Melt Bar and Grilled

Delicioussss. Definitely not the healthiest but still yum. Many vegetarian /​vegan options. Favs so far at the peanut butter banana and the vegan good burger! If you’re looking to dine in you’re looking at a good long wait for a table. Best to order take out from here honestly just because of how ridiculously busy this place is. Pictures are of the vegan good burger.

It used to be impossible to get into this place … unless, of course, you had a certain hipster look and a Melt tattoo (you get a discount if you have one). We’d go in, request a table, and get scoffed at. «We’re full up … better luck next time, guys,» the host would say, summarily dismissing us. We’d head up the street to a different establishment. One place, Two Dads’ Diner (may it rest in peace), greeted us on our first visit with, «Couldn’t get into Melt?»
This improved after Melt opened a few more locations. We’ve since tried it twice, and I guess our previous, futile attempts to get in here were all for naught, as we’ve decided it is not for us.
On our second and more recent visit, which was only prompted by a gift card we received for Christmas, we were really disappointed. I ordered a kindergartner, salad and tomato soup. The sandwich was bland and tasted like it had been deep-​fried in lard. The sandwich was on the same plate as the salad, which they drowned in dressing to the point that the bottom of the sandwich was sopping wet. The soup tasted like leftover, pasty marinara sauce. My husband ordered the Parmageddon and found it dry and heavy.
We would have liked to point out our disappointing meals, but our server could not be bothered with us at all. He walked by us multiple times, more interested in his other tables. It was a struggle just to get our bill, and he didn’t really notice that we barely touched our meals.
The restaurant itself was really dark, probably intentionally so you can’t see how filthy it is. We left feeling cheated, disrespected, dirty and nauseous.
I do not get the hype about Melt at all. Since they obviously don’t want our business, we won’t give them any more. Both Burgers 2 Beer and the Detroiter across the street are better options, with better-​prepared food and friendly service.

We had the Dude Abides and the Purple Parm. Delicious and huge! Fries were awesome as well

Decent dining experience, a little slow on peak hours. Good beer selection.
HORRIBLE carry-​out service. Just got a sandwich from them (asked for banana peppers on the side rather that on the sandwich). 5^th time in a row they have failed to do so. Unless I am looking to sit down and eat there, I am done ordering from them.

Yum… everything on menu is a winner! Awesome sandwiches & great fries. I did try May’s special «street corn», made with cilantro, lime, special cheese… fantastico! Ambiance is laid back, very nostalgic décor & soft lighting. Hospitality was very friendly & welcoming! Which we all know, hospitality is half the pleasure of dining out… shout out to Bean, our awesome hostess. #satisfiedcustomer

Traveled here while visiting the area. Great concept and executed flawlessly. Wonderful service from the staff.

I haven’t been to a Melt establishment in a few years, and I was nothing short of impressed when I came here last night.
Great service, impeccable food (highly recommend «The Dude Abides») and tasty assortment of craft beer!

Fun place to try for out of towners. I do think the quality of the food has gone down compared to a few years ago. For instance, the bomb turkey and teenage mutant turtle pizza roll melt don’t taste the same as they used to, and that is dissapointing. I feel like they changed the recipe to make it easier on themselves. Maybe they are making more things ahead of time now. I don’t really know. But if you are an out of towner you dont really have the advantage of my years of eating these sandwiches to know that so you will probably think everything is amazing.
I do like to try the new sandwiches. But my favorites are the big popper and the (old) bomb turkey.
I do have to say their customer service rocks. For take out and in house. I like to sit at the bar. It’s really chill and the bartenders are great. Im really into their Mixed drinks. Very good. I love it when things are muddled and their cocktails have a certain degree of muddling and always taste great. Late at night after the kitchen closes, this is a great place to hang out. Probably the coolest ambiance in lakewood for a drink at night. And the younger drunk crowd is non existent here. So that’s cool. Its a good place to catch up with a friend or have a date or just relax by yourself.

