History Main / KitschyThemedRestaurant

The stereotypical casual-dining chain restaurant of American {{Suburbia}}, often located in or near TheMall. These restaurants are likely to be inspired by either [[EagleLand idealized]], {{nostalgi|aFilter}}c [[EverytownAmerica Americana]], or a [[TheThemeParkVersion stereotypical image]] of an exotic place like [[OliveGarden Italy]], [[{{Spexico}} Mexico]], [[LandDownUnder Australia]], or [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texas]]. The walls and ceilings are frequently festooned with decorations fitting the theme, such as sports memorabilia, road signs, vintage photos, old toys, guitars, and crab pots. People actually from those places are likely to find the overly-processed, fancifully-named dishes served here almost unrecognizable. The appetizers range from the conventional mozzarella sticks and buffalo wings to Frankensteinian combinations like pizza nachos and southwestern egg rolls, while entrees run the gamut from traditional pastas and steaks to such monstrosities as cheeseburger quesadillas and Schezuan-style spare ribs, and are often served with buckets of french fries and salads that are anything but healthy. Portion sizes are usually gargantuan, as is the thickness of the menu. The dessert selection usually includes some hazardous-sounding chocolate creation involving the words "volcano" or "lava", and an oddly-flavored milkshake in a giant mug adorned with sugary treats is an option to wash your meal down with. Many of these establishments have licenses to serve alcohol; when they do, you can be sure that they advertise all manner of strange proprietary cocktails served in portions that seem designed to prevent drunk driving--by serving in an amount that couldn't intoxicate a flea or by serving in an amount that guarantees you won't be able to even find your car.

* ''{{VideoGame/Mafia III}}'' has one of these in the form of the Briar Patch chain of restaurants scattered across the circa-1968 New Orleans {{expy}} of New Bordeaux, with a mascot based on the [[Film/SongOfTheSouth Br'er Rabbit]] character meant to both parody Big Boy Restaurants ([[AluminumChristmasTrees more popular at the time]] than they are today) and satirize the Deep South's use of [[BlackFace racist caricatures]] that were still somewhat common during that contentious era. Civil rights activist, black nationalist, and pirate radio host Charles "The Voice" Laveau calls them out for this during his radio show, "The Hollow Speaks"; highlighting the connection between the restaurant chain's founder and the abandoned theme park, "Baron Saturday's Fun Park" which was closed only three months after opening due to protests over [[UnderStatement racially insensitive imagery]]. It shows, given that some of the locations are still segregated, even after the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. At one point, protagonist Lincoln Clay meets an [[QuestGiver informant]] in one to begin a new chapter. Lincoln can (usually) find adrenaline shots in their first-aid cabinets and roughly $40 in their cash registers.

The stereotypical casual-dining chain restaurant of American {{Suburbia}}, often located in or near TheMall. These restaurants are likely to be inspired by either idealized, {{nostalgi|aFilter}}c Americana, or a [[TheThemeParkVersion stereotypical image]] of an exotic place like [[OliveGarden Italy]], [[LandDownUnder Australia]], or [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texas]]. The walls and ceilings are frequently festooned with decorations fitting the theme, such as sports memorabilia, road signs, vintage photos, guitars, and crab pots. People actually from those places are likely to find the overly-processed, fancifully-named dishes served here almost unrecognizable. The appetizers range from the conventional mozzarella sticks and buffalo wings to Frankensteinian combinations like potato-bacon-bombs and southwestern egg rolls. Portion sizes are usually gargantuan. The dessert selection usually includes some hazardous-sounding chocolate creation involving the words "volcano" or "lava". Many of these establishments have licenses to serve alcohol; when they do, you can be sure that they advertise all manner of strange proprietary cocktails served in portions that seem designed to prevent drunk driving--by serving in an amount that couldn't intoxicate a flea or by serving in an amount that guarantees you won't be able to ''find'' your car.

Often, everything from how a customer is greeted to the way items are arranged on a table is dictated by corporate guidelines, resulting in an eerily identical experience regardless of which branch of the restaurant one patronizes. HappinessIsMandatory for the wait staff. Occasionally, a customer celebrating his birthday there will get an earful as all the company's BurgerFool employees chant a custom birthday song (since "HappyBirthdayToYou" was copyrighted until 2015) while clapping.

It has begun to replace the MaltShop as a stock setting in fiction, since there aren't many malt shops around any more. (Ironically, most of the few restaurants that go for the '50s malt shop vibe these days are places like Johnny Rockets and Red Robin, which are examples of this trope in their own right.)

It has begun to replace the MaltShop as a stock setting in fiction, since there aren't many malt shops around any more. (Ironically, most of the few restaurants that go for the '50s malt shop vibe these days are places like Johnny Rocket's and Red Robin, which are examples of this trope in their own right.)

* [=MacLaren's=] Pub from ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''.
** In one episode, Barney and Ted meet two girls who claim to be true New Yorkers, but their idea of New York dining is a chain restaurant called "Taterskins".

* In a recent issue of ComicBook/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne and Duke Thomas all meet at the Batman themed "[=BatBurger=]" Bruce of coarse hating every minute of it. On their menu is "[=BatBurger=]", "[=BatBurger=] Deluxe!", "[=BatBurger=] Deluxe Oversized!", "ComicBook/BatMite Meals", [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} "Night-Wings"]], [[IncrediblyLamePun "Robin Nuggets", "KGBLT", "Riddle-Me-Fish", "Killer Crocque Monsieur", "Two-Face Sandwich"]], [[ComicBook/PoisonIvy "Ivy Salad" (not poison)]], "Bat-Mini's", "Bat-Soda's" and "Bat-Fries". They have a server dressed in a very cheap looking Bat-suite who pisses Bruce of by offering to "Jokerise" his fries [[AngstWhatAngst (Jason actually enjoyed it)]], while Dick and Jason pissed Damian off by getting him a Bat-Might meal, made worse when he got a Red Hood action figure. [[NotSoAboveItAll He then shoved his burger in Jason's face]] while Dick and Duke made fun of Bruce for [[TheComicallySerious eating his burger with a knife and fork.]]

