Inside LA's Immersive Golden Girls-Themed Restaurant

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — A nostalgic "Golden Girls" themed pop-up restaurant opens in Beverly Hills Saturday, and it's full of Instagrammable moments, great food and throwback tunes.

The temporary Beverly Hills restaurant is designed to look like the 1980s set from NBC's sitcom "Golden Girls," with exact recreations of the girls' iconic kitchen, a replica of Blanche's bedroom and a Shady Pines bar.

The pop-up, located at 369 N. Bedford Drive, opens to diners Saturday with a "Golden Girls" themed menu including: Sophia's Famous Lasagna; Blanche's Georgia Style Cookies; The Dorothy: A Miami Style Sandwich; and of course, cheesecake.

The experience is designed to engender nostalgia, said Derik Berry, Creative Director for Bucket Listers. Berry was behind a number of other pop-up experiences for fan favorites like "Good Burger" and "Saved by the Bell."

With themed menu items, a curated playlist and carefully designed setting, Berry tried to make a comprehensive and fully immersive experience.

"I always like these pop-ups just to be really nostalgic. I like people to come in here and be blasted back to when they were watching [Golden Girls]," Berry said.

Tickets vary in price based on availability; a 90-minute table is $39 per person during off-peak hours, $49 during normal hours, $55 during peak hours and $79 for select drag brunches. Drag brunches will be held on Oct. 16 and Oct. 23. Tickets are available online and come with a choice entree and a slice of cheesecake.

Bucket Listers brought on chef Royce Burke to create the pop-ups' menu. Berry wanted the food to be as memorable as the Instagrammable moments, and he thinks Burke accomplished just that.

"I want people to leave saying, 'wow, that food was great, it wasn't secondary to the experience,'" Berry said.

Leading up to opening day, the response to the pop-up has been incredible, according to Bucket Listers Founder and CEO Andy Lederman. Out of Bucket Listers' hundreds of events in 11 different cities, they've never seen anything book up as fast as the "Golden Girls" pop-up.

"We knew we were onto something, but once we announced we just had no idea how excited people would be. We've heard from all sorts of people that the show meant so much to them. It was very ahead of its time, and people said the show made them feel seen for the first time. I had no idea the impact the show had, it's been so amazing," Lederman said. "I feel like it's just spreading happiness."

The LA location has seen so much early success that Bucket Listers decided to open up similar spots in New York, Miami and San Francisco.

The pop-up has been in the works for years but was stalled due to COVID-19, Berry said. In the future, Berry some dream pop-up projects for Berry include "Back to the Future," "Mean Girls," and the "Simpsons."