Its hard to rate a soda fountain-style restaurant on its own merits because theyre just so very rare, but short of supply issues, this one performed like a well-oiled machine.Service was prompt, relaxed, and friendly.Food quality was quite high for what it offered, though the fare is relatively simple.The ambiance is a delightful throwback to a time when such places drew people of the community together, but the advent of the soda machine pretty well destroyed it.The garlic knots are a great appetizer if you enjoy garlic, but if youre not a fan, then stay away. Theyre heavily topped with it and the bottom of the bowl is filled with their garlic sauce. Personally? I liked it, but brushed as soon as I got home.My wife and I had their belly-busting Pink Cadillac hot dogs. Im not sure why, but we hadnt eaten a good hot dog in a long while. A foot long beef frank, perfectly grilled and covered in your choice of three toppings, neither of us could finish it. It comes with your choice of sides.There are many fine restaurants in Venices historic district. Come to this one if youre looking for something unique to drink or a taste of the past.
Had just eaten and stopped in looking for coffee decided to have a cherry soda ice cream soda and a vanilla egg cream and they were excellent. Food people was ordering smell wonderful too will have to come back and try it. Ask for Emily. They were very busy and she was very excellent at handling it.
Service was good food was decent just very oily. Portions look like downsized and didnt use baskets like they use to. Pastrami was dry and oinion rings where dripping brown oil. Wings where perfect so thats why 4 stars.
Stopped by on Saturday night 10/16/21. Had an 18 extra cheese pizza, and Bailey was our server. It was a full house, but we were seated right away. The pizza was amazing! The best weve had since living here in Venice! Loved every bite! And, as for our server Bailey, she was just as amazing! She never stop still for a minute and was so polite and attentive to all our possible needs. 5☆ experience all the way around! Cant wait to go back!
Our first trip there was last week and we dined in. Both our pizzas were burnt on the bottom, one only half could be eaten. BUT the taste was great for what could be eaten. I decided to give them another shot (even though we were NOT compensated for an unsatisfactory meal) and ordered a take out. I mentioned that our prior experience resulted in a burnt pizza and she said she would mention to cook. Pizza was fantastic! Will definitely go again! Love vibe and decor of place!
Very cute place! We came for the ice cream and it was delicious. I had coffee ice cream and my husband tried the coke float. Very good service.
We just wanted lunch and are clearly not impatient. Sat at the bar, it was nearing the end of the lunch rush. It took at least 5 minutes to be acknowledged. Ordered dinks never received my water and the iced tea was wrong, no big deal, couldnt get her attention to fix it for more than 5 minutes. Finally we able to get her attention to order a grilled cheese and pizza. I realize it does take a while when dining there, so we were extra patient with our food not coming out quickly. After 40 minutes, and seeing other food arriving at tables seated after us, we finally got her attention and inquired about our order. She then asked another server if she put in our order which the other server did not. Why would she take our order and have another server put it in?? When she came out of the kitchen we were told our order would be out shortly, no apology, just excuse that they are very busy, which at this time they had not been busy for a good 20 minutes. Our food finally arrives and its WRONG!! She offers to have it remade and at this point we have been there an hour. Again no apology or owning up to her mistakes, another excuse. Lost our business.
Cute little ice cream shop, our server was very attentive.
Quite a pathetic first and only time experience (06.29.2021). Mediocre food and lousy service. Our drinks were never refilled even though we asked our server. When our pizza finally did come out a giant slice of our pizza was completely missing and the only explanation we got was the pizza monster took a slice. Also, our pizza was never sliced and we received nothing to cut it with either. Meanwhile while trying to rip the pizza apart, one of our beverages spilled and three servers (including our own) looked at the mess and walked away. The remainder of our visit, not a single employee came over to help clean up what had spilled all over the floor. The quarter of pizza that was promised we actually did receive but was doughy, half baked and inedible.
Very fun and amazing place to spend your Sunday lunch. Great for kids and the service is amazing as well as the food and desserts. I would definitely keep this hidden gem in mind when craving a root beer or soda float.
Beautiful and very clean Town, everyone is so nice and friendly 😊
Emily is the best, well there are 2 Emilys, both good, the new Emily was our waitress she fits in perfectly. Best BIG pizza slicesAnd yummy garlic knotsA fun family friends gathering place to be happy Fun ice cream sundaes and soda fountain treats too
Huge slice of pizza ordered to go along with soft drink under $10 but very busy Fri night. Indoor/outdoor seating available. Wait time was 20 min. Thin crust pizza chewy on inside, crunchy crust. Coca cola themed decor. Very cozy.
Great pizza and ice cream and wonderful service!
A true soda fountain restaurant. The pizza by the slice is so big you cant eat two slices.
