I admit I am a millennial who loves fine dining; I appreciate locally sourced food where cows are treated like equals with voting rights and the whole nine yards. But...I also love good fast food in true American fashion. Unfortunately Sonic is neither fast nor good. I appreciate the retro feel of Sonic, channeling the 1960's, very Happy Days and Grease. However the appeal ends there because what is left is a long wait, and lackluster food. Maybe I'm just being picky, and maybe it's because Albany is finally getting a growing number of better burger joints, but I was just really disappointed. We pulled up to a slot, and waited about 5 min from the time we pushed the button to the time we actually got some one to take our order. We ordered a grilled chicken sandwich, two different hot dogs, onion rings, and a Sonic Hawaiian limeade. The wait for someone to bring our food was another 10-15 min. Though the food did come out hot, which other yelpers have complained about, it didn't matter. It was not good. The chicken sandwich was tough, plain, and tasted artificial. The onion rings were dry, hard, and I called it quits after eating only one. Hot dogs...more disappointment. Bun lacked any substance, hot dog itself no flavor, cheese had an artificial Velveeta flavor and texture. Highlight was the limeade which had chunks of pineapple in it, not too sweet but the ice tasted weird. Maybe their machine isn't quite broken in yet? Can't speak to their cold treats, maybe that's where their niche will be though it's hard to believe it will be good enough for them to survive. For me, I will continue to dream of the day when we will have a Chick-fil-a and a Shake Shack..... read more

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Glenmont. My husband and I stopped here about 12 times over the winter months to get ice cream because we like there ice cream. Good flavor. However out of a dozen times we have probably only had our order come out correct 2xs. The order is simple....a dish of vanilla ice cream and a hot fudge sundae with whip cream nuts and a cherry. Seems pretty simple but NOT. Some times no whip cream, sometimes no nuts, one time wet nuts not dry nuts and even one time no hot fudge on my hot fudge sundae. Tonight we got forks to eat our ice cream with instead of spoons. Very slow service!!! read more

Only stopped here because my girlfriend and I had gift cards. I'm glad we had gift cards and didn't pay 30 dollars for what we received. Ordered the #12 meal, sauced chicken poppers with a side and drink. I was under the impression the poppers would be covered in sauce, not have one pump in the middle of the dish and call it a day. Not only was the food not up to standard but neither was the customer service. Waited for about 5 minutes for someone to even tell us to wait a minute, and when my order was being taken it was taken with attitude. Will not be going back here during the night. Maybe the day crew will be better. read more

And I thought the milkshakes were a letdown... For the first time since their opening, the carhop lane wasn't spilling out into the street and the line of soon-to-be diners wasn't out the door; perfect time to try a hotdog and some tater tots. Despite the lack of a crowd it took over fifteen minutes for us to get our food, and that was only the beginning of what turned out to be a lunch outing disaster. The tots came in a half empty carton and were comparable in taste to the onion rings I mentioned in my initial review: neither here nor there, but acceptable for a fast food chain. I wish I could say the same for the Chicago dog. It was a mess of flavors piled into a sad poppy seed bun. A few of the toppings, most notably the sport peppers and celery salt, were actually off-putting. I wouldn't want someone to judge New Yorkers based on a fast food thin crust pizza, so I won't hold this catastrophe of a hotdog over the people of Chicago. My co-worker had a burger, fries, and a shake, and didn't have anything good to say about her meal either. As such, I can't say with any confidence that I'll be dining here again. read more

Sonic Drive-In - Tots prior to eating any, they came in a half empty carton. - Burgers Near Me - Latham, New York

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Wish I had read the reviews beforehand. First visit ever. Awful. Waited in the drive thru only 2nd in line and waited 25 min. Got to the order screen and still no one took the order. Gave up. Pulled around and went into the counter. No employees. Finally placed an order and sat and waited another 25-30 min. Took us almost an hour to get 2 drinks, small fry and 3 chicken strips that were so greasy and over cooked my kid couldn't eat them. Will never return. read more

