breakfast. The poached egg on the eggs benny is almost always overcooked though. The place gets pretty packed during peak breakfast hours on weekends. I wouldn't wait in line though, go somewhere else instead. read more

ngl the veggie berger taste like stank booty ass :/ mel passed the vibe check but the washrooms leave some things to be desired the trivia games were fun but targeted towards boomers. xoxo read more

Food is somewhat ok, but overpriced for what you get. Place is perpetually understaffed, although the service is slow and mediocre even when they aren't. They call it a bottomless coffee but won't refill it more than once or twice unless you stay for an inordinately long time, waving wildly. Some people find the interior nostalgic. I found the decor and waitress costumes to be more kitschy and inauthentic. Crowded and loud on weekend mornings - not worth the wait in line. read more

It has a fun friendly atmosphere, and I love the retro theme/interior design of the restaurant! Although the wait time is a little longer than most, it is worth it and the food is very pretty and tasty. read more

Mel's diner is a place to go if you are feeling a decent breakfast. Atmosphere is pretty nice with good music and a retro feel. Service is pretty lousy, there are never enough waitresses on the floor serving everyone, you can always see them rushing around. I order the Mel's special because that's the best bang for your buck. It's a simple breakfast with your choice of eggs, bread and meat. It doesn't taste fabulous but hey it gets the job done, the price is decent and serving size is huge. I'd recommend coming here just for the Mel's special. read more

Been to this diner twice now and it hasn't disappointed me yet. Breakfast was amazing, the banana bread French toast was excellent, although it would have been nice to have a couple of strips of bacon or sausage included in the price. Very clean establishment, attentive staff, the price is reasonable, the food came out hot, not lukewarm, portion sizes were great. It can be busy on a weekend. So be patient as it is a small diner. Highly recommend for homemade meals if you don't want to cook yourself. read more

Came here for dinner with some friends over the weekend, glad I did. Food was great, service was decent, environment was as expected. Would definitely come again! Food: I had a special order that's not listed on the menu called "Mel's Favorite" which was two eggs, toast, a choice of sausage, ham or bacon, and an orange slice for about $6. It was DELICIOUS and I would totally recommend it. One friend had the Sheppard's pie which is also fantastic, and other had the chili which was a little small but tastes great. Service: This is where they were lacking, when my group came in there was a booth available, but I don't know if the servers noticed it because they didn't go to clean it up or anything. The place was super packed and they were really understaffed with the servers so I didn't mind that much, just a tad because I was starving and waiting while you're hungry is a pain. The food came out at a decent time and the waitress checked up on us frequently enough. Environment: The place was packed with university students, not a surprise, so it was definitely loud & rowdy. The booth we were seated in fit us, but with our bags, it was kind of a tight squeeze. They don't have a lot of space to work with, but it was still fairly comfortable. read more

This is a place I used to frequent a lot when I was a student. The food here is ok but what they lack in quality, they make up with quantity, what most students are looking for!! I got the Louis Armstrong omelette, while the omelettes I'm used to are well mixed, producing a consistent yellow colour as well as being light and fluffy. This omelette was dense and seemed like it was put together on the griddle as you could see areas of yolk and areas of white. The omelette was a little over salted though. Not sure if that was because it is packed with salty meats or if they had salted the eggs in addition to the salty meats. But with that said, you can eat the omelette with the home fries to balance out the saltiness as the fries did need some salt to them. Service was decent, waitress was friendly and attentive. Didn't have to wait too long for anything. read more

I always enjoyed Mel's and their portion sizes are pretty big. Depending on what you get, Mel's can be really cheap or a bit pricy. I did get served a burnt burger once, but I mentioned it to the waitress and she gladly ordered another one for me. The second one was great, cooked well and no burnt spots. read more

Worst service ever. The waitress literally let us wait for 1hr.

I love breakfast foods. I would eat it everyday if it wasn't so bad for you and I think this place is by far my favorite breakfast place to eat in the city. The service was awesome, the waitresses were really nice and served the food pretty quickly. There were trivia cards to pass time while waiting for the food and the place had very classic diner vibes; neon lights, jukebox, movie posters, even the workers wore clothing that were the staples back in the 70s (??). But regardless, the food was great. I ordered the egg Benedict and a strawberry milkshake. Benedict was perfection, creamy, egg porn, full of flavour. The milkshake was thick, which I love in a shake. Definitely would recommend this place to people who lives that uni life and wants to indulge a little. read more

Terrible experience here today (Sun 26th - afternoon). This pace needs some serious help/revamping of staff. The service was slow and and minimal to none. Our table asked for a round of waters and coffees - only got coffee (cups refilled just once after having to ask). Waited close to an hour for barely warm food slopped onto a plate. We were never checked up on or asked if we needed anything when the food finally did arrive. Our table and cutlery...Dirty. The floors...Dirty. The washrooms...Dirty. Everything seemed chaotic and out of line. I was the one who chose our brunch venue today and I was totally embarrassed. I've never had an experience like this before at Mel's. After today we won't be returning. read more