If there was an option to rate as negative 3 I would do just that. We waited an hour and 15 minutes to be served with burned, dry pizza that has been reheated multiple times. And that happen only after we actuality asked the server what is taking so long. We also were given a quarter of the basket of tater tots! For almost $7 one would expect at least a half basket 🤣At the end of all this we were informed that there is no manager on duty!! The only manager is the kitchen manager, but he is busy.. how nice! And that was Saturday evening! Really??We used to enjoy that place and the food, too bad they completely lost their standards.
The service was horrible. Our servers food came out of the kitchen before ours. She was eating her lunch while working and even came to our table while chewing a mouthful of her food. It was so unprofessional. She never checked on our order, or as to why after 30 minutes our apps never came out. When we finally got our food it was not good. The only thing that was a positive, was that the pizza was okay....not great, but good enough. In the future, we will definitely wait for Lunas (down the road) to open at 4pm.
Great ice cream, malts, eclairs, shakes, etc etc etc. Friendly staff in a relaxed setting
There are several negative reviews that I so before I came here, now after eating here certain they are just disgruntled people who like taking it out on other people. The pizza was awesome oh, tons of flavor. I got the meat lovers by the slice. The slices are huge. Will definitely be coming back.
Cauliflower crust that tastes amazing! Great service and awesome music
First time there. My moms all excited that they have phosphates. Wish they had to Lemon. Food was great ice cream is phenomenal waitress was Hannah was excellent. Well definitely be back!
Very cute place! Our waitress was very friendly and welcoming. The pizza slices are massive and the shakes are fantastic!
One of my favorite places. The combinations of sodas you can get seems endless. The marshmallow coke is my favorite. The food is delicious and the staff is always super nice. Located in downtown Venice, its the perfect little lunch spot to take a break from all of the shopping!
Been going here for years, every time I visit home. Love the old feel and of course the classic soda pop drinks are fantastic! Service is always awesome too.
Best milkshakes in town hands down! Garlic Knots also make a sick pairing with anything ice cream related here.
Charming place. All that s needed is to have mini jukes at each booth.
Every time we visit Venice Beach we have to stop here! Affordable, delicious and convenient. Best value in Venice Downtown!
Good pizza and fries. They were out of a few things we ordered which was annoying and slow service.
I wish I had taken photos. This place had such good food and ice cream! I had the Miss Rachel sandwich and it was awesome, exactly what I wanted. Their pizza knots and garlic knots are to die for! So amazing. Also, their chocolate malt was pretty darn good too. You cannot go wrong here!
Worst restaurant in town. Haven’t been there for about two years and now I remember why! Worst food! They fry ever in the same dirty grease! Chicken parm is a dry piece of chicken with tomato paste on top and two hard dried out garlic knots! Will never ever go back. Roof is falling in and dirty. Expensive and terrible!
Adorable place, super friendly staff, great food and ice cream.
The highlight is definitely the dessert. That being said the food is decent Abit over priced but decent.
Adorable spot, great friendly service, yummy food. I had a sasparilla from the fountain and a sub, the Italian. My sandwich had ham, salami, melted provolone, and Italian dressing...very good! He had the pizza sub, which is similar to a pepperoni french bread pizza, and drank a cherry cream soda.Our waitress was super friendly and lots of the staff and regulars knew each other. Very clean too...highly recommend this spot!
Me and my party of 6 were sat in the back room which is a little narrow and not the best area for claustrophobes but kind of cozy and efficient for the current COVID situation. It took about half an hour for a small basket of fried pickles and an hour for the rest of the food to arrive. The kids spaghetti wasn’t spaghetti but just pasta with tomato sauce on top and not so tasty. The pizza knots do not belong in the starter section of the menu, the portions are to big so by the time you finish them you are either too full to eat the main course or almost full. The knots were soggy on the bottom from the sauce but other than that the food was pretty good. The coffee kahlua milkshake was tasty, the milkshakes are somewhat a main attraction of this place. The ice cream was really good and would recommend saving space for. This place serves quick walk in lunch food but the serving time does not show it. The server with the blonde braided hair and the sleeve tattoo was good, asked a couple of times periodically if the food was good but at first gave the beers unopened with no bottle opener to open them which isn’t a bother. Overall, the food, ice cream, and milkshake saved the soda fountain from a 3 star, service was pretty good but the serving time and fried pickle portions were not so good which prevented a potential 5 star.
Cool little place. Old time feel. Got a Philly and root beer float. Everything was good.
I was excited to go here after reading all of the mostly positive reviews, but ended up being disappointed. We tried their pizza and it was not good. The milkshakes were not good either. It was not very clean and the staff were not very friendly. I would definitely recommend going elsewhere!
Worst pizza We’ve had in Venice🥴Meatless. Minimal sauce and cheese and BURNED crust🥴Don’t waste your $’s here when there are dozens of good pizza places in this Italian Renaissance city.
Nice place for a slice of pizza. BIG slice of pizza 😊
Pizza slice was large and very good, the staff really hustles for their customers, extremely nice. I really like the menu too. Cant wait to go back and have a sundae.
