Bring Back Themed Restaurants

Gen Z yearns for an affordable and kooky night out

The average cost of a night out in New York City costs around $115 and can go down to $60 if you pinch your pennies. A quick calculator consultation told me that if you go out every weekend, your totaling $5680 with the average spending tendencies. If you plan on going out more low cost, that brings you to $3120. Paying so much for a night out full of meh $18 drinks most of the time is not nothing. With the higher amount, here’s everything you could do with that same amount of money:

• Pay my rent for two months

• See Oasis four times at least

• Attend three days at Coachella

• Four plane tickets to Japan

• Around 812 chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-A

Before we had options: roller skating, drive in movies, disco nights, and a restaurant where you could eat a mid cheeseburger under animatronic gorillas and a thunderstorm. While Rainforest Café is the likely the first themed restaurant we think of, themed restaurants have their starts in 19th century Paris. Le Chat Noir from 1881 is widely considered the first themed restaurant, with the cabaret restaurant decorated around with black cats as the place’s name suggests. Others like it include 1885’s Café du Bagne, inspired by prison eating halls, and 1894’s Cabaret du Néant, inspired by all forms of death.

While some found it to be a gimmick, many visited these locations to embrace the dark whimsy of life alongside a cold drink. Diners took over America and showcased googie architecture and silver metals. While these were exciting at first, the market for diners was beyond saturated and the popularity of the drive-thru, TV dinners, and takeaway options saw less consumers and a standstill of these kinds of establishments. Then came the 90’s an suddenly, themed restaurants were all the rage again. Harley Davidson Café, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Rainforest Café, Mars 2112 and Planet Hollywood all had opened their doors in the 1990’s. Meanwhile, Hard Rock Café and Medieval Times had already opened their doors but received a new boom of customers because of the trend. Like all great things, they go up and they go down. I want to shine a light on some of the retro themed eateries I’ve visited, wish I went to, and new locations hoping to bring these experiences back. I’ll focus on some specific places in NYC, where I live, that is trying to give the youths a night out that feels like the magic of the 20th century.

RAINFOREST CAFÉ:

Unless you’re already into the world of animatronics, dead malls, and abandoned locations, you probably haven’t thought of this place since your childhood. Opening in 1994, the restaurant opted to stick with a general theme that made decorations easy to find and the food items easy to name. The ceiling is full of vines, fish tanks surround the tables like walls, and the classic thunderstorm that happens every half an hour. The entire place’s lights flash and the animatronics go wild with noise and robotic movements. In the time of MTV, this was the place to be whether you were the child or the parent- this was key. The menu was full of jungle themed items like Gorilla Grilled Cheese Delight, Python Pasta, and Amazon Fajitas. After a few years, the menu was accessible to a fault, however, as other competitors like the following curated a more dynamic menu. The thunderstorms became annoying after the first two and people just wanted to talk to those at their table. Starting with fifty-nine locations, there are now only sixteen site still in operation. I still look back on my visit to the Downtown Disney location fondly.

MARS 2112:

Ever wondered what space food tastes like? Wonder no more at the beloved Mars 2112. Allegedly, the concept came from its creator Paschal Phelan looking at Planet Hollywood and saying “what if we skipped Earth completely?” Opened in 1998, Mars 2112 was the first mainstream space themed eatery in the United States. While it has a simple Mars terrain theme, what made this place unique was the original characters: Empress Glorianna, Captain Orion, and QTP (Cutie Pie to earthlings). Empress Gloriana is the ruler of Mars, Captain Orion is her defender and strongest soldier, and QTP is the audience favorite. They’d walk around the restaurant and greet guests by the entrance and table. This assisted in the convincing of Mars for restaurant goers and outdid Rainforest’s Café immersion. Also helping with the immersion, the restaurant had customers go through a shuttle simulator where guests leave Earth and go through space, arriving at Mars when the doors of the room open. Think of it as a budget version of Disney World Hollywood Studios' Star Tours. Another aspect that differentiated this place was its arcade, with space themed games and consoles, of course.

As for the food, plates were more varied and had elements of the theming in the food, not just their names. Best sellers included Cosmic Cobb Salad and Sub-Space Sampler. While the food was interesting, much more than its competitors, it wasn’t particularly tasty. Along the declining quality of the food over the years of operation were the tragic 9/11 attacks. Prior to 9/11, the restaurant was doing so well, it was looking into expansion in Los Angeles and even Europe. With NYC tourism at an all time low and New Yorkers living in the city having already visited, things were quiet on Mars. Even visits from Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt couldn’t help much. Once you went, you didn’t exactly feel the need to go again unless you had children. In a desperate attempt to stay afloat, Mars 2112 became a nightclub when it ended dining service for the night. It filed for bankruptcy twice, 2002 and 2007 respectively. Closing exactly a decade before its predicter year, Mars 2112 took off in January 2012. Many, like myself, wish we could’ve seen this place instead of the Din Tai Fung that occupies its location now.

MEDIEVAL TIMES:

Medieval Times is one of the originals and another chain I’ve been to. I visited Medieval Times with my Girl Scouts troop in middle school and even then, I knew the food was questionable. The entertainment and show aspect do most of the work. Besides the horse stables, the decorations look Party City bought. The food names were not as creative as the other locations; I remember the limited options all being dragon related. You start with Dragon’s Blood (tomato soup) and a Dragon’s scale (toast). For the main course, a Dragon’s Leg (chicken leg) and to finish, Dragon’s droppings (vanilla ice cream). I remember the food tasting like nothing and my ice cream being as hard as a rock. What was fun (according to me at 11), however, was eating entirely with your hands, just like in the Medieval times. I will say that despite that, I was entertained . You are sat by teams and you will cheer for the knight of your color. The queen arrives and a magical bird flies through the stadium. You will see knights compete in several challenges and eventually they duel. The level of crowd interaction really is great.

