Taco Bell hands down tasted better back then than it does today.
Posted by Swiftiefromhell@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 108 comments
Posted by Swiftiefromhell@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 108 comments
Feeling-Pea5281@reddit
Wendy's had that kickass salad bar in the '80s, and as a perpetually hungry teenager, I cleaned them out. Nobody ever tried to cut me off; they weren't paid enough to get between me and food.
Kershiser22@reddit
Wendy's had a normal salad bar that was good. Then in about 1988 they changed it to a "Super" Bar that had set spaghetti and nachos and other stuff. It was awesome.
I wish they would at least bring back their salad bar. Not enough salad bars these days.
bossman-808@reddit
Who put the stick up the mod’s rear?
u9Nails@reddit
Right? I can't tell if this is something they found it something they created. But it fits GenX.
GenX-ModTeam@reddit
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GenX-ModTeam@reddit
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ComfortableCommand44@reddit
The BK Whopper and BK Broiler chicken sandwich were awesome back than. Also the Cousins Double Cheesesteak.
u9Nails@reddit
BK was awesome. I've always remembered it being bigger than other restaurants, and had that charbroiled flavor.
new2bay@reddit
Taco Bell was never good.
u9Nails@reddit
It's always been cheap though
Responsible_Name1217@reddit
Taco bell was a money proposition at 2am. How much food can I get for $5.
Substantial-Ease567@reddit
Arby's used to be ok
AJ_in_SF_Bay@reddit
The beef 'n cheddar on the onion rolls used to be better, and they were dirt cheap. Get them and get some BBQ and horsey sauce, and it was decent. That and a jamocha shake, and I was a happy kid.
I went to an Arby's on a road trip about a year ago, and everything from the roast beef to the sauces seemed like a synthetic photocopy of what it used to be.
NoahsKnob3202@reddit
Back in the 80s, Taco Bell made their guacamole in house. Had a friend who worked there in high school and early college years. She had to cut and scoop 1-2 cases of avocados every shift. Food was measurable better in quality back then. Plus you could have entire meals from the 59/79/99 cent value menu.
GenXPowaah@reddit
All of the food in the 80's was good, why you ask because it was 100% real. Meaning, they didn't use anywhere near the amount of food preservatives and additives that are used in 2026.
Arby's, used to be the bomb, Taco Bell man what you're eating now isn't Taco Bell folks. There used to be wars with McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's all 3 had delicious food, it usually came down to who was closer versus who's food is "better".
HawkingzWheelchair@reddit
Remember Subway? Oh how far they all have fallen.
AJ_in_SF_Bay@reddit
Subway used to be halfway decent when they first launched, didn't meter out ingredients and toppings so miserly, and they really did bake different kinds of sandwich rolls on site.
Now I wouldn't go to a Subway if you paid me.
AboveGroundPoolQueen@reddit
Del taco
Midnighthowler60@reddit
Better throw pizza hut in this list too. 80s - mid 90's fast food was amazing.
Infamously_Delicious@reddit
It wasn't fast food then. They were real restaurants with waitresses and beer and jukeboxes and video games.
Carinyosa99@reddit
I didn't really get much fast food back in the 80s but we had a place here on the East Coast called Roy Rogers which was sooooo good back then. They closed down and were bought out by Hardees I believe. A few have since opened up here in Maryland but not many locations and it's not as good as it once was.
AJ_in_SF_Bay@reddit
Good lord, I remember Roy Rogers. That was good stuff!
Wndrunner@reddit
I don’t remember much about the fast food in the 80s. I remember it was a treat to go to Burger King with my mom and her sister an go thru the drive thru and eat in the car.
hlv6302@reddit
59 79 99 was peak society
AJ_in_SF_Bay@reddit
Got me through college. 59-cent bean burritos—barely enough sustenance to survive.
RedneckMarxist@reddit
Fresh made McDonald's Double Cheeseburger is still great. Same as 1980. Problem is, you have to request fresh cooked.
Then_Bison5277@reddit
And then it comes with extra bodily fluids
JuJu_Wirehead@reddit
Eh, I wouldn't exactly call myself a connoisseur of fine dining back then. But I know I wouldn't touch that stuff today.
