Soda Joes

Service was ok on the one occasion I visited this ‘1960s America Diner’ style restaurant. Unfortunately the food was bland and greasy. I had a large portion of fries and a burger, which wasn’t bad, although it wasn’t good either — just tasteless overall. The only saving grace with Soda Joe’s being the Knickerbocker Glory dessert, which was very good. Unfortunately just not good enough to entice me back. A disappointing experience…

Absolute shocker.
My partner and I were at the Odyssey (or the SSE as it is now called) for a show. It was during the day and the original plan was to go to the Premier Inn next to the Arena for some food (You always know what you’re getting in a Premier Inn restaurant!)
Unfortunately however when we got round to the Premier Inn, their restaurant was operating on a residents only basis, so we went back round to the Odyssey again…
Still to this day I wonder why I didn’t just suggest we went to the Indian Ocean. I’ve been there before and I know it’s good. Anyway, in what must clearly have been a moment of madness, I suggested Soda Joes.
We had managed to get there early enough before the crowds arrived for the show, so we got seated without issues. However to our dismay, despite the place not even being busy, our booth was filthy and sticky. Having a quick look around, it seemed the rest of the place was in a similar condition, so we stayed put.
Despite not being pressed for manpower, it took them an age to even bother to come and get our order, and forever for the food to come. It couldn’t have taken them long to make it as it looked below par to even something that you would get from the cheapest burger van at the roadside.
Never again. Not sure how it’s still open!

i ate here once and that was enough it was rotten.

cold (the air con was on to suit the staff not the customers), over priced, and unbelievably bad.
how has this place kept going? amazing what a captive audience of gig/​club/​cinema-​goers will put up with.

Soda Joe’s is the equivalent to Eddie Rockets down South. Or as everyone calls it, Eddie rob-​yas cause it’s so bloody dear!
Anyway Soda Joe’s is pretty much the same deal, an american diner typa joint with the classic club sandwiches, burgers and chips n milkshakes.
It’s pretty simple and nothing to write home about. I’ve never had any issues with the staff and the prices are pretty alright. A grand job!

This place is one of those faux-​American restaurants which use a flash of old glory to sell chips and burgers and milkshakes. Its been in The Odyssey for about as long as I can remember. They claim to provide ‘excellent food and first class service at great prices’. Im not quite sure about that.
This is a wee restaurant that has been around for quite a while and I’ve been here on a number of occassions to sample its pretty standard American style gnosh. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing really wrong with this place. Its just a bit bog-​standard. The prices and service are exactly what you would expect. You won’t go wrong here if you just want a quick bite before or after the cinema.

Last time I was in here was a few years ago, and I have to say I had no complaints.
It’s set up like an American diner and the menu is exactly what you’d expect. It’s perhaps a little overpriced based on the quality, but it’s tasty and there’s enough on the plate to fill you up and then some!
They also do this sandwich at Christmas which is pretty immense — it’s basically a turkey club with cranberry sauce. Very festive and very delicious!

Soda Joe’s? More like Soda ‘NO’s…
That literally took me ages to work out. Some say I’m wasting my time.
Soda Joe’s is a poor restaurant that has been dragged backwards kicking and screaming from the 50s/​60s in America and thrown into the least American style place in all of the world — the Odyssey.
I will give the effort 110% because they have tried to make it work, what with the décor, the music, the food etc. But it’s all a little unconvincing. You see if you walk outside, you are likely to see some youths generally larking around and being a nusiance, just like in Grease. Only I could warm to John Travolta and Olivia N-​J. I can’t warm to Belfast youths.
Like I said, the effort that has gone into this place is worthy of a star in itself, but sadly the food is worth of a heafty docking of stars. The menu, though impressively stocked, is unhealthy and full of junk. The burgers weren’t anything that memorable either.
However, most irratitatingly, the chips are referred to as fries whereas since you are in Norn Iron, they are actually called CHIPS over here and I’d appreciate if people stopped trying to call them FRIES because a FRY is something that you have in the morning and has sausages on it. FRIES would therefore be more than one of these breakfast wonders… unplanned rant over.
Look, it’s not a great place to go. If you are about the Odyssey and find your belly rumbling and really don’t fancy anything else, you will come here and it’ll not be anything too special but it’ll fill a gap. Just like a fry. Whatever that is…

I don’t know how places like this can survive. Old time American diner style décor but the food is just a waste of time. Everything tastes like it’s frozen, full of additives and badly cooked.
It’s takes just as long to cook bad food as it does to cook good food so do yourself a favour and get a burger somewhere else.

I wouldn’t recommend eating here. We went one night with a group of around ten of us, various ages and tastes, and none of us were very happy with our food. We had a vegetarian in the group who didn’t have much of a choice on the menu and so asked for some chips and some garlic bread slices and was given a look of derision as though she was mental because she wanted this for her main — when in fact she was just ‘making do’ because there wasn’t much choice. I had the cheese burger — not worth £6.00, I’ve enjoyed McDonald’s burgers more. The food took ages to come and all arrived at different times. The staff weren’t helpful about this at all, and actually left us alone for ages. I would go elsewhere.

Having taken 15 over excited 10 year old girls to Soda Joes for a birthday treat, I can say that our waitress was the most patient I have ever come across. I actually went to the trouble of giving positive feedback to the manager as our waitress, Jean, was so helpful and tolerant of the noise, spills and general stuff of waitress’ nightmares.
Soda Joes is an American diner type place which kids love so I would maybe steer clear if you’re looking for a romantic meal for two! If you’ve got the children with you, this is the spot for you.
The menu is dominated by burgers and fries, ribs, hot dogs and steaks. I had the chicken burger with bacon and cheese which I managed to stuff down while the girls shrieked and generally made a mess of the very nice burgers, hot dogs and chicken burgers. The kids meals come with a drink and ice-​cream for less than £5 each which I think is really reasonable and our wonderful waitress brought us extra jugs of juice without charging us.
The adult food wasn’t exactly gourmet but then that’s not what I was looking for so I was more than happy as it was tasty and filling. And if you take a gaggle of kids there and it all gets too much for you, there’s a fully stocked bar to drown yourself in!
My top tip with this place is that it’s one of the few restaurants in Northern Ireland which accepts Tesco vouchers, so if you have £10 worth of Tesco vouchers, you’ll get £40 to spend in Soda Joe’s. Result!

I wouldn’t say this place was cheap but I suppose that is to be expected when you go to places like the Odyssey.
The staff were helpful and pleasant but the quality of the food is really poor. I know it is fast food but I would really expect better burgers, chips and onion rings in a place like this.
Is not good value for money and I would have to say I will not return here or recommend it.

If your looking for something cheap and cheerful while attending the Odyssey then look no further. When I say cheap, I mean cheaper than the other choices available at the pavillion, but not quite fast food. Still, Soda Joe’s delivers superb food, and lots of it, and a great service.
It’s an American themed diner with ‘cab’ like tables and red leather seating. There is some 1950’s music and film memorabilia on the walls. The toilets and clean and accessible. There is a jukebox with a good selection of music for everyone’s taste.
If your a burger fan then you’ll love Soda Joe’s. Several items on the burger menu come with two huge burgers which need to be trimmed to fit into the bap, and most I would say will struggle to finish off. I was however disappointed with the steak, which was a little on the small side for the weight on the menu.
The best place in the odyssey if you need food quick, or your on a budget.