Oh my gosh, what an absolutely adorable place! Really threw me back to my childhood. It is a combo drive-in/dine-in spot that takes cash only, but has an ATM on sight. We had burgers and milkshakes that were solidly good and really hit the spot as we were stopping here along the way home from a long road trip. What really sets this place apart is the service! Everyone here was so friendly - and even though this is very much a "local" spot we felt completely welcomed. When they found out that we were from out of town they immediately asked us if we wanted a picture outside with Papa Burger and one of the waitresses enthusiastically led us outside for photos. This is exactly what you want from a small town root beer stand - a homey vibe, great food and friendly service!! read more

Great old time root beer stand, root beer floats are the best as I turned my granddaughter on to them this year! Thanks read more

We stopped by The Root Beer Stand in Oglesby, which gives off a nostalgic blend of an old-school A&W crossed with the drive-in order bays you would expect at a Sonic, along with some super cute diner-style booth seating inside. Just a heads up that it is a cash-only spot, though they do have an ATM on-site if you need it. The service was quick and incredibly polite from start to finish. Food-wise, the burger was fairly plain but was cooked well, and the fries had a great texture and crunch even if they were a bit bland on seasoning. The side salad was essentially just chopped lettuce, but it was noticeably crisp and fresh. Overall, it is a fun, nostalgic pit stop with friendly service if you are looking for a quick bite. read more

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Food was really good, I had a fish sandwich, wife had a cheeseburger and the boy had a hotdog. Root beer is very good... as it should be. It was very very busy but the food still came out in a reasonable amount of time. We are from Out of town but if we were in the area again we would surely come back. Prices were pretty good as well! read more

Burgers were pretty good corn nuggets were so so but the root beer did not even taste like root beer so I would not a big fan a little pricey $44 for two people. The one thing I did not like was they do not accept credit or debit cards, cash or check only who the heck carries a checkbook anymore lol read more

The service was good and the ambiance was fine. The food was just okay, I had the homemade BBQ with onion rings. It was just eh. The root beer float was yummy!! Cleanliness was an issue to me. The floor looked like it hadn't been mopped in a really long time and the bathroom was not in good shape. The ice cream was good! We came here from out of town and I think I'll try someplace else if I come through town again. read more

The food? Bussin bussin. Atmosphere? Amaze balls . The girls?! Georgina and so sweet. If you ain't stopping by and grabbing a bite to eat then where you at? Oh also service super duper fast read more

The Rootbeer Stand - Mac and cheese in ball form - American Near Me - Oglesby, Illinois

When we 1st arrived they were busy. The people next to us ordered and said 25 minute wait. We order said it would be 30 minutes. After I order a 4 other people came. A mini van of 6 people 10 minutes after we got there. So 40 minutes no food I rang again took 5 minutes to answer and now its 2:10 and not that busy. She said are food is on the tray and coming right out which takes another 4 minutes. So 49 minutes is really unacceptable when other people got there food 1st!! read more

Overhyped and not worth driving for. Food is poor and mediocre at best. Service was nonexistent because place was really busy, which I don't know why because food wasn't good. Like I could make better food in my own kitchen. And I was really looking forward to this place and their homemade root beer, and all of it wasn't good. McDonald's would have been a lot better read more

The Food included the BEST burger I have EVER had . Amazing service. VERY CHARMING AMBIENCE! This place is worth the travel to enjoy. Incredibly affordable ! read more

If you're looking for a quick no frills place to eat this is a good spot. The salad that comes with the burger is small but it was a nice extra. read more

Just about everything the food was all greasy fake root beer soda, everything was just Blah and overpriced

Great place to stop by especially if you're coming from Starved Rock! Went with some friends and enjoyed the ice creams/ root beer float! Fries were on the soggy side but the Mac n cheese nuggets were good. Staff were super friendly and welcoming and the place was packed. Also cash only place! They do have an ATM though. read more

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when you have the classic Papa Burger welcoming you in ... it's going to be a good day pull up and take a step back in time. It's like time stood still here and in this Crazy World it's a Great feeling read more

The Rootbeer Stand - American Near Me - Oglesby, Illinois

Great food & service! Rootbeer in a frosty mug. Cute place! Not far from the interstate. read more

Classic place for root beer. It also has basic food. The Rootbeer Stand is one of the more popular places to go in Oglesby. Has plenty of the drink, but also has things like slushies and some junk food that isn't impressive. Prices are thankfully good for the limited options because it's not like it's worth all that. A good place for a cold drink after a hike. It's not far from Matthiessen and Starved Rock. This was about the only place that wasn't a chain open in town. Came here and of course got root beer. Easy choice, because the only other drink they had available was water. Crappy but very easy choices. It's $3 for root beer in a frosty mug. They didn't charge us that much because of the limited options. Cool. We thought it was pretty good. Afterthought is how to describe the food. The only vegetarian option was the Lettuce Salad. It's about $2 for a small bowl. This was literally just iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. However the Italian dressing was good. This helped actually make it a pretty good salad for real. Certainly root beer is the main attraction. It can come just as it is in a mug or get it as a float. The food is pretty basic greasy fast food stuff like burgers but there's healthier options like salads. read more

