Sonic Drive-In — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

If I could rate a zero, I would. From the beginning, I explained to the person who took my order via the microphone that I never been to a Sonic in my life so I was clueless to how they operate.

I explained to rep I wanted two Number 1s which is a cheeseburger, fries and a drink. I said for one of the number 1, give me everything except a tomato with a sprite. For the second number 1 I don't want anything but a cheeseburger. No condiments or other toppings with an all natural lemonade.

There was a slight confusion because the representative kept asking if I wanted an "iced lemonade". I had to tell her I don't see it worded like that on the menu as I see "all natural lemonade". Eventually she confirmed it was the same thing.

Asked do I pay now or later, which she explained if I pay with a card, I could pay now. However I can give the server the .oney if paying cash.

After waiting a little close to 30 minutes, a server came out with the food. The server was apologetic for the tardiness which didn't matter because I was finally about to have Sonic. Immediately my partner mentioned that the fries were cold, which I confirmed by eating some.

At this point, I signaled for the server to take the fries back due to them being cold. The serve apologized again. Sadly but at this point hungry, I went to go eat my cheeseburger w/o the fries 🥺. Upon opening my cheeseburger, I was greeted with mayonnaise and pickles. My partner's had the tomato she didn't want.

I took our food to the door and requested a refund. A representative took the food then came back and asked what happened. I told her everything that was wrong and after waiting close to 30 minutes, I don't want to wait anymore. The server refunded me the money and was yet again apologetic.

I'll probably give them a shot again if I'm somewhere else. This all happened yesterday July 3rd 2023 at the Valley...

UPDATE: I think they read our reviews and have made a lot of changes. The long line, at certain times can't be controlled(it's the only sonic on this side of LI and it's right by a highway AND a mall) however they have found a way to keep the line to a minimum EVEN DURING rush hour times. I have waited less than 10 minutes each time (during evening rush hour and during spring break). After getting to the stall, the wait time to order is less than 3 minutes and the food came out fresh and hot each time in less than 10 minutes. Granted I don't get super complex orders but still the food had been great each time. They also have better trained the car hops and staff in generalx, the staff is still young teenagers but they are super professional and sweet and helpful now. Even during spring break, there are still teens everywhere BUT they aren't loud or obnoxious. So happy with the improvements!

Honestly terrible. The wait is horrendous and the employees working the lot are rude and loud, screaming about completely inappropriate things, using profanity and slurs. I get their all likely 16 years old and this isn't a corporate office but show respect and professionalism. I blame management, he was too busy taking pictures of the ridiculously long lines and peoples faces without their consent to actually manage. The order did come out come out correct. Once you actually get to the stall to order it's another 15 minutes to get someone to answer then another 30 to get your food. This location has a bunch teenagers crowding around smoking weed and being teenagers, I.e. loud, rude, etc. I went twice and I doubt I'll come back to this location. Even though it is convenient, my safety, gas and time can't continue to be wasted. Save yourself a headache and a half tank of gas and GO TO...

Have experienced this SONIC location 3 times. First time with a friend, she said they had good stuff so I joined her. We parked, ordered on the screen, prices and payment options come up as you tell the person your order through the speaker. Someone came by on rollerblades and gave us our food. I had a popcorn chicken and onion rings. I liked the onion rings. I thought the popcorn chicken was just okay. Not super flavorful, but basic breaded white meat.

The second time I went myself and parked. Even in the cold, someone walked out to give the food. I had a chicken sandwich and onion rings. Decent chicken sandwich, would put on a similar tier as shake shack and chic fil a. Onion rings were perfect, buttery, soft inside, just the right amount of crispy outside. I even raved about them to people I work with. Also came with little wrapped mints, so that was a treat.

Third time, I went through the drive thru. Ordered Medium onion rings. Drove away. Took a bite of one. It was rock hard. Tried another one. Still disgusting. I couldn't even bite into it. I kept trying them. None of them were good. They were dry, hard, flavorless. They really let me drive off with a whole bag of onion rings I couldn't even eat. It is absolutely disrespectful that they would serve inedible food. I feel like since I was driving by, they didn't care about the quality they were serving and gave whatever was left frying. Whatever the "reason", I felt cheated. They should have thrown away the food instead of serving it. That's what I had to do anyway. I feel like the worst thing someone can do is f*ck with someone's food. It was a real waste of time and money. It was such a bad experience that I am not coming here again. Super...