It’s the biggest opening the Raffles City mall in downtown Shanghai has seen in months. Posters for the new restaurant line the corridors. Gigantic banners hang like mainsails from the ceiling. Outside the packed eatery, dozens of customers are perched on plastic stools, waiting hopefully for a table.

The brand generating all this buzz? The budget Italian chain Saizeriya.

Not long ago, a scene like this would have been unthinkable in China. Saizeriya — a Japanese-owned chain famous for its cheap-and-cheerful pasta dishes — has been a fixture in major Chinese cities for over 20 years. But for most of that time, it was about as far from trendy as it’s possible to be.

The company was eking out a solid, but unspectacular profit by keeping overhead costs incredibly low. Its pre-prepared Italian food is famously mediocre. Most of its 300 or so mainland outlets are hidden away on the upper floors of half-empty malls, where the rent is dirt cheap. Its muzak playlist feels like it hasn’t been updated for a decade.

But in post-pandemic China, Saizeriya is suddenly all the rage. Business at its mainland outlets has skyrocketed: In the second quarter of 2024, net sales were up over 35% year-over-year in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, where the vast majority of Saizeriya’s restaurants in China are located.

The company is opening new restaurants in fancier locations, such as the aforementioned Raffles City, a swanky mall near Shanghai’s Zhongshan Park. Perhaps most surprisingly, it’s even becoming a darling of Gen Zs on the Chinese lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, who like to pretend their local Saizeriya is a Parisian bistro.

The chain is benefiting from — and, increasingly, coming to symbolize — the change in mindset that has taken hold among Chinese consumers in the wake of COVID-19. With the economy looking shaky, many are cutting back on spending by switching to cheaper brands — a trend known in China as “consumption downgrading.”

“People are finding saving money cool again,” said Jiang Yaling, founder of Following the Yuan, a newsletter about Chinese consumption trends. “It’s very, very different from the ‘consumption upgrade’ era, when people maybe bought things they couldn’t really afford because they felt so confident about the future.”

“Poor ghosts”

Saizeriya’s low-cost model is paying off in this new environment. The company’s strategy of cutting expenses by finding cheap locations and preparing dishes in centralized kitchens has allowed it to keep prices incredibly low. 

A hunk of garlic bread is just 5 RMB (0.70 USD); a risotto around 12 RMB. The house wine is 9 RMB per glass. For young Chinese living on a tight budget, the sense of value is almost unbelievable.

“It’s so f****** cheap,” said Luo Yahan, a 27-year-old who works in the media in Shanghai. “The food isn’t the best, but considering the price it’s totally worth it.”

The sheer cheapness of Saizeriya has turned the brand into a social media phenomenon in recent months. One popular trend is the “Saizeriya challenge,” in which influencers share photos of themselves sitting in front of massive spreads of food. The twist: the entire meal costs only 100 RMB.

Others are turning their local Saizeriyas into wine bars. Young Chinese have been getting drunk at Saizeriya in such numbers in recent months, that the trend has inspired a wave of media attention. It helps that the restaurants have some of the trappings of a bistro: the servers, for example, will open the bottle at your table. But the drinks, of course, are less than one-quarter of the price.

Saizeriya has done little to create this buzz, according to Jiang. The trends appear to be emerging spontaneously, as influencers find creative ways to tap into the growing vogue for saving money.

“It’s like a grassroots effort,” said Jiang. “People are creating novelty for themselves.”

As China’s food and beverage sector adapts to the consumption downgrade era, Saizeriya is also becoming a reference point for other brands. 

“Mini-hotpot” restaurants — where consumers can eat an individual bowl of hotpot for less than 40 RMB — have been labeled the “Saizeriya of hotpot.” Cheap barbecue joints are referred to as “Saizeriya BBQ.”

The question is whether these new dining trends will take a bite out of Saizeriya’s own profits. Even mid-range restaurant chains are now offering special deals targeting “poor ghosts” (穷鬼, qióng guǐ) — a slang term referring to people on low incomes. 

But Jiang believes that Saizeriya is built on solid foundations. Unlike these newer chains, Saizeriya has barely changed its offerings over the past 20 years. At a time of such uncertainty, the company’s stability is actually becoming a strength, she said.

“I think Chinese consumers are a bit tired of how there are always new brands emerging, which are aggressively fighting for their eyeballs, likes, and wallets” said Jiang. “They actually like having some consistency in their lives. There’s a sense of comfort.”

Banner image by Haedi Yue.