Walking past the artificial grass-lined outdoor patio and into Santa Monica’s Nostalgia Bar & Lounge, one is supposed to feel transported into a suburban memory trapped in amber.
The wood-paneled walls, pop culture references, and deep sofas may remind you of your own high school safe harbor, the den or basement of that friend with parents “cool” or negligent enough that you could hideaway and toke before a few hours of Grand Theft Auto. And if those don’t align with your actual memories, just conjure up the stoners circle in That 70’s Show and you get the rough idea. Hey Arnold, Doug, lord Frieza in his final form—the gang is all there to trigger your deepest couch-locked nostalgia.
A stretched mural where Alf and SpongeBob share the wall with Mario, Stimpy, and Johnny Bravo is the first thing that hits your adjusting eyes. Jenga, Chutes & Ladders, and Battleship are stacked between the four-legged coffee tables where your vodka-and-Tia Maria-laced takes on Yoo-hoo and seriously beautiful food will soon be landing. Nineties punk-pop and Top 40 beats blast on the stereo while house-made cherry-beet Flintstones Push-Ups are served for dessert. The entire color spectrum starts at tan and doesn't go far beyond brown.
“Nostalgia is about making those memories of the past, the memories of the future,” says founder Chris Sayegh of his first brick-and-mortar restaurant.