The old-fashioned and beautiful dishes that were popular in the millennium have unexpectedly made a comeback.

In the past few years, more and more new restaurants have opened in the catering industry, and the elimination rate has also accelerated. Fine dining is still developing, but people's impulse to pay for elaborate food presentation and atmosphere is weakening. Instead, they are starting to seek a decent and cost - effective social space.

In this rhythm, old - fashioned coffee restaurants with a sense of the times, such as UBC Coffee, Miluo Coffee, Laoshu Coffee, Liangmuyuan, Greenery Restaurant, and Howfun Steakhouse, have quietly made their way onto the check - in lists of young people.

Twenty or thirty years ago, they were the most fashionable restaurants in the city. The menus featured black pepper steak with pasta and cappuccino coffee, which were only ordered by the male and female protagonists in movies and TV shows. At the next table, business people were discussing deals, or trendy couples were on dates, while kids were eagerly waiting for adults to order them a banana split.

On October 30, 2001, a UBC Coffee chain store at Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport. (Photo/VCG)

As we get used to all kinds of internet - famous restaurants and boutique coffee shops in our lives, old - fashioned coffee restaurants are no longer the first choice for "high - end" dining. However, young people who love "old - school dates" always have a soft spot for them.

Old - fashioned coffee shops

The top - notch places in many people's childhood?

In the past, if you wanted to have a meal at an old - fashioned coffee restaurant, you had to plead and persuade for a long time. Only when you got the first place in an exam, had a birthday, or your parents finally gave in could you enter their doors.

At that time, old - fashioned coffee restaurants represented a unique sense of ritual. Taking a deep breath before entering, you could step into a world completely different from your daily life.

Jazz music was playing in the restaurant. Each table had dark red or dark green leather sofa booths, and there were waist - high green plants beside the seats. The crystal chandeliers overhead cast just the right amount of light on the incomprehensible paintings on the walls, creating an "elegant" atmosphere that was rare at that time.

The banana split dessert, a childhood memory for many kids. (Photo/Tuchong Creative)

Food was the most important part of this memory. The steak, which now seems of average quality, always filled people with anticipation when it was served. One still remembers vividly the uneasiness and novelty of using a knife and fork for the first time while imitating adults.

The ice cream was always served in a long and thin glass, with chocolate sauce and cream on the surface, and a wafer or a bright red cherry on top. At the end, one even wanted to pick up the glass regardless of one's image and drink up the melted sweet water at the bottom.

In an era when lifestyles were not very diverse, many families regarded old - fashioned coffee restaurants as their regular weekend hang - outs. Adults would order a cup of coffee and start chatting about "big things" that kids couldn't understand. Kids would curl up in the booths, flipping through magazines and newspapers they could barely understand, sipping milkshakes and biting the straws flat, while making "grand wishes": when they grew up, they would come here with their own money, order whatever they wanted, and stay as long as they wanted.

Many years later, old - fashioned coffee restaurants are no longer the trendy landmarks in the city. They have moved from the most prominent positions in shopping malls to the second floors of street - facing shops or the corners of alleys, but unexpectedly, they have recaptured the attention of a new generation of young people and become newly - discovered "treasure shops".

UBC Coffee has become a popular photo - taking spot with a dreamy aesthetic. (Photo/Screenshot from Xiaohongshu)

Old - fashioned coffee restaurants

Being re - chosen

In the past, the elaborate carvings on the thick wooden furniture and the slightly dim yellowish lights in Liangmuyuan Coffee Shop in Chengdu were jokingly called the "European aristocratic style". For a long time, going to Liangmuyuan with a few friends to do homework and have afternoon tea was a "luxurious" after - school activity for kids.

Now, the decoration of Liangmuyuan has incorporated more modern designs, making the overall environment brighter and more comfortable, and different stores have differentiated designs. Some stores near universities have even launched special self - study areas, and coffee can be refilled. The coffee shop that was once only for "rich kids" has re - entered people's vision in a more daily - life - like way.

The coffee shop that was once only for "rich kids" has now been transformed. (Photo/Web screenshot)

The same changes have also taken place in UBC Coffee. When the UBC brand first came to the Chinese mainland, with its "stylish" character, it became the first choice for urban white - collar workers and business people to conduct business and enjoy their leisure time. At its peak, the number of UBC Coffee and its derivative brand stores across the country once reached an astonishing 3,000.

