Nice variety of simple food on their menu hamburgers hot dogs chicken french fries onion rings fried cheese curds.... Each day there is a special of the day a large sign out front to let you know what it is.... Inside seating also Drive-In type seating where you order in your car employees come out delivered to you.... Food disease consistent nothing too fancy however good...

Nice atmosphere and friendly service. We had chili dogs and fries along with frosted mugs of delicious root beer. Nice lunch.

Loved the food. Quick service. Gotta pay with cash. July 2022.

Awesome no frills fast food- cash only is nostalgic fun for me.

Cutest nostalgic little place. Good food and great milkshake or is it a malt???

Great daily specials - don't forget to bring your cash! No credit cards accepted.

Returned to our college town after 25 years. It was so great that this old gem was still going strong. It is an old drive up fast food style restaurant. The food was great and the prices have increased a bit over time but was still a great deal! The fresh root beer is a must! So many great memories. It was great to make new ones with our children. Put this restaurant on your list of must stop at food locations!

Love this place! Great food and atmosphere. Highly recommend

The fact that nothing had changed in 20 years since the last time I went was great. Just be aware it is Cash only. The service is quick inside and out. The staff is attentive and friendly. The food hasn’t changed. The glass mugs of Root Beer are the icing to the cake …The quality is great and prices are more than fair. Will ALWAYS come visit.

Great staff friendly and prompt. Food is B grade, but for $4.95 for foot long hotdogs, hopefully you're not expecting lobster tail. It is fun to go to an old-time place and have great service from fun people. Try it out and you'll probably like it!

Nostalgic fast food with A&W root beer. Kids meals were a hit and my favorite is a float with diet root beer. Be prepared to pay cash, but there is an ATM on site.

Always a hit. Absolutely love the food.

Delicious food. Fast and friendly service! Can't wait to go back next time we are in the area!

Absolutely amazing! 6 people for around ~70$, so about 10 to 15 per person. Good service, got to order on very funny phones in the store, everything was delicious and the perfect temperature! Warm burgers and fries, cold drinks!

Awesome fast service.. love ordering

+2

I haven't been here in a while but I was just craving some of their food, especially the root beer floats. They took my order quickly and brought it out to me less than 5 minutes, my hotdog with cheese and chili was hot and perfect even my root beer float was topped right. Love the chicken slider combo meal as well, great tasting and a filling resonable meal. Excellent service from the lady who served me too.

Im not a big fan of fast food, but i decided to give this place a try and The food was great : crispy onions rings , delicious Mozza burger that has an authentic feel to an American Burger The Root beer was yummy and made it feel like a traditional beverage. It's an all cash place but worth it. I'll definitely be stopping by and trying more things here ..

Great food, excellent table service. We got burgers and chili cheese fries, and some cheese curds. Too much food! We were totally full (2 big eaters) and the root beer is the best!

Twelve years after my last visit and it's the same A&W. Great root beer. Good food. I recommend the Papa burger and the fried cheese curds. Some of the best French fries around.

Excellent service as well as excellent waitress. Great place to eat.

Let me first apologize for not taking any pics of our meals. I was being fat and instantly started consuming when our food came out. This is such a cool old school experience. It's just like going to Sonic but with a more home cooked vibe. They still have the speaker boxes from when I was a kid in the 80's. So cool to use them. Prices are just perfect. They have daily specials. Just damn good food. There is also a miniature Putt-Putt course there as well. They do not except credit. How ever their is a atm inside of needed.

Great burgers, cheese curds and rootbeer floats. Cash only

The food and nostalgia were great! You walk in, sit down, and use the phone at ypur table to place your order. I had a footlong coney dog, onion rings, and a diet rootbeer. It was so good that I forgot to take a picture!

I love coming here. It’s worth the drive from Syracuse. I’d give 10/10 out 10 if I could. Never had any complaints. Fast service , Hot food and friendly Staff… The Chilli Cheese fries and Root Beer Shake is a Must have…

Brought my root beer-loving stepson for his first time and he loved it

Great A&W food and quick service on every visit. My favorite is the Bacon crunch burger.

Food was good as normal. We ate inside it was chilly.

Just like when I was a kid.

