Mel's Drive-In

American restaurant · Sherman Oaks

Mel's Drive-In

American restaurant · Sherman Oaks

14846 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

Highlights

Part of a local chain, this family-friendly 1950s-style diner serves classic American comfort fare.

14846 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 Get directions

melsdrive-in.com

$$ · Menu

@eater

"With multiple locations in LA, from Sherman Oaks to Hollywood and West Hollywood to Santa Monica, this enduring ‘50s-style diner serves dishes from morning to late night for hungry students and night owls in need of a hefty meal at an affordable price. Perhaps the vintage look of the restaurants is more appealing than the actual food, but that’s totally acceptable." - Eater Staff

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@eater

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View Postcard for Mel's Drive-In

@eater

"Only one Mel’s Drive-In location remains open at the moment, and it’s in Sherman Oaks where outdoor seating and carhop service is available. Try the hangover helper fresh juice from Mel’s juice and smoothie bar, before getting a pancake short stack, or short rib nachos." - Mona Holmes

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Mr. S (Honest Reviewer)

Google

Fast service and great food. Make sure you have quarters for the music box. I highly recommend stopping here for a bite to eat.

Pravin Prakash

Google

Pretty good diner, though a little too busy with not enough folks working there, so the service was lacking. They have outdoor seating with space heaters. The heater doesn't do that good of a job warming up the area though - we were kinda cold throughout lunch. Ordered a few things at the table. I tried the curly fries, pancakes, and the Mel's Patty Melt. The Patty Melt is super oily, but the meat was good and had plenty of sauteed onions inside. Pancakes were decent and curly fries were good. Coffee was just ok, even for a diner. Overall, pretty good food, but could hire some more people.

Cr Ch

Google

I can’t believe Mel’s diner served me this uncooked fried chicken. I’ve been going here for years and have ordered the southern fried chicken many times. I’m not sure what happened on 3/29/24. This is unacceptable!

Ceara Lee Luna

Google

We've been here a few times, but finally remembering to post a review this time! We sat outside on the patio this past visit because we brought our dog along with us. The outside patio was a cute little space with heaters. The food was delicious as always, and staff were very friendly. The server even told us about his childhood dog so it was a nice connection. I recommend eating inside when you can though because it's a cool old school vibe. Also, the hot chocolate was amazing and a lot bigger than expected!

Henry Farkas

Google

As a fan of the long ago show, One Day at a Time, I tend to eat at Mel's whenever I'm in the neighborhood. The day before yesterday was one of those days. The service was efficient and friendly, and the food, organic and delicious. I had the 4 cheese grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough bread. It was delicious, but it could have been better if the chef had used port wine cheddar instead of ordinary cheddar cheese. Chef, please email me when you make the suggested change in the recipe for grilled cheese sandwiches. I'll come back and re-review the grilled cheese sandwich. I also had a cup of meatball soup. It was outstanding. There's free parking and outdoor seating with a peaked canvas roof. It's entirely open on all four sides, an ideal arrangement during a pandemic. This restaurant is accessible to differently abled patrons. If you're in Sherman Oaks at mealtime, I recommend Mel's Drive-in on Ventura Blvd.

Callie S

Google

Visit 6/18/23 Food was nasty. I’m a foodie and I wanted to try this location because it’s in my neighborhood. When I walked in there was a smell, I ignored it but was still skeptical. Some seats had stains, so I moved to another booth and ordered the garlic fries. The fries were basically store brand bag fries with a few pieces of cheese on them and they had rotten potatoes which I hate! So I ordered the free range country egg’s breakfast🤦🏽‍♀️my eggs were runny, potatoes over seasoned and undercooked the bacon was burnt. I ended up leaving and not paying for anything because I didn’t eat it. I’ll stick to the Hollywood location.

Benjamin Sandoval

Google

I ordered Chili Cheese Fries as an appetizer and ordered the short rib Grilled Cheese sandwich. My partner ordered the Mel's Cheeseburger. The food was pretty delicious. It was fresh, fries were crispy and so was the grilled cheese bread. It was busy so there was a wait but nothing too bad. You can listen to the music playing in the background while you wait! I love the ambience of this place. It just makes you happy. Recommended.

Sharbat Irani

Google

Passed by this place thousands of times I’ve the past decade and never stopped by. I’m happy that I finally did stop! Ordered the Patty Melt with curly fries! It tasted great and fries with ranch really hit the spot! The staff are super friendly and the pictures on the wall and music box at each table gives it a very old school vibe that you used to see in the movies. Place is also kid friendly and they have drawings and coloring pencils for kids. Since the COVID they added an outside seating area which is really nice if the weather is not too hot. I just have to mention the niceness of the staff! They come and actually have a conversation with you unlike most places that the waitress just brings the food and runs off to the next table.