Mel's Diner

Richard and his team rocks! Food is always delicious. We get the omlette specials, cinnamon roll, blueberry pancakes. Their best, if you ask my hubbie, is their chicken fried steak!!!! You cannot go wrong. Cash only. Worth it.

Everyone here is very kind, food is delicious. Feels very old school and I love it, 10/10.

Awesome diner and great service. I ordered the chorizo and eggs

I love Mel’s diner! The food, service, atmosphere and people are all amazing. Alyssa is the best server and is always so friendly! Definitely come here and try their delicious cinnamon rolls, machaca burrito, biscuits and gravy (and everything else on their menu).

The service was great. Food very good and affordable.

Loved the service and the Flo experience and attitude was an awesome bonus. Food was good. Ordered and served within moments. Good portions. OJ and coffee was great. Coffee was always hot and topped off without asking for it. CASH or venmo only. Or she, "Flo" will make you wash dishes. I wish I had asked her for a name.

Great food. Great service. We were in town for the weekend and ate at Mel’s 2 days/row. Wish we had Mel’s in Nor Cal!

Their pork chop breakfast is delicious. They have good biscuits and gravy, and if you get there early enough on a Sunday, they have wonderful cinnamon rolls. They also have a very tasty "waist-watchers" plate. On Sundays, their busboy is awesome. Your coffee cup will always be full.

I've had breakfast here a few times now. Loved it each time. Great service. Food comes out fast. Coffee is constantly refilled. Everything I've tried is really good & I must say, the bacon is some of the best in the area - not flabby, not under or overcooked & perfect crisp but not too well done. I'm a big fan now.

First time coming here with my mama. I found it since it is near the ophthalmology office I take my mom to. Let me say the food is yummy!! My mom got the country fried steak breakfast and I got pancakes eggs and sausage. The pancakes were my favorite part 😋. I asked for over medium eggs and that's exactly what I got not under or over cooked. Just right!! The waitress was very attentive as well and made her rounds regularly. I saw alot of older folks going and coming. So I know this is a spot a definitely want to come back to and try new stuff on the menu.

This is our go to place. They have the magic touch of toasting every sandwich to perfection. Mexican food is fabuloso. The breakfast burritos are perfect. Service is off the charts.

I've been going to Mel's Diner since long before Google reviews so I don't know why it took me so long to post a review but let's just say that Mel's is a long-standing, small but intimate breakfast & lunch spot that has friendly and fast service and great food. Pride of Fountain Valley, California!

It definitely has the diner vibe which I love. Food was delicious. Amazing service! Bacon was so good and crispy. I don’t usually like crispy bacon. Eggs fluffy and tasty.

Great customer service. Acceptable prices. Nice options for selection. They only take cash or venmo so stop at an atm.

1. The steak and eggs were cooked perfectly the way I ordered it! The portions are good! 2. The spot has chill casual vibes! The interior is cozy! 3. The staff were friendly and attentive! Our food was ready in less than 15 mins! Note: This spot only accept cash and Venmo! Photo: NY Steak & Eggs and Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs

Place is small, tucked away inside this plaza. The food is definitely more mom and pops, the atmosphere was old fashioned. I have the country combo, with biscuits and gravy. It was excellent and priced about average for what I'd expect for this serving.

I would say this is my favorite diner in Fountain Valley. It’s a no fuss, traditional, American diner, specializing in breakfast and lunch. It’s fairly small on the inside, but it is very homey and the sort of place that you’d want to stay a while. Our server was very polite and everything that we ordered arrived very fast. It’s important to know they don’t accept credit card, only cash or Venmo. It’s in a small shopping center, so there is plenty of free parking right out front. I had read many reviews about their award-winning Chicken Fried Steak so had to order that for myself for my first visit. I will say that the steak was fantastic and it had a great sear on it. I would definitely say it’s one of the better Chicken Fried Steaks I’ve had in a long time and would highly recommend ordering it. Pricing is also very fair so I would recommend to anyone in or visiting the Fountain Valley area.

Mel’s is the perfect place for good honest diner food. The coffee is good, the eggs are cooked perfectly, the service is outstanding. The steak sandwich is outstanding. It’s not fancy, but doesn’t need to be. I wish they had glasses that weren’t plastic and extremely chipped. I was afraid to drink out of them and they had plastic straws, not paper ones. We can’t wait to come again!