+1

Wow food was just amazing and such nostalgia and a great time eating here definitely will be back

I always stop here on my way back home from Ithaca for a little bite of nostalgia (cheese burger and Root beer float). Despite how busy they are the food never takes too long and is always good and fairly priced.

First time going. Didn't even know these existed. Absolutely loved it. Great food, great service, and it was a neat experience.

This is by far the best A&W I've been to. Finally one not coupled with a Long John Silvers because those ones the fries always taste like Fish. But this one is awesome drive up service like in the old days, take out, and even indoor seating. They keep their menu cheap with daily specials. You can buy the big glass mugs to enjoy your sweet Root Beer like a Viking God. Root beer on tap, the best you've ever tasted, you can buy it in the Gallon or 1/2 Gallon to enjoy at home. Definitely worth stopping by even I'd it's a little off the highway. And don't forget to tip your servers!

Food is very consistent here... Outside you order through a speaker They come out and deliver it to you... Inside you pick up the telephone press a button then tell them what you would like to order They tell you how much it will be and deliberate to you...

Great spot to eat. Friendly staff. Got to order from our booth via old-school phone. Kids were amazed.

Great American tradition! Brings you back to when Mom and Dad loaded up the family truckster and stopped for a bag of burgers on the way to a vacation destination. Great service and food was fresh and full of flavor! Any variations of the root beer float, freeze, or shake will hit the spot!!

You just can't beat the only real actual root beer in the world, washing down a cheeseburger that's easily among the top #1 best burgers I've ever, ever had!

+6

This place was awesome, really nostalgic feeling, they did not accept credit cards cash only, you walk in sit at a booth and order by phone, service was quick and food was really good. Ice cream and burgers on a hot day. This place also has drive in options which was nice to see. Really recommend stopping here if you are in the area.

Greeted as soon as you walk in the door by lots of friendly smiles, followed by great service that was really quick. The food was awesome. The prices are a bit high, but worth it. You can order to go as soon as you walk in or go sit down. There are menus at each booth. If you sit in a booth the waitress/waiter does not bother you at all and when your ready to order you pick up the phone press the button and it rings out back and they pick up and take your order and if you need anything else you pick up the phone again and tell them what you need or want. The outside car hop works the same way. You don't even have to exit your vehicle if you don't want too, just pull into one of the parking spaces under the car port area and be serviced in your vehicle. The tables in the middle of the restaurant are a different story they are full service from the get go as they do not have phones. This is an awesome establishment and well worth the stop if you live in the area or just passing through.

The service was great ! I had the chicken tenders with fries and coleslaw slaw all of which were good ! My biggest compliment was not enough dipping sauce ! And fries could have been a little bit more crispy! All in all was a great meal , my husband didn't complain about his burger either !

The best bacon cheeseburger and fries anywhere. Cool, old-school drive-in. If you're in the area I highly recommend stopping by.

Jason

Quick, fresh, and friendly! It was nice, and we'll be back! Oh, and for what it's worth, their pricing is good and portions are worth it!

Jessica Crivello

I love this place! Such a fun atmosphere! The milkshakes are the best quality for the price around. A great place to go if you just want something quick and easy at an affordable price

Jeffrey Hirasuna

It's a traditional drive-in fast food restaurant. Nothing fancy. Should you dine in, order by table phone, good table service from wait staff, great price for the area. Always Ithaca-based Lite Rock adult contemporary radio station playing.

Ed Netzband

This A & W restaurant serves delicious burgers, hot dogs, cheese curds, and root beer floats. This place is a reminder of a classic carhop joint! Good prices are a plus as well. Every time we stop we encounter friendly staff and fast service. It is obvious that is a standard customer treatment. There is plenty of parking and indoor seating as well.

Bryan Cavellier

For fast food... This is a great experience! Service was friendly, food is great considering it's fast food. You still orde on phones and they have a drive up options in the parking lot. Good prices. A classic spot in Cortland!

Michelle DeRocco

customer service was awesome everyone was very polite and the food is very filling taste good/fresh Plus the root beer float was the best,doesn't taste like the canned soda

Debbi Lauper

Good prices and tasty food and desert. My dad used to take us to the A&W root beer drive in at Horseheads, so of course this brings back very warm and pleasant memories. I really love this place!

