Tip Top Restaurant opened in 1934 and is one of the oldest continuously operating restaurants in Sumatra. The Dutch colonial interior — ceiling fans, rattan chairs, white tablecloths — has been maintained with a certain deliberate nostalgia. The menu covers Indonesian standards alongside a few Dutch-influenced dishes, but the real draw is the ice cream parlour and bakery at the front, which turns out excellent cakes and ice cream in an era-appropriate setting.
The restaurant is on Jalan Ahmad Yani, roughly across the street from the Tjong A Fie Mansion, and makes a natural stop on any walking tour of the colonial quarter. It is popular with older Medan residents for its continued Dutch-colonial atmosphere. Prices are moderate by Indonesian standards; the ice cream is cheap and very good.