CrumblinEmpire@reddit
I vividly remember enjoying Der Wienerschnitzel chili-cheese dogs like they were sweet manna from The Gods. They were 50¢ each. It’s an odd thought because I haven’t eaten a hot dog in decades. Someone tell me that they are still that good.
danksince98@reddit
taco bell tasted the same today as it did in 80s and 90s
miggismallz33@reddit
Sorry. It does not.
danksince98@reddit
taco supreme tastes exact same way to me ..still delicious..chicken chalupas i see no difference..maybe some of their other stuff changed but thats all i eat..never once said omg this used to be so much better..never even thought it
Active-Possibility77@reddit
Different sources for ingredients. The cheese and meat were very different, as were thr shells
Mikeyjf@reddit
No way! A burrito supreme had black olives, tomatoes, onions, real melted cheese. It was awesome back then.
Igmuhota@reddit
Crazy thing for me looking at that list is that my answer would be all of them, to varying degrees.
Haven’t had fast food in over a decade, because it became simultaneously expensive and disappointing enough that I switched to choosing better options with less frequency and never looked back.
All that being said, Taco Bell and Arby’s felt like they fell the farthest, maybe because they had further to fall, relatively speaking. Almost like they went from being food to, well, whatever they are now.
Upper_Economist7611@reddit
Old school Taco Bell- nothing like it!
And I would kill for a fried McDonald’s apple pie!
brendini511@reddit
BK has them right now, but I haven't tried them yet.
Ichigo2819@reddit
Go to Rally's, they have the old McDonald's style apple pies
1955chevyguy@reddit
Try a Whataburger apple pie!
SoCalChrisW@reddit
If you're ever in Southern California, there's a location in Downey that still fries them.
https://yelp.to/hD4IKb2cBT
Fanabala3@reddit
No kidding. When McDonald’s fried their food in tallow was the best.
Fan_of_Clio@reddit
Taco Bell is definitely trash now
TheSpatulaOfLove@reddit
They’re all trash.
Cowboy-Dave1851@reddit
Hardee's for me!
GenX-ModTeam@reddit
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78Anonymous@reddit
KFC was pretty good in the eighties. I remember when the Zinger was introduced.
Didn't know Wendy's until the late nineties.
Dino_Spaceman@reddit
KFC hot wings were amazing. I stopped going entirely when they were removed from the menu.
Initial-Succotash-37@reddit
Wendys hamburgers were really good back then
thatpunkyrat@reddit
I wish I had gotten to experience the old Taco Bell. It's almost $8 for a quesadilla 😭
Dino_Spaceman@reddit
Wendy’s yellow era can never be beat.
SanMig-In-Bora@reddit
If you’re constipated, Taco Bell works better than meds.
CriticalStrawberry15@reddit
Fiber tends to do that if you don’t get enough of it
PossibleDiscipline90@reddit
They want to be more efficient by adding so many preservatives and junk now. Then they charge more for it.
mrv_wants_xtra_cheez@reddit
Used to be made from real Mexicans, now it’s just ground up mudflaps and microplastics.
G0R_G0R@reddit
Arby’s 5 for 5 couldn’t be beat, 99 cent whoppers at bk got me through high school as well.
Mysterious-Ruby@reddit
When I was pregnant in 1996 I picked up the 5 for 5 with the intention of eating 2 and giving my husband the other 3.
I ended up eating all 5 and went home without dinner. Lol
lochinver@reddit
I would say Hardee's. We also had a chain of Taco John's the next town over that was good back then.
PeevedProgressive@reddit
Pretty much everything tasted better back in the day. What's that word the kids are using today? Oh, yeah, enshitification!
miggismallz33@reddit
Taco Bell and KFC. The flavor has really changed from the 80’s to now.
mrskeetskeeter@reddit
Literally every tasted better “back then” because they would use ingredients that were a lot healthier than what they use today. Today’s food tastes different because they use cheaper less healthy ingredients that doesn’t taste nearly as good as they used to. That goes not just for Taco Bell, but just about everything in the food industry.
skspoppa733@reddit
Wendy’s used to be so good that you’d have a hard time finishing all of it.
learningbydoing2025@reddit
Do I see whataburger?
Thin-Quiet-2283@reddit
Wendy’s !
Melodic_Caramel1777@reddit
Taco Bell and Wendy’s were the best back then.
jasnel@reddit
Love the picture of the Taco Bell Cinnamon Crispas! They were a pain in the ass to make, but they were delicious. They were replaced by the far less labor intensive Cinnamon Twists.
