Zelmas Restaurant

It’s an average down home redneck type diner with country music rockin in the jukebox and super friendly service. It’s dirt cheap and decent portions. Reasonably clean. Lots of space but nothing to really brag about.

A true Mom and Pop restaurant. The food was great and it is dirt cheap. Less than $ 21 for 3 of us.

Everything was always great. Too bad they stopped delivery through GrubHub. I was using them at least once a week, sometimes more. But now I won’t be able to at all, since I don’t have a vehicle or drive. Too bad is great food.

We love eating here. We usually order breakfast. You can order from the breakfast menu anytime. The coffee and iced tea are great. The staff are always courteous.

This is one of the best down home friendliest places I have ever had the pleasure to have serve me!!! The food was tender tasty wonderful!!! Words can’t describe the desserts and how AWESOME they tasted!!! Everything is hand made from scratch don’t tell my mom but it is better than she ever made!!! One of the most important things to me is they support the Military in a huge way!!! I will come back every chance I can!!! Love these folks!!!
Chaplain Gary Clark
55 Combat Operation Stress Control
Fort Benjamin Harrison

Pulling up to this place we didnt know what to expect due to the area, but was a little more at ease once we went inside.
As far as the menue this place sells burgers, fried bologna, milkshakes, chilli, mozzarella sticks. Its like a mini version of steak n shake, with more of a home style feel to it.
My only complaint is the utensils, and dishes that made me a little skeptical. We received dirty silverware, and one of our coffee cups had a lipstick stain on it, but other than that everything else was good. The service and food was great. Four out of five stars for this place.

After reading all the positive posts on Unilocal,I decided to give it a try. Totally unimpressed. Place could use some cleaning and I could have, and should have, made a better breakfast at home. Nothing there would make me
recommend the place — or return.

This is a tucked away diner that’s worth your time. The food is good, and the price is a value for what you get. The staff is friendly and accommodating. They have daily specials, and the broasted chicken is terrific. They were open ²⁴⁄₇ all week, but I believe they recently changed to 24 hours just on the weekends. If you’re a night owl who likes getting breakfast, this is a great place to do it.

Awesome place… Fast and friendly service. Clean place with nice portions! Food cooked in front of you.

Classic diner feel, just like home.
Ordered 2 piece chicken combo, but they were out of thighs so I was offered 5 wing tips instead for the same price. And a free lemonade to boot.
Ladies and gents, that right there is a textbook lesson in outstanding customer service. I’ll be back to Zelma’s when I’m in town again.

I would have given Zero stars if this was possible. I called to place a to go order and was asked to hold a moment. 11 minutes later still holding. So I called back and was busy, finally got through and told the woman I think they forgot about me which she just replied «okay». Then handed the phone to Chris. So I asked to place a to go order said I would like a roast beef Manhattan and he’s like“okay but we are out of mashed potatoes”. WTH. Customer service is number one especially when someone is calling in a to go order. Wow. Not going to this place.

Zelma’s is the type of diner where you feel welcome. This was my first visit here and we were greeted immediately upon walking in. I could tell that some of the customers inside were regulars. Our server was friendly and spot on. No issues with service at all and even the cook was friendly and chatting us up. We could see what he was doing, as the grill is visible from the dining area. Yes, the outside and inside is seriously outdated and could use a good deep cleaning but it’s exactly what you would expect from a diner that has been around forever.
We decided to go with breakfast and the portions were large at a good price. My biscuits and gravy with shredded hash browns were a large portion but the hash browns arrived soaking in grease. We ordered dessert, after our server told us the desserts were all made in house. My lemon meringue was phenomenal and a huge slice. My boyfriend’s blackberry cobbler was warm and delicious and he added ice cream, which was perfect. I highly recommend that you snag a piece of pie after your meal.

So good! A perfect diner hamburger and fries. Yum yum!!! My friend and I ate burgers for just about what you’d pay for fast food.

Breakfast at Zelma’s isn’t Tiffany’s but it is the best breakfast in Indy. It is a wonderful reminder of small restaurants in rural Southern Indiana. Bacon bacon bacon and eggs with old fashion hash browns.

