South Side Soda Shop

I really enjoyed the Turkey Bacon Club, the staff was OK, I work there with my husband and Mother in law. Too pricey for our budget.

Okay… so worth the stop. Do it, you won’t regret it. The food was yummy. .try the philly cheese steak. My husband and I’m loved it. Order the curly fries… Homemade and tasty.
Kids loved the scoop of ice cream that came with their meals.
The whole family will leave with a smile on their faces and a full belly.

I’ve been going here since I was a little girl and I have never been disappointed by the food! I love their philly chilly, hot fudge sundaes, and parmesan reggiano! They still serve green river soda just like the old diner days and the setting of the restaurant really makes you feel like you’re in a traditional diner. The waiters are all very kind and the owners are great at making sure everyone has what they need, and if they don’t they go out of their way to fix it! One of my classic all time favorites!

I recently dined a Saturday evening at the South Side Soda Shop and was less than impressed. We arrived around 7:45 and unbeknownst to us they close at 8:00 so service was rushed instead of quick and efficient. I started out with a vanilla malt and found it to be lacking in malt flavor and more like a regular shake. One of my tablemates ordered a mug of the turtle soup and commented it was like beef vegetable soup minus most of the vegetables, which is apparently the base. There weren’t any discernable chunks of turtle, just a few chicken-​like strings of white meat. We ordered mozzarella sticks as an appetizer and they were barely warm. My wife got a cheeseburger which was average. My sister-​in-​law ordered a gyro which had very little meat and was mostly a pita filled with diced tomato and cucumber and no signs of a tzatziki sauce. I ordered the ribs special which was a 4 rib hunk of meat with no seasoning or rub and although tender it was dry and came with a side of barbeque sauce which I didn’t care for. My dinner came with spiral fries which were stuck together, had no seasoning or even salt and were soggy with grease. I fully believe they turned the fryers off and didn’t care to turn them back on for our food since it was close to closing time. I think the art deco look brings people in but we won’t ever go back. Also don’t expect to find a patty melt, ham salad, egg salad or BLT. The name sounds like you might get an old time Woolworth’s soda fountain experience but think again.

This is one of my favorite places to go and eat. The service has always been great and very personal. For me being in my late 50’s this is a nice piece of nostalgia. Of course like everyone else we found out about this place on the FOOD network. I love the Philly cheesesteak as that is one of my favorites with peppers, but have tried numerous other items off and on. The buns are always fresh and the meat high quality. Then there is the green rivers, which is my favortie soda of all time. I used to get these as a treat when I was youngster out and about with my Dad in the 60’s. I love them and in a way glad you can’t find them in too many places, as it makes it even more special. The owner Nick who was featured on Diners, Drive in’s, and Dives is usually visible and on occasions has come up to our table to welcome us. All in all one of those highly magical places that you can’t wait to go visit again. The only thing I would change is the pie crust recipe for desert-​filling and other deserts are awesome. I have a special one that was given me years ago that would blow theirs out of the water. ok braggin some, I absolutely wouldn’t change anything else at all, a very nice blast into the past!!!

So amazing, best mozzarella sticks I have ever had! I live in Wisconsin and was seeing my grandparents and this was a great meal! The service was very quick and very friendly. Definitely would go here if you are in the Goshen Area.

Great local place. Sandwiches are good. Just like an old style diner. One guy cooks good on a flat top grill where you can see it. … classic and really good.

Holy… (wait can I curse?.. ah fuck it) SHIT! This place was everything we thought it would be and more. Burgers were fantastic as were the stuffed shrimp and the chili. Fuck yes the chili was amazing. Meaty, spicy and just perfect. But wait, theres more. The rasberry cream pie was the BEST cream pie Ive ever had and the ice creams were all smooth, creamy and… perfect.
Service was great and the décor was total throw back small town awesomeness. I will visit every time Im in town.

The food is decent. They have american basics available
The restaurant is very aged and seems to be a place for older generations. The food is made in front of you, and they have many options for desert.

The food was as expected. Had a Reuben and spiral cut potato fries. Everything perfect and especially the spiral fried potato. Lemon meringue pie the best with just the perfect amount of lemon tart flavor not a pucker but just close will return if ever here again. The diner atmosphere was just old style small town

I really like the atmosphere and the food is very good. Their homemade pie selection is unrivaled.

Not just for the tourists. Attentive service, typically large diner menu with good food quality. Fresh spiral potatoes will be quickly devoured. Pies look humble, but deliver with excellent flavor and texture.

Service was good, our waitress was clearly working very hard running all over the place. I thought the food was good, exactly what you would expect from small town America. The lemon meringue pie was fantastic. I like my pies with more crust though, this pie is all about the filling and the meringue.

I’ll just say this place has been around for a verrrryy long time! And there is a veryyyy good reason it has been! Magnificent place!

