Universal Studios Hollywood · Upper Lot
A 1950s diner near the entrance, built from the American Graffiti set dressing, serving competent burgers at Los Angeles theme park prices.
Last verified July 2026
Mel's Diner sits close to the entrance on the Upper Lot and takes its identity from the diner in American Graffiti, which George Lucas shot before Universal was in the theme park business in any serious way. The building is a proper period piece with chrome, booths, a counter and neon, and there are classic cars parked outside that people photograph more than they eat.
The food is a straight American diner menu: burgers, chicken sandwiches, fries, milkshakes. It is competently executed and entirely unremarkable, which puts it above most of what is available inside this park. The shakes are the strongest item on the board.
What it really offers is indoor air-conditioned seating close to the gate, which is scarcer here than it should be. On a hot afternoon a booth at Mel's is worth more than the burger is.
Reliable, unexciting, and better value than most of the park because you get an air-conditioned booth with it. The shake is the item worth ordering.
The dishes this kitchen is actually known for. Menus change seasonally, so treat this as what to look for rather than a guaranteed list.
Prices we have checked ourselves, with the month we checked them. Mark anything here and it saves to your device.
A thick hand-spun milkshake served in a tall glass with the surplus in the metal cup alongside, the way a diner is supposed to do it.
Our take: The best thing on the Mel's menu by a distance and one of the better sweet items in the park. The burgers are ordinary; the shake is not.
A straightforward diner burger with bacon and cheese, served with fries in a chrome-and-vinyl room near the park entrance.
Our take: Competent and unmemorable. You are really paying for an air-conditioned booth close to the gate, which at this park is a fair enough thing to pay for.
Yes, through the Universal app, and it is the correct way to use this restaurant. The counter queue at lunchtime is long and the mobile pickup window usually is not.
Yes, there is a veggie burger on the menu alongside the standard diner items. The vegetarian options across this park are thin generally, and Mel's is one of the more reliable places to find one.
Yes, with indoor booths and counter seating plus tables outside. It is one of the better indoor seating options near the park entrance, which makes it useful in the middle of a hot afternoon regardless of where you bought your food.