The manager of this location should be fired. I promised myself a few months ago I would NEVER come back. Driving by tonight I thought I'd give it one last try. OMG - I should be ashamed. We ordered and after 20 minutes they brought our food out missing an item. The food was actually cold. I chose not to wait 20 minutes again so went in to order. Popcorn chicken - that was it for my son. 32 minutes later after I had asked the girl taking orders that popcorn chicken should not take 25 minutes did she go back and get it for me. People who ordered after me were waiting 20+ minutes for two milkshakes. I don't blame the young ladies working there - they were kind and smiling. There managers and supervisors should be fired immediately. I see by some of the other reviews this is no surprise. I would be concerned because Sonic is opening other stores throughout the Capital Region. Save yourselves and go elsewhere, please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

This is the first review I've EVER written anywhere online.. but I just couldn't stay silent about my experience tonight. This place is absolutely terrible!!!!!! Still can't go inside to order... 2 years after covid. Drive thru is the slowest drive thru I've ever experienced in my life!!!!!!!!! Any time of day this place SUCKS!!!!!!!!! I understand places are short staffed these days, but the entire time I was in line there were 3 employees smoking cigarettes outside behind the dumpster. I can't even believe how miserable an experience it is to goto this place. My mind is literally blown. Like I said I've never complained before online, but I've been in the drive thru line for so long I could've written a novel. Unreal. read more

My order: dark chocolate shake, regular burger no cheese, lettuce, onion, pickles and sauce. the verdict: I have had their shakes before and I love the peanut butter chocolate and the banana shakes so I was expecting something delicious with a rich chocolate flavor for the shake. I was wrong. It was an average tasting chocolate shake with nothing "dark" about it. It tasted like any other fast food chocolate shake. I wasn't expecting much from the burger because I'm my experience the food here is bland and usually cold. I was right. The patty was thin, tough and bland. The toppings made it edible but were nothing special. My kids were so excited when Sonic came here but now that they've tried it they don't need to go back. My advice: Stick with the shakes, sodas and slushies. read more

It's below McDonald's and Burger King... The service is slow really slow and the food is just OK but not as OK as McDonald's or Burger King

It reminds me of a modernized 1950s Car Hop. Roller skates and all! The shakes are awesome and so are the slushes. They have so many flavors. My personal favorite is a cherry pineapple slush. My favorite menu item is the Chicago Dog. Alright, so I'm going to tell you the three ways you can sonic here. The first is the way that it is supposed to be. You drive up to the parking space to a computer screen. You press the classic Red Button and order. Then they roller skate your food out to you. The second option is to use one of the two drive thus that they have. Simple as that. The third is to eat in the lobby or outside on their tables. This Means you can Sonic all year round!! read more

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The worst place to go, ordered online and waited almost a half an hour. The people that run this place are stupid 20 year olds that have no common sense on what they are doing. My food came almost cold and the ice in our drinks was almost completely melted. Asked for the manager for a refund but wasn't going to wait another 30 mins for nothing. I will never be returning. read more

Sonic Drive-In - Ocean Blue drink - Burgers Near Me - Latham, New York

Waited in the drive-thru long enough to find out that they have free wi-fi, and send a few emails! THAT'S TOO LONG. A dozen boneless wings (aka gloppy-sauced chicken nuggets) and 2 orders of onion rings (cake-batter sweet breading) were over 16 dollars. With the myriad burger joints in the area, I won't be back, unless it's to try a shake, and I have a discount coupon. read more

Walked in to order thinking it might be faster but it was still very slow. Ordered quickly but waited 10mins to get my order of 5 hot dogs. I had assumed it would be faster here. My kids said the hot dogs were good though. read more

Sonic Drive-In - Burgers Near Me - Latham, New York

Chicken pop corn...Woahhh unbelievable, is disgusting chewy like rubber is not chicken at all and trying to cover it up with bbq sauce doesn't help, it just makes it worst...biggest waste of $8 ever, it went straight to my trash bin...If it wasn't for the tots my kids like I would never go back...unbelievable. Get your shlt together!!! read more