We are from out of town, and used Unilocal to find a place for breakfast. Zelma’s is exactly what you want for breakfast food. Tasty and filling. The service was great and everyone was really nice. I’d come here again.

Huge, fresh portions. Was in town for an NPC bodybuilding competition and this was the closest place that wasn’t a chain that I could find food I could eat between shows. My mom and I ate lunch there, I got the country fried steak with a baked potato and cottage cheese. My mom got the two piece fried chicken with a baked potato and green beans. The gravy is PHENOMENAL.
we can back after the night show to eat dinner. I got the double cheeseburger, bacon, fries and bbq sauce and a side of slaw. Ordered a full portion of biscuits and gravy. My mom got the salad plus some chicken to go. I got a soda as well. Our bill was a whopping $ 27 plus tax.
I’m from Cincinnati and I will rave about this place for a long time! Will be a must when I’m in town for a show!

The truth is that I don’t know the Zelma’s story. I know it’s this hole-​in-​the-​wall looking diner at 10^th & Shadeland on Indy’s Eastside that I look at every time I drive by it and think to myself «I wonder what it’s like?»
Then, I keep driving.
Today, I stopped. As I drove by, I saw a few cars in the parking lot and their emblazoned «Open» sign and thought to myself «Why not?» To look at Zelma’s from the outside, it’s reasonable to assume it’s truly nothing more than your quiet little indie hole-​in-​the-​wall diner. It’s not so much that it looks dirty, it just looks completely «lived in.» It looks rather outdated, charming in a weird sort of way including two pretty awesome small prints on the wall «Be Youtiful» and «Be Younique» along with a painted portrait of a family that I kind of wondered if they were the founders.
Again, I have no idea because they print nothing that tells you their history and I don’t believe they have a website.
They are simply Zelma’s.
I pulled into the rather large parking lot and was pleased to find three clearly marked accessible parking spots. I climbed out and entered the restaurant through a rather easy to maneuver door and was instantly in the rather open dining area that includes a lunch counter type setting along with a few booths and tables. In this day and age where everything is jam-​packed in, I found it surprisingly spacious.
My server, whose name I never caught, invited me to pick any table as the place was sparsely populated. I picked a four top and checked out the menu that consisted primarily of your usual diner fare. As my friend Rick Garrett, the Tenderloin Connoisseur, had apparently not yet checked this place out I opted for what was described as a hand-​breaded tenderloin sandwich. I chose it as a platter that included fries and either cole slaw, cottage cheese, or applesauce. I chose the slaw. As usual, I picked my unsweetened iced tea.
The inside décor was also very outdated, yet clean and charming. It struck me as the sort of place you expect to find in a small town. There was an area where they had various novelties for sale with most items having an outdoorsy theme. There was one television (playing an actual television show).
The food? It was good, but not great. The tenderloin struck me as a slightly above average tenderloin that probably was hand-​breaded. I will confess that I wondered a bit if it was a fritter, but I think mostly it was a rather straightforward tenderloin. The bun was a sesame seed bun that was much like the meat and didn’t really impact the sandwich good or bad. The fries were decent — they bordered on steak fries, but the order struck me as a tad slight for an $ 8.50 combo. The cole slaw was of a creamier variety — I enjoyed it, but again it was good and not great. I did get my always desired refill of iced tea. The server was friendly and helpful, though I did get the sense that this was a place where familiar faces are treated a little more warmly. As this was my first time, I didn’t really get that sense of the warmth.
If I were to return, I’d probably try something else on the menu such as a burger. I’d like to try one of their desserts (they offer pies and cobblers by the slice or a whole pie). I’d also survey the menu a bit more and see if maybe an actual meal satisfied me on a greater level as I’m curious about the 4 – 5 star reviews here and my gut is to return and try some other meals.
With a meal right around $ 11, I was definitely satisfied. I believe the burger platter was right around $ 6.75 and that would give you a meal under $ 10. That’s a definite value. I enjoyed the meal and the atmosphere. I found a couple of the customers, with whom I eventually spoke, to be a delight. It may not end up being one of my favorite spots, but it’s definitely a place I’d return to when I’m in the mood to chill out and have a decent meal at someplace different. As an added perk, Zelma’s is open ²⁴⁄₇. However, I’ll openly admit it’s not exactly a neighborhood I’d be inclined to hang out in at 3am. Then again, neither is the one where I live!

