Wagon Wheel Country Drive In — Restaurant in Gill

First impressions mean a lot. My husband and I stopped for an early dinner. He has only ordered to go once before and was happy with the food. There were 2 young girls working the register. When I asked if we seat ourselves she never turned to answer me face to face. So we sat down. Then she came and found us to tell us we need to order first. The entrance is not very large and the bathroom is right at the door. So we stood in line while someone was trying to get out of the restroom. People are trying to leave.... Cluster (bleep) is an understatement. We finally ordered our food. Bacon cheese burger and fries. Crispy chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries. Both orders of fries were soggy, and limp (🤮). Bacon cheeseburger was decent. Crispy chicken sandwich was made with over cooked chicken tenders. (Which I chipped my tooth on) I have worked in a very high paced diner in the past and have worked in the service industry for over 25 years. This place needs an education on greeting their customers properly. Also, the decor is like eating at your great great grandma's. To much clutter. Although you would definitely get treated better at grandmas house. $37.00 plus tip. If I wanted to do everything I would have stayed at home and cooked myself. (Seat yourself, clear your own plates & get your own water.) Also I watch other customers bring their own cups from to get water.... not very sanitary in my opinion. Unfortunately I will not be going back anytime soon. It is sad because you want to support local business but I would have gotten treated better and had a better meal at the 99 restaurant. Plus $2.25 for a can cheap soda is ridiculous. If you choose to go here, stop at the mill convenient store down the road first and get your drinks. They don't seem to mind if you...

Don't make the mistake of passing this place up like we almost did.

We were on a fall Drive and looking for someplace to stop and eat. Wagon Wheel seems at first a little nondescript or ordinary. In fact, it's exceptional.

The burger for example… looks in actuality like the pictures of burgers you see in ads on tv promise. If a hamburger could be cute, this is it. The result of high quality ingredients, well prepared, and carefully put together. Already it's well beyond what I would have expected. But then you can pay a little more and get a burger made with local beef. And if that's not your thing you can get a turkey burger or 2 different veggie options. Again, more than I would expect.

They also offer homemade ice cream, as do a lot of places. But I've been to many that have left me wondering if the ice cream was really homemade, or if it is, why I should care given the taste and quality. But at Wagon Wheel I had homemade apple cider donut ice cream that was creamy and delicious even without the generous pieces of apple cider donut. It was exactly what I would hope it would be, definitely homemade, and much more than I expected.

Their website says "The Way Road Food Should Be" and I think that's exactly right. Beyond the food the atmosphere was really pleasant. The picnic tables outside were full of happy people enjoying themselves. It was nice to be...

TL;DR: Fast, very tasty, uncommon style, well-priced. Good for kids, incredibly convenient for travelers.

Five stars shouldn't be a common achievement, but should also reflect how a restaurant performs against its goals - and the Wagon Wheel has been hitting it out of the park for well over a decade.

Wagon Wheel succeeds in a stretch of Route 2 where almost every business tends to die from some unanswerable curse. While it was largely a seasonal restaurant at first, it expanded seating and indoor capacity after a few years, and grew into its current identity.

A counter deli order style makes for great efficiency - you order, take the marker, and place it on whatever table you end up claiming as yours in their self-seated dining space. Food arrives far faster than you would expect, and it's never less than "good". From the sweet potato fries to the clam basket, or the many burgers and wide array of specials, or the local brews and ice cream, you won't be disappointed.

As mentioned, it's deli-style. You won't find attentive table service, and if you're a mindful soul, you'll bus your own table - but you won't even mind. Great place for the kids or a quick bite...