Great place for breakfast. Mel diner do make traditional American breakfast fast but they understand the essence of great American breakfast. The steak is tender, juicy and flavorful. The egg benedict is creamy. Hide under that sauce is fresh ingredients that full of flavor. One bite and you will fall to the umami wave. The hash brown are crispy and flavorful too. Well except the biscuits and gravy sauce. They are ok or im am too full after clean the steak plate and for a 5 feet 7 guy that is more than enough to fill me up. The server are do care and treat me well. They may not the top tier level of service but that is more than enough for family friendly and daily dinner.

Awesome place! It is top rated for a reason. Great service, friendly atmosphere and very great cuisine. I love it!!

I've been on a chicken fried steak kick lately, so after years since I've been here, I thought I'd give them another try. I used to come here pretty regularly, however I stopped when I realized that my chicken fried steak was not really a steak at all. After I pushed aside the gravy, I realized that there were about 3-4 pieces of breaded steak under there. It kinda freaked me out, cause I was thinking that they were giving me other people's leftovers. I asked our server about why there were small cuts of meat, and not one large steak, they didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Not wanting to make a big deal about it, I just stopped going here, and it's been about seven years since I've been back. When we returned this time around 9:30am on a Friday, they were busy as usual, but the wait wasnt too long. The staff were the same nice people from before. I ordered the chicken fried steak with home fries, eggs over easy and of course biscuits & gravy. To my surprise, the chicken fried steak came with three to four pieces covered by gravy. I thought, maybe this is just how they do their CFS? 🤔🤷‍♀️ My husband thinks that maybe they just used smaller higher quality cuts, so I just went with that suggestion and didn't fret over my breakfast. The CFS was perfectly breaded, crispy, seasoned and the meat was tender. The traditional white gravy was delicious with perfect consistency and flavor. My eggs were perfectly cooked. The potatoes were more like thin largely shredded pieces, and a bit too burnt for my taste, however my husband loved them. The biscuits were delicious and stayed soft & fluffy from start to finish. Many biscuits that I've had elsewhere start of soft, but as soon as they start to cool off a bit, they're like cardboard. My husband had two eggs over medium, two sausage patties, cottage cheese and a side of biscuits & gravy. His eggs were cooked perfectly and he was pleased with his simple meal. Of course I shared my CFS with the hubby and he loved it! The service is prompt & efficient, so much so that you might feel a tad bit rushed by the server. When she takes your order, you might want to know exactly what you want before she gets to you or you may feel the 10mph energy emanating from her smack you upside your head. Lol. She's nice, but dont do anything to slow her down. 😅 All in all, we left happy & satified. We'd likely come back when I'm craving CFS and we're in the area, but I'm still on the hunt for the ultimate CFS.

9:10 am Sat 12/23/23. Easy seating at the counter. $18 NY steak & eggs was excellent. $3.50 fountain soda (free refills). Their weekdays breakfast specials look to be bargain values, will be back to try those.

Great home town cooking and for those who grew up in the 80's is even a bit nostalgic, if you don't get it you can "kiss my grits!" The cinnamon rolls on the weekends are incredible. I had the biscuits and gravy and they were super satisfying. Give this place a try!

Awesome traditional diner. Food was excellent. Pancakes fluffy and delicious. You can tell a great breakfast place by their eggs - I could tell that the griddle was clean with no leftover oil or grease. Our sever (forgot her name already sadly, or I would give her a shout out) was on point with multiple check-ins to see how we were doing. Will definitely be back!

Family breakfast. Wasn't too busy. Service was amazing and the food was delicious. Well worth the cost. had the special of the day Omelette, cheese, tomatoes, bacon and avocado. Looking forward to another visit.

I was in the area & in the mood for a good breakfast. So glad I used Maps to look for a diner. The hype is real with their award winning & highly recommended Country Fried Steak & Eggs breakfast. This was actually a real, large portioned steak! Not that frozen pre-battered hamburger patty that 99% of restaurants offer. Eggs & Hash browns were cooked perfect per my order as well. This is a place I will go out of my way to come back to. Heads up, they only accept cash or Venmo. Lastly, the prices are more than fair compared to most, in fact a great deal, especially with the large portions.

Always filled with great people wonderful conversation and the employees are always top notch. This morning I'm having the delicious California omelette which is the daily special.

Good diner food! Great service. Cash only (or Venmo)

We had a great meal at this diner. The staff was wonderful, the food was delicious, and the value was excellent. The only minor issue was that our plastic cups were chipped.

Really good food! Got an omelette and the stack of pancakes and I can tell I enjoyed every single bite. Prices are fair, the place is clean enough and the staff was super friendly. I’d definitely go again.

