Mel's Hard Luck Diner

We arrived before 6 pm on a Friday night. There was a line at the door waiting to get inside. There were about 7 parties ahead of us. It was confusing because we thought we had to go to the front of the line to put our name on a waiting list, but when we got to the front of the line we discovered that there was no list. We had to go back to the back of the line and stand and wait. A lady heading up a group of 7 people was grumbling because small parties were being seated ahead of large parties. After about 10 minutes, the grumbling lady and her party got mad and left, but they didn't make a scene. My party of 2 was seated about 5 minutes later. Once seated, one of the servers sang "Hopelessly Devoted to You", not so great, followed immediately by a different server singing "God Bless America", which was fantastic! She even got the diners to join in. Unfortunately, that was the last performance we were treated to. After we ate, I asked our server why no one else was singing, and was told that "they're too busy". I also mentioned it to the cashier as we were leaving, and she said, "That's odd. There's supposed to be a performance every 10 minutes. (After we were seated, we were there for about 45 minutes.) I wonder if Mel's Diner has become a victim of their own success. There are hundreds of places to eat in Branson. We only chose Mel's to see and hear the servers sing. If the servers aren't going to sing, Mel's will be losing a lot of repeat business. For the singing, I only give 1 star. The food was a totally different story. A lot of reviews say the food at Mel's is nothing special, but my wife and I disagree. I had the grilled cheese & ham sandwich, and my wife had a big bacon burger. Both of us had french fries. Both sandwiches were excellent, and the fries were among the best I've tasted anywhere. We'll definitely go again for the food, and hopefully, we'll be able to enjoy more servers performing.

Went for lunch with my daughter & daughter in law. Both live in other areas. The food is always outstanding. I always get the patty melt. Daughters had the veggie burger, wife had chilli and 1/2 turkey sandwich. All were perfect! Of course the entertainment is part of the draw to Mel's and it was very nice! We were too full for desert, so had to skip the banana split...bummer!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food was mediocre. Staff needed a lesson in personal hygiene (the majority looked they had just rolled out of bed) & customer service (they were more concerned with chatting & who was singing next). Coke products & tea. Singing was so loud you couldn't talk to someone at your table. Credit cards accepted.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 2

It's pretty noisy. But they got us in pretty quickly and seated our group of 14 relatively close to each other, Although not all the same table. The food was hot and fresh. The singing was pretty good. The desserts are over the top. I know the prices look outrageous, but the dessert you receive will be equally outrageous.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

50s style diner. Great food. Singing servers.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Have a wild toddler who doesn't like to sit still for meals, this is your place! The staff were so engaging making for a pleasent dining experience for us adults!
Only regret was not saving room for desert because they had so many yummy options.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

The energy here was amazing. Our singer/waitress was incredible (her picture below). Her voice was amazing. She had us laughing with her jokes, smiling with her love, and singing with her songs. She was great. We came here for the experience and ended up being very pleased with the food. Definitely a fun and enjoyable meal!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food was delicious! The dessert was great! The waiter was wonderful! Waiters and waitresses took turns singing for entertainment! Loved the experience!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

GOOD food nice entertainment service very good love the milk shakes nice atmosphere.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The burgers are huge and delicious with awesome fries! Friendly staff that gets up to sing every so often. And sing well! The decor is a feast for the eyes, like a music museum of who’s who!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Everything about this place is amazing. It's fun, welcoming, and overall invaluable. A note to make is that it is a very loud environment. Very. So be prepared. It is also rather expensive. Though the prices are justified by the incredible quality of the food, it may still be outside of the financial comfort zone of many.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Just had Malts and a Sunday, lots in a order, love ❤️ d all the calories, a whole day's worth in a glass.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Really fun. The wait staff sings to you. The food is good and well priced, especially for Branson. We always go once, whenever we're in Branson. The food is more comfort, burgers trip of food. We ordered cheese sticks and onion rings for appetizers, and they were good. We had vegetarians in our group, and they were able to get a couple of vegetarian burger options. I think I heard one say the bean burger option was a little spicy, so order if you like spicy.

We ate at lunchtime today, the Tomato Gouda soup was excellent but the best was Kelly Bryant who is a wonderful vocalist singing Gospel and country. We bought her Gospel stick drive with 6 double cd albums and her country stick drive with 6 double cd albums They are both excellent with many songs we love to sing along with. T he music a compliment is very professional and Kelly has the voice of an Angel. We highly recommend this cafe and especially the music sung by your waitress and waiters. All good but Kelly Bryant ought to have her on show theater.

For those interested in some live singing while you’re eating, this is a great location for both. If you want to go to a place with a fun atmosphere, a loud and partying environment, and very good diner food then this is your place. Plan to sing along and encourage your server. We experienced a great group of customers that all want to enjoy the one and only Mel’s hard luck Diner.