I’m talking about places like Casa Bonita in CO (needs no introduction if you’ve seen the South Park episode), or the now-defunct Hilltop Steakhouse in MA (which had a 70-ft tall neon cactus and heard of fiberglass cows on the grounds). Maybe it had good food in like, the 70s, but these days is more of a landmark/meme than anything.
Have you been? What’s it like? How’s the food? Atmosphere?
Preferably no chains, but bonus points for failed attempts at franchising.
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Yes. It’s called Casa Bonita. Second place would go to White Fence Farm, which had a petting zoo, but it had pretty good food, so I’m not sure it would meet your definition. White Fence Farm closed a few years ago and has since been redeveloped.
Does Rainforest Café count?
If so, I’ve been to the one in Auburn Hills and…yeah. Its pretty terrible.
Triple XXX Drive-In. The shakes and root beer floats are actually quite good, but the burgers are garbage
The Salt Lake City area used to have a restaurant with an indoor cliff diving show… I spent a summer in SLC for ballet camp and they took us all there lol.
Edit: Found a promo vid: [The Mayan Adventure restaurant](https://youtu.be/dGTqce_E4uk)
It’s just as weird as I remembered… like Rainforest Cafe plus a bunch of white kids in “Mayan” themed costumes. Apparently it was such an obvious ripoff of Casa Bonita that they got sued
Ours was the original Casa Bonita, unfortunately closed and not bought by the South Park creators like the spin-off in Colorado
I don’t live there (thank god) but the Big Texan in Amarillo fits the bill. If you go there, make sure you are heading west on the interstate. There is a huge feed lot on the west side of the city that will turn your stomach to the thought of a steak.
There are plenty of Italian restaurants in NJ with the checkered tablecloth and TGI Friday’s decor that could have come straight out of 1982
Geno’s is a affront to all that is good and holy with regards to tact and cheesesteaks.
Pat’s cheesesteaks are just as mediocre, but at least they’re not a neon nightmare of xenophobia.
Where I grew up, we had a Hilltop Steakhouse (big cow statue!) on the same block as a Green Hill Turkey Farm (*gigantic*, revolving turkey statue!). neither one was an actually *bad* restaurant (in fact, GH was pretty good), but damn if that wasn’t a thing to behold.
I don’t know ow if this counts – “Dining with Shamu” over at SeaWorld. It is basically amusement park food with views of the killer whale tank.
Medieval Times in Dallas. Food is poor to average at best and costs too much
I lived close to the first T-rex cafe. The only other one is in Disney Springs. It closed because the landlord could make more money with other tenants.
No
Seattle had a high end magic themed (harry potter-esq) bar/restaurant called The Splintered Wand.
I never got to go it closed before I had a chance. Online reviews were pretty good. The main complaint saying it was pricey. The closed despite reservations being fully booked for months in advance.
The Peppermill in Las Vegas. It’s not themed per se, but it is incredibly gaudy late 70s/early 80s decor from when it originally opened. It’s 24 hours, lots of neon, frosted glass, fake plants everywhere. It gets rave reviews, but honestly, the food is mediocre.
However, the Fireside Lounge in the same building is honestly one of the best bar experiences in town.
Because it’s Vegas, we also have the extreme size of every kitschy chain in existence:
* Dick’s Last Resort
* Hooters
* Twin Peaks
* Sugar Factory
* Bubba Gump
And we’ve taken standard chains and gone done them up crazy, 2 stories, weddings, etc.:
* Denny’s
* Taco Bell
The first thing I thought of when I saw your post title was, “not here, but how about that goofy Mexican restaurant my great-aunt took me to when I visited Denver in the 1980’s? I wish I remembered what it was called.”
That said, we do have The Old Spaghetti Factory, which is decorated in the style of Hollywood’s idea of an 1890’s western whorehouse, but doesn’t have cliff divers so I’m not sure if it fits.
Hilltop Steakhouse is dead but Kowloon still exists! Allegedly it’s closing but no word on the specifics.
In Phoenix, AZ there is Rustler’s Rooste which is a family oriented steakhouse. They have a live long horned steer sitting and snacking on hay just outside the front door as you enter the restaurant which is odd. They have a large slide for you and your kids to slide down before they seat you. The place is dark and rustic with generic stuff all over the walls. The food is mediocre with classic American steakhouse fare on the menu like steaks, chops and all-you-can-eat ribs.
They have things that are similar to Casa Bonita like live western bands, wooden pictures with the heads taken out so the family can get pictures…
It’s one saving grace is a magnificent view of Phoenix. It’s so relaxing to look over the city…
It has a gift shop as you exit. I believe I still have my boot shaped shot glass in storage…
https://www.beststeakrestaurant.com/az/phoenix-scottsdale/restaurants/rustlers-rooste#:~:text=Rustler's%20Rooste%20is%20dark%2C%20rustic,you%2Dcan%2Deat%20ribs.
Spielberg opened a submarine themed restaurant named Dive! in the Century Mall in LA. He also opened one on the strip in Las Vegas. Neither one lasted very long. The staff all wore sailor outfits and there were portholes and periscopes. Every so often an alarm would sound and a voice saying “Dive! Dive! Dive!” would come over the speakers. When the sub was diving the lights would dim or flash red, the portholes would have air bubbles and there would be groaning sounds. The outside of the restaurant was shaped like a huge yellow submarine. The menu had gourmet sub sandwiches. There was, of course, a gift shop.
I went to both and remember them being fun. I don’t remember the food at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6nT7DEokOA
It’s actually a really good place but in Omaha one of the well known steakhouses is Brother Sebastian’s. It’s designed to look like an old monastery and the waitstaff wears shorter length monk habits. They also used to have Gregorian chant playing on a speaker outside but I didn’t hear it when I took my wife for our anniversary. To be honest it’s a great steak house but it’s funny how much they go into the monastery theme.
We probably have a few. Magic Time Machine is what immediately came to mind for me.
It used to be called Quaker Steak and Lube then was sold and called Sickies Garage. They both had the same theme decor and average to bad burgers.
We have an Americana-themed diner called Betty Bomber’s inside of our local American Legion. While some stuff is delicious (specifically the shakes and the fries), some stuff is the worst thing you’ll ever eat (their barbeque).
Up in Sister Bay is a Swedish themed restaurant called Al Johnson’s, which is more widely known as the “restaurant with the goats on the roof”. The building has a grass roof and goats hang out up there.
I can’t comment on the food because I haven’t eaten there in a long time, but they’ve expanded massively over the years with an outdoor biergarten and a separate gift shop building, all leaning heavily on the Swedish and goat imagery.