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Soda Jerks
Category: Restaurants Burgers Burgers [Edit]
100 AvenueUnit 17520
Edmonton, AB T5S 2S2
(780) 486-5375
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 9 pm
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Drive-Thru:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Trendy, Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
16 reviews for Soda Jerks
16 reviews in English
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Review from Brittany K.
Edmonton, AB
Updated - 5/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
Saturday night with some friends in town from Calgary and we were looking for a west side dinner spot that was local and not too expensive. Ding ding ding - Soda Jerks!
A word to the wise, this place gets busy! A table for the four of us was going to be about a half hour wait (which we were very willing to wait for), but luckily a booth opened up in the lounge right away. Score.
Carlie G and I both ordered milkshakes. Mine was strawberry with a shot of cake vodka. Very tasty! Not too alcohol-y, either. Just enough to make it a delicious grown-up treat. Given the huge list of milkshake flavours and vodka flavours (30+!), I would definitely come back just to try more of the shake combos.
All four of us did a make-your-own-burger. I went with my usual combo (beef burger, plus bacon and guac) and added a chipotle mayo for kicks. As usual, it was freaking delicious. Hot and juicy!
Our server was pretty great, attentive and friendly. Overall, not a bad night. I didn't leave feeling like, "Oh my gosh, wow, that was the greatest meal and night of my life," but it was pretty enjoyable and tasty. I wouldn't come here for a date, but it's a fun place to dine with a group of friends.Listed in: Four-Stars, Date Night, Good For Groups, Big Burgers, You serve alcohol here?
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/10/2012
I've always been a fan of the ol' SJ and I'm so pleased another one has opened up in Edmonton after… Read more »
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Review from Paula K.
3/28/2012
My family did take out from here a few days ago and we were all impressed with the quality of food and seemingly limitless possibilities in terms of burger combinations.
I myself am a huge fan of building my own burger. As a picky eater, I often grow tired with requesting things be held or substituted. Here, I can pick the burger to the bun to the toppings, which range from standard to bizarre.
My first adventure was a beef burger on a multigrain bun with mayo, no cheese, and caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, a fried egg, and black olives. The beef patty itself was thick and juicy, seasoned a bit more than I normally like, but still great. I could taste all of my toppings (I thought the flavours would just blend together) and there was plenty of each. My only beef (ha-ha!) was I asked for my friend egg to be hard in the centre, and instead it was runny and broke on the trip home. As a result, my fries (obviously hand cut and delicious) were coated in yolk.
However, I remain undaunted. I will boldly go and try new combinations. I also hope to actually dine in the place itself so I can experience the sodas and milkshakes. -
Review from Cory P.
2/17/2012
Something different, something new, something delicious.
I've been twice in the past few weeks and this might now be now new guilty pleasure in the west end.
I love the idea of building your own burger with a very large selection of gourmet toppings, sauces and your choice of meat.
Both times I went with the beef burger, and it was thick, juicy and cooked to perfection.
The second part to their unique offering is their beverage selection. You can choose from 1 of approximately 35 flavors and brands of pop (I'm not talking Coke/ Pepsi here either). If you're looking to make your beverage more adult, they have a wide selection of cocktails, floats or martini's. I had the spiked root beer (some sort of rootbeer and rum and other stuff) and it was delicious.
The atmosphere is more upscale than say a Kelsey's or Red Robin, but the price is in line.
I highly recommend giving them a try. -
Review from Jason O.
Edmonton, AB
1/31/2012
Not quite a Red Robin burger... there's still something about Red Robin that no one can seem to match. Soda Jerks 5 Alarm burger is definitely a close second. A spicy burger with chillies, cheese and a buffalo onion ring. What sets them apart from all the others... you can choose fries, sweet potato fries, chili cheese fries, salad, Mac & cheese and the list goes on... The sweet potato fries come with a maple mayo dip. WOW! It's also much nicer than your typical burger joint seeing as its in the former Rics Grill location. One last heads up... join they're mailing list. Every other day they're sending offers for free appetizers, desserts or buy one get one free. Looking to lock in new customers they're definitely doing more than you'd expect. Give them a shot.
P.S. their appetizers are great! Deep fried pickles, Dorrito nachos... save room for dessert. There's a few choices you won't want to pass up. -
Review from KAT N.
