Since MELT just opened recently, we wanted to try it out! We had heard good things about this place and we kept seeing photos of melty cheese on toasty sandwiches so we were ALL IN.
We arrived at MELT right at 11 AM, when they opened on Friday because we knew they would be busy. We were seated almost right away since we were some of the first people there. Shortly after we were seated, around 11:15, the restaurant was filled to capacity and there were a lot of people waiting outside to get in. Our appetizers came out quickly, but the wait for our entrees was very long (over an hour) and we were a little disappointed with that.
Appetizers
Caprese Flatbread - $7
mozzarella, tomato, basil, balsamic glaze
The Caprese flatbread appetizer was delicious. The bread was crispy with a soft cracker texture and had melted mozzarella, tart balsamic vinaigrette glaze, fresh basil, and halved fresh small tomatoes. The tomatoes were quick to fall off of the bread, but the appetizer as a whole was very well put together and the flavors blended well.
Baron's Bites - $7
pretzel breaded cheese snax w/jalapeno ranch
When we ordered this app, we thought they would be more pretzel bites (similar to pretzels served with beer cheese at other restaurants) but they were more like mozzarella sticks. The pretzel part was just the crumbs that covered the fried cheese. Although they didn’t meet our primary expectations, they were still really delicious – crispy on the outside and perfectly melted on the inside!
Mac 'N Egg Roll
mac & cheese stuffed inside an egg roll. served with sweet & spicy chili glaze for dipping - definitely NOT your average egg roll
Mac n’ cheese is hard to get wrong, but this egg roll was pretty bland and generally unimpressive. The sauce that came with the mac n’ cheese egg roll was the best part!
Mr. Clearwater
The apps that we got were some kind of cheese bites, pita bread something, and mac n’ cheese egg rolls. Each of these were very good and came out in a timely fashion. The best part of the dig was for sure the fried Oreos. They tasted like funnel cakes and Oreos had a baby.
WHAT HE ATE:
3 Amigos Sandwich with Tomato Basil Soup - $13.00
ham, sliced chorizo, over easy egg, monterey & habanero jack cheese on birmingham breadworks sourdough
I ordered tomato soup with the “3 Amigos” sandwich. The sandwich was supposed to be spicy, but I think they forgot to add the spicy sauce. I added some of the honey mustard from the table to add a little pizzazz.
The Apprentice
The Melt looks very nice, clean, and professional upon first walking in and sitting down. The chairs were by far the most comfortable I’ve sat in at a restaurant and there were several TV’s you could easily see from anywhere in the room. So as far as how the Melt looks and feels, it’s great. But the service, food, and wait time were nothing special. Our waiter started out very good, made sure our drinks were full, got our appetizers out quickly, etc. However, as time went on she kind of disappeared from the picture and we didn’t really see her. As I said earlier, our appetizers came out quickly, but it took about an hour for them to get our entrees out. Not to mention one of our plates came out 10 minutes ahead of everyone else’s so he just had to sit and wait for everyone else’s food.
WHAT HE ATE:
Flyin Hawaiian Sandwich with Fries - $11.00
ham, monterey, & habanero jack cheese, & cajun grilled pineapple on pretzel roll
Now to the food. All of our appetizers were good, but my sandwich was pretty terrible. The pretzel bun was good, but my pineapple sandwich only contained four squares of pineapple. So, since there was not really any pineapple, it was basically a lukewarm ham sandwich. Who knows, maybe Melt can shape up as time goes on, but as of right now, just go to 1892 or Drakes.
The Hipster
The new Melt Huntsville location was agreed pretty much immediately by everyone in the office. With the new buzz of a new and fun restaurant, we just had to try it out. Four of us went first and arrived at around 11 AM, which turned out to be a good call, because within 15 minutes, the whole place was filled and crowded with people.
WHAT SHE ATE:
Patty Melt on Lettuce "Bun" with Kettle Chips - $13.00
angus beef patty, cheddar cheese, & grilled onions on texas toast
I chose to have the patty melt with a lettuce wrap. If I am being picky, the patty melt was a little on the thin side, especially with all of that lettuce, so removed some of the lettuce. I feel like the patty should have been a little thicker. Also all of the onions were off to one side instead of centered and all over the melted cheese. But those are trivial things and don’t matter. I still enjoyed the patty a lot and with a fun, family atmosphere, I would recommend this yummy restaurant.
Strings O'Shaugnessy
Melt looks very visually appealing and is located below a new apartment complex downtown. That’s really all that was appealing about it. The food took like an hour to come out, and everyone took one bite before boxing up their food. The food wasn’t particularly gross or particularly amazing. Everyone was just tired of sitting in the middle of the restaurant, so as soon as the food came we asked for the check.
WHAT HE ATE:
Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with Fries $11.00
buffalo-sauced chicken tenders & monterey jack on texas toast w/a side of miss fancy's ranch
My food never came with the ranch dressing it said it would, but a different waiter/waitress was coming to the table every few minutes with the sole purpose of dropping off or refilling a drink. If I would have asked for the ranch I probably would have been there for another hour, so we just left. I feel like everything I tasted here could have been easily replicated at home and wasn’t super memorable as far as taste.
The Boss
Any time we go out, one of my main goals is to only take an hour for our lunch break. I know MELT is new and just opened and I’m sure they’re still trying to work out some problems, and we also went at one of their peak busy times of the week, so I’ll give them a pass this time. But it was frustrating that we had to wait so long with NO EXPLANATION. One of the people in our group got his food long before anyone else did and he didn’t want to eat before everyone so he just sat there waiting for at least 10 minutes. Also, we ordered the fried Oreos and the management was hesitant to make them or give them to us, saying we didn’t pay for them, even though we had (they were on our receipt) AND we had waited so long. So then we had to wait even longer to get those before we could leave. Half of the group left without the dessert. It was a rather awkward situation. Really bad customer service on those two points.
WHAT SHE ATE:
Ragin' Cajun Sandwich with Fries - $12.00
cajun grilled chicken, monterey & habanero jack cheese, w/creamy coleslaw on texas toast
When we finally did get our food, I was impressed with the flavors and the textures. The fries were rich in flavor and the Texas toast was crispy and buttery. I really enjoyed my sandwich, but I wasn’t even hungry for it and didn’t eat much of it because it came out so long after the appetizers. In summary, the food was good, but the service was pretty bad. I’ll give them a while to smooth out their problems before I revisit.
Give them a visit!
MELT Huntsville
201 Jefferson St N
Huntsville, AL 35801
