Nostalgia is a funny thing. The past isn’t always as great as we remember it, yet we yearn for it through our rose-tinted lenses.
If you’re one of those who can’t resist a good, long stroll down memory lane, here’s a new cafe targeted at people just like you. Good Old Days Bistro, a welcome sight among the stretch of shop houses along Beach Road, has a quirky charm to it that will attract Instagram addicts, flea market bargain hunters, and anyone looking for a brief blast to the past.
Just don’t get it mixed up with Good Old Days, a tourist trap restaurant in Sentosa that serves local food — the kind you can find in hawker centers — at way higher prices.
Peering in, you’d be forgiven for thinking the homely place is a combination of several themed cafes, what with each corner decked out in a different design. There’s no connection between the plush red booth seats and the industrial-ish wooden bar seats facing the wall, for instance — or the various lamps hanging from the ceiling and the swing seats in the middle of the space. But, that’s all part of its appeal.
The old school knickknacks scattered around are just as random, but the mishmash of eclectic items are rather fascinating to look at, no matter if you’ve grown up in the era of their use or not. Retro radios, faded photos of Singapore in the ’60s and ’70s, and vintage toys — stuff like that.
On the menu, you’ll find the usual brunch-like dishes such as brioche French toast ($11.90) and acai bowls ($9.90), pastas like carbonara ($12.90) and truffle-infused mushroom ($12.90), burgers with fillings like pork belly ($13.90) and crispy oatmeal chicken ($13.90), as well as meats including pork ribs ($17.90) and duck leg confit ($17.90).
The burgers are served in vintage-looking boxes, which can be tacky and gimmicky, or ultra cool. Depends on which end of the spectrum you reside, really — but they make for some pretty unique photos, we guess.
Anyway, the main draw of Good Old Days Bistro is its eccentric details and nostalgic allure. So perhaps it’ll do the trick when you’re organizing a 10-year reunion with your friends from way back when.
FIND IT:
Kampong Glam Conservation Area, 337 Beach Rd.
8337-3343.
Mon-Sat 11am-10pm.
MRT: Nicoll Highway
