Taco Bell’s ‘Decades Menu’ Will Feature 6 Fan-Favorite Dishes From Its 62-Year History

Back in August, Taco Bell made a small subset of fans very happy — and the rest of us very sad. The chain had rolled out a nostalgia-fueled promotion, the Decades Menu, which, in true Taylor Swift fashion, featured one menu item from each “era” of the restaurant’s history. Amazing as this menu sounded, it was only available at three Taco Bell locations in Southern California, and only for a handful of days each. Now, though, the rest of the country can stop wallowing in self-pity because the Decades Menu is poised to drop nationwide. 

Starting October 31, Taco Bell’s Decades Menu will offer four items, one from each of the chain’s first four decades: a ’60s Tostada, a ’70s Green Sauce Burrito, an ’80s Meximelt, and a ’90s Gordita Supreme. 

Then, on November 21, a 21st-century classic will join the menu as well: the Caramel Apple Empanada, which first landed on menus in the mid-2000s. The menu is, according to Taco Bell, intended to not only deliver the former favorites that people might be missing, but also to “spark nostalgia for a new era of fans.”

Whether or not it’ll spark nostalgia for the young folks remains to be seen, but it certainly left everyone from millennials to boomers brimming with warm and fuzzy memories. “I’VE BEEN SCREAMING FOR CARAMEL APPLE EMPANADAS FOR YEARS,” wrote one TikTok commenter, followed by several sobbing-face emojis. “I LIVED OFF THE TOSTADAS IN THE 90s!!” wrote another. In fact, a healthy proportion of all the comments have been typed in caps lock, evidently the only way to express the proper level of enthusiasm.

A new line of merch will accompany the rollout, and it’s just as nostalgia-inducing as the food itself. Five different limited-edition hoodies, as well as five limited-edition stainless steel cups, will each feature one era of Taco Bell’s logo design, each more delightfully retro than the last. It’s fun to see what type of branding was emphasized throughout each decade. Whereas the ’70s logo is purely textual (oh, how we love a blocky font), the ’00s logo doesn’t even bother with the words — just a bell. The merch will be available to Taco Bell Rewards members as a drop in the app on October 29. 

Nostalgia-based marketing is a no-brainer for major chains since most of us first engage with brands like Taco Bell when we’re young and impressionable. By tapping into our natural tendency to fondly recall and pine for things from our childhood, Taco Bell can achieve maximum impact with minimal R&D. It will be interesting to see which of these Decades Menu items Gen Z will gravitate toward the most, since they weren’t alive to taste them the first time around.