Burger at Mellos Restaurant
Mellos Restaurant
Weekend Brunch at Mellos Restaurant
Mellos Restaurant
Foods from Mellos Restaurant
Comments

2015 Jul 11
The always awesome duo that compose foodieprints.com invited me here on a Friday night to experience Mellos' famous dinner menu. Water was offered right away, kept filled, and the staff were all friendly throughout the evening.

The nightly offerings include several regular items plus a changing selection of specials. We started with a (massive) order of deep-fried Brussels sprouts. These crispy battered balls were the perfect appeasement for our gnawing stomachs. Drizzled with tasty sauces, they visually resembled takoyaki. The actual sprout inside is unseasoned, so I think these are meant to be eaten whole to allow the flavours to combine.

One of the specials that night was a Filipino style crispy pork hock (known as crispy pata). Once I heard that, I really had no choice. What arrived at the table was astounding! Not one plate, but two. An elongated bowl for the giant hock, its skin blistered and crisped, with massive hunks of roast pork hanging from the bone waiting to be dislodged by knife and fork. And a plate with a pile of mushy coconut rice, strips of marinated mango, slices of cucumber, sprigs of cilantro, and a bowl of vinegar-soy adobo dipping sauce with chilis. This is enough food for two hungry people but I ate the whole thing and I'm not even ashamed.

The offerings are truly epic here. The depth of flavour is not what you'd expect at a fancier restaurant, but this is a historic diner (complete with filthy little bathroom) so it would be kind of silly to expect gourmet flavour profiles. I've always loved diners for their simple and unpretentious food. This one skips the simple part but continues the tradition of unpretentious, and I'm okay with that. Mellos is complex comfort food.

Can't wait to go back for the Fried Chicken Club I keep hearing about!

2013 Aug 10
The late night version of Mellos has become my favourite restaurant. Chef Michael Frank has been quietly doing some of the best food in the city since last fall. On a quiet night there's nothing I like to do more than grab my stool near the flat top and talk to Mike about the food. Everyone's super friendly; I kinda feel like I'm Norm and it's my Cheers. Mike is super accommodating and and attentive too. He once walked out from behind the counter to remove the cilantro that the sous chef garnished my plate with because he knows I don't like to eat soap ;) He also did a nine course vegan tasting meal for me and my out of town friends at Christmas for a ridiculously low price.

I can't say enough good things about this place. He changes the menu very frequently so it's hard to comment on any particular item. One of the few mainstays is the burger which is done on toasted sandwich bread and served medium rare. It has a Big Mac quality to it (in a good way) and comes with fries done right!

I've been reading Ottawa Foodies for a long time and signed up for an account earlier in the year pretty much to say good things about Mellos but never got around to it. I couldn't resist gushing once I saw Izzy let the secret out.

2013 Aug 9
Mellos has CHANGED!

I had chocolate orange pistachio ganache covered donuts two days ago, made to order, and a beef quesadilla with garlic crema tonight ... yummy!

Go now for dinner before people hear about the changes! The breakfast crew is style the same.


2012 Aug 3
Date of Visit: July 24, 2012

Mellos Diner is something of a fixture in Ottawa, having been in operation since 1942. I came across it while searching the internet for restaurants prior to my July trip to the capital and it wasn’t until I arrived at the place that I realized I had eaten there some 3 or 4 years ago. As on that occasion, my experience this time was fairly agreeable but not especially memorable…

Meal
Sausage and Egg Breakfast

Overall
Mellos, as one reviewer has already noted, is a true diner. It doesn’t ‘try’ to be so with fake furnishings and decorations, rather it achieves the atmosphere simply by actually just being a diner in the most traditional sense of the word. It is an obvious favorite for some people and, while the food is very plain and not especially exciting, it is simple, hearty, and filling fare at a very reasonable price. For some who venture to visit, it might just become a place to return to again… Rating 3 out of 5

See full review with pictures at: sybaritica.me

2011 Sep 21
Mellos is apparently now for sale!

2010 Oct 9
You gotta love Mellos. Probably one
of the last authentic diner left in
Ottawa if not the last. Great breakfasts
and amazing lunch specials. I sometimes
think that my mom has just served me a
plate. You want good service? YOU GOT IT!!!
Excellent deal for the buck. There's also
one waitress that can really make you feel
at home. She calls EVERYONE honey or sweetheart.
When serving my burger, she even put a smily
face in ketchup on my patty. It sure made my
day and put a bigger smile on my face. Now,
that's service!!! :)

Location: Near Byward Market on Dalhousie
North of York Street.

2009 Feb 1
Well, my folks visited recently, and we had breakfast at Mellos and I have to correct my earlier statement about the bacon in the deep fryer. It was done on the griddle. I didn't happen to see where the sausages went, but I've definitely seen them go down in the basket on previous visits.

2009 Jan 3
Death before Decaf, it's no surprise the bacon was fatty: unless they've changed their ways, Mello's deep fries their bacon AND their sausages. Ham gets spread with a liberal layer of butter (marg?) before being slapped on the griddle.

Mello's is a family favourite, my folks always request a greasy breakfast when they visit Ottawa.

2008 Dec 31
Really good greasy spoon, but maybe a bit greasy... the counters could use a good scrub down. I got the Smoked meat platter and my girlfriend got the bacon and egg breakfast. The hash browns were very tasty, but the bacon was a little fatty (true to form for that style of joint). My sandwich was filled to the brim with meat, so make sure that you're hungry. Unfortunately I thought the fries that came with the platter were undercooked. Everything else was true to form for a diner that hasn't changed much since 1942.



1




1

2010 Apr 28
And monty, don't forget the classic waitress calling everyone "honey" even if she doesn't know them ;-) love it

2007 Sep 25
This restaurant is textbook greasy spoon. Small dingy diner on Dalhousie with a very cheap satisfying breakfast and friendly service.

There's certainly an interesting crowd of people here late at night, those who have been will know what I mean :)

Not to be confused with Mello's Coffee Shop on Merivale.





2015 Nov 1
The server recommends it medium rare and it is the best way to have it! Made with fresh O'brien beef and served between buttered and toasted sandwich bread. Served with shoe string fries. The best burger! (Have it while you can ☹️)





2014 Nov 3
Visited around 2pm on a Saturday with my wife. The breakfast was well executed and tasty -- especially the incredible bacon. The salad was perfect and reasonable at $6.

I also enjoyed my first taste of Cassel Brewery's "Lil' Red Steamer" beer!