Phil Latella

We stopped upon this place because my son plays travel ball right down the road from this amazing establishment. What a gem this place is! We have been several times, and they do an amazing job here. Ordering on the phone is so nostalgic and fun. Food always comes out fast and fresh no matter how busy they are and always delicious. Servers are always smiling and it's a great atmosphere. I love the cash only policy, I'm old school I guess and always carry cash. Oh, and how can I forget the root beer floats made from draught root beer! Wish there were more of the amazing eateries around. Stop in, you won't be disappointed!

K H

The burger was amazing. So much better than any other fast food place these days.

Ryan Keller

Cortland's A&W is a timeless community staple. It's truly impressive that it's still here after all these years, consistently serving up good food at reasonable prices—perfect for feeding the whole family. Plus, with miniature golf right next door, it's an ideal spot for an affordable and fun family outing.

Dakota

I have been coming to A&W in Cortland for over 20 years. This place is brimming with nostalgia of America’s golden yesteryear. The huge root beer floats in the frosted mugs are a must order when dining in here. I have never been disappointed in their selection of burgers, hotdogs, chicken tenders, fries, corn dog nuggets, and cheese curds. The root beer here is brewed fresh on site and you have the option to buy it by the gallon or half gallon as well. Thank you for being a multi-generational stop for my family, you’re the best!

Prince Dark Angel

Great food and drinks. Nostalgia all the way around. Taste still lingering in the buds. Can't wait to go back. Still able to buy souvenir mugs.

+1

Ray F

I love this A&W restaurant. It reminds me of the A&Ws from my childhood, not like the ones that are attached to other restaurants (like the one in Owego that is with a KFC). Every time I pass through Cortland, I stop by this restaurant. I love that you can pull up and order from your car. Also, the food is always so fresh. Note: cash only at this location. They do have an ATM inside.

Holly Wilson

Wow. I loved this experience. You drive up into a spot, look at the menu, and push the button to order when ready. The workers will come out and give you food, and you pay (cash only!) you can leave or enjoy sitting in your car in that spot. The workers were helpful and super nice! Don’t forget to tip! The food… ugh…. So good!!!! Nothing tasted fake. I obviously recommend the cheese curds! We traveled a hour and a half for the experience and will definitely be back!

Adorable! Large pull up area for cars. Good selection and decent prices. We enjoyed the fries with chili and cheese! Really tasty.

A great nostalgic location with super fast service. Great food

Food was good (coleslaw was delicious, but very small portion).

The food was quite good and came out relatively fast! But there aren't any signs telling you to seat yourself and that you place your table's order from a telephone that is at each table. I have driven out of my way just to go to their restaurant on occasion. It's a CNY staple!

Fun place to eat , it's old school and quirky . Decent prices , good service , good food . Cash only but they have an ATM

I wanted something small for a light lunch. I ordered the chili dog with onions and a regular sized ice tea, it was $5.00. The prices can be a bit wild but the hotdog was good. Their chili is pretty tasty as well. Good service with what little interaction I had with the wait staff. This place has been around forever aside from the prices it's a nice nostalgic place to eat.

Cute place. Love that there hasn’t been much modernization! Service was quick and food was hot. It is CASH ONLY, but they have an ATM and the service fee is low!

Not the same as before Covid. Food was very good...but no glass Root Beer Mugs brought to cars anymore. No tray for the food at your window. Nonetheless, we really enjoyed the food (chili dog, hamburger and cheese curds) and reasonable price!

A staple of Cortland for us. We love A&W. I have fond childhood memories of calling in our orders. It is still fun as an adult to do the same. The food isn't quite as amazing as it used to be but for a fairly priced quick-fix it's an excellent choice!

It's really the whole vibe you go to this place for. You order at the speaker and people bring your food to the car. (There is an inside option) The burgers are good, but the last time I went, we could tell they weren't fresh. The cheese curds are my fave here. They have a huge menu at a decent price. The one thing about this place..they only take cash!! They do have an ATM inside to access if you need to. There's also mini golf next door, so if you want something fun to do, definitely check that out!

Always stop when driving through! Super nostalgic and good food!

great for nostalgic feelings. Only takes cash, no bank cards. ATM is onsite.

Michelle K.

Met our daughter there for lunch for the first time (none of us were from the area). It was a Thursday and pretty busy. Server was great and food was good. Parking is ok. Better to go after lunch time/before dinner time. We felt the price was good for all the food we got for 3 adults...about $38 or a bit less.

