National Restaurant News 50 Breakout Brands

“Melt Bar & Grilled is among Cleveland’s hottest restaurant brands right now, but owner Matt Fish only had ambitions of it being a simple neighborhood bar in 2006 when he opened the first of what would become four locations. From the start, customers packed Melt not just for the selection of more than 100 craft beers and microbrews, but also for the menu’s star attraction: gourmet grilled cheese. Fish built Melt around the updated childhood favorite because he did not want to serve typical pizza and wings or the pretentious pork-belly BLTs in fashion at gastropubs across the country.” – Mark Brandau, National Restaurant News, 50 Breakout Brands

Confessions of An Almost Foodie

I highly recommend visiting Melt. I recommend having the “Dude Abides” even more. Get there. Order that sandwich. If you have to wait an hour and a half for a table, quit your whining and suck it up because it’s totally worth the wait  Read More…

Melt Bar and Grilled Food Review by the Cleveland Browns Chansi Stuckey

Watch Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver Chansi Stuckey’s video review of Melt for SportsBUZZ here…

Cleveland Food & Brews

This marks the 3rd time I’ve been to Melt for dinner and have walked away impressed.  If you have never been to Melt it is worth the wait!  Food wise, Grilled Cheese done right gets a 4.75/5 in my book. Read More…

Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Melt isn’t a place to worry about calories. It’s a place to enjoy some guilty pleasures and have some fun.” Read More…

Traveler’s Passion for Food

A great video review with Lee Anglin, written and produced by Stephen Burrows.  You can see a lot of great pictures as well as tons of other restaurant reviews on their website.

Burger Conquest

When my Grilled Cheese Breakfast Burger was placed down in front me, I got lost in the moment. This was one of the most appealing and appetizing sandwiches I have ever laid eyes on. If photos speak a thousand words, the first 2 here are “holy crap!”  Read more…

Local Eats

City Top 100 List Winner! See the listing here.

USA Today

At Ohio’s Melt Bar & Grilled, the entire menu is dedicated to nothing but decadent grilled cheeses.
“I have 32 versions,” says Matt Fish, who opened Melt in Lakewood, a Cleveland suburb, two years ago. “We take people’s basic perceptions of the grilled cheese and blow it out of the water.” Read more

Chowhound

If you’re looking for a decent local place, nothing fancy but great food, you absolutely have to try Melt in Lakewood. Grilled sandwiches that defy belief, served with huge mounds of superb fries and slaw. It’s on the far west side, so it won’t be too huge of a trip from Olmsted. Read more…

Vegan in Cleveland

They have two vegan cheeses, so you can order most vegetarian sandwiches with vegan cheez subbed in. They also have a plethora of other vegan options Read more…

Metromix

For those who thought 29 different kinds of grilled cheese sandwiches were not enough, the Melt Bar and Grilled offers 30 different kinds of grilled cheese gooeyness. Kudos to the chef for taking a staple comfort food item and creating a funky bistro around it. Read more…

Cleveland Foodie

The sandwiches are enormous, extremely filling and somewhat difficult to eat – but absolutely delicious. I especially enjoyed my sandwich and was craving it the next day. I don’t know how they did it, but it really doesn’t taste like your typical bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. Read more…

Sally’s Place

At Melt, musician-turned-chef Matt Fish is indulging two of his favorite passions:  beer and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Don’t you love this guy already?  Tucked into a small storefront in the residential Lakewood district, Melt offers over a hundred different beers, local brews as well as an eclectic collection of domestic and global offerings. Read more…

Cleveland Scene

If you’ve ever doubted that toasty, gooey grilled cheese sandwiches are the universal comfort food, just check out this boisterous Lakewood bar, where the kitchen turns out more than two dozen scrumptious variations on the theme, and the clientele ranges from smiling grannies to pierced, inked, and also smiling local rockers. Impressive beer selection. Read more…

