Service and Atmosphere
Melt Bar & Grilled on Detroit Road in Lakewood is the small grilled cheese restaurant that started it all. There’s something innately charming about this little gem: the tacky light-up holiday decorations, the small, cozy space, and the quirky artwork and fixtures make it a place you can’t help but to remember long after your visit. You’ll order off a menu that’s on the back of an old record cover, you’ll enjoy cheesy 80’s movies or cartoons playing on the many TVs throughout the bar, and you’ll certainly find some odd decorations that will become an easy topic of conversation during your meal.
If you visit Melt Bar & Grilled during a prime dinner time, especially on the weekends, expect a wait, usually up to three hours. Yes, that’s a long wait, but it won’t have a devastating effect on your evening if you plan accordingly. The wait times are usually spot on, so it’s a great idea to put your name on the waiting list, then hop around to some nearby bars to grab a drink or two before your table is ready. Or, if there’s just a couple of you, try to snag a seat at the bar. The bartenders are always friendly and usually pretty chatty, and it seems like you get your food quicker up there. If you detest a long wait and just want to get your hands on a sandwich, go at an off time, think Sunday at 9:00 p.m. – you’ll score a seat almost immediately.
The service at Melt Bar & Grilled during our latest visit was, as always, great. Our server was attentive, despite being obviously very busy, and she was happy to give us beer samples when we just couldn’t make up our minds.
The Drinks
Melt Bar & Grilled boasts an excellent beer selection–from the ordinary to the completely outlandish, there’s surely enough to keep beer connoisseurs busy for more than a few visits. During our visit, we were pleased to see about 15 beers on tap, and we happily paged through the list of bottled beer, and noted near 100 available choices.
If beer isn’t your thing, Melt Bar & Grilled also serves up a list of cocktails and carries a variety of old-fashioned bottled sodas.
If you’re looking to snag a drink deal, check out happy hour from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and enjoy $1 off all drafts.
The Food
After careful contemplation, I decided on the Wet Hot Buffalo Chicken Melt ($11), ordered as a vegetarian option. In place of the buffalo chicken, I was served a sandwich that had a thick layer of breaded tofu slathered in buffalo sauce. The tofu was nice and crispy from being breaded and fried, and it was topped with a generous portion of blue cheese, a crunchy celery slaw, and a ranch dip. The ranch dip and celery slaw helped cool down the warmth of the buffalo sauce and the entire sandwich seemed well thought out and carefully constructed. It was, in one word, delicious! It’s something that I would be eager to order again in a future visit. My tasty sandwich came served with a pile of hand cut fries which were well seasoned and perfectly crispy, and a side of vinegar slaw which was a nice contrast from all of the other artery-clogging goodies on my plate.
The menu is filled with lots of other mouth-watering sandwiches like The Dude Abides, a combination of homemade meatballs, fried mozzarella sticks, and marinara sauce; and another favorite, The Parmageddon, comprised of two potato and cheese pierogies, fresh napa kraut, onions, and sharp cheddar. Melt Bar & Grilled also likes to change it up a bit, offering up a new sandwich each month like December’s Mighty Macaroni Melt, April’s Corny Beast, and October’s Mom’s Meatloaf Melt.
Another upside to the Melt Bar & Grilled dining experience is their inclusion of plenty of vegetarian options, along with the ability to make a lot of their regular sandwiches either vegetarian or even vegan–they even keep a few varieties of vegan cheese in stock, so vegans don’t lose out on the best part of a Melt sandwich!
Finally, be sure to sign up for Melt Bar & Grilled’s Big Cheese Club Card. It’s free! Even if you dine here infrequently, once you spend $250 on food AND drinks, you’ll be kindly rewarded with a $20 gift certificate.
Overall
Melt Bar & Grilled has become a delicious institution, known for it’s huge sandwiches and great beer selection. While it may not be for everyone (sandwich haters or those closely watching their weight), it’s certainly worth checking out if you’re looking for something tasty!
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