Gus's Drive-In — Restaurant in East Troy

Small town drive-in restaurant with smiling faces and warm hearts. My Mom and I take day trips from West Allis to smaller towns in southeastern Wisconsin searching for a good lunch and conversation. Who doesn't like the nostalgic? the retro? the vintage drive-in restaurant with classic 1950's menu of burgers, shaved beef smothered in cheese and fried onions, hotdogs, fries and custard shakes. Gus's Drive-In is this place and it is timeless. Today, Mom was in a mood for a 1/4 pound burger with a mountain of fried onions, sliced dill pickles, ketchup with a side order of extra crispy fries. Gus did not disappoint. We went inside to pick up our preorder and we were met at the counter with a smiling face behind her mask and a chipper, upbeat and super nice greeting. As soon as I said my name and my preorder, the order was being handed from the kitchen to the counter in a paper bag, folded over and stapled. It does not get any better than that. And, did I say Gus has really nice counter staff? Yup. I imagine just like it was 50 years ago. Mom and I started eating in the car next to the 30 foot enormous likeness of, I guess, Gus. Mom took a bite of her juicy hamburger with ketchup, sliced dill pickles and a double order of fried onions. I thought that I saw a tear coming down the left side of her cheek. She said that the hamburger was hot, amazingly good, juicing with farm freshness (Mom should know about farm freshness because she grew up on the farm). The only thing that could of made Mom's hamburger better she said is if they toasted the bun. But, she said that she enjoyed the softness of the bun today with the juices of the perfectly cooked 1/4 pound hamburger, fried onions and sliced dill pickles. Mom is a push over for fried onions and she said these onions were grilled perfectly. Sneak a few extra crispy fries away from me, dip them into the ketchup well and Mom got herself a winner, winner hamburger dinner. Mom rated the quality of the food, atmosphere and conversation at 5 stars. I agree, this was a 5...

Week 2 of the Burger, Rings & Malt quest, and this week’s stop did not disappoint.

Today’s adventure: Gus’s Drive-In in East Troy — and yep, it totally brought back that classic drive-in feel with a full-on Happy Days vibe. Pull-up stalls, chrome details, and a summer night kind of energy.

Here’s the breakdown:

Burger: 9/10 – Classic setup with ketchup, mustard, onions, and pickles. Juicy and flavorful with that grilled edge that hits just right. I usually lean toward smash burgers with that crispy, caramelized crust, but this one still held its own.

Onion Rings: 10/10 – Perfectly crispy with a great crunch and flavor. No complaints here!

Chocolate Malt: 10/10 – Thick, rich, and instantly transported me back to being 10 years old. Only downside? They brought it out before the food, so by the time the burger came, the malt had started to melt a little, but still delicious. ❄️

Bonus points: they buy a lot of their ingredients locally, and the beef is always fresh, never frozen. I love seeing that.

All in all, Gus’s is a great stop especially if you’ve got kids or grandkids along for the ride. In a few years I can't wait to bring mine! Still haven’t found that perfect trifecta, but I’m getting closer. The mission...

We came for ice cream.

Service was fine. Order at counter, they call our name or bring it to us. 4 stars.

Ambiance/location: This is where Gus's shines. Amazing frive up burger and shake set up. "Big Gus" out front is unique and fun. "The King", Elvis, on the inside was great. Very mid 20th century burger joint atmosphere. So fun! On main road with plenty of parking. See if you can dind the rusted classic car hiding in the bushes. Bathroom was clean. 5 stars!

Ice cream: I had a classic banana split with cashews added. Your tyoical banana split very good except the "pineapple" and "strawberries". Canned pineapple and what seemed to be syrup dipped strwaberries were not what i expected and were terrible. I would never put that pineapple on anything. The strawberries were very diappointing, too, as i hoped for sliced fresh strawberry. 2 stars for the "fruit". My friend got the equivalent of a cookie dough and brownie dairy queen blizzard. He liked it but not fantastic. 4 stars. Food averages to 3 stars

Really fun spot despite the fruit disappointment. I would give the burgers or chicago style dog a try and maybe order something on the ice cream menu...