The Melt - Berkeley

When I read in Nosh about The Melt I was pleased to see they had grilled cheese sandwiches paired w/ tomato soup, the perfect, iconic comfort food. I suggested it to Nina for today's lunch. It's sharing space w/ Homeroom and people seem to be doing more takeout than dining in. When I got there Nina had staked out a table outside, thoughtfully giving me the chair w/ my back to the sun. Our server had already given her menus. I knew what I wanted but she didn't, so she looked them over and decided on the spinach and 'shroom burger. Our server didn't ask her what temperature she wanted it and she didn't specify, so it came well done. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. Of note is that there are no prices on the menu, so you're unsure what you're going to pay. Neither of us has seen that before. We both had water to drink because they don't serve tea.Nina's burger came out first and my sandwich and soup came out a short while later. Our server brought us each napkins and a fork, both of which were good quality and a nice, hefty weight. Nina requested a knife to cut her burger in half and it was brought. When she bit into her burger she discovered its well doneness. She wasn't pleased w/ that but liked the burger nevertheless. She had just had a spinach/mushroom crepe and had been displeased w/ both the spinach, which hadn't been cut up, and the mushrooms, which looked and tasted canned. She liked these better, although the spinach wasn't cooked and was just leaves scattered on top of the burger patty. I was bored w/ the sandwich, which was just cheddar, while I prefer a mixture of cheeses, but the soup was transcendent, the perfect tomato soup w/ croutons on top. When we were finished Nina went inside w/ our credit cards to pay. When she returned she reported that I had been given a child's sandwich, so perhaps the adult sandwich is more complex and interesting. She also reported that the prices were amazingly low. She said asked our server why there were no prices on the menu and he said he gets asked that a lot. She and I speculated that it might be to give people a pleasant surprise at the end of their meal.The sun felt so good on my back that I just sat and basked in it. Nina came over after lunch and sat beside me so it could warm her too. Then she left to go to Berkeley Hort and take care of other errands. Meanwhile I continued to bask until the sum shifted and all of a sudden I felt cold so I got up and left. I would definitely return for the soup and I will check what's in the adult grilled cheese. Maybe try one of the burgers.

Stopped in looking for a juicy hamburger experience. Unfortunately the burger wasn't the juiciest but it did taste fine. The service was lovely. Ordered the garlic parm fries. They shred parm on top- it doesn't melt and chopped garlic, might be better integrated using grated parm and crushed garlic. Not their finest hour but serviceable. Will try again.

Really good burgers. Really good customer service. I called in my order before walking in and having a sit in there waiting area they were so accommodating they forgot to charge me the food. They just walked right over to me on the couch and handed me a bag of food. I didn't realize I didn't pay till I got home. Great experience I'll be going back for the burger and to repay them for my first meal.

2 because the food was good but the customer service was horrible. We were the only ones inside the restaurant and it took awhile for our server to come. He was not aware of if fries came with our entree or what beer was the lightest. I understand being "new" but familiarize yourself with the menu. Our fries came out like 10 minutes before our entrees (chicken sandwich and burgers). My burger had none of the toppings advertised. I told the waiter and he had to take the menu to the cook to show him what was missing. When he returned his response was, "I'm sorry our kitchen is busy with online orders." Mind you at this point we were 3 or 5 customers in the entire restaurant. Are you kidding me!! When a worker came around to see how everything was going I told her the food was decent but the customer service was lacking. She proceeded to say the establishment was more of a "to go" style restaurant. Mind you there was a big dining area. I won't be coming back here.

Shortly after I posted my original review, I was contacted in regards to my order and it turns out that the cashier did charged me incorrectly. I received a full refund and additional compensation within one day.Because of their amazing customer support, now I feel confident again on returning to their restaurant to indulge on their delicious, juicy burgers!

The Melt is located inside Homeskillet with no signage for Melt outside, so it was tricky to find. The food was good, but the service really fell short, so I wouldn't recommend it for dine-in, despite the fact that the space is huge with plenty of seating. When we walked in a staff, member was standing behind the cash register and said something to us, but the music was too loud for us to hear her or her to hear us. We responded "Sorry what?" to which which let out an exasperated huff, rolled her eyes, and dramatically motioned for us to come closer to her. As we got closer she said, I can't hear you from way over there! I wanted to say well then why did you verbally address us the moment we opened the door? Why do you have music so loud that conversation is not possible? And also, she works there, not us, so how about she comes and approaches us if she wants to speak to us so hurriedly? She asked us if we were ordering to go or dining in and we said dining in so she waved us off and told us to pick a table. We sat down and she came over and handed us menus. She walked away, and then I realized that we were being dumped on by the air conditioner on a really cold evening, but I didn't dare move because I felt like we would be snapped at by the server again. We ordered two burgers off of The Melt menu (this space is also home to a Mac and Cheese restaurant) and two sides of fries. I was glad we ordered two because sometimes when fries come a la carte, you get a very large portion, but at The Melt it's definitely only enough for one person. The food was good, I would definitely eat it again. But it was dropped off by a busser who didn't offer any condiments nor ask if we needed anything else and just whisked away. Our server never came back, not even once, not even when she walked out from the kitchen and I made eye contact with her... So we had to approach the counter to ask for condiments, additional napkins, water, and a soda refill. In total, we ended up going to the counter four times after we received our food. Despite this, still nobody came to our table. When a busser finally came to clear our plates, we asked them for the check and we were brought one of those handheld devices where you do it yourself. Luckily they just leave it with you and don't stand there gawking while you fumble. I don't know why we left any tip at all, but whatever. The bussers were nice so hopefully they got part of that. I'd recommend the food but only for to-go (or just go to a different Melt location, as it's a chain).

Food was cold-ish. And we were the only patrons. There was no mustard for the burger. It was sad. Like end of days

The space is shared with Homeroom. The food and space is a 10/10!!! You can dine-in or takeout!

Today I went to eat with my family and all I have to say is that the food is very Good we loved it! I liked that the place was very clean as well, the person who took our order was very friendly and polite I loved the way that she treated my family and I. Thank you Karla :)