After a year of living in the Chesterton area and a year of several stops to The Port, I have to add another star to my review. Â
We've had consistently good service every visit. Â What I took for a dive before, I now appreciate for its classic, retro feeling. Â The food is not amazing, let's not tip-toe around that, but it is basic diner food with a great deal of options (and cheap to boot). Â The root beer is great too!! Â We have bought it by the gallon on more than one occasion. Â Decent food, good service, good atmosphere...
In conclusion I throw away all the pretentiousness of my last review and embrace the Port for what it is. Â Recommended!
Next to the dunes nearby, this place is the best thing about the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The food is good; exactly what you might expect from a hot dogs, burgers, and fries roadside kind of place, and it is cheap. Â Due to allergy issues I had the hard shell tacos and a tossed salad and, although probably ordered a lot less than other items on the extensive menu, they were good as well. Â The root beer and ice cream are excellent, as are the phosphates. My kids really liked the kids meals served in paper trays modeled to look like vintage cars. Â A great place to visit after spending the day at the dunes since you can stay in your swimsuit and eat in the car. The staff is friendly and the atmosphere nostalgic and relaxing. Â Cash only.
Review Source:I'm a sucker for old-timey things. This is doubly so if they are still functional and maintained. Port Drive In is like a blast from the past, but with vegetarian options on the menu and no ill-executed costumes. Somehow, despite the lack of meat, I still got the wonderful "drippy patty from a burger stand" sensation that I remember from the dives where my dad used to take me to show me what he liked to eat when he was a kid. Priceless! Also, they are authentically cash-only. No plastic, people.
Do you like soda? Port Drive In is like a soda mecca of the tri-state area. Some of it is made on-site. Some of it is mad scientist-style, like when you and your friends messed around in the kitchen during sleep-overs, but actually tasty. Some of it is served in big icy mugs. Plus, they have phosphates!
Are you too tired to leave your car after hiking the dunes? This is just a short drive from the state park, and as soon as you park, a friendly server will be at your window, asking you if you need a menu and clarifying the terms of the coupons the park gives to out of state visitors. I thought we'd have to wait a bit for service, but no! I was actually confused when our server approached, thinking she confused us with another car and was here to drop off a check. No, she was for us! Despite the intense heat, she was friendly and patient with our questions ("What the heck are bosco sticks? What is a lily pad?") and answered them well. Then, we got to eat in our car.
I'd say the whole experience took about 15 minutes, but it didn't feel like "fast food." I look forward to returning the next time I'm in Indiana and trying another gem from the soda fountain.
The Port has great veggie burgers (two different kinds!), tasty miscellaneous fried things, and awesome homemade root beer. They've got a pretty long menu that also includes burgers, hot dogs, shrimp, fish, etc.
I vaguely remember going inside once a long time ago and it was kind of depressing. Now we always do the drive up (car hop service) or sit at a picnic table. That's really what makes this place special (along with the root beer). As another reviewer pointed out, the food isn't really going to blow you away. There's just something about The Port, maybe sitting in my truck with a frosty mug of root beer on a beautiful summer evening, Â that makes it worthy of four stars.
We were visiting from out of town. Â Based on what we ordered -
veggie burger - no go for us.
veggie basket , fried cauliflower, zucchini and mushrooms - very good.
home made diet root beer - Wonderful! Â The best diet root beer I've ever had. Â It was so icy cold and refreshing.
If you park underneath the covering, a car hop will come and take your order and bring it out to you in your car.
Based on 2 good food choices and one not so good choice, I rate it a 3 star.
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