Fifties Grill & Dairy

Calvin Harris once said he had love for me if I was born in the 50s, and I was devastated that I was unable to be a recipient of this love because I was, in fact, born three or four decades too late for his affections. Then I realized he really only dates South American men anyway and while I might occasionally look the part, he’d figure it out sooner or later. However, when I step into this restaurant, it makes me feel like I was born in the 50s, which makes me feel like I could have had a chance with Calvin, which makes me happy in my secret places.
And of course, if it were a very peaceful diner which occasionally killed religious civil rights heroes and popular presidents and their brothers, it’d be the 60s Grill.
What to get: Burger.
What else is good: Dogs and soft serve are ok.
If it were full of workers’ strikes, Afros and John Travolta, it’d be the 70s Grill.
I was really surprised by this burger. I was stuck in Jamestown for several days because my car broke down here — the same car that is being turned into scrap metal any day now (sob). I didn’t find anything in culinary terms in Jamestown that blew me away or even close to it, but the pretty typical burger here was both cheap and satisfying. It hit the spot, so I ordered another one, and that did too. On my second day in Jamestown, I came back, and for some reason the burger tasted even better. I like the rolls they use (possibly Costanzo’s?), and although their hots and custard/​soft serve weren’t anything spectacular, I think they make pretty good fast-​food-​style burgers here. I’ll definitely stop in again next time I’m in J-​town.
If it were full of men wearing heavy make up with permed hair, it’d be the 80s Grill, and Calvin Harris would come here to pick people up. OK I’m going to make myself cry again. I need a moment.

Absolutely what the sign says, a 50’s Hamburger Grill. Everything is prepared to order. Amazing burgers and dogs with generous portions at a reasonable price. The milkshakes and ice cream tops off the meal. They take credit cards. The ambiance is throw back 50’s. There is a drive through for this under serviced north side Jamestown neighborhood. Tell them Norm sent you!

I think if I didn’t have an inkling for ice cream I would have driven right by. My hubby ordered the root beer shake and unfortunately it didn’t have a while lot of flavor. I ordered the cappuccino soft serve but she soon discovered they were out so I opted for a simple vanilla swirl with m&m’s…nothing special or tasty enough to go out of our way back for more. One thing I really liked about it was the décor… very 50’s retro.

Burger & fries taste like they came from the freezer. Fried shrimp basket was palatable & paired with cocktail sauce, which is far superior to tartar sauce. Wish I tried dessert. Maybe could have redeemed an underwhelming meal.

I am giving this place hey 4 star rating The atmosphere is very quaint the food is fast food and when I say fast I mean very fast. We had a BLT and a mushroom burger with french fries. The staff was very friendly. I can’t get over how fast the food was ready… kinda made me paranoid.

Fun place. Unique burgers, I had the blue cheese which was good, and onion rings. Lots of ice cream varieties too. Old music inside, which is cool, fun posters etc. quick service. Overall good place to grab a quick bite!

I always prefer to patronize a local restaurant to a national chain, but really fast food is fast food. Nothing special here– it’s not like they are hand cutting the french fries in back or anything. Service was quick. The restaurant is clean, but aging and with minimal décor. Utilitarian.
I will warn folks that the California BLT (which is reported on the menu to have bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado) does not actually have any avocado at all, only some kind of green salad dressing. That was disappointing considering the inflated price for the «avocado» — the cost for a California BLT is more than for a Blue cheese burger. Very odd.

Imagine that you are driving half way across the country, trying to make good time, but hungry for something other than the typical fast food chain. Fellow Unilocalers have rated this highly, so in we stop. We could have tried the salads but we went for chicken sandwiches and onion rings, topped off with a sundae that included waffle chips. The service was friendly, the ambiance was perfect and the food was good. If you are tooling along I86 consider a stop in here for a cone or a quick meal

