Melt Bistro & Bar

We used to be complete regulars, *ate at Melt all the time,* treated numerous friends to lunch and dinner here, etc.
—– BUT —–
2014 = new menu that eliminated literally every dish we used to order, both of us. The options for a vegetarian are nearly gone completely. Actually, there’s no real food menu at all anymore.
Melt used to have awesome grilled cheese gastropub sandwiches, creative and delicious mac n cheese options, a yummy scratch made black bean burger, sliders, side dishes, etc.
Now they barely have any food at all. The only thing I could eat was a $ 10 slice of cheddar cheese on dry toasted bread. I’m a vegetarian, not a convict.
The music was all late Fleetwood Mac, Heart, and Journey. I’m not a 13 year old girl in 1985.
Sad. Used to love this place and go all the time. Now its just a bar with 1 decent soup, a terrible «menu» with nothing on it, bacon and iceberg lettuce aren’t a menu, and if you don’t drink there’s literally no reason to go. Nice waitresses, but they can’t save it. Not for any of us anyway.
It was a gastropub that could have used minor menu tweaks or ingredient upgrades, but became an extension of The Gypsy up the street.
Come on, Melt. You were so much better than this before 2014.

Today we had a Mom and daughter day date at Melt.
Not being very original but loving cheese too much to not order something with it, we both got their mac and cheese (mine with added bacon). I also ordered a side of tater tots. Not that the orders were large, but the fat content surely was… and we should have just shared 2 items instead of three.
During a weekday, the place was pretty empty, so our service was fast, but I’m told it really fills up on the weekends. I can see why; it’s great location with good-​bad-​for-​you-​food at a much more reasonable price than most restaurants in the neighborhood. I’m also told they also served bottomless mimosa’s on the weekends — in a vast variety of flavors. That’d be a hit with me if I lived in walking distance!
Our server/​cook was very nice, but I was a bit bummed that he charged me $ 5.50 for a small side of tater tots, when I the menu I was looking at said they were $ 3.00. I wish I’d looked at my receipt before I got home, so I could at least ask why I was charged so much, for so little.
Regardless, it’s a really cute place and we had a good time.

Had dinner at Melt last night and here is my take:
The good, the server was attentive and nice (turns our she is the daughter of the owner) — there were only a few people at the place when we were there so it would be fairly easy to give good service.
The not so good: Ordered mac & cheese with chicken sausage (run chicken run!) and a melt burger. Both were very average and not much flavor. The kind of meal where you say, «well at least we ate something so we won’t be hungry» NOT «that was one of the best burgers I’ve had, I will definitely be back!» BTW Dick’s Kitchen is right down the street so if you did want a good burger, you would want to go there.
A suggestion to the Melt owner and staff — read the reviews, summarize what is said, mostly I am reading the food is average quality or worse and the service is poor if it gets busy. Take care of your food first, if it is good, people will come. Then make sure you have the staff at the times you need it. There is a wide variety of menu items, maybe too many? Focus on some signature dishes and do them well.

This place kind of made me sad. It has so, so much potential, but the service is so godawfully slow that I don’t know if I’d ever go back.
During happy hour, the place was 100% full. There was ONE girl on the floor – and the place is small, but not small enough for a single person to take, serve, and clean up after orders for probably around 40 – 50 people between the patio and indoor dining. It’s a seat-​yourself sort of place, too, so it took about 15 minutes for that one person who was working to even notice that we’d sat down and were looking at menus.
The food was great – I have absolutely no complaints about the taste or quality there. The grapefruit spritz martini was not my thing. It tasted like a martini glass full of cheap vodka and not much else.
We used a Unilocal deal and it covered a good majority of our food and drinks for two, so that was nice. Had we not had the deal, I probably would have been very upset to pay full-​price after waiting 15 minutes to order drinks, another 10 minutes to order food, another 20 minutes to get said food, and about 10 minutes after we had COMPLETELY finished to receive the bill.
Please, Melt. You could be so much better than this. Hire a few more people and live up to your potential!

I really wanted to like Melt. In fact, I kept giving this place a chance but I think I’m done with it. It should not take upwards of an hour to receive an order of bacon, eggs, and house potatoes. It simply shouldn’t, especially when a few people who came in after I did got their food within minutes of mine arriving. Also, what’s with the sticky tabletops? And the waitstaff giving a single girl a hard time if she’s dining alone? I know every other table is full of groups and over-​affectionate couples but it’s not a crime to dine alone in public.
I keep thinking of this place as a grungy, greasy spoon for Portland’s hipster crowds. And you know what? That’s exactly what it is. Not my thing, especially when it takes forever for the food to arrive. PASS.

