1960s Food: Top Dishes, Restaurants And Eating Trends

Dinner parties, Vesta curries and the first taste of food from abroad.

Below: the dishes people actually ate in the 1960s, 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 1960s

• 1960 - Coronation Street began, national service ended and the sixties had not started yet. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1960
• 1961 - The Beatles started playing the Cavern and Yuri Gagarin went into space. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1961
• 1962 - Love Me Do, the first James Bond film and the Cuban missile crisis. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1962
• 1963 - The big freeze, Beatlemania, Doctor Who and the assassination of President Kennedy. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1963
• 1964 - Top of the Pops, pirate radio, mods and rockers, and BBC Two. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1964
• 1965 - Churchill's funeral, the 70mph limit and the Beatles at Shea Stadium. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1965
• 1966 - England won the World Cup, and then Aberfan happened in October. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1966
• 1967 - Sgt. Pepper, Radio 1, colour television and the summer of love. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1967
• 1968 - Manchester United in Europe, Dad's Army and a year of protest. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1968
• 1969 - The moon landing, the Beatles on the roof and the end of the decade. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1969
• That is every 1960s year we have written up so far: 1960 to 1969.

Classic 1960s dishes

• Prawn cocktail in a glass with Marie Rose sauce.
• Beef bourguignon and coq au vin, straight from the dinner-party books.
• Vesta dried curries and chow mein, Britain's first ready meals.
• Spaghetti bolognese, made with mince and a tin of tomatoes.
• Arctic roll, Black Forest gateau and lemon meringue pie.
• Cheese and pineapple on sticks in a foil-covered grapefruit.

Food trends of the 1960s

• Package holidays bring back a taste for paella, moussaka and real spaghetti.
• Indian and Chinese restaurants open across British towns.
• The Galloping Gourmet and Graham Kerr on television.
• Wine at home moves from special occasion to Saturday night.

What the kitchen looked like (1960-1969)

• Kenwood Chef mixers and the first blenders.
• Fondue sets given as wedding presents and used twice.
• Frozen peas everywhere after Birds Eye's push.
• Hostess trolleys for keeping the dinner party warm.

Eating out in the 1960s: restaurants, cafes and takeaways

• Berni Inns: prawn cocktail, steak and Black Forest gateau for under a pound.
• Indian restaurants open across British towns, many run by Sylheti families.
• Trattorias in London - the 'trat boom' with chianti bottles on the ceiling.
• Golden Egg and Aberdeen Steak Houses on the high street.
• Motorway service stations, starting with Watford Gap in 1959.
• The Chinese takeaway becomes a Friday night habit.

Cooking these now: honest notes

• Make Marie Rose fresh: mayonnaise, ketchup, a squeeze of lemon, a shake of Tabasco.
• Coq au vin only works with a decent bottle - the wine is most of the flavour.
• Arctic roll is still sold; nobody needs to make it from scratch.

How to use this

• Themed party: pick three dishes, not ten - one thing to pick at, one main, one pudding everyone remembers.
• Put the 1960s playlist 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 1960
• Look back to 1961
• Look back to 1962
• Look back to 1963
• Look back to 1964
• Look back to 1965
• Look back to 1966
• Look back to 1967
• Look back to 1968
• Look back to 1969
• 1960s calendar: year by year
• 1960s trivia: fun facts
• 1960s music: albums, artists and songs
• 1960s fashion: clothes, hair and accessories
• 1960s books, films and TV
• 1960s party playlist
• The 1960s: the whole decade
• Retro gift guide: the 1960s
• Playground games by region
• Knock down ginger
• Conkers rules
• Marbles rules
• School dinners we all remember
• 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
• Sympathy and bereavement cards
• Sympathy cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What food was popular in the 1960s?

Prawn cocktail in a glass with Marie Rose sauce. 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 1960s?

Package holidays bring back a taste for paella, moussaka and real spaghetti. The rest are listed above, including what was arriving in the shops for the first time.

Where did people eat out in the 1960s?

Berni Inns: prawn cocktail, steak and Black Forest gateau for under a pound. The eating out section above lists the restaurants, cafes and takeaways of the decade.

Can I cook 1960s 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.