Melissa’s at 407 Main

Excellent service, friendly staff. Menu changes every week or so. Duck over risotto was great, especially since it was boneless! The PEI mussels appetizer was super fresh and oh so tender and were enough for two, but I splurged and ate them all myself. Nice cocktail and wine list. Separate bar area has live music on Friday/​Saturday, plus the small dining area is understated elegance with white tablecloths. Finished it off with crime brule

Cocktails were absolutely some of the best we have had. I had a delicious cucumber line martini. My sister a Cosmo.
The food and service were excellent. We started with a flatbread of Parma, fig and goat cheese.
We decided to do starters rather than entrees. Crab cakes and fries. Mac n cheese and charred asparagus. Everything was yummy.
We are making plans to return. Next theater night in Boston.

I am amending the review from 2 stars down to 1 star. I just received a very snide angry message from owner when a apology would have been welcome. BTW she even got my name wrong.
I wrote my review without reading the reviews from JoAnne and Annoyed and gave the place 2 Stars (they gave it a 1 star and I left a more than 15% tip despite the lack of service. The owner needs to listen to the reviews rather than cop an attitude, this could be a great spot but no surprise it has been mostly empty both times we have been there despite it being in the same block as the theater.
Original review follows.
This is a small cozy local spot with aspirations beyond its actual capacity. The food was a 3+ stars with the swordfish a bit over cooked and the risotto (a great benchmark meal) so loaded with salt that no other taste can be discerned. So why two stars?
But the real issue is the service, or lack. We arrived before 6:00 and they knew we had 7:30 tickets for the nearby theater. There were more waiters than occupied tables (just we and another at first and 2 more when we left). I ordered an appetizer and my date a salad. The salad arrived in 15 minutes I waited 10 more minutes for the appetizer and then spoke up 15 minutes later I had consumed all the bread in sight and canceled the appetizer so we could move on to the main course. They could have just admitted «we forgot» and apologized. No matter a few moments later the appetizer was delivered (no charge). Soon after the main course arrived which allowed us to order dessert at 7:00 at 7:20 it had not yet arrived and we gave up on and canceled dessert, paid the check and just made the theater in time.
Bottom line, with a near empty resterant and s full staff and knowing we needed to be out in just over 90 minutes they could not manage 3 course (my date got 2 courses while I got just one)
Might just have been a bad night for them, but for certain not a great start for our night. All that said just $ 30 each (not including tip) which is about right.

Food here is fantastic. One of the best meals my husband and I have had in a long time. (And he was skeptical going in– he was convinced we’d be better off in Boston– not so!) Short ribs and filet mignon were absolutely delicious. The prosciutto flatbread appetizer was light, tasty and fresh. The live music was amazing. The guitarist /​singer covered everything from Ed Sheeran, to Elton John to Rob Thomas to the Eagles. Cozy ambiance as well. Highly recommend.

Let me start by saying that this is the first bad review I have ever written. I really wanted to prove «Annoyed C.» wrong on the negative write up noted below… but last night a friend and I went to Melissa’s to celebrate National Wine drinking day (hehe). It was 7:15 on a Thu. night and the place was basically empty other than a couple dinners in the back and a few regulars at the bar. We sat in the lounge area near the windows.
To start, the wine list is non-​existent — house wine and a bottle or 2 of basic (cheap) wines. That is ok – I am not a wine snob. We ordered a bottle of Malbec. It was fair. My friend ordered the Shrimp and Scallop Scampi, and I ordered the Swordfish with mashed sweet potato and asparagus.
Dinners arrived. The Scampi looked more like soup than anything else. It was served in a shallow bowl and was absolutely swimming in water. The scallops looked steamed. My friend was very gracious and said it was ok. Later on a waiter/​bus boy came by to see if everything was ok, and I asked if he could drain the water off her dish. He did.
The swordfish was on the menu as «blackened», but it appeared to have more of brown «crust» on it. Nothing like anything blackened I ever had before. It was a very thick and generous cut. When I tried to cut into it, it was like a brick! Definitely frozen, as a matter of fact there were raw spots here and there. Totally inedible. I tried tasting it and it was horrible. I was shocked that anyone would ever let dishes leave a kitchen like that!
The only positive was the waitress. She tried her best to make it better. She immediately brought me a menu to order something else, but I was really afraid to and had lost my appetite.
I ended up ordering the Mac and Cheese, which unfortunately was swimming in way too much cheese sauce (and I love me some mac and cheese!) and the pasta was not working with it.
This was our first and sad to say last time at Melissa’s Bistro. It seems they have just given up on the place. Their website is down and if I were them I would not put it backup.