Cute local place to get some classic food.
Wonderful food and ice cream, just really slow service
Quality was subpar I can not imagine this place being open much longer. The hole experience was nothing like it used to be. When this place first opened it was terrific now I dont think I will come back.
Love the new owners ! love the Malts, and the Pizza. Great place
Soda Fountain has always been one of our favorite places to eat, but yesterday we ordered a pizza for takeout. I got there early and they said my pizza was ready already. When we got it home it looked like a pizza that had been sitting there for awhile. It was completely dried up. I believe that it was a pizza that someone else didnt pick up and they reheated for us. What a disappointment. We will be looking for a new pizza place.
Wonderful pizza and great service by Crystal.
Great service and prices. Loved the casual atmosphere and courteous service!
Great food. Friendly.Had a root beer float, great
Super fun place to visit in Venice. Food is great - I recommend the chicken salad. So good and filling!! We had to go back the next week to get our sodas. 😀 This is a must stop for a trip down memory lane. Its full of nostalgic items and wall-decor. Staff is friendly and helpful.
I have loved this place for a long time, but tonight was definitely not a great night for them. We waited 30 minutes and were never served. They told us to have a seat and that they’d be with us, but we were still waiting for menus half an hour later. We ultimately decided to leave and go somewhere else... I’m really hoping it was just an off night for them, because their food is absolutely delicious.
Great local place to take your kids for a bite to eat
Old fashion soda fountain restaurant. Have been a few times to have a sundae 🍨 but never had a meal there. Ice-cream was yummy!
Time travel..this place is great!
Pizza & Bruschetta was awesome. Shakes and ice cream so good. Love the older style feel of the place. Service was good. Bonus for having crushed ice! Would return again.
Excellent old time soda shop.Wife and I have to go there anytime were.im Venice.
Sodas are wonderful treat! Ambitious food menu. Must be understaffed, spotty service....
Me and my bff had lunch there.We took our husbands back there for dinner that evening😁
The food is excellent. Never seen a slice of Pizza do big n DELICIOUS.
My wife and I split a Cookies and Cream Malt. There were big chunks of ice cream that had not been mixed. It was very liquidy for being a malt. My brother got a mint ice cream waffle cone and didnt finish it because he said there wasnt much flavor. Other than looking a little run down, it didnt bring any memories of past soda shops to mind.
This place gets 10 stars if allowed. The service is a bit slow, but its worth it. The pizza is amazing and the ice cream is equally amazing.
The food wasent cooked good cold in the middle but tasty great service
Really going downhill. SUPER SLOW, not just me, other people who called in order said took over an hour for 2 simple sandwiches. I had two as well, took 55 minutes. It was early still and not very busy, totally unacceptable. People were complaining, no one cared except the girl behind the counter. I told her the last couple times there, terrible cook/ kitchen ‘management’, beyond sloww She said she’s told boss of people’s complaints but she says she just gets in trouble. Never again.
This place can be fun but dont show up hungry. They cant manage food orders well enough. Fun food choices and the sodas and deserts are fun. Again, just dont show up hungry.
Had a great experience with Emma the server coming in for dinner with my brother tonight! She was super friendly and very accommodating.The garlic knots were amazing, grilled cheese was excellent, and the milk shake was delicious.Will definitely come back again when Im stopping back in town! Spoiled in St Pete with great food everywhere, but the Soda Fountain is a gem inside Venice.
Amazing food amazing service best Italian dishes Ive had when I go anywhere else for pizza
Wonderful food and excellent service. We split their Rachel sandwich and had a scoop of cappuccino kahlua ice cream. A perfect lunch.
Love their pizza. Hard working staff!Excellent service.
Pizza was SO good, if you like thin and crispy crust like me.. It might have been a wood fired oven (it had a lil char on it), perfect amount of sauce and cheese. 🤤😋 Also got wings, fries, bruschetta and milkshakes. It was all delicious. Staff was swamped, I think they were short staffed that night, but still very friendly. Would def go again 🍕😊
We ordered from The Soda Fountain for the first time today and it was outstanding! The pizza was the best we have had since we moved here! The subs were incredible and the bread was perfect. The bread knots were also great. We live in North Port but plan on making this our weekly pizza night place. All the way around this place is great!
Good pizza. The owner and work team are friendly
Loved it! The kids wouldnt stop raving about their burgers and our pizza and Cuban were awesome. I didnt realize how extensive their menu was and their desserts were deeee-licious!
Great food, will go back
We love this place, the best white pizza I have ever eaten.
Great soda shop atmosphere, great food and service.
Very dirty and sticky needs a very complete cleaningBut waiters are fine and friendly wouldnt recommend for anyone
One of my favorite places in Venice. Great pizza, fun atmosphere, and friendly service!!
Great lunch... Sandwiches, subs, pizza and ice cream. What more could you want !!!
Great customer service
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