This place has been generating a lot of buzz, so wanted to try it out.
I did not see any parking lot so we parked on the street.
Inside, the wall decorations remind me of an Applebee’s. There are old soda and beer signs and a large number of photos of Cleveland sports teams.
There was a 15 min. wait for a table so we sat at the bar. There was one bartender working responsible for serving food and drinks to people at the bar, making drinks for people sitting at tables in the dining room and she was also waiting on tables in the bar area. As a result, getting our order taken took too long.
The menu has a few salads but people come here for the sandwiches. They must have 25 different kinds! Their craft beer selection looked very decent as well.
When the food arrived, my ½ Hot Italian sandwich was tasty and filling.
So the food was good and the service poor. Perhaps someone called in sick.

This place and the food they served me was awesome. The sandwiches were huge and the contents high quality. I had the Mushroom melt. They have a nice selection of craft beer. Loved it!

I wish I understood the hype behind this place. I just can’t get behind it. I’ve tried three times and have been unimpressed. The employees are not friendly, by any means. The sandwiches are huge and so greasy… I personally do not enjoy having different meats and vegetables thrown onto my grilled cheese sandwiches, but I keep trying different sandwiches in the hopes that maybe I will find something I like. The wait time is always outrageous. Each time I’ve waited over an hour. They do have pretty good beer selections, so at least they have that going for them.
I feel like there are so many other unique restaurants in the cleveland area to try out before coming here. Plus the other restaurants will probably appreciate their paying customers. That’s just my thought though.

This is it. This is where you go if you want amazing grilled cheese sandwiches. You found it.
I got the kindergarten throwback grilled cheese with extra cheese and bacon. The bread was sweet, fluffy and amazing. I don’t like fries, but I got those too with a sweet aioli… They were amazing. My friend Pur’Tonya got tomato soup to dip her sandwich in. The soup was chunky, cheesy, savory, and delicious. She couldn’t finish all her food so I finished it for her… For my country.
We got the fried Twinkie to make sure we ate as unhealthy as possible. Let it cool down a bit… You’ll taste more of it.
The service was freaking amazing. Eric with the awesome spiked black hair gave us a warm welcome and our server was epic as well. Everyone was so kind and helpful. Maybe the sharp cheddar got to my head… But I’m pretty sure I want all of them to marry me. Everyone that works here. Yeah, the chefs too. I don’t care about your political or religious beliefs. This is America, I should be allowed to have an amazing marriage ceremony with everyone who works at «Melt.» Why are you stopping me?
Enjoy your food. I wish I was you, discovering it for the first time again. God… I’m so jealous of you right now.

Went here while visiting my daughter, we just got a basic grilled cheese, soup and salad to share. The soup and salad were pretty great but their sandwich was just okay, nothing too spectacular there. Decent service, again nothing all that great though. I would recommend them if you want a good soup or salad or maybe more of a special sandwich.

This used to be a 5 star shop.
I miss what it used to be. Prices went up and quality went down. No more slaw. Fries are now frozen, not fresh cut. Many of the best sandwiches and salads (and dressings) are no longer available. It’s as if management hired a consultant who instituted a traditional chain restaurant philosophy of cutting quality and increasing prices once your name is established. It’s still tasty food, but nowhere near what it used to be.

Waited about 40 mins for a table but the place was absolutely packed. service was excellent! wife got the 1\2 godfather, son got mighty Mac and cheese 1\2, and I got the Korean war pig. and fried pickles with a spicy sauce that was even good on the homemade fries everything was delicious and our drinks never went empty. would recommend anyone in Lakewood or the the other 2 locations in Cleveland if you have the time and are hungry for a massive sandwich melt is definitely the place to go.

One of my hobbies is to visit restaurants that have been featured on Diners, Drive-​Ins, and Dives. I was so excited to find out that Melt was in my area. My friend and I were so determined to try it that we waited 2 ½ hours just to get in. (It’s not normally that bad.)
Nowadays, it is my favorite restaurant. My go-​to is the Chicken and Waffles with the Buffalo Chicken Chowder instead of fries. I never hesitate to try the sandwich of the month. I have never been disappointed with anything I’ve tried on the menu.
You have to at least try it once!

