OK, so updating this to 5 stars after many more visits. Is it fine dining? No. What it is is reliable, tasty, filling diner food with good service and fair prices. This has pretty much become our "go-to" spot for a weekend breakfast/early lunch. Omelettes, breakfast potatoes, burgers, all taste great and hit the spot. We come hungry, and leave full and happy. What more do you need? read more

Stopped into Mel's Original Diner in Rocklin and unfortunately walked away disappointed. The food itself was decent at best, nothing to rave about, but edible. The real issue was the service. There were only about four tables seated in the whole restaurant, with plenty of staff on shift, yet the service was incredibly slow. We ordered a to-go dessert (just a slice of pie) and it somehow took over 30 minutes to come out. When it finally did, the pumpkin pie was so bad we couldn't even eat it, we ended up tossing it in the trash. I can put up with less-than-stellar service if the food makes up for it, but this wasn't the case. Considering how expensive it is to dine out these days, I expect a lot more. Unfortunately, Mel's missed the mark on both food and service. read more

10/15/2025. Came here for dinner. Everything is light up inside and super cute, 1950s retro dinner with old retro music boxes all over. The menu is huge but I wanted a burger and was recommended by the server. San Francisco Melburger San Francisco melburger ($16.49). Was an excellent recommendation. The patty was super juicy and paired well with the ingredients and dressing. The bread wasn't hard to bite through. The fries were coated and fried. Nice and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Worth the try. It was also super big and I ended up taking half home. Classic shake vanilla ($7.49). One word. Delicious. Burger and shake is one of the best paring. Besides soft drink. Overall. Super cute and delicious experience. Can't wait to come back again. read more

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Had the pleasure of dining here for lunch and the waitress Amy was wonderful food was delicious like always. Definitely recommend you go eat! read more

Came here for a last minute bday celebration and we had a good time. We were a party of 7 & our waitress was amazing. She was super sweet and her service was impeccable. We really enjoy the food as well, their burgers are always so juicy and flavorful. Even the kids items we got, super yummy. Overall this restaurant is good for large groups, the staff is very friendly, and the food is good. Period. read more

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I asked for Sour dough toast. Mine and my husband's sour dough toast looked perfect the side up, but turn it over and the other side was burnt!!!! I don't like burnt toast. Chicken fried steak gravy was bland no taste. Next time going to the Mel's in Auburn read more

Jessica Castro!! Thank You for the excellent service. Made our meal better by the excellent service. Iced Tea is Fantastic here. Thank You again.. read more

i've been here a few times over the years and it's alright. it is a diner so the food is not that top notch (i do admit it is overpriced but i guess i understand bc of inflation, at that point i'd just support a locally owned / less known diners) read more

Having eaten here twice, the burgers are just vile. Medium rare means well done to burnt. Onion rings and fries are greasy and soggy. Some sort of cheese product on burgers is tasteless rubber. Bacon is so tough it's nearly inedible. Extremely overpriced. read more

Ahhh Mel's Diner. What can I say. If you want good old fashioned type food. This is the place. My wife and I usually come here for our brunch/lunch dates with NO KIDS!! Our get away time. This Rocklin location is great. The staff and food is also great. Nornally I take and post pics. But since there are so many here on Yelp! & Googel Reviews, I opted not to. My wife usually, well I should say, always gets the Mushroom & Swiss MelBurger with bacon and fries. For me, I like to taste new things. On this day, I opted for the San Francisco MelBurger. Since 2020, I know prices has gone up slightly. From suppliers to here. All tryijg to recoup their 2020 loss and hoped 2021 and forward to gain what profits were lost. Then Doordash & the likes came around. But, don't let that discourage you. Bring people and come to Mel's Diner. Sit at a booth, table or grill stand, order the amazing food. Whether it be breakfast lunch or dinner. Taste & enjoy the food, the atmosphere and the friendly staff. You won't regret it! Till then! Enjoy! read more

5$ toast, watery coffee, asked for water three times. I thought the toast cane with themeal. Meh-