The only reason I come here is for the special shakes, that's it. The service is so slow that when you order on the app or in a parking stall the little prompt on the screen that shows the status of your order will disappear and you will be left there wondering if you will ever get your food. When left waiting for so long you can really analyze the area around the building as being dirty and un maintained by employees, garbage is strewn throughout parking lot, the park stall order boards look like they haven't been wiped off since the grand opening. I arrived in my stall before two other cars, and already had placed order ahead on app, and still both cars got there full course meals while I was waiting for a shake and chicken nuggets. And to add to it, the app would not let you pick out condiments. Awesome establishment 10/10 read more

Ordered two sides and a drink waited over 30 minutes. Called inside the manager wasn't very helpful and said they take the orders in order and they are busy yet the drive thru is moving along just fine. Came an hour for it and very disapointed I would have rather hit a mcdonald's. Very disapointed, never again. read more

Worst service anywhere. Doesn't matter whether you are waiting at the drive through at 4:30 PM or go inside the restaurant after 8, you'll wait for over 20 minutes. Tonight, I took my son to get an ice cream sandwich and small shake. Over half an hour wait, while others got full meals, shakes. Only when he asked for a refund did the manager come out and yet another 5 minutes did he get his order. Absolutely outrageous. The manager did apologize, but this will be the last time we go to Sonic. Unfortunately, we've had this experience every time at this Sonic. From now on, we will patronize mom and pop type places or make our own at home. Very disappointing experience. read more

Not sure what happened but this locale has gone down hill a bit since opening. Our orders have always been accurate however the speed of the drive thru has come to a crawl. Ordering 2 small shakes and a small fries should not take 20 minutes. Certainly not "fast food." Tip: Order the strawberry fruit slushy with "extra strawberry", otherwise you'll get 1/4 strawberry and 3/4 ice. read more

Very disappointed. Service poor, all the tables needed cleaning, garbage cans overflowing with trash. The young man who took our order really did not know what he was doing. He over charged us by 2.59. The meal was a burger a d tots for 4.99. The recipt had the burger at 4.79 and tots ar 2.59. The store manager was not much better. Took her about 10 min to get a refund. Her coment was well the register here is not like burger king. Thats not all the bathroom womens very dirty and the door handle did not work to lock they had a large barn door slid lock to lock the door. My husband also went into the mens room he said it was just as dirty. The store was not busy at all. 4 tables total of 8 people in The building. Its was 830pm when we were there. Not sure if will go back. read more

Literally the worst customer service ever. Only way to get service is through the drive through as they don't answer the call buttons in the parking slots. The drive through also takes forever. read more

Terrible service , food is sub par waiting on line now for over 15 minutes !!! They really should Shut the store down !!!

I've always thought of Sonic as an above average fast food place. Not stellar, but a step above most of the other options in the area. But the service at this particular Sonic is severely lacking. Last night, myself and 3 friends went to grab dinner after a soccer match. Before I could order, I overheard the manager tell the cashier to intentionally slow down incoming orders because the kitchen was backed up. However, I was able to order as were two of my friends. But my third friend, the last in our group, was told he'd have to wait to order because the kitchen was too far behind. He graciously sat down and waited to order. In the meantime, the rest of our food had come out. After about 15 minutes he gave up and left, and it was another 5 minutes before the cashier came over asking where our friend went and if he wanted to order. 20 minutes had elapsed. My question is, why not just take his order? If its busy and we have to wait for food, that's fine. But the restaurant was not all that busy (I've seen it much worse and they still kept taking orders), and it makes no logical sense to make someone wait to order. Especially when they're part of a larger group. Sure the kitchen order queue will be longer, but they process food orders as they come in anyway. I'm sure the system could've handled it. When it came down to it they were prioritizing the drive-in and drive-through customers over the in-store customers. Whoever the manager is needs a refresher in their customer service training. read more