The Cleveland Sandwich Board

Being both a negative bastard and a drunk sometimes makes it difficult to have smooth interactions with other people. This is especially true in regard to spouses and girlfriends of friends. Read more…

D is for Diva

Cleveland has cool little neighborhoods surrounding it and one of these is Lakewood. Melt Bar and Grilled opened in 2006 in Lakewood, and after reading rave reviews in the free magazines and Cleveland.com, Danny and I decided to check it out. Read more…

The Free Times

When it comes to comfort foods, the conversation pretty much ends at the mention of a grilled cheese sandwich sided by a bowl of tomato soup. Snow days, sick days, Sundays all required this heart-warming soup-and-sammy combo, made by mom and delivered to our cozy nest in front of the television. Read more…

The Cleveland Magazine

Melt Bar and Grilled could have made a fair go at being a monk. Give me bread, cheese and beer, and I can live happily  — as long as I’m not required to pray at all hours, wear a sack cloth or keep a simple, humble, celibate, silent life. Read more…

The Cauldron

There’s nothing better on a cold, dreary day in Cleveland than a grilled cheese sandwich and a steaming bowl of tomato soup. Yum- just like mom used to make. Read more…

EatingCleveland.com

I sit here to write about Melt, reviewing some notes and reading over their menu, I find myself salivating just thinking about all of the dishes I can’t wait to try next time I visit. For Pavlov’s dog it was a bell. For me its thirty different grilled cheese sandwiches with fresh-cut fries, homemade cole slaw and 100 varieties of beer. Read more…

Fried Love

Why has there never been a fast food restaurant based on grilled cheese, or a franchise place? When one sees grilled cheese on a menu, it almost always arrives as part of a kid’s menu or packed in with the sides, a glaringly obvious placement for picky eaters and bland tastes. Grilled cheese, like Rodney Dangerfield, can’t get respect. Read more…

Black Coffee and a Donut

My final day in LA was one for the record books, eating-wise. I finally got together with my cousins Ann and Steven, who you might remember from EP’s visit to LA a while back. As soon as they picked me up we were off to the first (of many) eating experiences of the day. Read more…

Snarky Saveur

On a whim a few Saturdays afternoons ago, I found myself trying to find Melt for a late afternoon beer/early evening dinner. I kept hearing the buzz and was ready for something new as I stomped around on the West Side. Read more…

Anonymous (Columbus – Short North)

“Visiting our daughter at The Ohio State University and looking to try something we can’t find in St. Louis. The menu follows a cheese pairing theme so if you’re looking for burgers, hot sandwiches, Mac and cheese, etc. then this is your place. That’s not to say it’s a limited menu as they do provide a wide variety of choices. Portions are large but everything is high-quality ingredients. Service was great and prices were reasonable for a restaurant like this. The atmosphere was fun and a little funky – a great place to eat or just hang out for drinks and catching a game on one of the TVs over the bar. I recommend you try it if you’re looking for something fun or a little different from the usual American style fare.”

Anonymous (Columbus)

“This place is just a fun place to go! if you can’t find a grilled cheese to strike your fancy then you can always custom make one to suit your needs. The place just screams Fun as you walk in the door with the painted walls and holiday blow molds behind the bar. Debbie, our server, was attentive and friendly without being annoying. This place isn’t fancy or high-end but that is why I love Melt!”

Beth Hartmann McClellan (Cleveland Heights)

“Love the atmosphere. Lots of video games so bring your quarters! There is also a change machine that takes ones and fives. The food is awesome. Great sandwiches. There are even options for vegans. They have a full vegan menu. My husband is vegan and he gets the Beyond Meat Burger and said it’s very good. My favorite is the Cuban War Pig: pulled pork and ham. Fun place!”

Anonymous

“Melt is one of the few restaurants that is able to deliver a to-go experience that is as good as dining in. From their online ordering system to the packaging of the food, everything made for a great meal. Do not miss out on the signature grilled cheese sandwiches! They’re nationally known for a reason!”