Who told this chef that he/​she can cook??? The worst meal of the year. Salad was soaked in vinegar. Salmon was overcooked and woody tasting. Salmon is one of the easiest things to cook! How can you mess that up? And risotto… Oh dear, the risotto was truly inedible. I suggest the chef visits some North End restaurants to see what the risotto should taste like. Furthermore, every single dish we had was over peppered and salty. Have you not discovered any other spices or herbs? Pepper is not going to cover your bad cooking. We came to taste the food, not the pepper.
Service was awfully slow, inattentive and unfriendly. The dining room is narrow and the tables are like one foot apart.
I am surprised by many positive reviews, but then they are mostly from people who bought dinners via Groupon. A good restaurant doesn’t need to sell on Groupon, but that’s the only way this one can fill up. Absolutely NOT recommended.

Clearcut 5 starts, no ifs ands or buts about it! My entire family loved their meals, and my father said the haddock was the best he’s ever had. The staff was extremely friendly and highly attentive. The bread was great too. Will definitely be returning soon

Returned after two year hiatus. New bar menu is wonderful and very reasonably priced. Felt like having a cheeseburger and shoestring fries with my usual Bombay Sapphire martini (s). Perfection! Sat at the bar. An enjoyable experience. Might be a regular hang. It’s that good.

I’ll start by saying this review is a year late in coming. We showed up one evening admittedly without reservations, that’s where things went downhill. We were treated like more of a burden than a potential customer. After an exceptionally long 20 minute wait to be seated we were crammed into very uncomfortable lopsided table and waited another 20 minutes to put in a drink order. Our waitress was completely overwhelmed and was bothered that we were there without reservations stating that all of the other people with Groupon’s come with the reservations. We advised her we do not have a Groupon and that we were just walking by and decided to stop in. We waited 45 minutes for our meal. The food was mediocre at best, but The real issue was was the surly waitress. Never checked on us, never refilled the water and lacked in the basic tools required to do the job. There will not be a return visit.

We love Melissa’s! It’s a great local place to hang out with your friends. Either in a whole group or just with one person! They have a full bar and music on Saturday nights. Melissa always has a different band or one singer. Who is always good! She definitely knows her taste in music. The food is delicious. I have ordered the margarita flatbread pizza and it was super delicious. I also ordered there cheeseburgers which are made to perfection. The waitress are really nice and it’s a fun social atmosphere.
If you live locally you may bump into friends you haven’t seen in years! Which is always fun. I have had Melissa’s wines and they are delicious to drink. The menus are very affordable. Not expensive at all. You walk in and there is a small cozy room with a few tables and a booth by the door. There is also a back room with more tables. It’s dark and romantic if you and your date like dark places to eat. But not too dark. You can still see what you are eating. In the front room it’s where you’ll see the music band or singer for the night.
Staff is always friendly and very welcoming. We have never had a bad experience when going to Melissa’s! If it’s chilly they will turn down the heat for you and if it’s too warm they will make it comfortable. We started going not only because it was local but because a lot of our friends have been going for a while. Then it instantly became one of our favorite places to hang out at. So definitely go check it out! You will not be disappointed I promise;)

Melissa made our 25^th celebration so special by making my dinner dairy free AND amazing! Not many places will make Risotto without cheese and she did it perfectly. She even added dairy free whipped topping to go with her decadent flourless chocolate cake that just made it have that beautiful blend of creamy with rich chocolate. Thank you for making our night so special!

We had a great time. The restaurant was not as busy as it SHOULD have been. The food and wait staff were top notch. Portions were appropriate and just on that «fancy but not fancy» that I believe people are looking for for a night out. I would say that your best jeans are in order here not too much more, and stay for some music and wine in the bar area after. This is truly a place to spend your evening with your date or the person you just want to have a good time out with.

Had dinner at Melissa’s on a busy Saturday night. We were seated at our reservation time. This is our second time at Melissa’s. Like the first time the food was excellent. We enjoyed the Semonlina Crusted Haddock served over a bed of basil and artichoke risotto along with the Pan Seared Scallops served over a bed of Pumpkin and Spinach Risotto. A traditional Cesar Salad started my dinner. Food was served hot and was excellent. As it was an extremely busy night the service was somewhat slow. Once we were seated it took about 10 minutes for a waitress to get to our table. Once there she was pleasant and friendly. A busy Saturday night had them a bit overwhelmed. Certainly would not keep me away for another try. It was a busy Saturday night and the service was slow.

Their Martinis are the best i have ever had hands down and their food is amazing. The waitstaff are super friendly and i am glad i work right across the street. I like to go there once or twice a week.

