Rudy's Lakeside Drive-In — Restaurant in Town of Oswego

7/19/25: UPDATE - We were heading home on a recent Saturday and decided to take a side trip to stop at Rudy's Drive-In for dinner. We had a long wait just to get food during our last visit here in June 2024, but we decided to give Rudy's another try on this trip. We arrived a bit before 4 PM and had less than a 10 minute wait to place our orders as the restaurant wasn't very busy. We ordered two fish sandwiches and one order of sweet potato fries. Once we'd placed our orders, we had less than a 10 minute wait for our food. The weather was perfect that day, so ate our meals at one of the covered picnic tables outdoors. The fish sandwiches and fries were just as good as they were during our last visit here, although both fish portions were smaller than during our last visit. Our food bill including tax totaled a bit less than $30. All together, our second visit here was a bit more enjoyable due to a wait time for food of less than 20 minutes total start to finish, significantly less than during our first visit here. We'd definitely recommend Rudy's if you're in the area. I'd also recommend arriving early to beat the crowd, especially if the weather is nice.

6/16/24: Rudy's Drive-In restaurant had been on our bucket list after reading the good reviews, so we made a stop here for lunch in mid-June. There's some limited parking roadside in front of the restaurant, and a parking area across the road, but both of those areas can fill up quickly. Beyond that, parking continues along the roadside a little further down. The restaurant was very busy when we got there just before 3 PM on a Sunday afternoon. The ordering process is a little different here. You decide what to order from the menu boards on the walls inside. Then you wait in line to place your order at the counter. They give you a buzzer when you pay, and then you wait for the buzzer to buzz when your food is ready. On the day we visited, we ended up waiting 20 minutes in line just to place our orders at the counter, and then another 25 minutes waiting for our food to be ready for pick up. That may not be the norm. There are plenty of tables in the seating area outside, plus an almost unlimited number of tables located in back of the restaurant, so seating shouldn't be an issue. The lakeside seating is a great feature, especially during nice weather. We ordered two haddock fish sandwiches ($9.89/ea), an order of sweet potato fries ($4.90), and two beverages. Both fish sandwiches were served up very hot and were delicious. Each fish portion was a very generous size. We've had more expensive haddock fish fry dinners elsewhere where the fish portion wasn't much larger than these sandwiches. The sweet potato fries were really crispy and very tasty. The only not-so-good thing was the lemonade we ordered. It tasted more like sugar water without any actual lemonade taste. Other than that minor issue, we had two delicious and generous size meals for a bit over $30 plus tax, a fair price for the quality and quantity. We would definitely eat here again based on this first visit, except we won't order the lemonade again. Enjoy, and thanks...

UPDATE: Another Great visit to Rudy's !! My 3 times a year visit from Long Island was another great meal from this legendary place on the Lake.!! Haddock on Point as always, the Salt Potatoes always a treat and The Texas Hots are legendary.The views on a nice day of Lake Ontario while eating outdoors is always awesome, especially at Sunset.!! Jason, Doug and crew are always friendly and welcoming and the improvements Jason has made to Rudy's is awesome.!! They have streamlined ordering and food pick up nicely and the place just looks great and modern.!! Great job by your contractors Jason.!! All of the folks who work there are always friendly and welcoming.!! as long as i can make it up to see family, i will always make Rudy's a stop to enjoy quality food as i have for the past 50 plus years.!! Thank You Jason and Doug and rest of the crew for making my visits and meals a fun memory.!! See you closing weekend at the end of October...which this season is October 27 and NOT Columbus Day.!!

After another family visit and Rudy's fix for opening weekend of 2016 I can't say enough about Rudy's and will always look forward to visiting Doug and the rest of the crew whenever I travel up from Long Island.!! I have been enjoying Rudy's since 1968 that i can remember..probably longer as i am sure i had been there earlier than that since it was a regular spot to eat as a kid living in Oswego...yes 99% of the food is fried, but this place is and has always been quality food.! From the Haddock sandwiches to Rudy's world famous Texas Hots..you can get anything with the Texas Hot Sauce on it..Coney's , burgers..fries & the fish. Quality and consistency is key..the Texas Hot sauce has the same flavor for as long i have been eating it...back in the days when Rudy used to man the fry station and run the line..the only thing that has changed is the slight expansion of the building and the picnic tables out back with the deck. and now a mini bar out back during the nice weather for your beer needs...other than that, the yummy flavor has been timeless..if your in Oswego dumping a child off at college to freeze in the winters...lol...hop over to Rudy's and try it out...or if your just in Oswego for a visit, Harborfest or a night at the track, make time for a bite at Rudy's..enjoy the killer food, sunsets as well as Doug and the rest of the awesome counter crew who are always friendly and get your food out to you as quickly as it is plated by the killer crew working their tails off in front of the hot fryers making this great food..and don't forget to grab a jar of Texas Hot Sauce to...

I've been meaning to try this place for years after hearing about it. Finally, I got around to it after seven years of saying to take the drive up with the family. Let's just say it was a bit to desire.

The scenery and location are beautiful as long as you don't look down the road towards the campus of SUNY Oswego and gaze at the RV Park on the right-hand side of the road. The shoreline is breathtaking to gaze out upon Lake Ontario.

Food wise, expansive, and subpar. Never thought I would see a hamburger or sausage sandwich cost less than chicken tenders. So the family's order was a Haddock sandwich, lobster Mac and Cheese, two orders of chicken tenders, two orders of fries, three bottles of coke, and a bottle of juice. Total: $64. Yikes! The only item that didn't look like it came out of a highly processed bag of frozen food that you could get at the grocery store far cheaper was the Lobster Mac and Cheese, which appeared to be homemade and quite tasty. The haddock piece was triangle in shape, and the breading had the constituency that you would find in a bag of Gordon Fisherman filets. The chicken tenders were just as equally subpar, which I could've gotten better ones for far cheaper three miles down the road at Tully's. I can't believe salt potatoes cost less there than French fries.

I've been to plenty of seafood restaurants from the Gulf at Tampa Bay up the Atlantic coastline of the Carolinas to Virginia and had some really good seafood. I've been to plenty of New York Fish fry as well, some great, and others are not so great. Rudy's seems to be like a bunch of food stands you would find at the New York State Fair wrapped into something that resembles a traditional Fish Fry while trying to be an Atlantic seafood restaurant

In closing, it's great to try out, but if you have to take a drive up there just to experience it...it's a one and done. One star for the scenery, one star for the Lobster Mac, and one star for...