The restaurant chain had a resurgence in popularity when people started posting about their attractive knights on TikTok. Individual knights started gaining popularity and some Medieval Times locations saw a big boom in attendees. A 2021 article by NBC News reads “Cardenas, 22, who performs as a knight at the themed chain, didn't even have a TikTok at the time. So after his second show of the day, as he fielded dozens of messages from friends, he looked up the video — posted by an attendee — that was turning him into the platform's biggest heartthrob.” Another rise in popularity comes from popular content creator (and my personal therapist) Brittany Broski’s videos on the restaurant. Aside from her Medieval themed talk show Royal Court on YouTube, she also has videos like “Flirting with the Nights at Medieval Times” and “GETTING DRUNK AT MEDIEVAL TIMES”. Even if it’s made for kids, I’ve seen videos of a lot of adults getting into the fun and silliness of it all. I would go crazy to spend a birthday getting drunk with my friends at Medieval Times and dressing up in crowns and capes.

PLANET HOLLYWOOD:

This one was always a big question mark to me. I remember seeing this sign at Disney Springs when I visited in 2018, but that was all my knowledge. I still view it as the movie version of the Hard Rock Café and it seems I wasn’t too far off. As you can see above, decorations varied by location. The one on the left has more emphasis on big Hollywood moments like Ghostbusters and short film history with 1902’s A Trip to the Moon. The location on the right offers booths similar to old school diner and cinema seats. In my opinion, besides the loud colors and a prop here or there, the theming looks off to me. It looks like the set of Icarly, which is awesome, if I wanted to eat a bland burger under the gummy bear chandelier.

The issue with Planet Hollywood was that it oversaturated its own market. At one point, the chain had 60 locations in an estimated two and a half years. Now the location counts with four restaurants worldwide in London, Los Angeles, Orlando’s Disney World, and a recent New York City opening. The NYC location on the top right displays nothing about the theme with the exception of the star lamps and a photo of the LA strip by the bathroom. I will always root for themed restaurants because they make my heart and imagination full, but I give this two more years at the most unless they can pull some celebrity endorsements like they did back in the day.

THEMED RESTAURANTS IN NYC:

While themed chain restaurants are struggling to stay afloat, we’ve seen a big shift in the bar world. Having just one bar to fully deck out makes for a simpler canvas. In a city like New York, you have to convince me that I actually do want to spend $18 on a cocktail or $10 on a Stella Artois. Here is a list of some themed places for a night out, three I’ve visited and three I’ve heard great things about:

1. Ellen’s Stardust Diner - the only location on this list that isn’t a bar is where many Broadway legends got their start as singing waiters here. I had the chance to visit with my aunt and cousin and we had an amazing time. Definitely not a place to go if you get overstimulated easily, but a great place to catch some Broadway tunes without the Broadway prices. I remember the food surprising us and confetti flying everywhere. I love that they have a fund to help the fund the waiters at the restaurant’s theatre journey.

2. Beetlehouse - Let me first say this… I went to this place after 8 hours of not eating, almost missed the kitchen cue, went with my dad’s friends I don’t know very well, and a lady next to us threw up- so take this review with a grain of salt. The place is definitely decked out and the drinks are exciting and immersive. The entire menu and restaurant is based on Tim Burton’s filmography. Beetlehouse also has performers like a Jack Skellington who does card tricks. I think this is a great place to bring a horror loving friend to have a drink, not sure about the food.

3. Paradise Lost - Ok this is a SPOT! Paradise lost is a tiki bar that immerses you right away. You walk down a hall full of vines and leaves and reach a red curtain where a waiter will show you the menu. All of the items are perfectly themed and be warned, the drinks were very strong. The theming follows all the way to the bathroom. The paintings, music, and use of bamboo and wood creates an awesome atmosphere and takes you to a deserted island.

4. Burp Castle - This is the first location I haven’t been to but it intrigues me so much. Despite the name, you cannot burp here, let alone talk loudly. This place is based on a Gregorian church and they will shush you if you’re too loud- just like church. They’ll be playing Gregorian chants when you arrive and call themselves the “Temple of Belgian Beer”. This is definitely a place to check out if you’re into craft beers.

5. Trailer Park Lounge - Recommended by a coworker is this next bar. As the name suggests, this is a Rockabilly Americana style vibe. Perfect for those from the midwest and for lovers of Lana del Rey’s early albums. It’s a Hawaiian, truck-filled, primary colored fever dream. They also offer bowling and feature a shrine to Elvis.

6. The Drift - My last pick is The Drift. For those of us whose families couldn’t afford ski trips over winter break, we can live our dreams here. The Drift is a ski lodge themed bar praised for its great service and local favorite vegan eats. They also have a $1 pool table for those looking to play.

NYC has a ways to go, let alone the rest of the states, but I’ve seen more conversation around themed restaurants and they’ve been all I can think about. Especially Gen Z survives on nostalgia and these locations can bring a little bit of our childhood food adventures back to our adult selves.

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-Daniela Torres