First time, last time. Slowest fast food I've had the misfortune of having. 15 mins to get the order in a half full restaurant. and then an extra 10 more mins to get the order fixed when it was made wrong. Find a nice 5 Guys instead. read more

I am a big fan of Sonic and this is the closest location I have. It's a shame because the food is great but the service is the worst. Most fast food places try to get you in and out quickly but here you will likely wait for a long time before you even place your order read more

Went in for a quick bite before school, the cashier was very friendly and super helpful, his name was John, that dude deserves a raise! But the food came out very very quick and was very good ! Will definitely be back! read more

I remember going to sonic down south when I was younger, great food, great service and a great hangout for the school crowds. When I heard there was going to be one here I was of course excited, as I had missed those great experiences. When it first opened up it was pretty good, the food, shakes and the service. Wait time was worth it because care was taken into preparation, not anymore... I actually prefer to stay away from this particular sonic all together. If my family is desperate for a drink or something to eat, we will do the immediate eye roll, as we know we may run out of gas or fall asleep while waiting. We try to be hopeful, it will be good this time, nope. The last time was last night, happy hour for shakes. We ordered 3 shakes, one car ahead of us and I couldn't count the number behind us (too many) close to 30 minutes for 3 shakes! We drive away and start sipping and ended up tossing in the garbage. I am really disappointed and as others have said, probably management, but I'm going with the ladder, laziness on all parts of this particular sonic crew. read more

By far the worst sonic I have ever been to. Wait time is horrible. Only sonic around and I have given it many chances and the service is horrible. Went in after waiting at the drive through for 15 minutes and took over 30 minutes to get my food. Just go somewhere else if you're looking, not worth it read more

No matter the time or day of the number people there, you will eat FOR-EV-ER! for your food. It would be worth it if the food was amazing but it's just average fast food. The crushed ice in the soda is my favorite thing on the menu. But not worth waiting 20 minutes. read more

Absolute garbage. I've been to many sonic locations and they're all the same crappy dry food with no taste except for the over cooked and rubbery food. Do yourself a favor and go to a better restaurant. read more

we waited for order and cashier took off in the middle of taking ours order and then she was gone for 20 minutes so we have to leave and then we saw stranded dozen cars sitting on the parking lot read more

I finally took the plunge and ate at Sonic. There were highs and lows to the experience. The good: it's very clean. The staff are surprisingly cheerful and pleasant. They offer a nice selection of non-traditional burger joint side options. They don't nickel-n-dime you for their packets of sauces which are available on the counter free for the taking. Also, they seem to have hired a decent amount of special needs staff which makes my heart sing :-) The bad: it was the worst chain double cheeseburger I've ever had. The prices for burgers are too high and the wait time for food when it's not busy is not acceptable. Let's start with the burger. The meat patties are very dry, thin and don't even taste like meat. If I were blindfolded and fed the meat I wouldn't be able to tell you what kind of meat it was or if it was even meat. Everything was served room temperature. The meat was not hot or even warm and the cheese was not even slightly melted. All I could taste was the coldness of very bland iceberg lettuce, flavorless under-ripe tomatoes and pickles. All ice cold. The bun was not memorable since everything was cold. I had to dunk it in even more ketchup to make it edible even though it already came with ketchup, mustard and mayo. The mayo did nothing to enhance the burger. I wanted a corn dog but didn't see it on the menu. I found it while waiting for my food. It's on the kid's menu. My bad. I should have asked but I didn't. Also, even though I specified that I was eating there and not taking my food to go, everything came in to-go bags. I hate waste. The good: The chili cheese fries were legit. Tasty chili, cheese and onions added for no extra charge although the small was so... tiny. Also, the have a good selection of comfort junk food appetizers such as jalapeños poppers, mozzarella sticks, corn dogs, onion rings, tater-tots and hot dogs that might bring me back. That type of tasty crap sings my song. In conclusion, their burgers are the bottom of the barrel compared to similarly categorized fast food chain burgers. If I'm craving a cheap, highly processed and gooey cheeseburger I'll go to McD's or BK. Wendy's has the best of the low-end burgers. However, if I'm feeling frisky and want some chili cheese fries, a corn dog, mozzarella sticks or jalapeno poppers on the fly, I might go back. read more

