Ray's Drive Inn — Restaurant in Kokomo

I kept hearing about this place at my job, they said to try the pork loin, try the chicken noodles. I got both! Very delicious.

Ray’s has been around for a long while here in Kokomo, I hear, but the quality of the food does not seem to be effected by that (:

I told my partner that the food was, “warm and cozy, like my grandmother made it with love.”

We got the five tenderloins for $16 deal, a pint of the chicken noodles, a large order of chili cheese fries, my partner got a king bacon burger, and a slice of lemon pie.

The tenderloins were great. I ordered them plain and loaded them with mustard and pickles when I got home. They keep well in the fridge, and one of them was breakfast this morning. Delightful sandwiches, tasted like the state fair!

The chicken noodle was exactly wheat I expected: thick enough to scoop onto a plate. Dumped some pepper on it and it was so good, I ended up having the whole pint! Diet be damned!

The chili cheese fries also kept well in the fridge. The chili was thick and sweet, puts bbq places to shame. Made with ground beef. The portion was GENEROUS. lots of cheese and lots of chili. Wonderful. 10/10.

I had two bites of the bacon burger and it was delightful. Served on a white sesame seed bun with perfectly cooked bacon, these folks do NOT hold back. If you’re thinking about McDonald’s, swing by Ray’s instead. It’s a HUGE burger and tastes delicious. I flip smash burgers for a living, and I’m jealous of the quality of the meat. Thick and juicy, made perfect, despite the amount of guests being served. At Ray’s, they take quality to heart, and I am so respectful of that.

The lemon pie was nothing special, but that’s what made it special. Topped with a lovely meringue, it was like having a bite of childhood.

They tucked a little coupon paper into the bag, and if we have a chance, we will be back to use them!

The lady in the tie-dye pink shirt was especially kind. We’d never been there before, so confused, we got out of the car and began walking to the door. She was car-hopping when we did and stopped us, as the dining room is permanently closed. We asked for a menu and she directed us to the ones at the tables outside. We glanced at it and I saw the sign to wait in your car, so we got up to go to the car. The lady was coming out and asked if we were leaving. I said no, we’re just going back to the car. She directed us to where to park and to turn our lights on when we were ready to order. We did just that.

Food came out in a reasonable amount of time even though they began to get busy. Coming from a food service background, this impressed me! Especially since we ordered so much food. I did kick myself that I didn’t try the sweet tea or their “best in town” shakes. A cherry shake sounded amazing in the heat! I’ll have to try them next time we visit! And we will! Even traveling from the very south end of the city limits, it’s worth it. It’s seriously good.

Thank you, Ray’s. I hope to be a regular! I can’t wait to tell my coworkers how wonderful our experience was! (:

…no pictures. Sorry. We ate it all already. I was hoping for more leftovers, but damn. I...

Visited on September 19, 2025 at 7:35pm. First and foremost, I visited Ray's because I had heard they had very large hand breaded tenderloins that were well seasoned. The pictures of them also looked pretty good. Unfortunately, that's not what my fiancée received when she ordered a breaded tenderloin. Instead, what she received was a frozen, processed pork patty. Like the kind you can get at Gordon food or save a lot. It was approximately 6 inches in diameter and clearly not hand breaded. Furthermore it had quite a bit of gristle. I was so very disappointed, as my fiancée hasn't been in Indiana very long and it wanted to show her a great tenderloin. Unfortunately, my disappointment doesn't end there. I ordered the 8 piece catfish dinner. It came with 8 pieces of catfish, fries, coleslaw, and a dinner roll. In my honest opinion, it's probably some of the worst catfish I've had in a long while. It was mushy and slimy, while also lacking flavor. The tartar sauce was in packets, and it too wasn't very good. The coleslaw may have been the worst of it all, actually. It had a very strong radish flavor, and on further inspection (we were eating in the car and it was dark), the cabbage in the coleslaw was brown and very old. The crinkle cut fries i received were plentiful, unfortunately they were cold, and as it was close to closing time, it appeared i got the fries that were the left overs from the rest of the day. The dinner roll is store bought. For my catfish dinner, her tenderloin sandwich, and two large cokes that consisted of 80% ice and very little actual beverage, the price came to $32 dollars and change. I ended up paying 35 total to include tip for the server, who, despite the considerable disappointment in food, she was pleasant. Side note: I could see in the kitchen as my order was being prepared. Neither of the cooks were wearing gloves, and the female cook kept wiping the sweat off of her face, rubbing her hands on her pants, and then handling the food bare handed with sweat on them. I was so very hopeful after reading a couple of reviews that turned out to not be very accurate. Absolutely zero percent chance of me returning here, ever....

Rays have car hop service, so make sure you tip your servers when visiting. Now, for the rest of the story... Rays is a Kokomo landmark & thru the years has served up a study follow of delicious foods from their famous tenderloins to their array of home style meals. Back before covid, they had an outstanding chef all those years. Not so much now. I should restate that differently, I assume it's the chef that's different now. Maybe it's the suppliers they're using? Whatever happened, it has made a huge difference for the Drive-In. They aren't reopening the dining room, so walk up & car hop is all you have. Most days, the food is so, so. Some days, they food is good, & others run the other way. I miss their consistency. Never used to have to wonder if the food was going to be great or not. I was lucky on this visit my regular tenderloin was pretty good. Always seem to have very good service thou & I keep hoping they find a...