KR AZ

Local favorite, the iconic location has been here for over 50 years. Dine in or eat in your vehicle. Old time drive in’s don’t exist too much anymore and this is one of the best. Plus fresh A&W root beer. Root beer floats, shakes, burgers, onion rings, chicken tenders and more. Check this place out if you are driving through the Cortland area.

+5

Sue Tan

This was my first time. I liked how you order using the phone on the table. If you like burgers, there are so many to choose from. They have foot long hot dogs too. I got a fish sandwich. The Cole slaw was a 10 out of 10. The service was super fast! Fun vibe. Id go again.

HawaiiantrixieB

Food was good, fresh and hot. It didn't take long to get our food either. Which is a plus if you swinging in on your lunch break.. But the portions were kinda small, and they only EXCEPT CASH. Otherwise your stuck using the ATM provided. It does have the old school charm of a drive in which is why we went. Thanks!

+10

Way too expensive for us. And the quality seems to have gone down. We drive all the way from Syracuse New York. And I think that's over because of our last experience. It's sad because my youngest son was a baby when we started going there. It was affordable and delicious and fun. My son will be 21 in March. Not driving all that way to be disappointed again. The speed of service is phenomenal and the servers and wait staff was also great!!!! Just lower the prices of everything please because I overheard other customers complaining about the prices when we were there too. It's just not my opinion.

We had chili dogs, hot dogs, root beer floats, and fries. The food was okay. Nothing special. This A&W does not allow the use of credit cards and is cash only. They do have an ATM inside the restaurant. We ordered takeout inside the restaurant, and the service was okay.

Food is good, I like the retro drive up and park to order. However, they don't accept cards. It's 2025, get with the times. They do have a ATM but 1.75 service fee. Instead of them being charged for card transactions you are charged for using an ATM. That is not good for customer PR.

Food was good. Odd that you have to order with the phone attached to the booth/ table. Cash only was a bummer. We only ordered root beer floats and fries. If they took cards we would have ordered more food.

The set up to the parking lot was a bit weird but once we figured it out it was fine. Cash only which in this day and age is outdated and inconvenient but other than that the food was pretty good. Cooked and delivered quickly. Price was fair compared to competitors. Would recommend for other to try.

Very nostalgic and talking on the old phone the sound just reminded me as a kid talking on the phone at home. Cash only. Hamburger and hot dogs very American style. Very busy at times ordering can take up to a couple minutes. The root beer is refreshing.

To my fellow Gen Xrs, You will be disappointed if you are feeling nostalgic. Used the car hop, they don't bring the food on a tray with frosty mugs. They just hand you a paper bag and plastic cups.

Amyjo Wart

It devastates this nostalgic X'er to give this place less than 5 stars,but you can't review truthfully based on nostalgia. Less than 10 of this piece of American history left in the nation,and it looks like you'd want it to, like an old carhop joint, which it is. My brother and his wife had fish sandwiches that were fine,my kids liked their chicken tenders for the most part. My wife's hot dog was like long skinny Vienna sausage, so skinny as to be DWARFED inside the bun! It was comical but it doesn't help them any. My anticipated root beer float had a horrible soft serve/ root beer ratio,a lukewarm vanilla-esque root beer. This all needs to be qualified by the fact that this was a nice weather Saturday,and this place is jammed during the worst of days,so they were slammed! And, not really their fault these days, they're hellishly understaffed, surprise. Waited a good bit,ate outside. The day and an enjoyable round of mini golf with family made it better than it could have been. And that's the picture, nostalgia with a hassle.

Food was very good. Server was very rude when asked a question. Server then talked trash about us to other waiting staff when we were walking by.