We love Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-​Ins, and Dives, and since we were going to Goshen for Christmas with the family, the boyfriend surprised me by taking me to the South Side Soda Shop. The owner is from Philly, so naturally the diner specializes in Philly sandwiches. Not being a fan of cheese steaks myself, I instead got the clam chowder (and I could have just ordered more of that and been happy — it was delicious) and a turkey hoagie. The sandwich was so big that I took it home for lunch the next day and still made Brad eat half.
I do have to mention that I didn’t start with the sandwich. I ordered the seafood pasta and I can’t recommend it. The noodles were beyond bland, and the shrimp were almost as flavorless. I asked the server to take it back (and I HATE sending food back, I just never do it), and she gladly offered to bring me something else. Then we got pie to take home with us. I picked raspberry crème, and it was quite good. My recommendation to anyone visiting is to stick to items on the menu that the place is known for, like the Phillys or the burgers or the chili (or the truly fantastic clam chowder), and you will not be disappointed — leave the seafood pasta to someone else.

A hometown favorite! I’ve been going there since I was a child, and I’ve never been disappointed. Hamburgers, spiral fries and green rivers, oh my! Whether you prefer ice cream, brownies or pie, you will want to make room for dessert.
A best bet for family fun and outstanding service. Nick, Charity, and the rest of the SSSS team are always a pleasure!

Overall, yes, I am a fan of the Soda Shop. I can’t give it the full 5 stars, however, because the service has been hit or miss lately. (We sat about 5 minutes before our waitress even took our drink order… there were no other customers in our section. Then we waited another 5 – 10 to get said drinks… heck, our food even came before our drinks!)
Try as I might to order something different anytime we eat here, I always fall back on old reliable — Philly Pizza Steak basket with spiral fries and a diet Cherry Coke. Never a bad meal when I’ve ordered this. The one time I did order something different, I was severely disappointed. So, stick with what you know.
One very important lesson: save room for pie. I know, I know… after gorging yourself on that Pizza Steak the last thing you want to do is consume dessert, but please — for the love of all that is good and right in this world — order a slice of pie. Fresh strawberry if they have it, or the chocolate cream. MMmmm… pie…

We came here based on the fact that they were on Diners Drive-​Ins and Dives combined with the positive reviews here on Unilocal and we were not disappointed. I wish I could give half stars because I would give them 4.5, but I just cannot give them five stars, as I will detail below.
We started with a Chocolate malt for our daughter and a strawberry shake for myself and my wife opted for a vanilla diet coke. We all tried each other’s drinks and loved them all. As my wife said, «They were nummy!»
For an appetizer, I had a side salad and a mug of their Snapping Turtle soup. It is not something I had had before, so I wanted to give it a try. I am so glad I did because it was great, it had a ton of flavor and lots of chunks of turtle in it. I will definitely keep an eye open for it elsewhere.
Here is the reason for the loss of what I wish could only be half a star… my wife had the Chicken noodle soup, which, flavor-​wise, was bland and had an ‘off-​taste’ to it. We barely had even four spoonfuls of it.
My wife had the liverwurst and bacon sandwich — which she happily devoured. The bacon was nice and crispy and gave a good textural contrast to the «half-​inch slabs» of liverwurst and was topped with sauteed onions.
I had the crab cakes — which are among the best (if not THE BEST) I have ever had. They were packed with crab and very little ‘filer’. They were perfectly cooked, seared and crunchy on the outside, tender and moist on the inside and just exploding wiht crab flavor. Dee-​Lish!
Our daughter, as kids are known to do, went kid-​basic and had a PB&J with a side of the curly fries which were obviously fresh cut and perfectly cooked.
We wish they were closer to home, or at least closer to the interstate so we could stop in more frequently…

Just happened to pass by Goshen, Indiana on the way from Cleveland to Chicago, so I had to stop by the place that was featured on Diner’s, Drive-​Ins and Dives. We tried the Philly Cheese Steak, obviously, and also the #8, the spiral fries, and the orange phosphate. The #8 was pretty decent and an interesting and unique flavor combination; the Philly Cheese Steak surprisingly lacked flavor. It was much less oily than a typical Philly Cheese Steak though, which I liked. The spiral fries were fairly typical but pretty good, as was the orange phosphate.
The waitresses here are used to random people coming in just because they watched Triple D, and they are very nice and offer good recommendations.

I’ve been going to SSSS since I was in the 2^nd grade at Parkside Elementary. This place is a solid, solid choice if you’re in the area. I love that Goshen has so many non-​chain places to eat that are actually good. I look forward to eating here every time I’m back home in Goshen.
The owner is from Philly, so order an Philly Cheese-​steak is a NO BRAINER. I actually order a chicken version, but it’s still great. The amoroso rolls are used here too. I’m telling you — it’s legit.
The desserts are tempting and they’ll bring you a tray of all the desserts they’re offering that night. Try saying «no» to that!
Seriously, if you’re in the area — and by area, I mean within 30 miles — you should really make a trip here. It’s soooo worth it.