I foolishly had higher hopes for you Sonic... I visited this location just after 9 at night after being out for various meetings throughout the evening and just wanted something quick, easy, and satisfying. Sonic proved to be none of those things. Ordered through the drive thru, and the person taking my order was very pleasant. Ordered a couple of chicken sandwich meals, some chicken strips, and a burger (not all for myself, but I did want to sample their burger as well as chicken options). After ordering and when I got to the window, it took longer than necessary to actually get my food and the the people working seemed like I was bothering them being there and were slouched and hanging over the counter. I was put off by that behavior. No, I'm not expecting 5 star service from a fast food restaurant, but for a newly opened chain that thinks so highly of themselves they should take more pride in their jobs. I don't see the workers at Chick-Fil-A behaving that way! As I always do, I check my order to make sure everything is there, and the order was made correctly. Of course one of the sandwiches was not, so I went back through the drive thru to inform the staff and have it corrected. After I spoke to someone in the drive thru line, they told me to pull around, and a worker there came up to my car and gave me what I thought was an attitude for having an issue with my order. He asked if I wanted them to re-make the sandwich, or if they could correct the one that they gave me. Why is that even a question? When I finally got home and saw the food that was served I was again, unimpressed. The chicken on their sandwiches is TINY, and the tater tots I got on the side were not even filled to the top of the container. The soda tasted flat. The only promising thing in the order was the burger I got, which was actually a pretty decent size. But almost $30 on some fast food that wasn't even anything special had me feeling like this place is a rip off. Hey, at least I can say I got to experience Sonic in Albany, but I won't be returning. read more

My husband decided he wanted sonic well here's how it went. It started off we were the only ones on the restaurant. My husband ordered a foot long coney hotdog combo and tots. He really enjoyed his meal. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger toaster combo with tots. The toaster wasn't toasted it was just like bread and wasn't that great. It took almost 25 minutes to come out. After we ate my husband wanted a blaster before we left so we ordered a med Reese's blast and a small Oreo and peanut butter master shake. They charged us for a small peanut butter shake and added on Oreos and peanut butter. When I told the girl at the counter that it was wrong she said she had no idea and went to get the "manager". If he was the manager then you need a new one. He was extremely rude and when I tried to tell him what I wanted he said well you added all this on there. I said I didn't want that I wanted a small master shake the Oreo and pb one on the menu. He was not friendly or helpful at all. He refunded us .77 when it should have been over two dollars we got back. As we waited for our order a group of 5 came in and when no one helped them they left. Another lady came in same thing no help she left. Another couple came in guess what no one came out they left. After 45 minutes we finally got our order. Well guess what my husbands wasn't what he ordered but after all that we weren't waiting for them to remake it. As we were walking out the door a lady came in and told the girl that works there that she has been waiting in stall 8 for half hour and they left and pulled around to find out what was going on. I understand it's hard to get help and what not but this is ridiculous and we will not be coming back. read more

Hello, Last night was the first time we came in to try your food. I would like to take a moment to show my appreciation to your staff. While we were there we watched as a woman ate her food while complaining that it was cold. The entire time she was complaining about her food being cold, we ate and ordered our dessert. She seemed to have her entire meal and then get a second one on the house as well as gift coupons for future visits. Your staff treated her as professionally as I have ever seen and never seemed to get "Hot Under The Collar" by this customer's comments and actions. Your staff deserves Kudos for their actions and more importantly, lack there-of, by showing politeness and restraint. Had I been a member of the management staff, I most likely would have told the "customer" to leave and never come back. On to our meal... We thoroughly enjoyed two Bacon Double Cheeseburgers and Fries and our desserts were fantastic. The only thing that was remotely wrong was that my girlfriend was not able to finish hers meal because the burger was too much for her. We'll be back to enjoy more of your food. Thank You Floyd read more