All my Food Hounds out there… Brimstone here, ready to take you on a trip back in time to the 1950’s in none other than the hometown of the Legendary Lucille Ball! Seven years ago around 2005 in Jamestown, New York — destiny was fulfilled once a building originally occupied by a Tasty Freeze had been taken over and built into what is now known as Fifties Grill & Dairy, one of the BEST places to eat in town. What a throwback! Everything right down to the music playing over the speakers is Retro. The ambiance is killer, sporting fabulous seating that you’d see on an episode of Happy Days: IE: Bright Neon signs and pretty girls behind the counter to take your order. A lot of the items on the menu are fifties themed in terms of vintage television; most notably, «I Love Lucy.» For those of you traveling through and sightseeing… they are conveniently located not too far from the Lucille Ball Museum (Desilu) — so visit the Drive-​Thru if you are in a rush to get your Vitameatavegimen fix!
What first caught my eye was the listed variety of awesome milk shakes that they have to choose from. Fifties offers you the opportunity to get creative as you can actually mix and match the flavors to create your own blend! I made a blend of the Apple Pie and Caramel. The best way to describe it is that it tasted like Fall. An old school style, thick shake… I was entranced by its deliciousness. Etan went with the Peanut Butter soft serve milkshake which tasted like a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup in thick liquid form. What a great start while waiting for the meal! Speaking of which, I couldn’t seem to decide whether to grab a burger or to try one of their foot-​long Hot Dogs! Soo, I went with both!
Behold true believers… the incomparable, BBQ Bacon Dog. Simply put, a foot-​long dog with outstanding flavor behavior! Fresh bacon laid atop a quality dog, nestled in Mmm cheese and tangy BBQ sauce. This isn’t a Sonic or 7 – 11 hot-​dog… This bad boy is the real deal! I could eat those all day, every day! Next up we had the Chili Cheese Fries — fresh, hot and crispy fries bathing in melted cheese and tasty chili which was slightly spicy with a sweet aftertaste. They call their chili ‘Texas Sauce’ and it was REALLY good!!! Etan had the Chili Cheese Burger with a load of the ‘Texas Sauce’ and Nacho Cheese. This was a GREAT start to what were all solid burgers. There is NO mistaking that every burger in the place is made with love and affection… all Ground Chuck, fresh, NEVER frozen! Furthermore, you have the choice of making ANY of the burgers into a double or TRIPLE… YES! I devoured the Southwest Burger which offered a yummy kick to the pallet without the overbearing spice that you’d think would be in the name alone. The cheddar pulled everything in this sucker together with its bold taste; not to mention the onion straws hidden under the cheese for a little crunch! The Southwest Sauce was absolutely killer and most certainly the BOSS of the Fifties Sauce!
Lush of course represented his character in style with the Honey BBQ Chicken Burger. Again, YOU have the choice of either grilled or fried — he went grilled. The sauce had a really nice sweet tang to it and we had a hard time figuring out whether the chicken was marinated or just cooked in that delicious sauce. The sauce really reminded us of a honey BBQ teriyaki. Did I mention how good the sauce was? Anyway, the chicken was moist, tender and the bacon provided a nice crisp in every bite. Perfect choice for those who want something other than burgers! We couldn’t go without trying the signature burger, the 50’s burger… Thousand Island Sauce, lettuce, tomato, pickle, bacon, cheese. What an awesome alternative to the generic offerings of fast food establishments.
Now there is NO way you can come to this place and not save room for DESSERT! The NEW menu boasts 35 flavors of different ice cream! I almost fainted when I saw all the combinations of delightful delicacies. Lush went with the Elvis Sundae… Don’t be cruel; pure vanilla ice cream with peanut butter and bananas (Elvis’ favorite sandwich) with two pieces of waffle cone, whipped cream and a cherry to top it off! Simply Divine. I decided that I could not turn away an Oreo Heaven, a sundae with twist ice cream, Mmm-​marshmallows, HOT FUDGE and my favorite 100 year old friend; crushed Oreo. An appropriate ending to a fulfilling meal. Great place to come with a group of friends, a quick stop or just to soak up the authenticity of the location itself. They’ve got a cool vibe going here and the Hounds were happy to be a part of it!

Great melts, burgers, salads, rings, fries, malts and sundaes!

I was visiting the area and wanted to try some local stuff. Had seen this place in other reviews for the area so we went and tried it. It is not much to look at from the outside. Like — at all. Just a little diner. It is surrounded by what seemed like auto shops, auto dealers etc. It isn’t like in the hub of places that were all things dining. That was fine. The parking area is small but behind the building appears to be more parking next to an auto body shop.
There are eating areas inside and outside. We went inside to order … easy enough … basically choose your burger or dog, make it a combo or whatever. I had the Big Bopper meal. They serve Pepsi products which I don’t care for and so, i had iced tea which was really good (unsweetened even!). The fries were awesome. Fresh, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. They were the best thing. The burger was good as well … fresh stuff on it and tastey. I mean really, for the price, I thought it was pretty dang good. But I couldn’t stop there! No! I had a review I needed to write … so, of course, I took one for the team and had to have dessert!
I had the Oreo Heaven Sundae. OMG. This was killer. It is soft served vanilla/​chocolate ice cream with marshmallow and hot fudge poured over it with oreos and whipped cream! I enjoyed this to the very last drop. Seriously. It was just that awesome!
I give this place a 4 star because it is what it says it is, great basic burger and fries stuff and awesome dessert. I’d eat here again in a heartbeat.

Awesome sundaes! We needed a late night sweet treat as we were traveling on I-​86 on vacation, and this was just a few minutes off the highway. My daughter and I shared a «super sundae» called «Peanut Butter Perfection» — swirled vanilla & chocolate soft serve, topped with hot fudge, peanut butter sauce, Reece’s cups, whipped cream, and a cherry, served with two waffle scoops. It was scrumptious! There were about 8 other super sundaes that looked equally yummy — hope to re-​visit to try another! Grill menu looked good, too — standard burgers, dogs, fries, onion rings, etc. Sweet girls working at the counter, cute 50’s diner décor, and 50’s tunes playing made our visit quite nice, too.

FOOD: This place has very good food. I love their fifties burgers and shrimp baskets. Yummy!
SERVICE: The wait staff here is friendly, nice, and very fast.
CLEANINESS: The dinning area is very clean. Haven’t used the restrooms, so I’m not sure.
ATMOSPHERE: It feels like a relaxing small diner with very large glass windows that lets the beautiful sun in on a cold winter day. The walls have several Lucille O’Ball posters.
OTHER NOTES: They also have a drive-​thru, but I haven’t used it yet.