A&C Soda Shop — Restaurant in South Portland

WOW.

It was my son’s 11th birthday and we took his brother, mother, grandparents, and great grandmother to A&C for a celebratory lunch. Table of 7 for 4 generations please!

The atmosphere for this joint is ‘retro-modern’ and if you look close enough at the menu, you’ll see modern day enhancements on the classic soda fountains that existed in the 50s. The only thing I couldn’t find in the place was roller skates, a jukebox, and George McFly.

Starting with the drinks, we ordered the typical except for my oldest who wanted to know what a ‘creamsicle’ was. After I explained it to him, I told him if ½ the detail they put into the ambience of this joint was in the creamsicle, he would not be disappointed. Sure enough, it was a true blast from the past that he couldn’t put down.

After much menu deliberation everyone honed in on their order. We ordered several A&C Burgers, fish tacos, fish and chips, and of course fries. Everything was amazing, juicy, messy, and the fries were expertly salted. My youngest even devoured the coleslaw that came with his fish & chips. The food was outstanding to say the least.

As we were wrapping up, my son’s 97 year old great grandmother seemed to ‘pass out’. Without hesitation, we called 911 and our waitress immediately picked up on our distress. In a matter of seconds tables were being moved, the front windows (really large garage doors that conveniently open) of the restaurant were opened, and the owner (who was working the line) was putting cones in the parking lot to block spaces for the EMTs.

Long story short, great grandmother is fine. I can’t say enough about how wonderful A&C was at this time. Here we had an amazing lunch followed by a harrowing event that would have been much more traumatic had it not been for the staff and owner. A class act this crew.

Last – our heartfelt thanks go out to the South Portland EMT teams that answered the 911 call. Professional, incredible bedside manner, and they were amazing with the whole family – they even let the kids join their great grandmother on the ambulance as she was being checked out.

This was our first visit (and certainly won’t be our last). The birthday for my son will be one for the memories. Thank you A&C and the entire SoPo community! ❤️

Names have been purposely omitted to respect the privacy...

I’ll give you an extra star because it is cute inside but I can’t with good moral recommend this place to anyone. I come from a place of foodie love with this but yall really need to learn how to season stuff. I ordered the wedge salad which came out half weird hunks half shredded lettuce.(I’ll post the pic) the ranch was quite literally the most flavorless I’ve ever had, not even any salt it just tasted like Greek yogurt. My girlfriend got a chicken sandwich and the chicken was also the most flavorless thing I’ve eaten in a long time. Just add some premixed seasoning and some salt and this food would be ten folds better. The fries were pretty good/ the chicken had good crisp and prices weren’t bad at all but the food is like bare minimum effort. As I read the reviews it looks like a lot of the same thing. No flavor….. like those memes where they make fun of people who don’t use any seasonings… this is your food. I hate to be like this to a local place but it was truly so bland. It’s cute inside the bartender was nice and maybe I messed up not getting a burger based on reviews. Hopefully you guys can pick up a shaker of adobo and put it in the ranch and chicken breading and have a good tasty meal. It’s such an easy fix to simply add seasoning. You really gotta bite the bullet and just trust the reviews on this one. 20$ at hannaford for some slap ya momma sauces would change your...

I've been driving by looking at this place for quite sometime. After cooking a fabulously healthy dinner at home my mind drifted off into thoughts of crispy fries and melted cheese on delectable patties of grilled bovine heaven. How could I eat this pile of chicken and rice? My pre diabetes was angry and would force my hand. I put the horribly healthy meal in the fridge....its time would come but not today good sir! I ran to the phone and dialed......the heavenly voice answered thank you for calling ac soda shop. I ordered a double burger and half strawberry half chocolate shake. Within 20 min this small package of delite was in my hands n on its way home. I opened the box with curious fever. Fries perfectly cooked crispy yet with some slight thickness. The burger oh lord the burger! Soft bun as soft as my smooth ape brain. The underside toasted lightly also like my smooth ape brain. Cheese melted over both patties a treasure to truly behold. I consumed this gift from the heavens with a passion not unlike a crazed cannibal at a family gathering. A long draw off the shake chocolaty with a kick of strawberry sweetness. I can no longer contain my emotions....the burger and I have become one....-sobs in greasey...