Good food, Good service. We both really enjoyed the Duck. Our waitress was very pleasant and reminded me of that friends mother that everyone new. My wife had a martini which was good.
I had a bourbon with ice on the side and this is my only complaint. It came straight up which up until today was new to me, I didn’t realize there was a difference between straight up and neat or that you would shake a bourbon. I was taken back by a $ 14 dollar Basil Hayden that arrived in a martini glass. I usually always order bourbon when I go out and order ice on the side because otherwise you seem to get a glass full of ice and 2 ounces of bourbon.

Broccoli rabbi spring rolls are to die for. Yummy! Everytime I come here the food is heavenly.
Love this place perfect for girls night or date night!
They also have a great martini menu !! Try the ones with the sparkling champagne

5 stars for this place! Firstly the atmosphere and service are terrific! I love the soft lighting, table cloths, low music (actually not even sure there was music). I also appreciate the open kitchen area across the bar.
Okay, now the food, THE FOOD! The food, is excellent, portions are huge and everything i’ve ordered tastes fresh and of course it’s all cooked to order. The desserts are amazing and also super huge.
My only beef, is with the coffee, it’s terrible. I’m hoping they get an espresso machine!
On the weekends, make a reservation. Also, can I recommend seeing a show at the professional live theatre, The Stoneham Stage next door? I’ve seen several shows and am rarely disappointed.
I think Melissa’s Main Street Bistro is the best restaurant in Stoneham. They are in the process of expanding and I’m thrilled!

Went there with a party of 4. Had the PEI Mussels, Vegetable Flat Bread, Prosciutto and Asparagus and Calamari.
The best of the four was the Mussels. The flat bread was sweet, the prosciutto was over cooked and the Calamari was soggy.
Onto the Entrees: Had Swordfish. Seafood Fra Diavlo, Lobster and Shrimp and the Filet Mignon.
The best was the swordfish. Was very tasty, loved the crust. The Filet was good, however the center was raw — a little too thick of a cut I think. The Lobster and Shrimp had very oily pasta it sat upon. Shrimp was divined and cooked well. Oh and with the steak came some glazed carrots — yeah, they were sweet.
They had run out of my Samual Adams beer — so, they lost a star, otherwise they would have recieved 4 stars. The service was very good, the place is clean and the meals were right. Didn’t need any doggie bags, we ate it all.
We had two desserts, I ordered some heavenly chocolate dish that came with some booze in it. wow… too much booze, couldn’t eat it.

This restaurant was quite the surprise!
We started with a Caprese salad expecting slices of mozzarella, tomato and basil. Instead, a green salad with a sliced mozzarella ball. Not bad but not expected.
The main course was linguini Fra Diavlo– spicy, very well prepared — the pasta was perfectly cooked and the seafood was great.
We ordered the cognac (three aged cognacs) but were underserved. The waiter accommodated us once we told him the drinks were underserved.
Overall a good experience. I would recommend it for its main courses. l

Hard to believe I hadn’t heard of this place before, took advantage of a recent Groupon to check it out, and sorry it took so long for us to find it. Our waiter told us they have been there for 12 years!
It was a quiet night, service was very attentive. Nice selection of wines by the glass, and full bottles, and it looks like they have the martini thing down as well, many choices. We ordered a couple glasses of wine, and for our meal, 2 appetizers, the crab cakes, and the sauteed clamari, entrees, the scallops with a bacon and Parmesan risotto, and the Hangar Steak special, with grilled romaine (balsamic drizzle) and Parmesan truffle steak fries.
Warm bread with butter, and bread sticks came first, white french and wheat french breads, and the thin bread sticks were also warm, really good.
Both apps were outstanding, and both healthy portions, could easily be split. There were 2 good sized crabcakes with a tasty remoulade, and a great slaw. The calamari were not your typical deep fried, but were dusted in flour and sauteed, tossed with diced cherry peppers, arugala, and a delicious sweet pepper relish, cooked perfectly, best calamari app I have had.
The Hangar steak was cooked as requested, medium rare, the romaine was a great accompaniment, it was a romaine heart, had a nice grilled flavor, and the balsamic reduction that it was drizzled with, added great flavor. The Parmesan Truffle steak fries, also a home run, though I didn’t really catch the truffle flavor. The scallop dish was 7 or 8 nice-​sized scallops, somewhere between a quarter and half dollar in size each, grilled to perfection, and sitting on top of a really flavorful risotto that was also perfectly cooked.
The Groupon included a dessert as well, and we opted for the flourless chocolate cake, served warm with vanilla ice cream. Needless to say, another home run.
Service was unobtrusive and attentive, including the little things, like clearing your silverware after each course and bringing fresh.
An intimate 24 seat dining room with 5 seats at the bar, (looks like there night be a room upstairs too). Great date night destination, or pre-​show dinner for Stoneham Theater. I’m guessing reservations are in order most nights. Highly recommend, we’ll be back!