Melt Bar and Grilled is a root in the Cleveland food scene. (No, no! The Root is just down the street! Where you go for coffee during your extensive wait at Melt. Yes, Melt is a bit overwaited, if you will.) How can you Not love a place like this? It’s good and really cool and the only requirement for food is that it has cheese and it’s between bread. And it looks like the only requirement to work here is that you’re any form of frownless ruffian.
I got the Parmageddon, which is a sandwich made up of BREAD and POTATO PIEROGIS and with a massive side of FRIES. I have NO IDEA why I chose a meal full of nothing but carbs and starch the day after my huge Christmas food inhalation. (I know, I know! This is late! Sometimes I lack inspiration and a month later the review ends up looking like this.
)
Well, I see I’m running out of space…

So, turns out checking into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on FB proves to be really beneficial at times– a couple of coworkers who are from the Cleveland area immediately texted me and said, «You have to go to Melt! afterwards!» This place serves some of the biggest grilled cheese sandwiches I’ve seen– not to mention some really good flavors combinations! I got their chorizo and diced potato option-​thick pieces of perfectly grilled bread held together a really delicious combo of chorizo, diced potato, and cheddar. My mom, who is a big salad fan, ordered their fried chicken salad which comes with a really awesome Sriracha/​ranch dressing– she was able to get the fried chicken swapped for non breaded, shredded chicken without a bat of our servers eye. On top of this, our service was fast! And friendly! I don’t think we waited more than 15 minutes from the time we ordered to when our food came out. Melt also does a mean take out business– I saw numerous cars pull up and people running out with bags of food during my meal.
Now, Melt also wins some points for being fully veg/​vegan friendly– all of their sandwich options which can be made as such are listed on their menus. I am not vegan (hence my love affair with chorizo), but it was nice to see this as an option while staying in Erie.

Do you like grilled cheese sandwiches? I like grilled cheese sandwiches. If you like grilled cheese as I do, you will really like Melt. Like me.
They offer so many different grilled cheese combinations your head will spin. I highly recommend looking at their menu online before going, so you have a clue as to what you might want. I kicked it old school at got a Kindergarten, which is just a plain grilled cheese. Ok a bit boring (esp. compared to the rest of the menu) but I wasn’t super hungry, plus I was mid road trip and really didn’t need to be in a food coma all the way back home to Chicago. Anyway, I enjoyed my sandwich, but the cheese could have been thismuch more melted. The place is called Melt, right? So hey, let’s melt. But this is a minor complaint.
These sandwiches are pretty huge… unless you really want to put down some chow, go with the half sandwich. Sandwiches come with some tasty fries, and an optional pickle. Further, if anyone is vegan, they have vegan cheese; if anyone is gluten-​free, they offer gluten-​free bread. Melt also offers soups, salads, and appetizers.
I was quite delighted to see the Burger Time video game in the waiting area. Anyone else remember that? I sucked at it, but if I was 11 and had a quarter, it was surely going in some video game, and Burger Time was in my rotation for sure. Now, if I see the Journey video game the next time I go to Melt, I will bump to 5 stars. And then some.

I’ve been here many times and somehow have never written a review. I just can’t justify giving them anything less than five stars. Since Melt started there have been restaurants trying to do the same thing that have opened, but Melt is still the best of the best when it comes to grilled cheese.
They have a nice variety of delicious sandwiches in addition to grilled cheese options. I like that they have Cleveland staples like The Parmageddon (pierogis and kraut). I have to have my pierogis when I’m in Cleveland. The monthly specials are always interesting as well.
Even though it seems like a greasy, diet busting stop it does’t have to be. They also offer many of the sandwiches in half sizes. The half sizes with fries would be plenty for most people. The only sandwich not offered in halves would be the monthly specials. I also love the Half Combo with is half of a Kindergarten (straifght up grilled cheese with choice of cheese), soup, and salad. As boring as it sounds the Kindergarten with cheddar is my favorite.
Seating can be tight during main meal times so I try to go at off times (think lunch at 11 or a meal in the middle of the day instead of dinner time. If main meal times aren’t avoidable then rest assured that the wait will be worth it.