* In a recent issue of ComicBook/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne and Duke Thomas all meet at the Batman themed "[=BatBurger=]" Bruce of coarse hating every minuet of it. On their menu is "[=BatBurger=]", "[=BatBurger=] Deluxe!", "[=BatBurger=] Deluxe Oversized!", "ComicBook/BatMite Meals", [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} "Night-Wings"]], [[IncrediblyLamePun "Robin Nuggets", "KGBLT", "Riddle-Me-Fish", "Killer Crocque Monsieur", "Two-Face Sandwich"]], [[ComicBook/PoisonIvy "Ivy Salad" (not poison)]], "Bat-Mini's", "Bat-Soda's" and "Bat-Fries". They have a server dressed in a very cheap looking Bat-suite who pisses Bruce of by offering to "Jockerise" his fries [[AngstWhatAngst (Jason actually enjoyed it)]], while Dick and Jason pissed Damian off by getting him a Bat-Might meal, made worse when he got a Red Hood action figure. [[NotSoAboveItAll He then shoved his burger in Jason's face]] while Dick and Duke made fun of Bruce for [[TheComicallySerious eating his burger with a knife and fork.]]

* It's briefly mentioned in ''Nanny Ogg's Cookbook'' that these exist on Literature/{{Discworld}}, with the theme being dwarfish culture. Real dwarfs hate the places, partly because of the kitschy stone-effect wallpaper and fake hammering noises, and partly because of the food, which consists of human dishes done up to ''resemble'' rat, and bread which is dense and crunchy but lacks the fundamental inedibility of proper dwarf bread. ''The Compleat Ankh-Morpork City Guide'' has an entry for a restaurant called Thank Gods It's Octeday[[note]]Not to be confused with the wine bar Thank Gods It's Open in ''Disceworld/{{Thud}}''[[/note]], but does not include further details.

* In ''Film/OfficeSpace'', Peter, Michael, and Samir take their coffee in Chotchkie's. The over-enthusiastic waiter wants to know whether they want to try the pizza shooters, shrimp poppers or extreme fajitas.

* At the end of ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'', Franchise/{{Superman}}, Franchise/{{Batman}}, and ComicBook/WonderWoman go to a superhero-themed restaurant where the staff are all in cheesy knockoffs of DC superhero costumes and use some of their {{Catch Phrase}}s as jargon and the food is named after DC characters and titles.

[[quoteright:298:[[Film/OfficeSpace http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1fd69b4b1052a1b0b96d659dfaed1484.jpg]]]]

-->'''Peaco:''' I know old bikes on a wall make ME hungry!
-->'''Ox:''' Is that decor or was there an accident?
-->'''Deer Ugly:''' My garage sale has come back to haunt me!

-->'''Dr. Hibbert:''' Alright, where would you kids like to eat tonight?
-->'''Young Son:''' The Spaghetti Laboratory!
-->'''Young Daughter:''' Face-Stuffer's!
-->'''Teenage Son:''' Professor V.J. Cornucopia's Fantastic Foodmagorium and Great American Steakery!

-->'''Homer:''' "Forty seconds? But I want it now!"

-->'''Dr. Hibbert:''' "Alright, where would you kids like to eat tonight?"
-->'''Young Son:''' "The Spaghetti Laboratory!"
-->'''Young Daughter:''' "Face-Stuffer's!"
-->'''Teenage Son:''' "Professor V.J. Cornucopia's Fantastic Foodmagorium and Great American Steakery!"
* One ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode sees Mr. Krabbs sell the Krusty Krabb to a chain who makes it into "Krabby O'Mondays," complete with wall bric-a-brac and Friday's-style striped tables.

The stereotypical casual-dining chain restaurant of American {{Suburbia}}, often located in or near TheMall. These restaurants are likely to be inspired by either idealized, {{nostalgi|aFilter}}c Americana, or a [[TheThemeParkVersion stereotypical image]] of an exotic place like [[OliveGarden Italy]], [[LandDownUnder Australia]], or [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texas]]. The walls and ceilings are frequently festooned with decorations fitting the theme, such as sports memorabilia, road signs, vintage photos, guitars, and crab pots. People actually from those places are likely to find the overly-processed, fancifully-named dishes served here almost unrecognizable. The appetizers range from the conventional mozzarella sticks and buffalo wings to Frankensteinian combinations like potato-bacon-bombs and southwestern egg rolls. Portion sizes are usually gargantuan. The dessert selection usually includes some hazardous-sounding chocolate creation involving the words "volcano" or "lava".

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ''ComicStrip/CulDeSac'': The Otterloop family often dines out at P.J. Piehole's. Petey had a fear of the rowboat hanging from the ceiling falling on him.
[[/folder]]

* It's briefly mentioned in ''Nanny Ogg's Cookbook'' that these exist on Literature/{{Discworld}}, with the theme being dwarfish culture. Real dwarfs hate the places, partly because of the kitschy stone-effect wallpaper and fake hammering noises, and partly because of the food, which consists of human dishes done up to ''resemble'' rat, and bread which is dense and crunchy but lacks the fundamental inedibility of proper dwarf bread.

Named for a line from a Steve Hofstetter comedy routine, as a portmanteau of four well-known U.S. casual dining chains: T.G.I. Fridays, O'Charley's, Chili's, and Applebee's.