Sonic Drive-In — Restaurant in Riverside

Normally, Sonic is one of my favorite places to go, but after experiencing what I did today, I won’t be returning here.

I met my mom and sister here today. I asked about the sauced popcorn chicken and if it could be put it into a combo. They said yes. When I received my order, they gave me normal popcorn chicken with ranch. When I contacted them again to tell them my order was wrong, they said they couldn’t put the sauced popcorn into a combo and that I would have to pay full price for the sauced popcorn chicken and that there is nothing they could do about the error. After continuing to argue with them, the lady taking the order disconnected without telling me and sent someone out. She also proceeded to tell me that they just found out they couldn’t put it in a combo and there’s nothing they could do after giving me the misinformation. She also stated to get the combo, they had to do the popcorn chicken with the bbq sauce on the side and I should have known that’s that what they would do. I told her I received ranch with my order and it said honey mustard on my receipt so that didn’t make sense either. I didn’t know that I was supposed to assume that they would do that when I was given inaccurate information. This all ended with them saying they could do nothing for me unless I paid the extra for the sauced popcorn chicken.

This is not all! My sister ordered 2 drinks for my mom and her... one being Coke Zero with vanilla. They left out the vanilla. They came out and replaced her drink and asked for the one she already sipped out of back. They were also not wearing gloves. We are in the middle of a pandemic, and they took my sister’s drink back. That is worrisome on so many levels that they would take a drink back when the vaccine hasn’t fully been released.

Beware of this place for sure! Worst customer service I have...

I’ve known about Sonic since back in 2001 when I lived in Georgia, so you can imagine my excitement when I found out they were opening a location here in California! It’s like getting a little piece of my memory back.

Now, let me tell you, my absolute favorite thing to eat at Sonic is their ice cream. Specifically, anything with Reese's. I always go for extra Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups because, in my opinion, it just tastes better that way! But honestly, the ice cream alone is worth the trip. 🍦 If I’m in the mood for something savory, their coney dogs hit the spot every time. I like pairing them with a strawberry nerd slush or a grape slush—definitely a fun, sweet combo.

There was a time when I came here almost every day to try something new off their menu. The variety is huge, and I got to taste everything from breakfast items to lunch to their desserts (which are my absolute favorite). If I had to pick my second favorite, it’d be the coney or Chicago dogs, but desserts take the crown for me!

What really adds to the experience is the nostalgic touch of the rollerblading servers. I love the old-school vibe and how they’ll skate your food to you—it’s a nice reminder of the good ol’ days of our grandparents time- being here sort of gives it an old-timey vibe from the 60's.

Keep in mind, this place can get pretty crowded on weekends or late at night, so be ready to wait a bit. But overall, if you’re craving classic American comfort food, this is the spot...

WORST SERVICE EVER! Let me start by saying this Sonic is usually fast and efficient. Today it was anything but.

The young lady who took my order kept getting it wrong, and I had to correct her many times. I pulled forward to pay and pick up my food and waited, and waited, and waited some more. Two times people tried to give me orders that were not mine.

When my food finally came, they brought an incorrect item. The car hop apologized and asked me to park across the lot to wait for a replacement. While I waited, I checked the part of my order that had been delivered (and which was getting cold, well except for the milkshake, which was melting). I noticed I had been shorted an item.

When my missing item finally arrived, I mentioned that I was still short an item from what was ordered. It turned out that was because the young lady who took my order missed my ordering two of the same item.

I wasn't willing to wait for the missing item, so left with my mostly cold food and my melting milkshake.

While this was happening to me, I noticed several other orders being delivered to the wrong person. It wasn't just me. Service had collapsed for everyone.

On this day at this location, Murphy's law was in full swing. It all did go wrong. BTW, when you warm up a hamburger and french fries in the microwave, the bun and fries get soggy.

In fairness, they were busy, but if they don't dramatically improve the service, that won't be a problem...