Andy Vu

1. The steak and eggs were cooked perfectly the way I ordered it! The portions are good! 2. The spot has chill casual vibes! The interior is cozy! 3. The staff were friendly and attentive! Our food was ready in less than 15 mins! Note: This spot only accept cash and Venmo! Photo: NY Steak & Eggs and Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs

Andrew Hubbell

Place is small, tucked away inside this plaza. The food is definitely more mom and pops, the atmosphere was old fashioned. I have the country combo, with biscuits and gravy. It was excellent and priced about average for what I'd expect for this serving.

Zan Lee

I would say this is my favorite diner in Fountain Valley. It’s a no fuss, traditional, American diner, specializing in breakfast and lunch. It’s fairly small on the inside, but it is very homey and the sort of place that you’d want to stay a while. Our server was very polite and everything that we ordered arrived very fast. It’s important to know they don’t accept credit card, only cash or Venmo. It’s in a small shopping center, so there is plenty of free parking right out front. I had read many reviews about their award-winning Chicken Fried Steak so had to order that for myself for my first visit. I will say that the steak was fantastic and it had a great sear on it. I would definitely say it’s one of the better Chicken Fried Steaks I’ve had in a long time and would highly recommend ordering it. Pricing is also very fair so I would recommend to anyone in or visiting the Fountain Valley area.

Travel Chaser

I've been on a chicken fried steak kick lately, so after years since I've been here, I thought I'd give them another try. I used to come here pretty regularly, however I stopped when I realized that my chicken fried steak was not really a steak at all. After I pushed aside the gravy, I realized that there were about 3-4 pieces of breaded steak under there. It kinda freaked me out, cause I was thinking that they were giving me other people's leftovers. I asked our server about why there were small cuts of meat, and not one large steak, they didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Not wanting to make a big deal about it, I just stopped going here, and it's been about seven years since I've been back. When we returned this time around 9:30am on a Friday, they were busy as usual, but the wait wasnt too long. The staff were the same nice people from before. I ordered the chicken fried steak with home fries, eggs over easy and of course biscuits & gravy. To my surprise, the chicken fried steak came with three to four pieces covered by gravy. I thought, maybe this is just how they do their CFS? 🤔🤷‍♀️ My husband thinks that maybe they just used smaller higher quality cuts, so I just went with that suggestion and didn't fret over my breakfast. The CFS was perfectly breaded, crispy, seasoned and the meat was tender. The traditional white gravy was delicious with perfect consistency and flavor. My eggs were perfectly cooked. The potatoes were more like thin largely shredded pieces, and a bit too burnt for my taste, however my husband loved them. The biscuits were delicious and stayed soft & fluffy from start to finish. Many biscuits that I've had elsewhere start of soft, but as soon as they start to cool off a bit, they're like cardboard. My husband had two eggs over medium, two sausage patties, cottage cheese and a side of biscuits & gravy. His eggs were cooked perfectly and he was pleased with his simple meal. Of course I shared my CFS with the hubby and he loved it! The service is prompt & efficient, so much so that you might feel a tad bit rushed by the server. When she takes your order, you might want to know exactly what you want before she gets to you or you may feel the 10mph energy emanating from her smack you upside your head. Lol. She's nice, but dont do anything to slow her down. 😅 All in all, we left happy & satified. We'd likely come back when I'm craving CFS and we're in the area, but I'm still on the hunt for the ultimate CFS.

victoria Schutter

Mel’s is the perfect place for good honest diner food. The coffee is good, the eggs are cooked perfectly, the service is outstanding. The steak sandwich is outstanding. It’s not fancy, but doesn’t need to be. I wish they had glasses that weren’t plastic and extremely chipped. I was afraid to drink out of them and they had plastic straws, not paper ones. We can’t wait to come again!

Nguyen Ngoc Kien

Great place for breakfast. Mel diner do make traditional American breakfast fast but they understand the essence of great American breakfast. The steak is tender, juicy and flavorful. The egg benedict is creamy. Hide under that sauce is fresh ingredients that full of flavor. One bite and you will fall to the umami wave. The hash brown are crispy and flavorful too. Well except the biscuits and gravy sauce. They are ok or im am too full after clean the steak plate and for a 5 feet 7 guy that is more than enough to fill me up. The server are do care and treat me well. They may not the top tier level of service but that is more than enough for family friendly and daily dinner.

Greisy Martin

Awesome place! It is top rated for a reason. Great service, friendly atmosphere and very great cuisine. I love it!!