The Rootbeer Stand - Root Beer And Lettuce Salad - American Near Me - Oglesby, Illinois

There for the first time 8/28. Service by Lauren was friendly and quick. Cheeseburger was good, beat the hell out of McDonald's,Bk, and the others. Root. Beer was excellent. I'll come back just for that. Old fashion drive in style drive in style. Really cool read more

Try to stop here when I'm near Starved Rock. I think I may have had good here once, but what I brings me back is the root beer floats. Root beer is amongst my favorite types of pop, and floats are yummy! They put a lot of ice cream in, so it's not just a cup of root beer with a small scoop of ice cream. The root beer is good, and if I drank pop more often (I've had maybe 5 cans of pop in the last coupe years) I may have considered buying a half gallon, but didn't want it to go to waste. If you're around stop in and give it a taste. read more

the rootbeer is the worst i ever had , frys not done no salt , onion ring not good , burger not much flavor

After waiting 45 minutes for our food it came out cold. Not just some of it, all of it- grilled cheese, burgers, fries, appetizers. When I told the food runner girl she rolled her eyes at me. None of this is acceptable for a business! Customer service is what keeps your business going, just remember that. read more

The Rootbeer Stand - Response from owner after messaging her - American Near Me - Oglesby, Illinois

Updated to say that the food (fish basket with fries) was very good even though the rootbeer was not the style I enjoy.

My wife and I stopped in for a late lunch after a hike! We loved the ambience of this place! We did the car hop service. This place will take you back in time! We ordered 2 glass mugs of Rootbeer, 2 cheeseburgers, 1 corn nugget, and a 4 piece chicken strip basket which came with fries and a tiny bowl of shredded iceberg lettuce with French dressing. I liked the rootbeer and she did not! We both liked the burgers but wish we got doubles. The patties are thin. We both liked the chicken tenders too. The fries are krinkle cut and tasty. The salad is boring but the French dressing is good! The corn nuggets are great! We over heard other customers orders. We now know we need to try the tenderloins, flavor burst cones, and coney dogs! We will be back! read more

We give it five stars for the root beer floats. We decided to visit here after reading Yelp reviews. Our youngest (11) loves root beer and root beer floats. Figured we had to try this place seeing as they make their own root beer. The only thing we ordered was 3 large root beer floats and 1 Dr Pepper float (for our teenager who is not a fan of root beer - honestly I don't like root beer either, but wanted to try it since they make their own and I'm glad I did!!). My concern was that the floats wouldn't have enough ice cream, but quite the opposite, there was plenty of ice cream and I would have liked just a tad bit more soda. We came here after spending the morning hiking around Starved Rock State park. We pulled in to order and within seconds of pushing the button, a friendly voice asked for our order. I'd say we waited 5-10 minutes, didn't seem like we were there very long. A friendly lady brought our order out and we paid - make sure you have CASH. We don't always have cash and I think a lot of people are like us not carrying cash. I'm glad I read before that you need cash and I'm glad we had brought cash with us on our road trip because we always run into situations where we need cash while traveling. Highly recommend if you love root beer. read more

The Rootbeer Stand - Menu as of 04/29/2021 - American Near Me - Oglesby, Illinois

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Good old style drive in restaurant. Service was a little slow but food was delicious. We went with the double cheeseburger and fries. We weren't disappointed. Step back in history and get a big mug of Rootbeer delivered right to your car window. read more

The Rootbeer Stand - Menu as of July 2023 - American Near Me - Oglesby, Illinois

This place is great. Even when the power goes out Food and service was still outstanding We found this looking for another place. So glad we decided to try The Rootbeer Stand. If we can remember, we will definitely go here again!!! read more

Cute little place in Ogelsby, IL. We were traveling thru and stopped for dinner. The root beer was very good. I'm an old A&W employee and it taste really close to what I used to make. We had a fish sandwich, and fish and chips. We also had their sweet corn fritters. They are really good. I would suggest stopping if you're in the area. read more

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Food and price of the food is average. Root beer is definitely a good draw for us and it delivered. We ordered our food to got. They did messed up our order and not included one of the item we ordered. As they don't provide a detailed receipt for the order it is all guessing game if they packed all the items ordered or not. Next time I will stick to the basics, root beer and fries! read more

Woody the Root Beer Man makes the stop worth it. I would highly recommend you stick to one of the many ice cream menu items. The inside looks old and dirty. Friendly staff. I had the hot dog basket and regretted it... Root beer was good but they don't offer a diet root beer. read more

The Rootbeer Stand - Hot dog basket - American Near Me - Oglesby, Illinois

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Wow, this place gets hopping on a Sunday at lunchtime. The friendly staff runs a very efficient operation though, keeping their smiles on without missing a beat. It's table service inside and carhop service outside. Cash only. The food is pretty basic burgers and dogs type fare, but solid quality and good value. The onion rings were particularly satisfying. The ice cream side of the menu has everything you'd expect--shakes, sundaes, flurries (ice cream and candy mixed), frosties (ice cream and soda blended). We all enjoyed our desserts, but after reading the reviews it seems like I missed an opportunity by not getting a root beer float. Next time! read more

