Mug ‘N’ Bun

Lived in this area for about a year and I finally tried this place. The grilled cheeseburger was delicious but the fries weren’t anything special. The Rootbeer is great too. I would come back for the Rootbeer but I don’t think I can eat more than one burger a year. Overall, it’s a great place to check out.

Great place! An Indianapolis secret that cannot be missed! The root beer is excellent!

This food was nothing special, but the place has charm. If I’m in the area again, I would return to give them another try.

Worst first experience ever! Very cheap and flavorless food. 30 minute wait for microwaved hot dogs. Card machine broke or incompetent waitress. Mis entered a 15 dollar charge to 75. Will never go back or recommend

Mug N Bun is like an ex-​boyfriend. After you haven’t been there in a while, you remember some things as being good. But when you go back, you remember exactly why you broke up in the first place. Yes, this is a drive-​in, so my expectations for gourmet food were low. However, after visiting this establishment several times, after the last visit, I swear I’ll never return. I don’t know if our waitress was highly medicated or just lazy, but she was not with it whatsoever. We were greeted and got our drinks right away, but everything went downhill from there. We must have waited nearly 25 minutes for our food to come out, and of course it was cold once we got it. Could we have complained and had them redo our orders? At another establishment, maybe; but not here because after our waitress dropped off our food, we didn’t see her for another 30 minutes. Another table near us was seated as our food was being dropped off and their drink order was taken at that time. They patiently waited just to get drinks MUCH longer than I would have tolerated. We had to flag down another waitress just to get ours to come out so that we could pay. When we were leaving, the other table was still waiting for their drinks. I don’t understand the appeal of this place, unless it’s nostalgia. The food is not good and I wonder what they do with their profits because the entire outdoor seating area is in dire need of maintenance and repair.

I’m posting this with a 5 star review with a caveat– it’s great for what it is. They make great fast, fun, greasy food to enjoy as the occasional rude, fun thing to do to interrupt your metabolism.
First, don’t forget the root beer. If you hate root beer, get it anyway. I dislike root beer immensely, but will always drink theirs.
Do yourself a favor and get a large side of hot pepper cheese balls, and ask for cocktail sauce to dip them in. The corn nuggets are tasty as well.
If I’m being honest, I don’t love the chili dogs, but the tenderloins are good, and after my root beer and cheese balls, who even cares?

Taste like home. There is nothing better on a summer day than root beer, fries, slaw and a burger. Then just add low prices and a fun laid back environment. I believe they only take cash and I found out if you don’t want to do the drive-​in, they have an actual restaurant next door open all year. Can’t wait to go back and try a chili cheese dog! There are so many choices it’s hard to pick. Also the Cole slaw is very good if you get a basket! If you like dog n suds you’ll like mugnbuns!

Returned to Mug N Bun last night, Saturday, June 04, 2016, with my dad and my nephew. I was hungry for this ever since I started talking about it the night before. I brought my nephew here once when he was small. Now that he is older, he has graduated from wanting chicken fingers to going for the pork tenderloin.
I called ahead and they were open until 10:30, so that must be the summer weekend hours. It had been raining a lot, but cleared up by the time we pulled in. There were a few puddles, but pretty pleasant weather, good for eating in the car with the windows down. It wasn’t packed, but more cars had arrived before we left.
I had already gone over the menu online beforehand, but from where we were parked this time, I could see the menus outside pretty well. Dad thought some lit-​up menus would help with visibility. My nephew got the breaded tenderloin sandwich with cheese and french fries, also with cheese. From what he said, it was a cup of nacho cheese. He ended up putting that on his tenderloin, too. Dad got potato wedges, coleslaw and a mug of root beer. I got potato wedges and an order of mushrooms.
The potato wedges weren’t QUITE what I was expecting. They have a zesty batter on the outside. They were alright though and we were provided with a couple of big cups of ketchup. I’m not always a huge ketchup fan, but theirs is pretty good. It also helped cool down my wedges a bit. Mushrooms were good, too. Even though I let them sit a few minutes, they were still pretty hot, but I was careful not to burn myself too bad. (The mushroom-lover’s dilemma.) The mushrooms here surpass all others I remember having elsewhere. We could tell that Mug N Bun must change their oil regularly as well. Dad liked the coleslaw and I heard no complaints about the wedges.
Food wasn’t super fast, but it was piping hot and fresh. Well worth the wait. Mine definitely needed the provided salt, but I am glad they don’t overdo the sodium like some places that make fries, etc. inedible. Our total was a little over $ 22, not including tip.
The testimony to their tenderloin, which I have never had myself, is in the following: My nephew asked if he could get a second. He is a growing boy with a high metabolism, and also really loved their sandwich. On the second one, he just asked for nacho cheese. When it was ready, a cup of cheese was brought out, so he had to spread it on with the spoon he found in the glovebox. It was $ 5.2? so over a dollar was added for cheese, plus some tax I am assuming. (Reminder that, while they accept cards, they will only take cash for tips.)
Overall, pretty reasonable prices and good portions. They also have family size on a lot of the sides, if not all. There are a lot of unique menu items that would be fun to try. Older building that certainly shows it age though it is an Indy icon and close to home. Perfect for a night out with the family. Tenderloins so good you just might have to have another before you go home. I was glad to make more memories and share Mug N Bun with the younger generation. I can’t wait to bring my tiny niece sometime. I feel like we have started off the summer-​season right.