Come on people, it's a fast food joint. Not sure what people were expecting. Every fast food joint has their thing: McD is the Big Mac, BK is the Whopper and Sonic (IMO) is the slushies. This Sonic has been open about a month or so and there's still a line when I go. The hype hasn't died down yet. Give it time. Yes there are issues with ordering at times, but it's expected for a new place. Again, give it time. The burgers are good, the popcorn chicken is good, love their honey mustard sauce, and oh the slushies. My favorite is cherry, but you can get crazy with the combos that can be made into a slushy. Be a daredevil and add some pop rocks in there, if you dare. I had a try at their ice cream and it was good as well. I have no complaints about the food and once the service improves, I'm sure I'll add a star. Until then, I'll continue to enjoy slushies and the occasional ice cream :) read more

It's very hard for me to understand the popularity of this restaurant. That there was a traffic cop to direct traffic when it opened beggars belief. Why? I had never been to Sonics until yesterday. I tried mini tots, mini onion rings, mini popcorn chicken, & a diet coke. I don't know how they managed to make the food both dried out & greasy, but they did. My medium soda was so packed with ice, I'd be surprised if I got 4 oz of actual soda. There's a sign behind the counter that says "no refunds, we will try to fix the problem" (or something like that). My suggestion is to close it down & bring something actually tasty to the area. This type of garbage food already abounds. First & last visit. read more

Full confession ... I went to Sonic on opening day ... I have no life ... I admit it. Hey, it's a hot tub time machine moment. I used to eat there on ski trips and vacations out West long ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth. And it's goofy and crazy and exactly what it's supposed to be. Food-wise it's a cut above the usual fast food dumps. And of course not quite on par with the new high end chains. But you go there for a laugh, and they never disappoint. Burgers ... fries ... shakes.. and car hops on skates. Good attitude from the staff too. Guilty pleasure time ... I like Sonic. So sue me. read more

I have to admit, the first time my husband and I went to this Sonic, it was horrible. We waited about an hour in the car hop area to order and never were asked our order. We waited so long because we thought they were busy and cut them some slack. But after 3 different cars around us ordered and received food, we left and went to Five Guys down the street instead. Then, recently, I decided to give the place another shot. My mom was in town from Oklahoma and we decided to go to Sonic. We went through the drive through and they ended up messing up my order. I ended up parking and going inside to get it fixed. Waited in line for around 10 minutes, and then explained to the cashier what happened and was assured that they would fix it and it would be right out. So, I waited and after people started getting their food who were in line after me, I walked out. My mom ended up having to be a bit rude in order for them to get my food the way I wanted it. I'm used to Sonic being pretty great, having grown up in Oklahoma... but I don't think I'm going to go back to this location ever again. read more

Confused as to why people think you are supposed to get anything other than fast food quality at a fast food restaurant?? If you want a perfectly cooked, thick juicy beef burger go somewhere else! Sonic is fine for a fast food craving. Yes the lines are long if you want to join the crowd of lazy and probably stoned teenagers who are willing to wait an hour or more for food but I parked, went inside and waited 10 minutes for my food. I can't image why anyone would wait in the drive through line until the hype dies down. People who are complaining about the quality of food are snobs and I'm not sure why you're looking to get a "specialty" hot dog or shake at a fast food chain. 3 out of 5 stars because my food was actually good and the service was great. read more

The drinks are good, the food is empty calories, and servers are surprisingly friendly. Good for drowning your sorrows in greasy food and cold, non-alcoholic drinks. Generally, the food is very subpar compared to other places that serve similar items. The hamburgers are rubbery, onions rings are on the bitter side, and the However, the slushies are usually great - an equal ratio of drink to finely shaved ice and slightly on the sweeter side. Most drinks can be customized up the wazoo, including milk shakes, The servers have been young and friendly (a nice change for Albany) which, although it doesn't make the crappy food better, makes the trip not quite as big a regret. In summary - it's Sonic. Go for the drinks, and get food if you must. read more