I would literally open a franchise back in my home town of it were an option. I even asked about it when we were visiting. I’ve heard soooo many people rave about Melt… I even have friends who have gotten a Melt tattoo (apparently it gets you a 10% discount for life).
As soon as you walk in, the atmosphere reminded me of a nicer, cleaner version of our favorite dive bar/​restaurant at home. Our service from start to finish was awesome!
The food… just amazing. My husband and I each got a sandwich and swapped halves. Honestly, I don’t even think we touched the fries… just too much goodness in the sandwich, there was seriously no room in any spot of our bodies.
The only downside was our pierogis. The taste was great, but it was like $ ⁷⁄₈ for 3 pierogis. Maybe that’s totally average, but I’ll skip it next time, and there WILL be a next time!

Melt is delicious! I wish I lived closer so I could try all the sandwiches! I had the waken bacon and I was a little disappointed because it taste like a breakfast sandwich. I don’t know what I had expected but I had hoped it would have had a little «flair» to it. (Maybe a homemade sauce or something)
The décor is cute! It’s pretty much a combination of music and my grandma’s basement. Music art, pictures of the city, Halloween decorations, right next to the giant Santa Clause and some graffiti.
They also have half sandwiches in most of the sandwiches so it’s a nice lunch portion.

I’ve had this place bookmarked since I saw it on Man v. Food. When one of my friends recommended it, it was just another sign that I needed to check this place out. The only thing is — it’s not exactly in Cleveland. It’s about a 20 minute drive out of the city, so if you have a car, that’s fine. There’s plenty of parking. But if you have to take a cab or public transportation (if it even goes there — not too sure since I’m not from around town), then it’s not really worth it.
I had the Cleveland cheesesteak (braised pulled beef brisket, garlic mushrooms, sautéed onions & peppers, rosemary onion aioli, provolone). It comes with a side of fries but since we were already getting Hangover Fries (hand cut fries, seared pork belly, mozzarella cheese curd, rich gravy, fried sunny up egg & scallions), we subbed it for a soup for an extra $ 2.
The Hangover Fries is exactly what is sounds like. Or at least how I would imagine it — kind of like how you mix too many different types of drinks the night before, that don’t belong together. It’s a similar situation here. Everything sounded like it would taste good together, but it just didn’t mesh well for some reason. It was too much. I think if I ate these during an actual hangover, I would probably vom.
But back to the sammies. The first few bites are good. Everything is packed with flavor. But then when everything starts falling apart, and the sauce is a bit much is when you start getting nauseous. It’s one of those foods where you first eat it and you love it. But as you eat it more, you almost kind of hate it. I’m not saying I hate it. It wasn’t that bad but it was just too heavy for me, which I was expecting. The roasted garlic tomato soup that I got, tasted like they poured tomato soup out of a jar.
My boyfriend had the Might Macaroni (macaroni & cheese battered and deep fried, layered with cheddar cheese sauce & your favorite Melted cheese). This again was too much for a sandwich. But I think it would be good as an appetizer (I think they have mac and cheese bites, which is probably the same thing). He wanted to add garlic as an add-​on but they said they only had garlic powder, which was kind of weird… how are you going to count that as an «add-​on» and then charge the customer $ 2 for some seasoning? Made no sense so he opted out of it. For his soup, he got the buffalo chicken chowder (creamy spicy soup with pulled chicken, blue cheese, celery, carrots & banana peppers). I liked this soup the best out of everything we ate. Surprisingly, it wasn’t overly creamy.
Our waitress wasn’t too attentive, but she was really nice. My boyfriend was about to order a full sandwich until she suggested that a half would be more than enough. So I’m glad that Melt isn’t just out to hustle their customers (you know, garlic powder situation aside).
If you’re nearby, maybe get half a sandwich to share. But fair warning — you WILL feel like a greasy bear afterwards!