First trip here. Good flavor. Ice cold burger and fries. No attempt to even warm them up apparently. Won’t be back.

Food: 1 or 2 stars
Nostalgia: 4 or 5 stars
Mug ‘N’ Bun is like reminiscing about the «good ol’ days» when cars were «better», life was «better», etc. Then you get into a «performance» car from the 60’s or 70’s and realize that it drives like crap, it’s slower than a modern family car like the Honda Accord, it has more rust than steel, and if you ever get into a minor fender bender in it you are going to be dead or a quadriplegic.
The food here is food. I think that’s the best and most accurate way of describing it. You could eat it and you would gain sustenance and postpone starvation. I would be shocked if people actually came here for the food — it’s for the nostalgia. The few people who come here for the food need to get out more.
Three stars for being «different», but just keep in mind that different is not always better. I have been here twice now and that’s one time too many.

So sad to write this! I was so excited for the food. The tenderloin was dry and flavorless. Onion rings were yum along with the jalapeño poppers. The Italian sausage was old. Hoping it was sa fluke because we showed up just before close. Will try them again and re-​review.

This place is worth checking out if you’re craving greasy food and root beer. I couldn’t make up my mind while there so we went ahead and ordered a foot long cony dog, their famous tenderloin, pizza burger, crinkle fries, and cheese balls. Yes, for only two people we got a lot of food; and it was all delicious!
The reason for my 4 stars was just due to the outside seating area feeling a little grimy to me. Most of the picnic tables were dirty and needed a good wipe down as well as trash being scattered about. One of the waitresses eventually swept the trash up while we sat there though. The staff really seemed on it. If customers didn’t look to be getting out of their car to eat at a table, they would be there almost immediately to take their order. The service was really quick! Oh and don’t forget the root beer is a must out of a frosty mug.

Take a step back in time, and enjoy this drive in! Or you can sit inside at the building next door.
The staff is super helpful, fast and Friendly.
I always get the tenderloin, onion rings, and a root beer. I’ve had other things but this is by far my favorite.
I don’t know how they don’t have 5 stars, but mainly because people complain is greasy food. I mean what do you expect from a Drive In? A 4 course meal served on Silver Platters all with a nice green garnish?! Not at all. Just Great Food, Great Prices, and Friendly Staff!
*P.S always bring cash because tips are cash only.

Husband and I are extremely disappointed. This is the second time we’ve swung by during regular business hours and there was not a single soul there. We were anticipating this meal. That’s all I have to say. We’re just irritated now.

The best root beer around… Hands down. They even offer diet, which is also delicious. Both varieties are produced in-​house, and are rich, creamy, and incredibly flavorful. Everything here is fried, in iconic drive-​in style, but the food is tasty and the menu offers plenty of choices.
I love the kitschy vibe of this place. The service is always prompt and beyond friendly. It’s the type of place where the servers have handfuls of treats ready for your fur friends. We stop by here for dinner before movies at Tibbs Drive In.

When I arrived, I was very confused on where to go to place my order for take out. I could see 3 different buildings with the name Mug ‘N’ Bun on them. Where are there so many? I walked around the yellow one trying to find an order window without luck and just asked one of the waitresses where I could place an order. She said to just have a seat at one of the tables and someone will take my order there. The rest was easy peasy.
The menu has the usual diner lineup — burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, chicken and fish.
Pizza puff $ 3.20 — Hard to do wrong, and they did not do it the hard way. It was good.
Grilled cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato $ 4.30 — I guess I didn’t realized what I was ordering until I got it. It’s a grilled cheese sandwich with burger patty. Pretty good.

Like most Indianapolites, I love me some Mug n Bun. What you get here is a big pile of ambiance. It is old, it is funky, it’s kind of ugly, but man is it cool. People have been stopping here for generations. You can still pull your car up, flick your headlights, and a cute waitress will walk on over to take your order. The food is standard drive-​in fair, but eating it off of a window mounted tray brings it to a higher level. Let us not forget the root beer. Its made in house, and it is authentic. I recommend the chilled beer stein or the enormous quart in the souvenir cup. Either way, get some of that root beer!
Make sure you go if you have not, but also make sure the generations behind you do as well, because these places are a dying breed.

Here’s what you do. Go to the Bun. Park your car, turn on your lights. No, I don’t need a menu but I do need a tenderloin, onion rings and a big ol’ root beer like I need air. Like Romeo needs Juliet. Like Friar Tuck needs hair plugs.
When they bring you the goods, be prepared to be amazed. Wowed. Surprised by greatness only seen in comic books and on Wheaties boxes. You’re holding something worthy of the culinary hall of fame. Enjoy it. Bask in its glory. Slowly sip the nectar of the gods while feasting on the fruits of their labor.
When you’re experience of pure otherworldly rapture comes to a close, tip with cash (seriously, that’s a thing). And tell them «John» sent you. They won’t know what that means, but it’ll make me smile inside.