We went in with high expectations… after all, their name is Melt and they have grilled cheese and mac and cheese on the menu. We were very let down! The food was horrible! The grilled cheese consisted of hard bread and unmelted cheese. The mac and cheese was very bland and also lacking in… cheese! Our table happened to look down a hallway where, much to our surprise and disgust, we saw a clear bucket containing cooked pasta, a hot plate with a pot, and a cheese warmer… much like the ones at the ballpark when you get cheese on your nachos! Is this how they make their mac and cheese??? There are many delicious restaurants in the NW area, «Melt» is NOT one of them.

I saw the groupon and decided it would be a good cheap date night. I ordered a Shirley Temple and the Chicken and Waffles. My husband ordered the spicy mac and cheese.
Portions are really crazy here. My dinner was pretty big but my husbands mac and cheese was really small. My chicken was good but the waffles were just okay. I had taste of my husbands mac and cheese and wasn’t impressed with the flavor.
Also the parking situations in the area is really bad. It took so long to find a place to park. We don’t live in the area so we had to drive.

Sat outside for street viewing; nobody took notice. After minutes, we grabbed the menu ourselves. Food took so, so, long, we imagined they had lost the order. Fry cook didnt seem to take any pride when he waved me off after I inquired whether our order was overlooked. With defiant look, mister said «5 more minutes” — -5 more???
Oh man… this is a grilled cheese order, not a Vitaly Paley masterpiece!
Soup too salty, sandwiches that cost $ 8 – 9 should be gourmet… ours looked like an 11 year old prepped them at home on the Foreman grill.
Disappointed in the food… oh well. Can’t win them all.
Inside ambiance casual and cute.

This is place is alright. I wouldn’t say it blew us out of the water but we are kind of on a food mission so feel like we can be a little food snooty. Here’s a tissue. Food was good, prices were decent, service wasn’t anything too special, was kind of out of touch w/​us actually, I wanted another drink but server never asked or suggested anything else, just brought the bill. Cupcakes looked yummy, but probably won’t be back. They did take a Unilocal coupon right then and there which was great. Good place to stop in and grab a quick bite and move on to more shopping!

We tried a couple different cocktails and they were quite tasty. The food is average at best. Kind of bland and I wouldn’t recommend the mac & cheese, but the fries are pretty good. Service was kind of slow, but that’s just because one person was taking orders, making drinks, and possibly even prepping food. He was very busy, but he tried hard. Cute little place. Happy hour looks like it would be a good deal there.

Really wanted to like this place & had high hopes…
On the plus side:
The portion sizes were good, the service was friendly, the wait wasn’t too long & it was a cute little place décor-​wise
The not so plus:
The table we started at & the table we moved to were both sticky… but I think it may have been the surface itself & not a cleanliness issue… still maybe something to think about changing; it does create a certain first impression I would want to avoid if it were my place
The cocktail ordered, Cran Razzy, appeared to have muddled raspberry to the point that you had to chew as you drank, possibly just a personal preference issue on our part
The food was mostly pretty tasty, we ordered the pulled pork sandwich, melt burger, fries & tots… I found a very noticeable tendon or some other ‘part’ in my sandwich that ruined it for me though. I was unable to finish after finding that. I would think that when assembling the sandwich in the kitchen that might have been noticeable & avoided, but maybe not? Ranch seemed to be out of a bottle as well
Overall, I wouldn’t say to avoid the place, but go with certain expectations if you’re on the discerning side

Drink shots were $ 1 each. Not bad, not bad. Mixed girly drinks were rather sweet but good for those who like a rush. Deja-​vu of early college…
My partner and I agreed that the food items were underwhelming, but for the happy hour price, not bad. Still, I’d come for the drinks and conversation rather than the food.
Note to the allergy-​conscious: Molly is an awesome server who answered all my persnickety questions about corn products without missing a beat. Thanks for being awesome :)

While visiting Portland this past April, my niece and I decided to go to lunch and headed out to 21^st street. We decided to check out Melt Bistro & Bar, located at 716 NW 21^st street and settled in at a one of the high top tables by the window overlooking the street which was located to the left of the entrance.
She ordered a sandwich with Turkey, Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, and Swiss Cheese with Melt’s Blackberry Mustard and I got the Patty Melt, an Angus Patty topped with Bacon, Melted Cheddar And Swiss Cheese. It also came with a house salad with balsamic dressing. We also got two midday «adult beverages» — a rum punch and a cosmopolitan… very girlie, I know. However, these «girlie drinks» came with a serious kick. These were not your over-​saturated with sugary mixer kind of mixed drinks. They were top-​shelf (when it comes to spirits, I like what I like, so skipped the well alternative) lightly shaken beverages with a breeze of mixer for flavor. If you are looking to tie a buzz on, these will definitely do the trick!
The sandwich and patty melt were both solid, decent fare — not exciting but not disappointing either — and the balsamic dressing on the salad was lovely and light. The side of fries that came with my niece’s sandwich were pretty excessive (the pile of fries was almost as big as the sandwich) but tasted fine.
While the service was a bit slow, the server was very friendly and quite enjoyable to chat with. He was able to answer all our questions about the menu and made good recommendations. Not disappointed on the service front, at all.
While their menu indicates tapas-​style options it truly appeared to be more American style appetizers than a true tapas offering
However, if you are looking for a place where you can hang out with some friends and grab a decent burger, sandwich, or drink, I think it is worth taking a look at.