We've been stopping at this A&W drive-in restaurant whenever we're in the Cortland area for at least the past 10 years partly because of the drive-in restaurant experience, but also because their comfort food is served up quick, hot, and the prices are fairly reasonable when compared to other restaurant choices. We usually order their bone-in fried chicken dinner because it was real chicken served up quick, hot, and good. Our last visit here was nearly two years ago, so we were very disappointed to discover during this latest visit that they eliminated any bone-in chicken menu items. So we ordered a shrimp basket and a (5 pc) chicken tenders basket with two large root beers. As usual, our food was served up very hot in just a few minutes. The shrimp basket was good however, the chicken tenders were rubbery, very chewy, very heavy with cooking oil, and had a strange taste. I ate only a few of the chicken tenders and threw out the rest. Just those few tenders didn't set very well with my stomach that night after we got home. In addition, our server wasn't very friendly even though we tipped her fairly well. This latest visit definitely didn't check all of the boxes for us as it usually does, so this may be the last time we stop here to eat. Our total bill for the two meals was around $25. Thanks for reading.

I’ve been going to your A&W since I’ve been 5. We ate inside because my parents are older. We were to order on the phone. I refused to use it. It was disgusting. I asked a waiter about another way to order. She insisted to use phone. No way in hell she said they were wiped off when cleaning table. We watched two waiters clean the table but not phone. The table we sat at the phone had a good size space on ear phone. Things can live in there and I wasn’t taking a chance. Gross! Waitress said I could order take order and to bring in setting area. She was wasn’t happy. I told her I could take our business else where if it was a huge problem. I did do take out and went back to table. Very unbelievable. I really should turn you into the health department. Clean up your act.!!!

I saw sign out front that said Tuesdays $1.99 Chili Dogs. That sounded good. I order 2 and get 2 hotdogs and a total of $8.10. Am I supposed to beleive the price doubled for them walking a hotdog out to me? This is madness. I wont go there again. On top of everything, I go no receipt.

Ones across the board, and not because of the food. Honestly, it was so good we decided to order another chili cheese coney. What we got was not only missing the cheese, but it was chili slopped all over. We get a carhop’s attention to mention the cheese. When she walked back by, we wanted to make sure it was made fresh and not cheese added to it. We were greeted withy negativity and she was just very rude. Definitely a choice word we would use, as she argued walking back. We opted to drive off without the coney or our refund. As a local food writer, it shocks me when I run into such a person. Yes, I know these are easy jobs to get….. but it’s not for everyone. Quit.

A&W Cortland NY used to have the best fried chicken around (chubby chicken). Now they have changed the menu to chicken fingers. It blows

Order was wrong tried to talk with employee and they tried to charge me for their mistake so tried to get my money back but was not getting anywhere not worth the hassle never go to this place was my first and last time

Ordered 2 foot long chili dogs and this is what I was given.

Ordered a single bacon cheeseburger with no cheese due to an anaphylaxis dairy allergy, staff made the burger wrong and when it was sent back they were rude enough to mock it saying "it's a cheeseburger" with attitude. Will not visit this establishment again after the rudeness of staff. To think it's ok to mock someone over something they can not control because they are too incompetent to be able to do their jobs is disgusting and unprofessional.

My husband and I went there for lunch Sunday afternoon the parking area wasn't very busy we decided to eat in our car. We both ordered baskets mine was Luke warm clam pieces and my husbands was Luke warm chicken tenders and neither of us received a fork for our coleslaw so my husband called for 2 and still never received any and what happened to getting a dinner roll when you ordered a basket. This A&W in Cortland NY has really went down hill. We won't be going back there again.

First to start off they all had Greasy hair got one single pickle on the double burger I got a two chicken sliders and one of them had sauce in the other did not each came with half a pickle on them The chicken was super dry, and when I picked it up, it burnt my hands I got first-degree burns no fries included no napkins in the bag poorly mixed polar freeze ratio of ice cream to M&M’s was awful ratio of ice cream to root beer and the root beer float was awful to top it all off, the ice cream was too cold safe to say never coming back here again THIS PLACE SUCKS

Woodzman1966 woodz

I went there with my wife for a late lunch 130ish. The place” drive up” was almost empty. I order our food and not 30 seconds later the waitress comes out with a bag and 2 drinks . We didn’t order drinks and she leaves about five minutes later she returns with our order. I have cooked most of my life and food doesn’t cook that fast and come out luke warm. For almost 30 dollars for 2 meals and I basically get someone’s rejected order, definitely not fresh. I wasn’t impressed. Must be foods cooked ahead and set under a heat lamp or something for lunch rush . I am almost 60 and have came here since my childhood and never got this before . I won’t return and health department should really surprise check on there cooking and warming procedures. I won’t be back