1930s Food: Top Dishes, Restaurants And Eating Trends

Cheap cuts, tinned goods and the first electric cookers in ordinary houses.

Below: the dishes people actually ate in the 1930s, what was new at the time, what the kitchen had in it, and honest notes on cooking any of it now.

Useful for a themed party menu, a reminiscence session or working out what to cook for someone's milestone birthday.

Years covered in the 1930s

• 1930 - The R101 disaster, rising unemployment and Amy Johnson flying to Australia. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1930
• 1931 - The National Government, the gold standard abandoned and the means test. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1931
• 1932 - Broadcasting House opened, the Empire Service began and hunger marches reached London. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1932
• 1933 - Bodyline, the first Loch Ness photograph and the opening of the Tube map. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1933
• 1934 - Driving tests announced, Belisha beacons and the Queen Mary being built. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1934
• 1935 - The Silver Jubilee, the first driving tests and the 30mph limit. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1935
• 1936 - Three kings in one year, the Jarrow March, Butlin's and the first television service. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1936
• 1937 - The coronation of George VI, the Hindenburg and the first Billy Butlin summer. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1937
• 1938 - Munich, gas masks and the Holidays with Pay Act. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1938
• 1939 - Evacuation, the blackout, the declaration of war and television going off air. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1939
• That is every 1930s year we have written up so far: 1930 to 1939.

Classic 1930s dishes

• Shepherd's pie and cottage pie from Sunday's leftovers.
• Liver and onions, faggots, tripe - offal was ordinary, not a novelty.
• Kippers or bloaters for tea.
• Rice pudding baked with a nutmeg skin on top.
• Corned beef hash and tinned salmon sandwiches.
• Victoria sponge, fruit cake and Sunday trifle.

Food trends of the 1930s

• Tinned soup, tinned fruit and condensed milk in every cupboard.
• Sliced bread reaches Britain in the thirties.
• Custard creams, Jaffa Cakes (1927) and other biscuits become teatime standards.
• The first Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's self-service ideas start appearing late in the decade.

What the kitchen looked like (1930-1939)

• Electric cookers arrive but gas is still the norm.
• A meat safe or cold larder rather than a fridge.
• Pressure cookers sold as a way to save fuel.
• Home baking done weekly, not occasionally.

Eating out in the 1930s: restaurants, cafes and takeaways

• Lyons expands, and the Corner House is where you took someone for a treat.
• Roadhouses on the new arterial roads, with a car park and a dance floor.
• Cafes at the seaside serving tea, shrimps and bread and butter.
• Soho's Italian and French restaurants - Quo Vadis opens in 1926 and Bertorelli's fills up.
• Milk bars arrive from Australia and America and are aimed at young people.
• Cheap dining rooms and 'good pull-up for carmen' stops for lorry drivers.

Cooking these now: honest notes

• Offal is cheap and fast - liver needs three minutes a side, no more.
• Cottage pie is better made the day before and reheated.
• Use beef dripping for roast potatoes if you want the taste people remember.

How to use this

• Themed party: pick three dishes, not ten - one thing to pick at, one main, one pudding everyone remembers.
• Put era music on while you cook and the theme does half the work.
• Reminiscence session: food smells prompt more conversation than photographs do.
• Milestone birthday: cook what they ate at eighteen, not what was around when they were born.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Write the menu on a card and put it on the table - it makes a themed meal feel deliberate.
• Cook one dish nobody has had for thirty years; that is the one people talk about.
• Check for allergies before you build a menu around pastry, nuts or shellfish.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1930
• Look back to 1931
• Look back to 1932
• Look back to 1933
• Look back to 1934
• Look back to 1935
• Look back to 1936
• Look back to 1937
• Look back to 1938
• Look back to 1939
• 1930s calendar: year by year
• 1930s trivia: fun facts
• 1930s music: albums, artists and songs
• 1930s fashion: clothes, hair and accessories
• 1930s books, films and TV
• The 1930s: the whole decade
• Victorian and vintage parlour games
• Village fete and church hall games
• Traditional British party games
• Seaside and beach games
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade recipes: dishes and food trends by era
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• Guess the year quiz
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Good luck cards
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What food was popular in the 1930s?

Shepherd's pie and cottage pie from Sunday's leftovers. The full list above covers the dishes that turned up week in, week out, not just the special-occasion ones.

What were the big food trends of the 1930s?

Tinned soup, tinned fruit and condensed milk in every cupboard. The rest are listed above, including what was arriving in the shops for the first time.

Where did people eat out in the 1930s?

Lyons expands, and the Corner House is where you took someone for a treat. The eating out section above lists the restaurants, cafes and takeaways of the decade.

Can I cook 1930s recipes today?

Yes, with small adjustments. Old recipes assume more time and different kit, so the honest notes section above tells you what to change - mostly seasoning, cooking times and which ingredients are hard to buy now.

Do you sell food or recipe books?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a party or a care-home session.