This place was so great!
Food: My fiancé and I both got the Melt Burger. She got tots, I got fries. The burger was great! Served on ciabatta bread, meat was flavorful and cooked well, the caramelized onions were perfect: Sweet but still had a crunch to them. My fiancé got the Blackberry Mustard served with her tater tots (a HUGE Portion that came with the burger) and is now a die hard fan. I’m not much of a mustard guy myself, but she’s quite the connoisseur, so I trust her judgment on good mustard… and so should you. I got the fries with my meal… omg, might be some of the best fries in Portland. Very fresh, hot and crispy, with a little skin still on them. These were served in quite a large portion as well with my burger.
Service: The young lady who acted as bartender and server for us was extremely friendly and sweet. We didn’t catch her name, but she had green hair and bangs and quite a few rad tatts. I haven’t been anywhere in a while that had service this friendly, prompt, and helpful. She was a delight.
Drinks: I got the strawberry lemonade cocktail and my fiancé got a drink with Hendricks gin, cucumber, and something else I can’t remember… both drinks were made well and were very tasty.
We will definitely be back. Plus they have a Unilocal deal! $ 10 for $ 20! Who could ask for anything more?

AVOID MOLLEY!
Awful. We saw the great happy hour choices & herd wonderful things but from the minute we sat down our waitress was rude. Never checked on our drinks, had attitude explaining drink specials, couldn’t give us napkins for messy food & drinks. So sad
Would love to come back only if served but another waitress who enjoys her job more then this unbarable encounter we had.

Melt’s happy hour is ridiculously long so it’s pretty much always happy hour there. The food is really yummy, although basic. Their use of «tapas style plates» to describe the menu is a little misleading because it’s mostly your standard American pub fare (but try the stuffed grape leaves — they’re delicious!) And don’t go here if you want a super healthy meal. It is called «Melt» after all.
Food is solid, but the drinks are a different story. The mixed drinks are all pretty cheap, and after ordering a Cosmo I learned why: it tasted like they used the cheapest of cheap vodka that comes in those plastic bottles. You know, like you used to drink in college? Definitely not worth it. Either stick with the beer and wine (or the cider — it was good!) or spring for the «top shelf» booze in your drinks. OR come here after you’re done drinking for the late night munchies… perfect!
One final note: The daily rotating $ 1 menu is for real! We had the mac n’ cheese and it was delish and, from what I could tell, a regular-​sized portion.

Melt is a great place for a low-​key dining experience. At my leisure I was able to explore the options of their Happy Hour menu, which in my opinion is great! Melt offers cheap eats and great service. My bill totaled to be about $ 21 before tip with 3 different portions and 2 drinks. Don’t be afraid to get more! Their fries are awesome!
Check out their daily happy hour feature options! Dollar pretzels every now and then!

Meh.

3.5 stars — When will we ever be able to give halfsies on the stars???
Great service and pretty good food!
I love the location of the restaurant. Off of 21^st street and on sunny days, this area is bustling. I came here for brunch with a friend. The restaurant is on the smaller side but is so cute and has so much character. I love the mini tables along the window outside, perfect for eating outside (if sunny).
Water and coffee is self serve. Servers were very attentive and so friendly! I ordered the Honey Cornbread Waffle which came with fresh seasonal berries, honey butter, maple syrup with bacon. Delicious. The waffle itself had a grainer texture (cornmeal-​y) and was still light and airy. Ate the whole thing. Friend had eggs benedict which looked equally appetizing.

They seem to have rotated the pot roast sandwich off the menu, but the Burnside dip was much better than most French Dips. See, as much as I love roast beef, it’s far from an ideal sandwich food. Too tough to be eaten without a fork.
No such complaints here, plus the sandwicher accommodated my request to chop the onions. Who the hell likes long stringy-​ass onions in their sammiches?
But it didn’t stop there. Red velvet cupcakes. I asked the waitress to not let me forget to order one. Wow. That is a damn good cupcake. The frosting was tangy rather than sweet and smooth smooth smooth.
The fries are awesome. Medium sized a la McD’s and perfectly crunchy, also a la McD’s.
As I type this I’m considering downchecking it to four stars because it’s a bit spendy. $ 11 for a sandwich and pop sounds like a lot, but it’s a sandwich with fries and a pop. I guess that’s reasonable after all. (My bill was $ 13 with the cupcake. The cupcake was good, did I mention that?