Mel's Drive-In
(415) 227-4477
801 Mission St
San Francisco,
CA
94103
37.7843
-122.4043
Neighborhoods: Central East, SoMa, SoMa (South of Market)
What People Are Saying About Mel's Drive-In
The Editor
Contributor
Citysearch
In Short
It's not the original Mel's that was featured in "American Graffiti" but this vintage-style '50s diner has enough kitsch appeal to keep any nostalgia-hungry baby boomer happy. Blow-up movie stills paper the walls and tabletop jukeboxes pulse with '50s tunes. The Famous Melburger is fairly standard, but the Hangover Five Alarm three-egg omelette with cheddar and chili is a dragon-breath wake-up call. The Elvis Scramble--with chorizo, peppers and Monterey Jack--also hits the spot.
User Reviews
Anonymous
January 07, 2009
Go back in time to a great 50s diner, with everything that you'd expect on the menu and more. Fun atmosphere, great vintage rock and roll tunes and fantastic milk shakes. I love the fried egg sandwich with black olives.
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jeremyliew
October 23, 2007
Pumpkin pie, Custard Pie, Chocolate Cream Pie and Strawberry Shortcake are all good. Handy location for the movie theatres too
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15bigones
November 20, 2006
This restaurant is very disappointing. Avoid it if you can. I'm not sure if the entire chain is like this now, or just this location near the San Francisco Centre. It obviously is aimed at the tourist and convention trade, so maybe the poor quality is a result of trying to keep the tables open to fit in more customers. The food arrives very, very quickly. So quickly that it would seem the dishes are pre-made, not cooked to order. The open-faced hot turkey sandwich had gravy that tasted like grocery-store condensed cream of chicken soup. And rather stale soup, at that. The meat also tasted old, and the bread was slightly stale. The potatoes were not very warm. My dining mate had a french dip that was also not very good, and tasted warmed-over. I had a good experience dining at the Mel's location in Civic Center a few years ago, so maybe that one is better, or maybe the chain's quality has slipped. But I would not pay to dine at this location again. It's too bad, because there's a need for a basic American-style restaurant in the area.
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The Extras:
If you want to go all out, have the lumberjack breakfast, a hearty mix of eggs, pancakes, potatoes and ham served all day.
