Sonic Drive-In — Restaurant in San Diego

Food: 4.5/5 Service and Setting: 3/5 Value: 3/5

Are there any San Diego locals who remember the mid-2000s when they would blast Sonic commercials all the time with no Sonics to be found for miles? I have carried that resentment with me for many years. Though I have tried Sonic at this location a handful of times, I’ve never taken the time to write a proper review. While I cannot speak about the interior of the restaurant, the service I have received in the drive-in parking spot has been good. On some days, it has been admittedly slow, but not as bad as a busy drive-thru. The drive-in parking spots are nice and wide as well as angled, so even the worst drivers can park here with ease. The servers have all been very nice and seemed happy while bringing out the food. I’ve always ordered through the app to make sure that I was able to use any coupons or promotions going on and that has been very smooth as well.

Chili Cheese Fries: 4/5 Not much to say about this guy. The fries were cooked perfectly, rivaling McDonald’s on their best days, with fresh-tasting chili and mild cheese. I want to say that their chili tastes a little less muted and flavorful than Wienerschnitzel and the overall quality is better. It was honestly a home run.

Footlong Quarter Pound Coney: 5/5 Maybe my cravings were too powerful, but dang, this chili cheese dog hit like no other. I am very very very particular about hotdogs. I do not like them grilled, too salty, too mushy, etc I especially do not like Costco hotdogs (I am prepared to die on this hill). Sonic did an amazing job. The sausage itself was snappy, lightly smokey, not overly salty, and had a mellow flavor. The chili and cheese were also mild but enhanced the savory flavor of the hot dog. This tastes like a step up from Wienerschnitzel in terms of quality and taste. I will be back for this glizzy without shame.

Pickle Fries: 2.5/5 These were probably the least delicious thing I ate today at Sonic. Straight out of the bag, there was a very strong pickle smell. The shapes ranged from little nubs to more generous strands. Overall, it was a very simply dredged and fried pickle, very similar to fried zucchini that you can get from other restaurants. The most disappointing part was that they were extremely soggy, even straight out of the fryer. I don’t think it is worth giving this a try.

Soft Pretzel Twist: 4/5 Soft pretzels are delicious, but are they more delicious once fried? Sort of. This deep-fried pretzel has the aroma of a freshly baked pastry with the savory crust of a fried item. It was gently salted and had a warm pillowy center. While I did enjoy it, I felt that the oil took away from the experience of enjoying it as a pretzel. This is a convoluted way of saying that I would prefer a freshly baked pretzel over a fried one, but this was good. It comes with cheese sauce that was a little too funky and oddly sour that I personally did not enjoy. Make sure to eat this quick! As soon as it cools down, it begins to turn into a rock.

Pickle Juice Slush: 4.5/5 Seeing this on TikTok, I knew that I had to grab it before they took it away. With its nuclear green color looking like it would melt its styrofoam container, this pickle juice slush hit hard. The taste of kosher pickle was strong without the spices. Vinegar and the aroma of pickled cucumbers smack your taste buds while notes of dill and other pickling spices linger very faintly in the back. The drink is sweet and definitely reads as a dessert while also having a considerable amount of salt, almost like a Gatorade on steroids. With all of that said, I found the drink by itself to be a little too sweet, sour, and salty, but drinking it after a bite of food was amazing. Cold and refreshing, it helps reset your palate while enhancing your hotdog, fried goodies, or burger. This is the condiment I never knew I needed and I hope that they keep it on forever. If you like pickles or even if you can tolerate them, I would definitely recommend. Also, a medium is more...

If I could give them no stars I would!! Worst service, food and customer service EVER!

We place an online order for pick up last night  which consisted of 3 customized combos. As directed by our online confirmation, when we arrived we parked and attempted to check in. A highly irritated woman's voice came on the speaker and abruptly said "we're drive thru only" and never waited for a response before clicking off (yet there were other cars in parking slots). We waited almost 30 minutes to reach the window in the drive thru. It served us absolutely no purpose to have ordered ahead online.

When we were finally  given our order we noticed we were being handed items that we hadn't ordered and we let the window attendant know. He told us to keep them since he already handed them to us, however, upon returning home we examined the receipt and noticed we had been charged for 5 items we did not order and they were itemized and then totaled as "Doordash". The receipt was $12.01 more than our online order.

Upon examining the food, it was cold and lifeless and 2 of the customized combos were wrong! One sandwich (burger) was missing the ketchup, mustard and tomato but was loaded with onions after it was specifically ordered without onions! Another sandwich (chicken) was ordered with, and charged extra for, bacon and there was no bacon. The fried chicken patty was so thin, there was practically no chicken to be found. Hard, crunchy, overcooked breading was all that existed. The onion rings accompanying the order tasted like funnel cake. The food was tasteless and unappealing, and looked like it had been sitting around for days!!

Upon contacting the store, the young man I spoke to was apologetic but would do nothing to correct the situation. He gave me another number to call which was answered by a woman with a thick accent who appeared to not have a clear understanding of the English language. After 15 minutes on the phone with her, I was then told she had no authority to give a refund of any part of the order or do anything about the poorly fulfilled order but she would elevate my concerns and someone would call me at a later time.

We will NEVER visit another...

It’s a bit of a novelty to have carhops and drive ups and when done right is a throw back that brings back all those warm fuzzy feelings from childhood.

After coming here I’m glad I grew up and have the choice to not come back here again. Clairemont is a hub for great Asian food and I should have known that eating here would be like getting a NY Pizza in Hawaii. About as authentic and classic an experience as sushi from a gas station. Your setting yourself up for disaster.

Entrances/Exits everywhere mean lots of arrows and an actual inside dining room was a surprise (when you see inside you’ll wonder why they even have this). It’s bright and stark like a cafeteria. The kitchen is completely hidden and communication is done via the pos and a door so it feels a bit like a prison without a service station.

Carhops skate around oblivious to wait times and customer needs like condiments, missing items, receipts. Their management of this process is out of wack. Service inside is a little better and they understand the holes in the way they do things. Seeing such low ratings I gave them the benefit of the doubt, but seeing that issues from reviews years/months ago are being repeated means they refuse to correct it. (look up the quote along these lines by Orlando Bautista).

Costco hotdogs have better taste than their coneys. Their buns are often stale and they don’t use salt on tots/fries or pretzel buns. Chili is ok, standard at most locations, same here. Shakes are thick, rich, but too much whip cream and their straws are not up to par. Their chicken strips are pretty good as are their sauces.

Price is ok if you know what to order as half their items are mediocre and most people overpay for what they get. The only saving grace is their limeade’s (go great with vodka or rum) and their HH pricing on them.

Like J.Cole has in his No Role Modelz song (in a George Bush voice) “There’s an old saying Tennessee-I know it’s in Texas-probably in Tennessee-that says, fool me once-shame on-shame on you. If you fool me, we can’t get fooled again” Don’t come here...