McSmackthe1st@reddit
KFC. I hadn’t been there for a long time and went a couple of weeks ago. I’m eating my food and wondering if the Colonel had forgotten to bring the 7 herbs and spices to work that day because it had no flavor.
Quality_Qontrol@reddit
Carl’s Jr
Purplish_Peenk@reddit
Showed the picture to my Husband. His response? that’s like asking me which child is my favorite!
cheloniancat@reddit
Roy Rogers
Ididnotpostthat@reddit
I would make a full meal out of a single simple hamburger and that fixing bar.
changelingcd@reddit
Old school KFC was changed the most.
TheArtfulDuffer@reddit
Rax. The superior roast beef chain.
Teanutt@reddit
Yes! I loved Rax!
Manic-Finch781@reddit
"Best" would be whichever one contained less sodium
JonesinforJonesey@reddit
Kentucky fried chicken in my neighbourhood was pretty good back in the day.
dcamnc4143@reddit
Wendy's back then. It's a travesty today.
Ididnotpostthat@reddit
I think it is still good as far as taste, I just don’t like the high prices and hamburgers that are the size of a half dollar coin.
McSmackthe1st@reddit
But when you want a Baked Potato in a pinch there’s no better place, well, there’s no place else really except home.
ilovebbcitv@reddit
Licks
A_Tom_McWedgie@reddit
Nothing better than ordering a burger and having the staff do a weird white-rapper routine.
Particular_Act_5396@reddit
All of them tasted better in the 80s than they do now
emc_lmt@reddit
Arby’s was sooooo much better in the 80s. KFC too.
RiffRandellsBF@reddit
Taco Bell: Your body spent the least energy converting it to soft stool for easy evacuation.
Take from that what you will.
A_Tom_McWedgie@reddit
We called it being in “Taco Hell.”
finny_d420@reddit
One place I lived I had an Arby's and McDonald's next to each other. I would get a regular roast beef from A's and fries from McD. Then I stop at the corner store and get a NY cream soda seltzer for my drink.
Advanced_Nose_7738@reddit
Taco Bell. And their Run for the Border commercials were a favorite of mine.
LordZany@reddit
Of course it did! They use to make their own beans, fry their own taco and tostada shells, shred their own cheese (real) and lettuce!
OctopusMugs@reddit
Roy Rogers
nosmelc@reddit
BK was better than Taco Bell in the 80's. Taco Bell was better by the 90's.
syzygialchaos@reddit
Was going to say Burger King. Their pre-change fries were the best.
TBarzo@reddit
I'm not saying it's the best, but Taco Bell hit harder back in the '80s. Cinnamon Crispas anyone?
absherlock@reddit
Genos.
crackersncheeseman@reddit
All of them had the best. Fast food was just better back then.
phatsackocrap@reddit
We have Taco Casa around these parts. Allegedly one of the original owners of Taco Bell split off and created this, which has basically the original menu. It's a time capsule. Much recommended, if you can find one near you.
Commercial-Border227@reddit
I was just telling my son this a couple of weeks ago!
GloriaToo@reddit
The OG encherito with the olive was so good.
MaximumJones@reddit
They are all in collusion to raise prices and lower quality.
Pure-Accountant-5709@reddit
59, 69, 99....all the way
DaddyRhyno79@reddit
That wasn’t the 80’s. I the 80’s the regular tacos (crunchy or soft) were 39¢ and the Mexican pizza was like $2
MikeMaven@reddit
White Castle!
tfg9999@reddit
Nah
ibringstharuckus@reddit
100 % . I worked there in the 80s. Ground beef was fresh.Had to cook and season it in a big pan with a meat rake. Tacos had to be fried. Lettuce and tomato were chopped/diced in store. When they switched to freeze dried/dehydrated meet, I stopped eating there.
Ichigo2819@reddit
Used to love whoppers had one a couple months ago... meehh
FlightOpposite8455@reddit
Dairy Queen
Maximum_Locksmith_29@reddit
Roy Rogers had large grilled burgers, great thick cut fries and a fixins bar. i dont recall consistency across locations, but the good ones were awesome.
szekeres81@reddit
Yellow Wendy's was something to behold
RedJive@reddit
Definitely
Ti47_867@reddit
💯🌮🔔