My boyfriend has talked about Zelmas countless times. So he finally decided to take me today.
Upon approaching, it looks like a hole in the wall. You walk in and has the typical diner feel. We found our seat and our waitress, who was very friendly, greeted us. She took our drink order and let us review the menu. I’m very indecisive so it took me some time.
Finally, we both decided on a burger. My boyfriend got the Z Gutbuster and I got the Mac and Z. They were quite delicious! The macaroni on my burger was a delicious homestyle type macaroni. My boyfriends burger was topped with bacon, French fries, cheese and barbeque sauce. We tried each others sandwich as well and were very pleased.
Finally we decided on something sweet to finish it off. There were a ton of cobbler and pie choices. We decided to go with a new type of pie: chocolate banana. It was pretty different but not too bad! The banana overpowered the chocolate and it tasted just like a banana laffy taffy!
Overall, it was a great experience. Great food, nice homey and southern atmosphere, and a warm smile from a great waitress. :)

My wife and I couldn’t decide what we wanted for dinner the other night and Zelma’s was thrown into the mix. We’d never been before and it seemed like as good a time as any to try it out. I was skeptical, mostly because it’s a diner that’s open ²⁴⁄₇ off of Shadeland. Honestly I was expecting it to be bad and went in with pretty low expectations, but it was actually a really pleasant experience.
The restaurant is clean (outdated, but still spotless), our hostess/​waitress/​chef/​busser/​cashier (all the same person) was really friendly and attentive, and the food was cheap and delicious. I had a 3 egg omelette with ham, home fries, and toast for something like $ 7. The omelette was completely loaded with ham.
You can watch the preparation of all of the food behind the counter. Her timing was excellent, both of our meals were finished at the exact same time just as the toast popped which she promptly slathered in buttery goodness. I cleaned my plate, was completely stuffed and satisfied. My only regret is that I didn’t leave room for dessert which looked great.
When we got home we promptly bought a Groupon for our next visit, which I’m sure will be soon.

I can’t believe we’ve lived so close for so long and never tried Zelma’s! After being super indecisive about dinner tonight, we decided to head over and check it out. On a weekday night around 8pm, there were a handful of other parties there. It seems like this is a hang out spot for local police officers, which is fine by me!
Probably the most excellent part of this experience was the service. The woman working who was acting as the hostess/​waitress/​cook/​cashier was completely delightful, which got my attention even more than it usually would considering how busy she clearly was. Seriously… de-​light-​ful. I was also super impressed at how clean the restaurant was. I expect/​tolerate a certain level of grunge at a diner, but other than maybe needing a fresh coat of paint, this place was spotless. The grill (which is right in front of you) was clean, everything was being refrigerated, and when I peeked back into the prep kitchen on my way to the (clean) restroom, everything looked great back there, too.
I ordered a combo special of: 3 eggs, 4 slices of bacon, hashbrowns, wheat toast, and a «small» apple juice. This combo was…$ 6.75. Holy smokes. I finished everything on my plate, including my bacon which was cooked crispy just as I requested it. My toast even seemed better than average toast! My small juice was in a 12oz glass, which is not small at all. I cleaned my whole stinkin’ plate. If we want to talk about diner stereotypes, it wasn’t even that greasy. The food is all made fresh (like, I watched her crack my eggs), although some of it was originally frozen (like the yummy hash browns). I’m OK with that, considering the price and how delicious it ended up being. My husband got a similar combo for a similar price, so we ended up spending $ 20 on two huge meals, tax, and a generous tip.
We will most certainly be back to Zelma’s. There were several other things on the menu that I want to try including the broasted chicken and the cobbler! It looks like they frequently have Groupons, so keep your eyes peeled! 5 stars well deserved.