The place is full of nostalgia! I happened to catch this spot during my trip to Starved Rock State Park. I didn't know places like this still existed. Burgers, hot dogs, chilli, ice cream, and of course Rootbeer are on the menu. I got the bacon cheeseburger basket with rootbeer. The food is very yummy! Speedy service with an exceptional staff. The drive in style diner, retro colors, original signage and statue out front really make this a must stop spot. Cash only with an ATM inside. Will come back again on my next visit. Thank you! read more

The Rootbeer Stand - Bacon cheeseburger basket and rootbeer - American Near Me - Oglesby, Illinois

Food is good! Classic Rootbeer stand! Service was decent and the place was buzzing. Cash only and the atm is tied to the phone line, and so there was a line to pay because the calls kept interrupting the ATM service. read more

Cute place! Expected it to be really good but sadly it wasn't. Fries were so soggy and they should be the easiest to make. Cheeseburger was all bun and no flavor. Pizza burger was like a very tiny pork tenderloin with pizza flavor. Weird. Coney dog was definitely not traditional in the sense that they put their bbq on it but it just didn't work. Two positives were the root beer was good and prices were cheap but unfortunately so was the quality. read more

A nice bit of nostalgia. I grew up with the A&W Rootbeer drive-ins and the frosty mugs of root beer, so I've decided to visit as many places as possible with their own brewed root beer. This was a good start. First, the drive-in experience is just as I remembered it in my youth - the menu with pushing the button to order and flipping the switch to pick up the tray. Of course, modern cars have windows without a level top, so it's a little trickier to balance the tray! But it works. The root beer came in a frosty mug (bonus points), and it was good. It didn't have foam (slight disappointment) and had a smooth flavor without some of the specific root beer "kick." But it was tasty. I got a tenderloin sandwich with fries and a small lettuce salad in a cole slaw container. The tenderloin and fries were well cooked but a bit bland - they could have used a little more seasoning... and grease (you want that fatty flavor - you're not eating here for healthy food). I'll be back. read more

The Rootbeer Stand - Order here! - American Near Me - Oglesby, Illinois

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One of the best experiences of a diner I've ever had. Food was 5000/10. Decor was so cute, LOVE the booths. But what really made it was the service. Service was what made the entire experience. The waitress went out of her way to take our picture with the big burger guy outside. She ran across the street so we could all fit in the picture. Will be coming back for sure!! read more

Awesome food, incredible prices, great atmosphere, cool place, friendly and welcoming staff. 10/10 the whole family loved it!

Just like many others, we came here after some hiking at Starved Rock. Based upon Google reviews, this place sounded good on screen but was we were majorly disappointed. I should have been more skeptical after quickly looking at the Yelp reviews but I like trying and supporting local places. We had a party of 10 (2 adults and 6 kids under the age of 12) and ordered bacon cheeseburgers, double cheeseburgers, a super deluxe cheeseburger, mini corn dogs, 2 large fries, 1 cheese fries and onion rings and 1 sm root beer, which came up to a little under $45. Make sure to bring CASH! We didn't eat at the drive in (nor indoors due to my kids not being vaccinated yet) and decided to picnic back by Starved Rock. After we waited over the suggested time of 25 minutes to get our food, the food temp was about lukewarm and that not so long ride back to the picnic area probably got rid of that fresh off the grill taste/feeling and may have skewed my views on the food. All of the burgers were dry and small and the buns just felt like they came right out of the bag. The large fries looked like a small fry order. My daughter thought the mini corn dogs were just ok. The onion rings were prob my fav out of all the food we ordered but it was a small quantity for us to share. It seemed like we ordered enough but I was completely wrong. We were all hangry and still hangry after scarfing down that food. Maybe we should have upgraded the orders to baskets (which means fries + salad) so that everyone would get fries vs. sharing but I'm glad I didn't because the kids nor I (I am a fry lover!) enjoyed the fries. TBH, we love eating salads (yep, the kids love salad) but we typically don't do salads when we have burgers/hot dogs and fries. The best thing out of this was that I did try the homemade root beer which was pretty good. It's $1.50 for a small and a good way to try their root beer. If you are a root beer fan, you def must try their's. I wanted to like this place because of the Google reviews but unfortunately we won't be going back next time we decide to hike in the area. read more

The Rootbeer Stand - a side view mirror - American Near Me - Oglesby, Illinois

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You want some nostalgia I recommend stopping here. Inside dining and it is very small but clean. Small town so everyone knows everyone. Server talk to everyone and was nice. Cheeseburger was very good and root beer was tasty. read more

Great rootbeer but the staff really made it a fun experience! They were all sooo nice!

This is an honest to goodness, old fashioned root beer stand! The root beer is home made and it's delicious! My husband and I got chili cheese dogs and chili fries. It was like a trip back in time, and the prices were very low! I finished with a turtle sundae, which was awesome. If you are hiking Starved Rock, It's worth finding this gem. read more

Great food, really fast! Wonderful and friendly service, delicious root beer. Lots of choices, good prices. I love that they've maintained the vintage ambiance. read more

The Rootbeer Stand - American Near Me - Oglesby, Illinois