1st time here and I was not disappointed. Staff is friendly and welcoming restaurant has an old time atmosphere. Food was brought out quickly and fresh. Eggs cooked well, potatoes seasoned, pancakes delicious and nice size portions. No complaints about anything! read more

The Original Mels - Wolfman Jack breakfast special- eggs, potatoes, ham, sausage, bacon and pancakes - American Near Me - Rocklin, California

One of the best Mel's I've been to. They are always quick to seat us and take our drink orders. This place has become our Sunday go to for breakfast. They get our order right and the food comes out steaming hot. They even recognize us too. The place is clean and a friendly vibe. It deserves more 5 star reviews, as they really do a good job. read more

Santiago was our server and in my experience in customer service in general, he is top notch! The 2 ladies also gave exceptional service. Santiago was 5 star restaurant service type of person. I love Mel's Diner and have been to several, this one in Rocklin is my favorite! Give those three a raise for giving the customer service Representation your company deserves! From the moment I walked in with my partner until I left they made us feel like we mattered!! read more

This Mel's location is totally stepped up their game since new owners have taken over since Sept 2024. It's clean, reliable and the staff is so friendly! It's a great dining experience. The food is on point and served quickly. I look forward to returning often! Kudos. read more

Really enjoyable place with great atmosphere and food. The breakfast menu is definitely the highlight. Portions are big and come with lots of sides. I don't get all the negative experiences people are sharing here? The interior is one of the best I have ever seen from a diner might I add. read more

This place has a great feel to it. The classic americana artwork and music is a wonderful welcome, but I highly recommend the breakfast burrito, or even better? The breakfast sandwich with country sausage... I have course cannot eat hashbrowns but I will tell you this much, the cottage cheese sits just as well. The service was incredible and, very friendly. Our coffee cups were constantly full and we were checked on at least once every five minutes flavor was amazing. The value was beautiful.. read more

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Excellent service and the food, omelette tasted good. They were also cooked well. The home fries were awesome. I will just get a plate of these next time. read more

Came in recently to pick a Dd order up and referred to what the customer had asked me to tell the wait staff. The head waitress proceeded to argue with myself (essentially the customer because I represent them) and I left without the customers request fulfilled through DD read more

I haven't been to Mel's in a very long time. Partly because the food had just gotten super greasy and just kinda gross and it wasn't worth it to go. However, my bestie talked me into going to this location, that is under new ownership and management. Highly impressed! The service was awesome! The food was fantastic! I am a little bit of a food snob, but especially when it comes to chicken. Let me just say, I have never enjoyed restaurant chicken strip before this visit. Their chicken strip on the chick salad was perfect. I don't know if they changed the lighting as well, cause it seemed brighter and friendlier than before. Highly impressed. Definitely will be going back. Had a great visit! Well done Mel's!! read more

Mel's gives you all the classic diner vibes. It is like stepping back in time. Mel's is a fun place to take the entire family or visiting guests. The food is kind of pricey, but what place isn't these days. I love the car cardboard cutout the kids meals come in. I love the juke box and looking at all the decor. We always have a fun time at Mel's but it is more of a special occasion that we all go. read more

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We truly come here for the amazing wait staff. Every single time we have come, we have received EXCELLENT and friendly service! The food is reliably good and we really enjoy it. read more

New owner, Doryene has definitely improved everything about this Mel's location. We recently had my girlfriends great grandmother's birthday there, Doryene and her crew were absolutely amazing! Great food, awesome service, and a very happy Great grandmother!! They all went over and above for us! Thank you Doryene and crew!!! read more