Great milkshakes! 3 1/2 stars JUST for the 14 or more kinds of milk shakes. About 45+ kinds of sodas and the super hot and spicy Cowboy chilli. -1 star for the service and -1/2 star for the okay burgers. If anyone can tell me that there's better milkshakes out there, give me a shout.
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Review from Jeff G.
Just what we need in this day-and-age -- another heart attack factory. The food is greasy, salty, and will probably give you gas.
It's awesome.
I didn't go for the build-your-own-burger option. With over thirty choices for toppings and something like ten different cheeses, it would take me forever to decide what I wanted. I was tempted by the Barnyard burger, so I went with that. The Barnyard is made up of bacon, chicken, and beef. It comes with tomato or lettuce or something like that but I always get them to leave that stuff off. I'm not a herbivore. Humans are meat-eaters, get over it. I think all of the burger combos come with fries. Mine did anyway. The fries aren't as good as Red Robin's and they aren't bottomless either like they are at Red Robin. I enjoyed the burger a lot and I look forward to going back again to clog my arteries with something else. They have another entree called the Heart Attack Combo. Sounds enticing.
My biggest hang-up about this place is the decor. This isn't something that I usually gripe about with restaurants. Soda Jerks' whole schtick is that they're this 1950s retro-throwback type-thing. They play '50s and early '60s rock and pop music, they have soda bottles hanging all over the place, and they serve pure grease. However, the interior of the building doesn't at all match the vibe that they're trying to put out there. Ric's Grill used to be in this location and the place still looks and feels like Ric's Grill. Places like Johnny Rockets and Red Robin are similar establishments with a look and feel to match the cuisine. It's time to redecorate Soda Jerks.
I mentioned that they play oldies from the '50s and '60s. In the midst of the doo-wops and the sha-la-la's they also snuck Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al" in there. Why? Does Paul Simon own a piece of Soda Jerks?
I ordered the Pop Shoppe Black Cherry Soda for my drink. I haven't had that since I was a kid. I didn't even know they still made that stuff. It brought back memories. Thank you, Paul Simon. -
Review from Cindy M.
Edmonton, AB
12/10/2011
What sets this burger joint apart from the rest is the fact that you can build your own burgers (BYOB)! Price is around the same if you were to order a preset burger or build your own. Price is around $10+ per burger, quite expensive I'll say.
There is one downfall to this place. It's that they only have 3 tables that fit 5 or more people, so no good for group gatherings. And maybe being a new place, the waitresses weren't experienced enough to accommodate seating for us, so we were told our group of 5 would have to wait an hour and a half. We found seating in the lounge by ourselves within 5 minutes.
Once seated, you can try one of their sodas for the less adventurous and less hungry. For those with bigger stomachs, you must try one of their milkshakes. I had their peanut butter one and it tasted like I was drinking a Reeses peanut butter cup!! Yum!
I found the preset burgers to be overwhelming, as the burger I wanted (mushroom melt) only had a 2 patty option, so I opted to build my own. I was wrong to think it was any smaller though. To BYOB, you choose your type of bun, patty type and quantity, sauce, and 4 toppings (from a list of 20-30). Oh, and there were specialty toppings for extra fees, too. But what came out was a burger half the height of my face. I got through half and had to doggie bag the rest. Personally though, the size was all that amazed me. The taste was mediocre and the patty wasn't very juicy.
This place is full of gimmicks though. They had an advertisement for posting your pictures of BYOB onto Facebook and possibly winning something. Also, if you can eat their designated 3 heart attack burgers within a certain amount of time, you win a free meal as well as a gift certificate for next time (I believe).
Overall, I would definitely be back for their milkshakes, but their burgers aren't alluring enough. Taste and price-wise, Fatburger is a much better option. Did I mention Fatburger's ice cream shakes are to die for, too? -
Review from Sarah W.
11/26/2011
Soda Jerks offers a fun option as a casual dinner or cute date location. Menu options here are of the burger variety - the milkshakes are a plus and their soda menu is HUGE.
