If there’s one clear takeaway from restaurant marketing over the past year, it’s that everything old is new again. The hospitality industry has leaned hard into nostalgia, with restaurants joyfully embracing all things retro and finding fresh ways to reimagine classic menus and promotions. It’s a formula that sparks sentimentality for those there the first time around.
In a world marked by economic instability, political turmoil and rising temperatures, the appeal of the ’90s and ’00s is growing. This year, closures of restaurants like Lyle’s, The Gun, Normans and Chick ‘n’ Sours highlight ongoing challenges the hospitality industry faces, which have been worsened by Brexit and Covid-19. Amid these struggles, nostalgia offers an escape. Restaurants are tapping into this, using throwback pricing to build loyalty and attract diners.
Last year, nose-to-tail restaurant St John celebrated its 30th anniversary by bringing back its 1994 menu with its original pricing, serving dishes like the iconic roast bone marrow and parsley salad for £4.20. Earlier this year, Bao marked its 10th anniversary by launching new dishes and offering 2015 bao prices for one month where baos were only £3.50. Rick Stein’s restaurants celebrated their 50th anniversary with a menu of the group’s classic seafood dishes at 1975 prices, including shellfish soup for 50p and grilled lobster for £2.80. Meanwhile, Forest Hill Indian restaurant Babur, which opened in 1985, stepped back in time with a greatest-hits menu from its past 40 years, selling 85p bhajis for two months from July to September 14.
“While we’re yet to determine how much traffic it will drive to our restaurant, the interest on social media and from the press has been considerable,” Emdad Rahman, Babur’s founder, tells Broadsheet. “Often, it can feel as though only new openings are considered newsworthy.”
According to Shing Tat Chung, co-founder of Bao, limited-time pricing feels especially relevant in today’s climate as the cost of living surges. “We’d been debating if and how to celebrate our anniversary,” he tells Broadsheet. “I think customers always love a bit of nostalgia; it’s an anchor for the restaurant and the diner to connect with.”
When St John announced its throwback pricing, its reservation system crashed. One frustrated customer, Martin Rojo, compared it to getting Glastonbury tickets. “I had two laptops and two phones refreshing constantly for any date or time. I’ve done this before on Open Table and always succeeded, but I didn’t even see any slots this time.”
Others got lucky. “I kept checking the website and spotted a returned table for four,” says Olivia Howe. “For four people, it came to £130, a total bargain, and we didn’t hold back.”
At a time when eating out feels increasingly unaffordable, throwback menus may become a key way for restaurants to celebrate. Part thank-you, part marketing and part nostalgic comfort, it’s an opportunity for restaurants to reflect on their success, as well as thank returning customers.
“What worked here was that it felt like a true celebration, a positive moment worth marking,” says Tat Chung. “If you do it too often, discount culture takes over and it loses its magic.
“To be honest, it was a roll of the dice. Luckily, looking at the covers now, it paid off. If nothing happened and there was no reaction, we would have just been converting the people who were coming in, but with tough margins. But I’d much rather take a full bustling restaurant on lower margin than empty tables with better margins.”
