The Original Mels Diner — Restaurant in Fairfield

I rarely, if ever review eateries, yet my exceptional experience while I was there has given me no option. Five, maybe even ten out of five stars any day. This Diner’s exceptional quality surpasses any others I’ve ever encountered, and I’m obliged to share how it improved my week. When you pull up, at first glance Mel’s Diner already catches the eye, often allowing ample space to park if you go early in the day when there are few cars. Walking through the front door, the first thing you’ll notice is the 50’s style of tables and decoration and the cheerful atmosphere. Right in front of you is a well preserved and ornamented jukebox. The hanging strands of soft lights and the model planes hanging from the ceiling will cause you to realize you’re at the right place to relax and have a great time. Even though I was born half a century later, the décor causes feelings of nostalgia I didn’t know I had. The customer service is above and beyond, for when I entered I had little time to take in the scene before we were immediately greeted and seated by a bubbly waitress. The best part was definitely the ambience. Mel’s Diner is styled after the years 1945-1955, with signed portraits of famous folk back in the day like Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and James Dean. There are portraits of sweet cars that plaster the walls. The quantity of pictures and everything else to look at is almost overwhelming yet the large windows balance everything perfectly. They have these mini jukeboxes at each table which contain over a hundred songs in it that you can flip through! Because some of the jukeboxes didn’t work, our waitress was awesome and took our song requests when she went back to our table to check on us, and I was able to vibe to “I Get Around” by the Beach Boys. How many other establishments can you go to where you can request music to play overhead, and they’ll actually do it? And that’s before we even ordered! Our waitress was exceptional, authentic, and aware of any potential needs we might have. We were soon offered a choice of drinks by her, which were promptly brought out. The root beer freeze I ordered was beyond description, and scooping the foam from the bottom of the extra metal cup they gave in addition to the glass has forever changed my opinion of ordinary root-beer floats. The menu offers a wide variety, serving almost every kind of American food. We didn’t wait longer than ten minutes before our food was set before us in generous portions, fresh and warm along with a refill on drinks. The juicy burger I ordered was superb, the ingredients complementing each other in a way that cheap fast food can never hope to replicate. McDonald’s better watch out! The mashed potatoes on the side were excellent as well, although the fries were a little too garlicky. Based on the uplifted conversations of others around me I can only assume that everyone in the diner felt likewise, enjoying such splendor. When the bill came, I will admit that it was a bit pricey. The cost nearly caused my wallet to cry. But when I look back and consider the time I had, it was truly worth every penny. But when I compare it to other establishments such as Dennys or Blackbear Diner there is an easy choice for which to choose. Takeout was just another one of its perks. We left, already looking forward to the next time we would visit before we had even exited. I’m not paid to advertise. I just want to share the joy I experienced when I went to Mel’s Diner. There is good, better, and best, and Mel’s Diner is one...

I haven't been to a Mel's in a number of years. We have one in Vacaville but the food and service is just terrible. I was excited to see this new spot here in Fairfield.

First impressions... Got seated really fast and the place was mildly busy. Over heard one of the waitress say they are still waiting for the dinner rush. So maybe we got there just in time.

Victoria our waitress was decent. I ordered a diet Coke and she brought out a regular Coke. Not a big deal... This is actually a common mistake. She brought out a correct drink pretty quick. She was attentive and followed up making sure we where taken care of and refills we good.

From the time we ordered to it being served was not very long. Food was delivered hot and fresh. Didn't taste like it was sitting under a heat lamp for a extended period of time.

I had ordered the meatloaf and the wife had the classic cheeseburger. Meatloaf came loaded with with mushrooms and plenty of brown gravy. Meatloaf was moist with no burnt or hard ends. I ordered a double order of mashed potatoes and they we good too. Vegetables were a bit hard... Probably could have steamed a bit longer but not terrible. Everything was well seasoned. The corn bread was good but a bit cold. That was probably my fault since it was the last piece of the meal I had eaten.

Wife thought her food was good. She didn't care for the fries too much and she couldn't explain really why. Said they tasted a bit off... I tried one and said it has a garlic season too it. So maybe?

The place was well lite and had a great old school vibe to it. Everything looked clean and brand new and that is probably because it is. Really thought the planes hanging from the ceiling was cool.

Only bad thing I can say really is the little juke boxes are cool and all but I don't think they work right. I went to place a quarter into ours and it got stuck... I looked into it so I can either get my quarter back or push it in... It looked like there where several quarters stuck in there. Told the waitress and she said she could get the hostess to play it for us but I told her no thanks. I won't be bothering trying to feed those machines again...

So overall I was pleased with this Mel's and will be back. Glad I decided to give this new...

I went here after watching this place being built and the anticipation building for over a month. We went in and were seated. After a few min we ordered food. I ordered the fried chicken, my wife ordered a crispy chicken salad. I went to check out the place and use the restroom. On my way back to the restroom, i was slipping and sliding on the floor. I noticed that there was a slippery track of grease that was coming from the kitchen door. This had spread all over the areas near the counter seating and was dangerously slippery. I noticed that there were not too many people in the place, not busy really at all. I told the very young female manager about the slippery situation, she did nothing. The food: My fried chicken was over cooked and dry with little to no flavor. I was sadly disappointed. Even with some hot sauce it was still a bit dismal. I only ate about half of the plate. My wifes "crispy" chicken salad was a mess. There was so much water in the bowl it made all the chicken soggy and the breading slid off. At one point we poured the water from the salad bowl into a water glass...it produced about 2 to 3 ozs of water! We gave the cup to the "manager" as well as told her to clear both plates as neither of us wanted to eat the sub-par food. She brought our bill and the salad was still on the check. At the register we spoke to her, and we told her that it was unacceptable to charge us for the watery salad and that she should have just offered to take it off the bill. She was indifferent and seemed to not really know what to do. This was afternoil nly being open for 1 week!!! What a shame! We need GOOD places to eat here in Fairfield...we do not need half efforts from chain restaurants. Get it...