S & T Soda Shoppe

S&T has good food and service. As others have stated, they do have the recipe for The Gambler steak and the lasagna from The Rat in Chapel Hill and both are good. I’ve also had other fare at S&T such as burgers and sodas and all have been good.

You can’t beat the S&T experience if you’re looking for an old-​school ice cream treat. The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful, the food is good, the atmosphere is great (think old time soda fountain) and the prices can’t be beat. Yes, you may have to wait a bit to be seated, and it’s loud, but that’s half the fun. This is a meeting place for friends and families to get together for a special treat. My daughter gets a Cheerwine float each time we go here, and I love the corn dog nuggets (don’t judge!) and chocolate milkshakes.

Started with a genuine vanilla Coke. Finished with the biggest, most amazing banana split I’ve ever seen. I’m pretty sure a family of four couldn’t finish it. Great food and atmosphere, instantly took me back to the lunch counter and soda fountain in the pharmacy of the town I grew up in. We’ll definitely be back!

My family and I have a lot of good memories here already, and we’ve only lived in North Carolina for six months. We took the grandparents here. My year old daughter had her first ice cream here (and went crazy over it). We came for my birthday.
The service is attentive and friendly. The bar is beautiful, with lots of dark wood and cabinets full of interesting antiques. There is additional seating upstairs for when it is really crowded.

When I learned they had a version of the legendary Gambler served at The Rathskellar in Chapel Hill for over 60 years, I knew I was gonna have to try it. The owner, Steve Oldham, was a big fan of the Rathskellar, and especially the Gambler and the restaurant’s other legendary dish, Lasagna. His family used to visit the restaurant almost every weekend as he was growing up in Pittsboro. The Lasagna is also on the menu.
Today at lunch, I ordered the Single Gambler ($ 15) which comes with a mound of steak fries, grilled onions, and exceptional toasted bread. The meat is skirt steak, and according to Oldham, the secret to obtaining the nice outside crust that defines both the taste and texture of the meat, is to cook it on a cast iron skillet, and the dish is served on that same, small cast iron skillet. You can order a Double or Triple Gambler, if you dare.
They nailed the dish — the meat though thin, was incredibly flavorful — the steak fries were excellent, as was the bread. It is as close to the dish served at the «Rat» as my memory allows. We also tried a Chocolate and a Strawberry Milk Shake ($ 4.45 each) and they were excellent, as well, and huge — neither of us could finish the shake.
This is a small, cluttered place with a definite retro charm. The people are friendly & eventually efficient, and the menu is rather broad, with all kinds of frozen treats, sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, salads, spaghetti, and of course the famous Lasagna. They also offer Cherry Smash, Coke/​Pepsi Floats, Egg Creams, and even Root Beer.
Cool place, a real blast from the past from several places, several time spans. Closed on Mon & Tue.

Great place to go with the family. My biggest advice is to get their early. This place fills up QUICK! Their ice scream sundaes and shakes are made the way they are supposed to be. The banana split is 6 (yes you read that right) scoops of ice cream on a banana. The shakes all have 3 scoops of ice cream and they give you not only the glass with the shake but also give you the tin it was made in with the left overs. The other reviewers were right. The food is ok not great but you don’t come here for the food. You come for the atmosphere and ice cream. The service here is excellent. The wait staff looks like high school kids and they were always asking if everything was ok and seemed to genuinely care about your experience. I’ll definitely be back. S&T’s is a great place in an other wise sleepy town of Pittsboro.

This place is great — it was packed on a Saturday afternoon so a bit of the ambiance was lost on me trying to navigate busy servers but wow — the limeade and chocolate coke we stopped in for were total wins!
It’s definitely worth another stop for a malt or cherry slush, yum! I loved the décor — it reminded me of a little drugstore we had in my hometown.
If you’re looking for a fun little day date — this is your place!

Absolutely love this place! A nice nostalgic throwback.

