Mel & Fayes Diner
| Address: | 31 Highway 88, Jackson, CA 95642, USA |
| Phone: | +1 209-223-0853 |
| Site: | melandfayes.homestead.com |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | 5AM–10PM 5AM–10PM 5AM–10PM 5AM–10PM 5AM–11PM 5AM–11PM 5AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
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Thomas Scofield
Mel & Fayes diner (we just call it Mels) has been with us in the California foothills as long as anyone living can remember, and is a real mainstay in the community. That is to say, Mels is a "known quantity". They do now, and have always had excellent food, reasonably priced, and a casual relaxed local atmosphere. Mels always hires bright, energetic, friendly, and professional folks to usher you through your dining experience as they gracefully manage to serve a positively buzzing dining room, all clad in black t-shirts festooned with bling angel wings in the usual place that wings go. The burger-centric menu that has changed so little over the decades, they still have the hand painted Mel & Fayes Diner menu that was featured on the exterior wall from the days when roller skating waitresses delivered to the parking lot right there on Highway 49 and the restaurants mascots were a pair of hilarious anthropomorphic amorous monkeys (comically representing the married human owners, Mel and Faye Gillman). Now if youve watched enough restaurant-rescue shows on TV, you may associate a virtually unchanging menu with a lack of inspiration or ambition. The fact of the matter is, their no-nonsense menu was never broken, and consequently required no trifling when the restaurant passed into the hands of the next generation of industrious Gillmans (Bart and Maura) and the expanded new location about 100 feet from the original drive-in diner. So the food, thankfully, remains reliably excellent at Mels now, as always. My 85 year-old Dad and I do the family shopping every Wednesday in Jackson and every Wednesday we go to Mels for lunch. Weve been doing this for ages and have been roundly impressed every time. I can say without equivocation or reservation that we love that place and the food and the people that work there and are dedicated customers based on years of merit, "Moo-Burgers© ", and angel admiration. In fact, the one and only time we were less than satisfied occurred a several years back, when my Dad ordered fish and chips. It came to the table looking rather sad (soggy previously frozen fish with similarly tragic fries) and delivered consistent sadness to the extent that I had a bite just to see how unfortunate that dish was out of curiosity. It was, indeed, the exception to the absolute rule of high quality, though and a performance that was never ever repeated. It was in the spirit of being thorough that I mention that day at all and we suspect there was a flustered new kitchen trainee responsible for the anomaly. Every other experience (hundreds of times in 40+ years) was all it should be, and to be fair, we never spoke a word of it to our waitress , so Mels never even knew about that single instance. Since that day we dont order that item, because after trying everything on that menu, there are just so many better options we KNOW we will love. At its heart, Mels is a classic American diner, in the proper tradition of quality diners befitting an iconic name like "Mels" (think American Graffiti). It is very popular for the all right reasons , and it bears repeating - we really enjoy Mels delicious burgers/fries and love our fabulous waitress in that clever restaurant every Wednesday and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Come to think of it, we probably should give the fish and chips a chance for redemption soon. You know, just to satisfy some aging curiosity...
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Tammy Lozano
I booked my Sons rehearsal dinner with Maura for the banquet room for 10/21/16. Maura worked with me continuously throughout the months prior to this event. I had many questions and concerns to make sure this special event went smoothly. Whether I called her or texted her, she answered me back right away each time. We worked together on the menu to come up with something special for the big event. I cant begin to say enough about the food, it was absolutely perfect! Everything we discussed she implemented to perfection! The ribs were the best I had ever had and all of the guests felt the same way. We had even discussed doing a special milkshake for my Son (peanut butter is his favorite) and my daughter in law and she remembered that as well and had them ready for them when dinner was served. We went over the table settings and decorations constantly and she implemented every single thing we discussed to the T! I can not say enough about Maura, her ability to recognize how important this was, her patience and expertise that she put into everything she did for me. This was a fantastic event for myself, my Son and the entire wedding party and I couldnt be happier about the way everything turned out! If you are looking to have a large party or banquet, you cant go wrong with Maura (Mel & Fayes Diner), you will not be disappointed!
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A Private User
Ive been coming here for many years and love this place. The menu is a traditional coffee shop menu, though there is a turkey burger, and western chicken sandwich which are my favorite. If you are calorie counting, order the turkey burger with no mayo - it comes with a salad instead of fries. Recently I had the Prime Rib, boy was it good - huge though, be prepared to share with someone, or dont eat the day before, there is a huge piece of meat and a huge potato. Avoid the "vegetables" though, they are nasty! Frozen, overcooked and tasteless! It is very noisy here, since they are always busy, so I try to eat in the lounge where it is a bit quieter (during the day at least). If you are looking to dance on a Friday or Saturday Night, the lounge, BGs is a fun place to go. Like anything else, so much depends on the customers that happen to be there at the time. I have had great times at BGs and not so great times, but overall it is a go to place for locals to hear live music and go dancing.
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Michael Neel
This was a true disappointment. We came here on a recommendation from locals about the great food, service. portion size. and quality. The blackened New york I got was very thin and did not look nor taste like a New York cut. I ordered Medium Rare, they served up a slightly pink, dry chalky slab. The blackened seasoning they used was highly overpowered by a lavender or tarragon. The green beans that came with were truly the worst I have ever had. They were rubbery and cold. Like a can of green bean medley, drained and left on the counter for a few days. The baked potato and salad bar I have no problems with. My wifes french dip sandwhich was a disapointment as well. Small dry meat with poor au jus sauce. They did give us free dessert and discount the bill 20%. So They made it good I guess. But I will not be returning.
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Robert Garcia
Great place great atmosphere could be the friendliest place in town. 4.5 $tars. Great value. I ordered off the senior menu number one because I can, and number two I wasnt that hungry... the portion was huge n prepared to perfection. I will be adding this place to our stop on monthly trek to the Bay. Bring your friends! The only reason its not getting 5 Stars its because its a casual place and it wouldnt be fair to the fine dining establishments.
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Virginia J
Great little countertop seats for solo folks as well as a more traditional seating area. Waffle with fresh strawberries and local ham was amazing, especially the ham. Very reasonable prices - about $6-$10 for most items and I saw some pies in the cooler for $2.99/slice that I will definitely be back for. Sweet and friendly service.
