Sonic Drive-In

Reviews

• L

  Lauren -

  6 days ago
  1.0
  Look if y'all are understaffed and can't stay open until the official closing hours then change the hours on Google maps. I got there barely after 11PM, and after I went around to the drive thru the only employee on site shut off all the lights and left five minutes later. Advertised closing time said 1AM. Took my business down the street to McDonald's; disappointing
• CC

  Carl Carl

  Jul 11, 2026
  1.0
  My wife wanted an iced tea tonight, and Sonic is usually her favorite, so I stopped by the Ellicott City location. There wasn't a single car in the drive-thru, but when I tried to order I was told they were "only accepting mobile orders" that night. I've been to a lot of fast-food restaurants over the years, and I'd never encountered that before. With no line and employees sitting in the dining room booths instead of working the drive-thru, it was hard to understand why they refused to take a normal order. It somehow got worse. I placed a mobile order, and an employee eventually came out to my van to tell me they didn't have lemonade. I told him that was fine because I hadn't ordered lemonade. I ordered an iced tea. He then told me they didn't have iced tea either and that I'd have to request a refund through the app myself. Think about that for a second. A Sonic couldn't fulfill an order for iced tea, one of the most basic items on its menu, and the customer is expected to spend additional time requesting a refund because the store accepted an order for something it didn't have. Unfortunately, this wasn't an isolated incident. The customer service at this location has been consistently poor. On a previous visit, an employee took my order, stopped responding halfway through, and when I drove to the window I was scolded and told to go back to the speaker and order again. Experiences like that make it feel like customers are an inconvenience rather than the reason the business exists. This store sits on Route 40 in Ellicott City, a busy area with plenty of customers. It should be an easy location to succeed, yet it's one of the worst-run fast-food restaurants I've visited. The staff frequently come across as passive-aggressive or outright rude, and the operation seems to continuously get worse instead of better. I genuinely hope ownership either completely turns this location around or someone else eventually takes it over. Right now, this restaurant is an embarrassment to the Sonic brand.
• GR

  Giovanni Rocco

  Jul 4, 2026
  1.0
  Terrible customer service. Pulled up, wait a few minutes to decide what to order, we press the button, and a rude man asked if we had an online order. We say no and he says “ok we ain’t taking orders” and ends the conversation. Absolutely waste of time. Go home if you don’t want to work.
• HH

  Helen

  Jun 27, 2026
  1.0
  First time I came a few weeks ago to grab something quick before work. It took over 20min for small fries and a burger. Came again today. Waited over 30min for a slushy and a mini frosty. Went inside after being passed over multiple times. Turns out the our order must have never been placed or got lost. Im sure the two remaining people struggling to run the place are doing their best but higher management needs to provide better support. Slushy came out as a diluted drink of like 90% water 10% flavoring. Frosty was half melted. Honestly i don't know how much longer this place will stay open.
• MC

  Michelle “Chelle”

  Jun 14, 2026
  1.0
  I am extremely disappointed with my recent experience at the Sonic in Ellicott City, MD. I placed a mobile order while parked in Mobile Pickup #1 at 3:16 PM, and the app indicated that my order would be ready by 3:21 PM. Shortly after placing the order, we noticed other vehicles arriving and the drive-thru becoming backed up. Despite arriving after us, many customers were served and left before we ever received our food. After waiting approximately 25 minutes, my mother went inside the restaurant to inquire about our order. She returned empty-handed and informed me that staff said our food would be brought out shortly. About three minutes later, our order was finally delivered to the car, meaning we waited over 30 minutes in total. Unfortunately, the long wait was followed by very poor food quality. The packaging for the Triple burger was crushed. The Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger was burned and falling apart off the bun. The fries were overcooked and cold, and the tater tots were smashed. To make matters worse, our corn dog was completely missing from the order, forcing us to return to the restaurant to retrieve it, only to be given a cold corn dog. This location appears to have steadily declined since it opened. The physical location itself is also problematic. The restaurant sits on a very narrow plot of land adjacent to the Goodwill, making access and traffic flow inconvenient for customers. In my opinion, this location was not well suited for a Sonic restaurant from the beginning. Given the ongoing traffic congestion and operational challenges, it seems the site's limitations may not have been fully considered during the planning process. There are several other locations throughout Ellicott City that likely would have provided easier customer access and better supported the restaurant's operations. While the location alone does not excuse poor service or food quality, the challenges created by this site appear to contribute to chronic understaffing, long wait times, delays, and the overall decline in customer experience. I typically only visit this Sonic when dropping off donations at the neighboring Goodwill, and unfortunately, each visit seems to reinforce the same issues: understaffing, poor service, extended wait times, and declining food quality. Going to Sonic has always been a treat for my family. However, after waiting over 30 minutes for poor-quality food and subpar service, what should have been an enjoyable experience instead felt like a waste of both time and money. I hope management takes these concerns seriously and addresses the ongoing issues at this location so future customers can have a better experience.