The breakfast food was not good. The table service was excellent. The ambiance is "cute" but to a younger generation (younger than baby boomers) the whole American Graffiti thing may be becoming irrelevant by the day. The food: Sunday morning, the place was busy, and families were lined up for breakfast. This was our first visit to this Mel's. Our cheerful waitress brought us our menus. We started off with coffee. The coffee was lukewarm. We got her attention a few minutes later and asked for fresh, hot coffee. We then ordered our breakfast. I ordered "The Hangover" (sausage, eggs, bacon with biscuits and gravy), my wife ordered the chicken-fried steak, eggs over medium with hashbrowns. My meal was acceptable, but nothing about it would make me come back for more. The final disappointment was the hashbrowns on my wife's plate. They were saturated and tasted like old cold grease. The service: As they want to do, our waitress asked if everything was going well? We had to tell her about the corpse hashbrowns. She apologized and asked if she could bring something else. We didn't want her to feel worse, but mainly, we didn't want this experience to last any longer. We said we were fine, to just bring us the tab. She took away the evidence and brought us the total, minus the cost of the offending meal. We did not ask for that, but it was the right thing to do. Exit: We left Mel's literally with a bad taste in our mouths. We tipped our young waitress, including the cost of the meal, but will not be returning. read more

The Original Mels - Nostalgia soaring away. - American Near Me - Rocklin, California

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Waitress was sweet but after a 30+ minute wait for the food it had a hair in it, I asked for just the pancakes remade because the thought of eating eggs and bacon made me sick after and they did with no issue but my friend was nearly done eating and it just kinda ruined the whole experience, no compensation or anything. read more

The Original Mels - American Near Me - Rocklin, California

This is exactly what it says it is. It's your basic diner food for semi reasonable prices. The place is modeled after a 50's diner and they're all really just okay. It's good diner food but there's a lot on the walls and hanging. It's not a relaxing atmosphere for me. Staff was good. Food was fine read more

Still fresh to NorCal and always passes The Original Mels. I was craving a burger with my father in law and decided to give Mel a chance. We were not disappointed. As soon as we walked in we were greeted by Robin and Krista who's customer service was Grade A all the way. They both explained the menu and I went off Kristas recommendation and indulged in the Big Popper with a side of onion rings. The lettuce was fresh, crisp while the tomatoes red and juicy. Each bite had me craving more! The milk shakes were OOOMMMG to die for. While we were waiting Krista and Robin were extremely patient with our multiple questions and answered them all! I didn't know the Original Mels has a great history to the establishment. Kudos to Robin and Krista especially in these times of COVID-19 they both were engaged, positive and professional. Thank you team Mel, Robin and Krista :) We will be back! read more

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I had seen this p;ace a few times and decided to give it a try. I was quickly seated. Its a 50 diner all the way. I decided on a San Francisco Melburger and coleslaw side. There were not many diners at the moment. I was served my burger quite quickly. The sourdough had a nice toast to it. The patty was tasty with plenty of condiments; not bad. The coleslaw was nice, wish the portion had been larger. read more

i ADORED the meldog. it is simple to the point of being a little funny -- it's a toasted baguette with a sliced-length-wise hot dog that is grilled to a crisp, with white onion and tomato and avocado and fresh crunchy lettuce. the mouthfeel is incredible and is somehow light despite being a hot dog. really enjoyed it and was thankful it was not a normal hot dog like i was expecting. seafood platter was alright --pretty standard cod and shrimp situation. read more

The Original Mels - Meldog - American Near Me - Rocklin, California

My wife and I were looking for a good place to have lunch this past Tuesday. We found this cute restaurant in Rockland " The Original Mels Diner". We were met with the friendliest Host and was seated immediately. The food server took our orders I had a cheeseburger my wife had the breakfast burrito; they were absolutely delicious! We met the owners Rick and Dorine they are two wonderful people and are so excited about their business. Their staff seem to be genuinely excited to make their guests have the best eating out experience. We love our time there and recommend you try this restaurant. JR and DR read more

The service was excellent, tipped accordingly as anyone should. As for the food, absolutely awful. Cut down menu items, don't buy frozen patties.. idk. Chicken sandwich was terrible. Expecting some nice fried chicken sando I got a Wendy's brand chicken sandwich patty.. disgusting. Cheesesteak... BAD, DRY. Garlic fries, all old Grease. What the hell mells? I don't even have high standards but yo, they are cheaping out on ingredients. Denny's 1,000% better. Sad because mels in other places do it right.. this location is just bad. Getting tired of going out and getting this shit. Absolute 1*, service... Near excellent. read more

Went in for some pie. Great service fast.clean atmosphere. Our waiter was Jacob he was very friendly and welcoming one of the best service we've had at Mel's Thanks Jacob read more

They want $8 for FRIES!!! Absolutely NOT! I know I can buy frozen fries for cheaper and have more than one serving!

