My son and his partner got food poisoning from this place. They were sick for days after eating burgers and fries. I do not recommend -- do not eat here. Gross. read more

Delicious tasting milkshakes including lactose free, they are not thick but a little on the thin side (mom liked it that way.) Burgers are big and served on brioche style eggy soft buns. Meat patties were about average, they tasted fine and not overcooked. Not seasoned but the toppings and flavor choices enhance it all. Cheesy sauce with the onion rings was like a smooth velveeta style which I've really liked. They serve Super Bock beer! Decor is so cool, lots of retro 50s vibes. Excellent service too, they were very nice and so helpful. We are very short heights and the tables were so tall compared to the vinyl booth seating. Getting into the restaurant was a bit of a challenge. It's on the second floor of a large concrete building. Finding the stairs to get up was a little search. Then we had to take an elevator because my mom is in a wheelchair. The elevator is locked behind a glass anteroom, so we had to find the security guard (who was very nice & friendly) to let us up and then take the stairs down to let him know we were leaving. read more

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The name of the restaurant cannot be more accurate!!! The ambience is probably 4 * but that is that! And I think that's the best thing about it! The food is not bad but not worth the price. The only remarkable thing are the milk shakes. The service is polite but not remarkable or worth note. The place was empty at lunch which is a sign that this is probably not doing that great and it is very clear why. The photos will tell you what I mean. It does look like you are in a movie set, but as in a movie set, everything else is quite "pretend" including the food and the service. read more

Had to visit this restaurant just to see if all the bad reviews were accurate. At surface value the place seems to have a lot going for it - great location, unusual choice of food for Lisbon (classic American diner menu), and surrounded by hotels filled with tourists. Ultimately the restaurant fails on epic levels. The food is mediocre, overpriced and served without the slightest bit of good old fashioned customer service. Sure, the decor is fun if you're a fan of American 1950's sitcoms, but that's all folks. The ultimate irony is that despite the American jukebox atmosphere, American credit cards are not accepted. read more

Interesting Diner place on the 2nd floor facing the circle. Positives - great view over the circle, interesting motif of an 1950's American diner, good milkshakes. Service was good. Price was right. Negatives - food was filling but quality was mediocre. Fries were too mushy and burger was just ok. Overall I would recommend but don't come for the culinary experience. read more

We got the burger and fries. The fries were good the burger ok. Don't get the milkshake it's not good. Service was very good. Setting is cute second floor over looking the Main Street with a 50's cafe feel. read more

Great American Disaster - Cute 50's diner - Desserts Near Me - Lisbon, 11

+Great location and ambiance. +Excellent and quick service. +Bargain prices --- -Mediocre quality burgers and pizzas when compared with other Lisbon joins that serve similar foods (Hamburgueria do Bairro / NYC pizza to name but a few) A-OK.. read more

The place IS pretty cute but unfortunately the food kinda sucks. I mean, the milkshake was ok and the dessert was ok too, but the burger sucked. A lot. And this is a burger restaurant so it's kind of a big deal if the burger sucks. There are a million other better options in Lisbon right now, if you're craving a good burger. read more

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I am an American who was living all alone in London during the period of time between 1970-1972 and when I was lonely I always went here. All the waiters were American and I always had a wonderful meal and a wonderful time!!! :-) read more

The food wasn't life changing, but it was super filling. We mostly came for the ambiance of this place; we saw it from afar and wanted that cute diner experience, which this place definitely provides us. read more

Well being an American Here's the low down It's like a Dennys or Shoney's without the flavor Fries are wayyy undercooked The chicken burger was swimming in some sort of Portuguese SNOT?? Yes a green tasteless concoction ?? I was starving so don't kill me for having to " masticate "... lol The best part of this was my DIET PEPSI SPOILER ALERT --- Burger Kings like 1 block from here... viva la WHOPPER :) Betty Sue would COMMIT SCUICIDE HERE AND NEVER MARRY ANYWHERE NEAR HERE !! read more

Yeah, the location is good as well as the service but the food is mediocre compared the the phenomenal burgers you can get at Honorato, etc.