We went to the S&T Soda Shoppe for the first time today. I was cute and it took me back into the past. I was hoping the food would be as nice as the atmosphere but it could use a lot of improving. The fries were soggy, the hot dog looked like it had been cooked for a long time, and the BLT was O.K. The best reason to go, and the only reason I will go back, is to have an ice cream desert in a very beloved environment. Soda Shoppes are disappearing. I fear, given the food and service was mediocre (but possibly just bad), that this shop will eventually be lost as well.

A kitschy place with pre-​1950s style. The sheer amount of classic soda shoppe drinks is staggering. A decent amount of room and available favors makes it great for a celebration or a trip down memory lane.

This place is a gem! The sodas, floats and ice cream were fantastic and the service is truly above and beyond. After enjoying our tasty treats, my 8yr old daughter accidentally left her purse & book behind. Unable to return, I called and the proprietor found the items and insisted on mailing them back to us… in Massachusetts. I offered to reimburse her or send prepaid postage, but she wouldn’t hear of it. Pittsboro is a charming place and no visit is complete without a stop at S & T’s! Xoxoxo

You will love speaking with the owners! They make every customer feel welcomed. One of the few places to get a bottled Dr Pepper in the area. Without driving out to western NC to order a case of it.
I love the spaghetti/​meat sauce and garlic bread. Its so hard to get away from that because its so good.
The only thing that saddens me is that they are closed on Sunday and Monday’s.

I love this place! Always very friendly and accommodating to my son’s severe allergies. Frequent customer and always satisfied.

Had the weekend off and we decided to take a short road trip, ended up in Pittsboro at S&T’s soda shop. Got there was gretted Branna which also happen to be our waitress. We had cheese burger and chicken ceasar salad. The food was awesome along with the ambiance. We went for a walk through town came back for dessert and OMG had sundae and banana split now going for another walk, so glad we ended up here. Will be back next time we want to take a short road trip.

Good place to stop in an grab a bite if your gallivanting around Pittsboro. Both the wife and I had the double cheeseburger, I had steak fries and she had onion rings. The food was great and priced well. People are very friendly. Our service could have been a little better, it was pretty in there so I think our server was just overwhelmed. Other than that the place is great

I’ve bee n here before and like before its mediocre and possibly below that. The food here is ok nothing you couldn’t make from home for cheaper and the service is even worse they got kids working here from the high school and they don’t have a clue. I do recommend the ice cream and shake products which are very good the total opposite of the regular menu. I’ll only come back here for dessert not lunch or dinner.

Had a cheeseburger and root beer. Both were very good. A lot of people admiring the antiques and the history of the building as they wait to pay. Was thinking it was a tad bit more expensive than I want for lunch but the service made up for that. Fun to see an elderly couple enjoying a huge ice cream dessert!

This place was just perfect. I loved the counter and their was plenty of dining spaces. The line was out the door but did not take long. The server was pleasant and quick with our food. We ordered hamburgers and a root beer float. Both were delicious in their own way. I would rate the food a four but the atmosphere and throw back to the old days easily earns them a 5 star review. We will visit again.

This is a charming local place run by local folks. They will bend over backwards to make sure you leave happy.
If you come for ice cream you won’t be disappointed! The portions are huge and very yummy! The banana pudding ice cream is something out if the ordinary! Only get a banana split if you plan on sharing! It’s giant!
The food here isn’t fancy but it is good. Try the chicken fajita wrap with chips and house made salsa or some of the best onion rings around. Their house salad dressing is delicious too!
Be warned that at any given time this place can be packed, especially on Saturday. If you’re in a hurry it might not be the best choice but it’s crowded for a reason-​good food and great customer service!

Pro Tips:
— The upstairs is piratically a museum!
— Ask for the flyer that discusses the history of the shoppe!
— if you go here in the summer you have to get an orangeade.
This place is a must see if you are passing through Pittsboro. The place is filled with antique soda signage and items, jukeboxes, and more. You feel like you are in a 1950’s soda shoppe. Milkshakes are home made, the owners are usually onsite working the counter, and you can smell the burgers cooking up the street. A variety of hard ice cream is available, and it is just a great place and an asset to the community.