This place is really cute and has a bit of retro charm. The food will slowly kill you but it’s pretty damn delicious! They serve beer as well as tasty drive-​in style food so they are usually packed on the weekends.
My particular order went as such: The root beer was good but not insanely good, as others have told me it would be. I ordered a cheeseburger kids meal and got a huge adult size burger and a basket of fries, which is great if you’re starving, but kinda defeated the purpose of me ordering the kids size since I actually wanted a smaller portion. My small chocolate shake was basically a medium shake and was delicious. My boyfriend ordered the chili cheese fries and was happy to learn that they would substitute the nacho cheese goop for some shredded cheese instead. The cheese fries were pretty good. The servers were nice and got our orders out right. Very cute place and definitely worth returning to.

After hearing how fantastic this place is, I had the opportunity to visit on a Friday evening. It’s an old style drive-​in, with a dining room off to the side. They’ve been serving customers for over 41 years.
As many other Unilocalers have said, their root beer is the best and after one drink, I agreed. It was sugary sweet and amazing.
We shared a family size of onion rings and for the two of us, it was more than enough. They were heavily battered with large onions inside. We also shared an order of jalapeño poppers and they were amazing! I wish we had ordered a larger size, as a small order only comes with five.
We both had breaded tenderloins and they were delicious. They definitely aren’t stingy with the toppings, although they charge .50 each for lettuce or tomato on sandwiches. Their breaded tenderloin is thin and definitely larger than the bun. And for the small price of $ 4, they are totally worth it.
At the end, we ordered two milk shakes… orange dreamsicle and smores. Both flavors were good but for the size, were not worth the higher price. For some reason, they only offer two sizes of milk shakes and I could’ve been just as happy with a much smaller one.
*We learned the hard way that although you can pay with cards, all tips must be in cash. We were not aware of this until we went to pay and seen the small sign at the register.

I went there for lunch with my friends. They have paper menus. I ordered a cheese burger double with onion rings on side. The burger was great and the onion rings were huge. Damnnnn. I couldn’t even complete half of them. The quantity is huge and it was a delightful lunch. The ambience is great. It has this old 90’s touch. Sweet!
But there is one more thing! That’s their fabulous sweet hand crafted root beer.
Oh boy! This place has the best root beer. I am in love with their root beer. This was the best I have ever had till now. I am so going back again to chug their scrumptious root beer…
Great service. Great food. Great root beer. Great ambience. This place gets 5 stars!

Would not be the month of May in Indianapolis without a trip to Mug ‘N’ Bun in good old Speedway, Indiana. Don’t come here if you are expecting a fancy dining experience by any means, just come if you enjoy delicious (albeit fattening) food.
They’re famous for a lot of things — tenderloins, burgers, onion rings, root beer, milkshakes — and for good reason — all of those menu options are pretty dang good. Is it your calorie intake for the next three days? Yes, but SO WORTH IT. Stick with what they’re famous for, and you should be pleased with your order.
Keep in mind the side orders are HUGE, fries and onion rings are both big enough to share with 2, if not 3, people.
When I was younger and was only allowed one «treat» with my meal, I had a hard time choosing between the mug of ice cold root beer and a delicious milkshake, so I compromised and got a root beer float with vanilla ice cream. The float is good — but now that I’m older, why not get a mug of root beer with my meal and get a peanut butter shake to go?
You can order in/​eat in your car, or alternatively, you can eat at picnic tables on the side of the building. Both are good options, but you have to experience eating in your car here at least once.
I will ALWAYS sing Mug ‘N’ Bun’s praises and encourage anyone to make the trip out to the Westside to enjoy this Indy staple. If you come during the month of May or around the time of the Brickyard, you would be hard pressed not to see a race team huddled together at one of the picnic tables, getting in a quick pick me up before heading back to work at the track.

I grew up in small town, and we had drive-in’s similar to Mug ‘N’ Bun nearby. (Question: Is there a rule stating that by opening up a drive-​in, you must fry everything and produce your own root beer?) Pulling into the parking lot, I had a feeling my experience would be very similar to those I’ve had with similar establishments: greasy and pretty good.
Doing my best to avoid the frozen processed items, I asked my server what was homemade. According to her, Mug ‘N’ Bun makes their own tenderloins, coney dogs, onion rings, and root beer. That helped narrow down my choices significantly. I settled on a tenderloin, onion rings, and root beer. A smile crept up when my server set up my tray against the window of my jar and plopped my food on it, and my jaw dropped when I saw how humongous my onion rings were. Everything was as expected, with the exception of the root beer that exceeded my original presumption. That full-​bodied, sassafras-​y nectar of the beverage gods was perfectly sweetened. The only way it could be better is with a scoop of ice cream… next time I suppose!
In short: make the trip to Mug ‘N’ Bun worthwhile by washing that fat-​inducing drive-​in grub down with some terrific root beer.