Mel's Drive-in

Atmosphere and location can't be beat, although walking here is a bit far from the promenade. Most people drive here and park in the dedicated parking lot. The Milkshake was top notch. In terms of burger quality not bad but there are better options in Santa Monica.

We were looking for a place for an impromptu birthday celebration after 10pm and there were not many places open. I have been avoiding Mel's because it is a bit pricey but we found great service and great food and the server overheard we were having a birthday at the table (we didn't even tell him) and he brought us a piece of cake. Great experience, great service and great food.

I have to say, we were very disappointed. The decor is awesome and the food is delicious. However, in two visits, one at night and the other for breakfast, the service was efficient at best. Neither of our servers seemed to care if we were enjoying our meal. As in, eye contact was a rarity and smiles were non existent. Overall it was just a meal rather than an experience. Given the care, time, effort and obvious expense put into the rehab of The Penguin, you'd think there would be more effort into hiring staff that fit the look of a fun place to eat. Add to that the high cost of food, it's just not quite worth our time or money. We might try it again but there are too many great options in Santa Monica to expend too much energy here.

Best steak and eggs period! Best customer service and best hospitality. The price here is the best and I love the fact that you can watch sports news or current events on the televisions. Colton is a great waiter and takes his time to make sure your order is correct.
The food comes out hot and extremely tasty! I recommend Mel's over everyone else.

Delicious steak and eggs special, arrived at 5:50 am the waitress was nice enough to tell me that she could come back at 5:55 and let me get the special. That saved me over $10! The steak was a perfect medium rare and the eggs and potatoes were delicious as well. Coffee was tasty and my cup was kept full. Great food, open 24 hours and great staff make this a must stop if your in the Santa Monica area.