I chose to build my own burger and while I found that the menu offered some great variety and great value, the burger itself turned out to be a little disappointing. All though it's nice to have a handmade burger patty, the quality of the meat was not fantastic and the toppings weren't all too fresh - I opted for mixed greens as a topping and some of them were so dry, they were crispy. And overally, my biggest issue with Soda Jerks is that they do NOT toast their buns - I chose to have sourdough bread as my burger bun instead of the other options and the bread was untoasted but yet dry LIKE toasted bread. Very unappetizing. What a difference toasted bread/buns make!! I don't understand why they don't even offer it as an option. My boyfriend had some hotdog and a mini burger slider and his biggest complaint was also poor bun quality, and untoasted bread.
The environment at Soda Jerks is very high end - you walk in and immediately feel like you're in for a great evening just based on the very nice decor and streamlined furniture. The service is so-so - I found that it took a very long time for us to get our food (how long does it take to make a few burgers, especially in a restaurant that wasn't excessively busy). Cost-wise, it was a very affordable meal. I definitely recommend getting a milkshake if you are there - we chose to share one and it was gone within five minutes, it was so delicious!!! The chili-cheese fries are also a nice side option - amazing chili!
Generally, if you are looking for a great burger in Edmonton, Soda Jerks is not one of your harder hitters - definitely check out DeLux or even Fulton Market in Sherwood Park. They have a great idea on their hands and could definitely fly with it - I love all the soda options and the great diner menu. But they need to work on the quality of their meals and maybe step up the customer service to really earn a place amongst our growing burger-lovers community in Edmonton. -
Review from Violet P.
11/25/2011
There's so much to choose from in creating a burger here, everyone should be happy with the choices and hopefully the food as well. The first time I came, I wasn't that impressed with my beef patty burger. This time I decided to get the turkey burger. One can choose a patty, bun, sauce, cheese, and 4 toppings for $9.72. I opted for a multigrain bun, no cheese (which they took off 48 cents), tomatoes, lettuce, red peppers and carmelized onions. They put the order form in the menu along with a pen for you to check off your choices. There are many sides to chose from including sweet potato fries, fries, poutine, onion rings, salad, and more, for an extra $2.98. There are lots of varieties of bottled soda for $3.16. A little pricey but a great selection.
I was impressed by the portiion size. The sweet potato fries filled the ceramic bowl and it came with a mayo dip. They were tasty, and not burnt. My turkey patty was not dry and flavourful with the mayo. I had to take out some of the onions but otherwise all the toppings on my burger made for a very satisfying meal.
We went to celebrate a birthday and they don't do anything for it even though they ask it you are celebrating a special occasion. I don't see the point in asking if you don't even get a treat or a song. -
Review from J C.
Edmonton, AB
10/16/2011
Everything on the menu sounds really interesting and yummy... but the actual food doesn't live up to the hype. Everything we tried was pretty bland and loaded with salt. A good sample of this is the most boring sweet potato fries I've ever had the chore of eating.
The only real highlight was the bottles pop selection, but at $3.50 a bottle it's too pricey.
Want a good burger? Head over to Red Robin instead! -
Review from Scott C B.
Edmonton, AB
6/6/2011
I like the concept of a gourmet hamburger - it's a nice change from fast food burgers which are satisfying if not exceptional.
Soda Jerks is first and foremost a gourmet hamburger restaurant. Most everything you order is, in some fashion, a hamburger or a sandwich. But the thing that sets it apart from, say Red Robin's, is that you can build your own burger.
For a fairly reasonable price, you get the chance to pick your meat, bun, sauce, and toppings. Want bacon and a fried egg on your burger? Done! Root Beer BBQ sauce? Sure, slather that on! Want some guacamole on there? Not a problem! It's fun to experiment with various flavors and toppings, trying to find something that works exceptionally well.
If you're not too sure about building your own hamburger (or wrap, or salad), there's also plenty of regular menu items that are spot on. Also keep your eye on the specials - they tend towards the tasty, as well. And don't be afraid to get the sweet potato fries on the side.
The drink menu is also fairly robust at Soda Jerks - which I guess it to be expected as "Soda" is right up there in their name. They have a full bar (and a lounge), which is nice - but it's the sodas that are the real find. They have a great selection of bottled pop, and you can order a vodka shot to spike any of them for some extra kick. On top of that, they'll also make any of them into a float. They also have some fun alcoholic milkshakes - though I admit the portions on them were a little on the smallish side.
Yes, Soda Jerks is still going through some growing pains, and there are some hiccups along the way. But OVERALL - in three visits - we've enjoyed adequate service, and had good food. I'll be going back, and I'd say that even if you had a "so-so" visit in the past, it's worth a second chance. -
Review from Andrew H.