In recent years, many UBC Coffee stores have gradually closed, but in the remaining stores, the dishes have become more "down - to - earth". In addition to steak, pasta, and coffee, farmhouse - raised chicken, mustard duck feet, Mao Xuewang (a spicy Sichuan dish), and even boiled fish have also appeared on the menu.

Having Sichuan cuisine at UBC Coffee... It's still a bit ahead of its time. (Photo/Web screenshot)

The places that seemed out of reach in childhood have gained a strange sense of familiarity after incorporating Chinese cuisine fusion. It is no longer exclusive to the elite but has become a place where anyone can come in and take a rest.

Some people go back to old - fashioned coffee restaurants to recapture familiar memories, those happy moments firmly associated with the store names, menus, and even the decorations.

Howfun Steakhouse from Xiamen, which specializes in affordable steaks, serves the steak with iron - plate pasta, a perfectly fried poached egg, and then drizzles it with rich black pepper sauce. It even comes with a small glass of red wine. With this "combination punch", Howfun Steakhouse has introduced countless kids to Western cuisine.

The memories of old - fashioned coffee restaurants are still "ingrained" even after growing up. (Photo/Web screenshot)

Now, when you enter the store again, the familiar sizzling sound of the iron plate and the overly sweet black tea can instantly transport you back to that care - free stage of life.

Back in the days when Western cuisine was still an expensive imported product for most Chinese people, many people had their first cup of coffee at Greenery Restaurant in Guangzhou. They also learned the difference between sirloin and rib - eye steaks for the first time, and affectionately called it "Lüqinjiao".

Thirty - odd years later, those Guangzhou people who used to date at Greenery Restaurant and are now parents still take their children back here and order a table of cream soup, rib - eye steak, pasta, and desserts. For old customers, this place is a carrier of youthful memories; for young people, this un - artificially - aged retro feeling constitutes a unique appeal.

Greenery Restaurant. (Photo/IC Photo)

Old - fashioned coffee restaurants that carry the memories of a generation have followed very different paths in the torrent of the times. And the kids who grew up with the company of old - fashioned coffee restaurants will always choose them again at different times, even if it's just to fulfill a childhood dream.

Old - fashioned coffee restaurants

How many young people seeking relaxation do they accommodate?

In the past two years, a word "pretty meal" has become popular on social media, referring specifically to dining at restaurants with beautifully presented dishes, high - end color schemes, and a strong urge to take photos. The taste of the dishes may not be amazing, but by the end of the meal, your phone album will definitely be "full".

If social media and photography technology were as popular twenty or thirty years ago, these old - fashioned coffee restaurants would definitely have been the top "pretty meal" places at that time. However, now, young people who are discouraged by the high prices of fusion restaurants and the various "rules of the owners" have truly relaxed in these coffee restaurants.

Young people who are tired of expensive specialty coffee have gradually discovered the charm of old - fashioned coffee restaurants. (Photo/VCG)

There's a reason for this. An American coffee costs more than 20 yuan, and a steak set costs fifty or sixty yuan, which is much cheaper than many internet - famous stores. You can wear slippers and curl up in the booth, order a table of delicious food that you couldn't dream of having in childhood, and treat your inner child well.

The need for taking photos is also met. The vintage wooden stairs, dark green booths, and crystal chandeliers can create a retro feeling of the millennium with just a random shot.

However, young people don't just go to old - fashioned coffee restaurants for taking photos or nostalgia. Since their inception, old - fashioned coffee restaurants have had a unique inclusiveness. They are not just coffee shops but also the first batch of localized Western restaurants, allowing many people to experience the novel life across the ocean in a relatively integrated and friendly way.

Everyone has their own favorite old - fashioned coffee restaurant to miss. (Photo/Tuchong Creative)

Now that people have seen all kinds of things, they are no longer as reserved as before. Old - fashioned coffee restaurants have also shed their "high - end" filter. They don't try to hide their old - fashionedness but are happy to be the backdrop for people's wonderful lives.

But at least in everyone's favorite old - fashioned coffee restaurant, we are still allowed to miss the childhood banana split and the care - free self of the past.

This article is from the WeChat official account "New Weekly", author: Muyang. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.