Rainforest Cafe

I never went. I totally forgot about it, but now that you bring it up, I do remember it.

If I remember correctly, the food sucked but the cocktails were good and fruity! It was all about the stupid lights turning off and the wired animatronic gorillas going ape shit.

Don't forget the thunder, lightning and rain. Elephants, lions and tigers. No bears. But a shitload of birds. Tiki Room times ten.

We would take umbrellas inside the restaurant, sit at the bar, and then scream like banshees and open the umbrellas when the "thunderstorm sounds" started. We were asked to leave.

Early 2000s fad

Is it still around? I went to one (my first and only one) in Niagara Falls, NY, in 2017. Expensive as fuck and the food was not worth it. I guess you pay for the "experience".

They turned-up in malls and touristy trappy areas. Seemed like the sort of overpriced chain that could easily be skipped.

There were always long lines to get in. I don't think I ever ate at one, but I used to go through their gift shop if I was in a mall where they were located.

They're still around.

I went to one in Atlantic City. It wasn't bad.

It's more or less a restaurant version of the Enchanted Tiki Room/Jungle River Cruise with very standard food. I went twice with kids, who loved it, and I guess it was a lot cheaper than flying them to Disney. We finished with a ridiculous ice cream volcano dessert, a sugary glob of which I had more than my share.

I used to eat in the one in Atlantic City often. They had a sandwich I liked called Blue Mountain Chicken or something like that. It was tasty--I think it had red roasted peppers and a decent sauce. I always ate in the bar, away from the kiddies.

BTW, who brings kids to Atlantic City? The beach is nasty and about 5 feet wide and the casinos aren't playgrounds for kids.

I went once a couple of decades ago to the one in Disney.

I've had better food at NJ diners.

omg , prices in Atlantic City are more than I thought. Those are almost nyc prices.

I had no clue the one in Atlantic City was still open. They still have my chicken sandwich too! Next time I go, I'm getting it.

[quote] I went to one (my first and only one) in Niagara Falls, NY, in 2017. Expensive as fuck and the food was not worth it. I guess you pay for the "experience". —By the way, the Ontario side is MUCH nicer!

This was exactly my experience except several years before 2017. Same location.

r11, are you saying you had sufficient?

I liked Bugaboo Creek which was Canadian themed, if you can believe that.

I went to one a hundred years ago in Vegas. Was it at the MGM? Can't remember but thought it was really weird.

The one in Philly closed.

I went to the one on the Riverwalk in San Antonio 2 years ago while visiting my mother and sister. It was multiple floors crammed full of shit on the walls and ceiling. It seemed like a fire trap. The food was mediocre but edible.

There was one on the northern end of the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica for years and years. I know I went once or twice, but I have no recollection of the particulars. I don't believe it's there any longer.

Funny that Ontario was mentioned, because the Ontario Mills Mall was the only place I'd ever seen one of these.

R23 You mean York Mills?

R24, nope. Ontario, California. This was years ago -- I dunno if this restaurant even still exists there.

Seems like the perfect concept for the deplorables of the UAE and Asia 20 years ago.

Even now, UAE and Asia deplorables are pretty much like our own except they travel more in groups/families. Vulgar translates well, as does mediocrity with high prices---entire restaurant sectors are built on it.

restaurants, hotels, clothing, entertainment, entire economies are built on overprices mediocrity

r25 The one in Ontario Mills is still there.

r26 r27 There's one in Dubai.