5/30/2011
I admit, the name caught my attention. Kind of offensive, twice as intriguing. Thank goodness the staff didn't live up to their name.
Located where the old East Side Mario and Ric's Grill were is Soda Jerks. A place that specializes in a large amount of different sodas. Right when you walk in, you see a glass display case of all different kinds of sodas. Reminds me the wine racks you see in fancy restaurants.
If you remember the layout of East Side Mario's at all, the floor plan is the same. It's more dark and there's a whole lot of hardwood panelling going on. The inside had a Johnny Rocket meets Moxies theme going on.
As soon as I got the menu, I dove right into the burger section. You basically build your burger from scratch starting with the type of bread and end off with the side order. Everything must be specified. Each burger contains the bread, the meat, the cheese, four toppings, and a side. You can also add additional premium toppings like fried pickles and what not.
I decided to go with:
-marbled rye bread
-beef patty
-provolone cheese
-iceberg lettuce, fried egg, jalepenos, and I forget the last topping
-side of fries (home cut too!)
-dark cherry cola.
The place was dead. Considering it was a Sunday, it was pretty quiet. Maybe it was understaffed or not well trained but the servers took awhile to get to our table. I noticed a bigger group infront of the table and spied on what they were eating. I was a little discouraged to see their burgers come a little bit on the smaller side.
While waiting for the food, I read their drink menu and was intrigued by their "boy kid" menus. They server a lot of childhood dishes and experiences like floats and cotton candy and throw in a healthy dose of liquor. I don't think I've ever had liquor in an ice cream float!
When my own creation came out, I was pleasantly surprised that this burger was cooked fresh on the spot. Beef juices were dripping down the bottom of my burger. Flavors were on par with Fat Burger. Fries were hot and toasty. I don't think I've ever had a burger on rye but it was pretty good.
The dark cherry cola was not too subtle but not too sweet. My friend's grape soda was also rich in flavor.
Topping out at $9.98 for the burger, $3.00 for the side of fries and $3.00 for the soda, the prices were average for your Moxies/Earl's/Joey's vibe.
Besides the long wait time, my only other complaint was the server didn't check up on the table until I was finished my meal.
Other than that, Soda Jerks has a lot of potential to be a premiere spot on the west side. Let's hope it breaks out of the cursed location of previous restaurants!
Oh, don't forget they close a wee bit early at 9PM 7 days a week. -
Review from Carina Z.
8/7/2011
A good old fashioned float/milkshake establishment in our city?!?! What a gem!
They offer 12 different brands of bottled soda (over 40 flavors) and you can have any of them turned into a float or an adult float (shot of alcohol included). This was a fun way to spend time with friends - we sat out on the patio drinking floats and milkshakes in a lovely atmosphere. We didn't order any food so I can't comment on that but they do offer Nathan's hot dogs from New York!
Two more things: 1. The location is a little hard to find (I drove around for 10 minutes before I spotted it) and 2. The décor felt a little high end for (what is trying to be) an old fashioned soda shoppe. -
Review from Sarah S.
Edmonton, AB
3/20/2011
My family and I went for supper on a Sunday night. The survice was subpar at best. The waitress was fairly annoying and fake. I had the Thanksgiving on a bun with sweetpotatoe fries. The burger was dry and there was no sign of the cranberry mayo. The whole table found thier food to be over cooked and bland. I would not recommend this resto to anyone.
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Review from dana n.
Edmonton, AB
7/9/2011
Went with friends on a friday night for drinks and meal....service was excellent, food and drinks were all amazing. The customizable menu is a great idea, and all our requests were done to perfection. The drink menu was also great...30 flavors of pop (including red bull and gourmet small batch flavors, plus a whole slew of flavored vodkas....you could never have the same drink twice! (and friday night is drink special -- any vodka and any soda for $5!)
Overall price was excellent -- we usually go to places like original joes and the bill was way lower here and food was excellent.
The restaurant and bar were very quiet for a friday night ....was great with no lines.... -
Review from Dennis M.
10/8/2011
Best fries in town and the bark on the burgers tasted fantastic along with the choice of bread and condiments. We will be back often. Cheers!! Dmo & Freezy