As I have just returned from the Great American Disaster, I will bounce a few of my own comments off existing reviews. First of all, this place is aptly named. It is a disaster. Although it is clean and well lit, it is not nor will it ever be anything like a classic American diner. To visit a classic American diner you'll have to find your way to a place on Route 66 called Emma Jeans Holland Burger Cafe. So yes, although "styled" in the vision of a classic American diner, yes, it is, but a classic American diner it is not. To confirm my thoughts on this place when it comes to the food, especially the burgers, one needs only to peer into the somewhat open kitchen to see a griddle press. This is the piece of equipment used to cook your burger. What this piece of equipment does, is it heats up the meat on both sides at the same time as it squeezes every bit of life out of the burger patty. On to the burger patty. They are pre-machine-made and previously frozen meat pucks. The cook responsible for your burger does not even season the meat prior to cooking, which is apparent by the grey appearance and the lack of flavor. Another tell tail sign that this place isn't a serious burger joint is that the griddle press is very small. A real burger joint would have set aside a reasonable amount of real estate suitable to have a larger rocket hot griddle available for cooking burgers properly. This restaurant could actually save quite of bit of money by buying fresh ground chuck and hand forming the burgers as long as they can teach the chef to season and flip a burger rather than tossing the meat puck between the steel griddle plates. This place also bills one of it's burgers the "Graceland" as having the crispiest bacon ever.... Well, if you like a limp piece of wet fat and you think that's crispy you'll love the Graceland burger. That bacon wasn't even close to crispy. Personally I ordered a burger called a "Gentleman" with cheese and grilled onions. As I have already stated what you can expect from the patty, the burger bun was a limp wet mess. All the cook needed to do was toast the bun with a bit of mayo coated on it and the bun would have been perfect, but most students in their first year of culinary school could have out cooked this guy. On to the service.... well... I'm accustomed to having my water glass refilled as it is emptied. Seeing as there were two people on the wait staff, and 4 tables being used, this should not have been a problem, but alas, I continuously had to request that my waiter fill my water glass, which in itself was a problem, because the water glass probably held about 10 ounces, where I'm accustomed to a 16 to 20 ounce glass. After having had the waiter fill my tiny glass three times I got tired of asking. The wait staff simply needs to be given proper instruction on keeping the water glasses full and the service issue could be easily solved. The service staff should also be given water pitchers and the place needs an ice machine. I didn't see any ice. They keep bottled still and sparkling water in a refrigerator case along with a host of soft drinks. No ice in this place that I could see. Upon my short wait to pay the bill I took a look at the desserts and found what looked like lemon meringue and apple pie. The lemon meringue pie looked like a complete disaster and might have been made by a 5 year old and looked terrible, and the apple pie (dutch style) looked flat and unappealing. I didn't try the milkshakes. The Great American Disaster touts being in business for 30 years. I'm not going to deny it's longevity, but what I will deny is my repeat business. I spend 3 months a year in Lisbon, and believe me, there are much better places to eat. I know this review sounds harsh, but I think it is fair. This place has huge potential from it's location alone. Now if they can get the food quality right and the service up to speed they'd be assured another 30 years. It seems like they are simply trying to survive. I seriously doubt they'll be around another 30 years. Want to compare the Great American Disaster's burger elsewhere in the neighborhood? Head down the street to the Hard Rock Cafe'. You'll spend a bit more, but the quality of the food and the attentive service will be well worth the price. read more

The space is fantastic - everything looks like from an original American diner from the 50s. Service was quick, efficient, and actually pretty friendly (which is not the standard in Lisbon :-)). Unfortunately, the food was a big disappointment: - the bread buns looked like the cheapest stuff you can get in a supermarket. They were small, the top completely squashed and crumpled beyond recognition. - no pickles, cucumber, onion could be found as a topping. - the meat was covered in a "creamy mushroom" sauce that looked like it was made of liquid plastic: greasy, grainy, rubbery. The "coffee" sauce on my friend's burger seemed exactly the same, only a bit darker... there was so much of it it soaked almost the entire salad and fries. - the side salad was a ready-made mix. I don't mind ready-made, but it was already pretty dry and not fresh at all. - we had to ask for ketchup (in a burger restaurant??) and got 2 little sachets. Very disappointing. One star for the location. read more

I have the (bad) habit of always ordering the same dish somewhere when I find something I like, so when I go here it's always: cream Cadillac. Basically it's a burger that has a cream mushroom sauce and yes it does have the bun and all, but it is the fork and knife kind of burger, not the "let's get our hands dirty" kind. It is what one could call a gourmet burger, quite obviously because of this, they don't usually give you ketchup, you have to ask for it if you wish it, and why would you, when their sauce is much better than ketchup. Anyway, not for the fast food burger fan, more for those that enjoy a lovely place and some good burgers. read more