Why 4 stars? Because it’s an experience, but I might be too old for it.
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Something has happened in the last couple of years: my stomach just can’t handle a ton of fried food anymore. I used to be able to consume an unlimited amount without repercussion. Now there’s oh, so much repercussion.
My previous visit to Melt was only 2 – 3 years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. But this go-​around, my body punished me for eating half of a sandwich.
My recommendation for people visiting Cleveland: order 1 grilled cheese per 2 people. Don’t feel like less of a man (or woman) for not being able to finish even half, especially if you’ve surpassed your 30^th birthday.
If you’re reading this, and regularly put down an entire Monte Cristo by yourself… then you’re a real hero and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

This place never disappoints! Every time I’m in Cleveland I have to come here. I wish they would expand to other cities. Its incredible.
What makes their sandwiches amazing is the quality of the meat. Always proportioned well with sauces and bread. The meat is high quality and comes in thick slices that are not tough and chewy like other establishments. You can actually bite into your sandwich without pulling all of the meat out. Not to say the sandwiches aren’t messy though. I always feel like a killed an entire tree because of the amount of knapkins I use.
Love this place. Glad to know I can still count on coming here for an absolutely delicious meal

A sandwich joint that makes other sandwich joints irrelevant! O.M.G. the BEST hot sammich EVER!
Ordered a Cleveland Steak and Cheese, minus the garlic mushrooms because fungus and I ain’t good together, and it was melted sammich heaven! No kidding… hands down the BEST of the BEST I have ever had!
Daughter ordered the Chicken and Waffles and told me, «This is the best sandwich I have ever eaten!»
Son ordered the Wet Hot Buffalo Chicken w/​no slaw and blue cheese dressing instead of ranch. WOW! This 11 yr old boy has become quite the blue cheese taste tester and reported the ‘house made’ blue cheese dressing the best he’s ever had! My husband confirmed, upon tasting it himself, that this was indeed fact. Cannot buy dressing, per se, but we bought 2 sides of it to bring home to Chicago.
Husband had the Bushman, declaring it delicious! The sandwich was double decked and he hadn’t expected that, but amazingly constructed with a fantastic taste!
Our littlest guy had chicken fingers and actually ate them up, which is truly high praise because this kid rarely finishes an entire meal.
My 11 yr old wants them to open Melts in Chicagoland, but my cholesterol couldn’t handle having it so close! Melt, however, is a must if you’re visiting Cleveland! So glad I took the advise of a coworker and ventured out to get it!

This local spot in downtown is a staple, it definitely does not lack in character. From the moment you walk in, there are curiosities from floor to ceiling and everything in between.
If you’re coming with a friend, you can share a sandwich because the portions are enormous. We had the Parma Italy and it was delicious– with its Texas toast, juicy chicken, melted mozarella and marinera– everything was on point, except the service, the waitress lacked attention to detail and seemed like she’d rather be somewhere else.
Definitely a great spot to check out in Cleveland with a great beer selection. Cheers.

My husband, daughter, nephew and I came to Ohio for a weekend. We saw the reviews of this bar and made a stop. My daughter ordered Cleveland cheese steak and asked for gravy on her fries. My nephew ordered the Backyard BBQ. My husband ordered chorizo and potato. I ordered the Dude Abides (meatballs, marinara sauce and mozzarella wedges).
Let’s just say unless you came here straight after being rescued from a deserted island, you won’t have room for appetizers AND a meal. You get a lot of food!
I am unsure about those who gave this place anything less than 5 stars. They must have come on an off day.
Dinner and drinks for four adults was under $ 70.
This is a highly recommend place from me. The staff was very friendly and attentive and extremely down to earth. They have 3 locations.