[[{“value”:”Did going out to restaurants in the past feel more special compared to today? Whether you’re looking back with rose-tinted glasses at the Pizza Hut buffet (never forget!) or feel like the entire “going out” experience used to be more fun, many diners look back fondly on aspects of dining out that seem to have disappeared today. From salad bars to arcade games and more, these nostalgic memories have people wishing they could go back in time: If you remember any of these elements of restaurants, you truly did get to experience the golden age of going out.
Actual Dining Rooms
When was the last time you sat down in an actual fast-food dining room instead of hitting the drive-thru or getting delivery? “I miss when Pizza Hut had dining rooms. Dark, plastic Tiffany hanging lamps over each table, and those plastic red cups,” one fan said. “Pizza Hut is permanently etched into my brain. It was such a treat to go there. The smell of pizza when you walked in the door, the tablecloths, the plastic red cups,” another said.
The Zoo at Farrell’s Ice Cream
Ordering the Zoo at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor was iconic and I’m so sad I never got to see it first-hand (although that scene in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure partially makes up for it). “Every time someone ordered a Zoo — a bowl with 20 scoops of ice cream, usually for parties — they’d bring it out on a stretcher-like item, carried by two people. And they’d ring a bell and blow a siren and generally make a racket, and run around the restaurant with it before bringing it to the table,” one fan recalled.
McDonald’s Birthday Parties
The 80s/90s McDonald’s children’s birthday parties were LEGENDARY—kids these days are missing out. “Back in the early 80s when I was in elementary school, McDonalds parties were definitely something many kids’ parents did. Not sure about later generations’ experience with this, but it was the height of cool to have one of those back then at least where I am from,” one Redditor said.
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Jukebox At the Table
Jukeboxes are no longer a staple at many diners, and people miss them. “Oh man…Papa Gino’s had those in the booths back in the day,” one nostalgic fan said. “We could get a slice and a soda for $.99, sit there and listen to Boston and Fleetwood Mac until it was time for mom to pick us up.”
Independent Restaurants
Some diners miss how many independent restaurants there used to be. “When you were on vacation, there would be all these different local restaurants and you would have to ask around to find the good ones,” one Redditor said. “And you would get food that was different than what you would have at home. Now every town seems to have the same chains and the restaurants and the food are all the same.”
Salad Bars
Salad bars used to be common outside of just buffets, but that is sadly no longer the case. “Remember when Wendy’s had this huge salad bar / potato bar thing that everyone loved? Looks like Wendy’s closed all of those in 2006 or earlier. I’d say that’s about the time that salad bars started to completely fade,” one commenter shared.
Arcade Games
I used to love having arcade games in restaurants, another really fun element that seems to have disappeared. “I remember my last great birthday as a kid, 12 maybe 13, my two friends and I went to the local pizza place and after sharing that large with all the gooey cheese carried out on the tray all smoking and greasy, we blew an entire roll of quarters beating some game, I think it was Aliens,” one Redditor shared. “We spent that entire roll of quarters and finished the game. That’s still my favorite birthday memory from when I was a kid.”
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