Chan Chuckwow

9:10 am Sat 12/23/23. Easy seating at the counter. $18 NY steak & eggs was excellent. $3.50 fountain soda (free refills). Their weekdays breakfast specials look to be bargain values, will be back to try those.

Russell Snider

Great home town cooking and for those who grew up in the 80's is even a bit nostalgic, if you don't get it you can "kiss my grits!" The cinnamon rolls on the weekends are incredible. I had the biscuits and gravy and they were super satisfying. Give this place a try!

Jeff Blakely

Awesome traditional diner. Food was excellent. Pancakes fluffy and delicious. You can tell a great breakfast place by their eggs - I could tell that the griddle was clean with no leftover oil or grease. Our sever (forgot her name already sadly, or I would give her a shout out) was on point with multiple check-ins to see how we were doing. Will definitely be back!

J Lang

Family breakfast. Wasn't too busy. Service was amazing and the food was delicious. Well worth the cost. had the special of the day Omelette, cheese, tomatoes, bacon and avocado. Looking forward to another visit.

M Luna

I was in the area & in the mood for a good breakfast. So glad I used Maps to look for a diner. The hype is real with their award winning & highly recommended Country Fried Steak & Eggs breakfast. This was actually a real, large portioned steak! Not that frozen pre-battered hamburger patty that 99% of restaurants offer. Eggs & Hash browns were cooked perfect per my order as well. This is a place I will go out of my way to come back to. Heads up, they only accept cash or Venmo. Lastly, the prices are more than fair compared to most, in fact a great deal, especially with the large portions.

Stacie Castaneda-Ban

Always filled with great people wonderful conversation and the employees are always top notch. This morning I'm having the delicious California omelette which is the daily special.

Kevin Longrie

Good diner food! Great service. Cash only (or Venmo)

Arnold

We had a great meal at this diner. The staff was wonderful, the food was delicious, and the value was excellent. The only minor issue was that our plastic cups were chipped.

Chicken fried steak is so good. It takes me 2 days to eat it. With eggs potatoes and biscuits and gravy. Homemade.

Best Diner in town hands down, if you’re looking for some old school home cooking this is it. 10/10 never fails! My fave is the western omelette and the Machaca burrito is the best I’ve had. Soo good!

C. A.

Great customer service. Acceptable prices. Nice options for selection. They only take cash or venmo so stop at an atm.

Ali Hein

Chicken fried steak is so good. It takes me 2 days to eat it. With eggs potatoes and biscuits and gravy. Homemade.

Good food! Super nice service.

Great breakfast! The biscuits and gravy were among the best I've had in OC. Fast & friendly service. BE WARNED: They ONLY accept cash. Not sure why, in this "day and age", but there you go.

Solid no frills breakfast with good service at a reasonable price.

Happy to see avocado as a side option, so could enjoy a healthy, vegan breakfast. Service was fantastic and super fast!

Sonya

Happy to see avocado as a side option, so could enjoy a healthy, vegan breakfast. Service was fantastic and super fast!

WeWantToEat

Solid no frills breakfast with good service at a reasonable price.

CASH or VENMO ONLY. Prices consistent with other card accepting restaurants. No fruit. Small to average portions on breakfast special.

Waitress attentive but not friendly . "Regulars got " need a menu" as their only greeting. I expected a friendlier greeting. Couldn't get waffle with bacon only so ordered it as a combo with eggs. Eggs arrived substantially before the rest. Waffle was dry. Syrup and butter were potioned which did not help the problem. Relatively clean. Paid cash with 30% tip. Not motivated to return.

The restaurant is not clean. Staff were so friendly. The food wasn't received hot! Tasted like it was made ahead of time and hit it up(Country Fried Steak). Cinnamon roll was under cooked and not freshly baked! Coffee cup was dirty(attached pictures) My decaf wasn't tasty! After reading reviews decided to pick this place for my Sunday breakfast. For sure I won't go back.

Jimmy Bandari

The restaurant is not clean. Staff were so friendly. The food wasn't received hot! Tasted like it was made ahead of time and hit it up(Country Fried Steak). Cinnamon roll was under cooked and not freshly baked! Coffee cup was dirty(attached pictures) My decaf wasn't tasty! After reading reviews decided to pick this place for my Sunday breakfast. For sure I won't go back.

Posted hours said open until 2pm. We arrived at 1:20 and were told "we are closed". People were still seated and eating. I guess they didn't need the business. Bad business model for sure!