Always good service food is amazing you can't go wrong with a san fransico burger with their classic fries it is one of my favorite places to eat in with family read more

So when you get your order I guess you need to supply your own utensils and condiments, no forks , straws or anything to put your fry or onion rings and that just not my order the other 2 people didn't get any with there food either !!! read more

I ordered lunch today via DoorDash .... from The Original Mels. In the past, I had had several meals from their Elk Grove location, and always enjoyed. Today was disappointing. My lunch consisted of a house Side Salad and a Club Sandwich with Fries. The Salad was the best part of the meal - greens topped with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and croutons (with vinaigrette). Generous portion for the price and the vegetables were fresh. The Club Sandwich with Curly Fries looked fantastic in the container; however, both were not as good as they appeared. The Club was primarily "very dry" turkey breast along with a small amount of bacon, tomato, and mayonnaise. In total it lacked flavor and was soggy. Again, the Curly Fries were soggy ....... and cold. Note - after placing my order, the food arrived within 20 minutes. Consequently, I don't blame DoorDash for the poor condition / quality of the Sandwich and Fries. read more

The Original Mels - American Near Me - Rocklin, California

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I was looking for a place that carried vegetable burgers and Mel's showed up on 4th place in my Google search according to TripAdvisor's. Make yourself a favor and do not go there. The veggie burger was horrible! My husband ordered a chicken sandwich and the chicken had no flavor...... it tasted like if it was boiled instead of grilled. Disappointed. read more

This place is great. We had breakfast this time. I ordered the Wolfman Jack, and everything was great, the eggs were cooked right, the choices and coffee are good. Everything was very great. The employees enjoy working together, very friendly and hard working. They work together to make sure you don't need anything and anticipate your every need. I laughed when the regular sugar was low, all I did was look at it and then looked across at the counter to see if I could steal some. As soon as I started to get up the guy behind the counter smiled and put all the sugar in 2 containers together and pushed it over to me. Very busy place, very well done. I can't wait to come back for the real ice cream desserts again. read more

Mel's has not been a favorite of ours in years but since they started to offer nyc chopped cheese we decided to give it another go, welll we doordashed it and they screwed up our entire order, we recieved items we didn't even order, we didn't recieve half of what actually ordered and what we did recieve was totally incorrect and had ingredients on it that were NOT supposed to be on it, half of our food was so god damn saugy and disgusting too. I am over beyond furious, Mel's you better count your damn days, yall are fucking terrible. and before anyone says "well don't doordash it", we literally live less than three minutes from Mel's. read more

I don't often eat "traditional" large American breakfasts, but sometimes I just need it. I didn't really want to battle the mimosa crowd so we decided on a more family friendly spot. This place is in a great location to knock out some errands afterwards too. The inside is standard Mel's diner with throwbacks to the 50s everywhere. This was a nice change of pace from the farmhouse decor that every new restaurant uses. The restaurant was clean, but a bit cramped. The service was outstanding. You can tell when a server is experienced and ours was really good. He was polite, professional, and confident. He didn't write anything down and everything came out perfect. I ordered the full stack of pancakes. They were fluffy and tasty! I couldn't eat all of them, but I tried. I ordered 2 sides of bacon thinking that I would get 4 pieces and my son would get 4. I got 1! The bacon was good too. This place has the best coffee I've tasted at a breakfast place in the area. Most places taste like instant coffee. I highly recommend! read more