Many will remember these dishes and prices
The Berni Inn’s River Room in Liverpool. May 3, 1990(Image: Mirrorpix)
Old menu items and prices from a lost Liverpool restaurant will remind former customers of how life used to be. Decades ago, many from across Merseyside and beyond will remember heading to their local Bern Inn, which was often a “proper treat” for kids in the region.
A chain of British steakhouses, which introduced post-war Britain to the likes of steak and chips , prawn cocktails and Black Forest gateau, Berni Inn was the brainchild of brothers Aldo and Frank Berni. Inspired by a chain of restaurants they had seen in America, in 1955 Aldo and Frank Berni opened the first Berni Steakhouse, Rummers, in Bristol, alongside business partner Paul Rosse.
At a time when eating out was becoming more fashionable and popular, Berni Inns started to appear in many towns and cities across the country. In Merseyside itself, many will remember the likes of the Berni Steak Bar in Sefton House, The Albany on Old Hall Street and the Mersey Tavern on Lord Street.
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Berni Inns in Southport included the Fox & Goose on Cable Street and Thorps Tavern on Nevill Street and there was also the Queens Royal in New Brighton. And you may also remember the River Inn on St George’s Road, on Liverpool’s Pier Head.
The Liverpool ECHO previously shared amazing photos of life at this particular restaurant, from when it was refurbished in 1988 to how it looked in the early 1990s. But we have recently found a 35-year-old review of the site – which offers a glimpse into its menu items and prices at the time.
The refurbished River Inn at Liverpool’s Pier Head. February 9, 1988(Image: Mirrorpix)
The taste test, from a Liverpool Daily Post reporter, was published on May 5, 1990 and is bound to stir some memories. They wrote: “The restaurant closest to the lapping water and with a view which might encompass the Priory but for the cranes and monuments of industry, is the River Inn, a Berni establishment.
“It stands hard by the stage where the gods and goddesses of pop music will tonight sing in memory of John Lennon and seems a fitting venue for today’s Taste Test. Despite the restaurant’s hideous exterior – it could easily be mistaken for a council-designed 1960s public lavatory – the River Inn proved a wise choice.” On recommendation, the reporter and a guest ordered the Ardennes Pâté, served with toast and a crisp salad garnish.
They also ordered the Zorba’s Choice – two Greek savoury dips, which came with pitta bread and crunchy vegetables, as well as an eight-ounce prime sirloin steak with the usual trimmings, a roast duck with orange sauce and chips and a bottle of Côtes du Rhône wine. The pâté cost £1.65, the Zorba’s Choice was £1.45, the 8oz fillet was £10.85, the roast duck was £9.60 and the bottle of wine was £7.60.
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In total, the entire meal and drinks was £31.55. The writer previously said: “We agreed that the helpings had been generous, the quality high and the service swift.
“Some may scorn Berni Inns. Their attitude, however, reflects mainly snobbery.”
The overall verdict was the surroundings had a fine view, but it was a “pity about the building”. The review rated the food as very good, service as excellent and overall it was an “enjoyable night”.
The refurbished River Inn at Liverpool’s Pier Head. February 9, 1988(Image: Mirrorpix)
The ECHO also previously shared a 1970s Berni Inn menu from their Chester branch, The Criterion, which showed customers could get a soup of the day for 55p, prime rump steak for £6.25, and fillet of plaice for £2.99. On the dessert section, lemon and sultana cheesecake cost 75p and the Berni Meringue Fountain was 90p. We can assume these prices and menu items were similar for other branches, including those in Merseyside.
Many will remember visiting a number of the Merseyside Berni Inns to celebrate a special occasion or enjoy some of their staple menu items. But over the decades, the Berni Inns became a chapter of the past.
The brothers sold the chain to Grand Metropolitan for £14.5 million in 1970. By the mid 1990s, the chain was sold to Whitbread who later converted the outlets into their own Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants.
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As for Liverpool, its Pier Head chain later became home to another the Shanghai Palace Chinese restaurant, until that was bulldozed in 2007 as part of the multi-million pound redevelopment of the Pier Head. It is now home to Matou.
n 2010, Jane Haase visited the new Liverpool restaurant Matou and said how her first experience of a “proper” restaurant was the Berni Inn steakhouse at the Pier Head for a family birthday celebration.
Jane said: “It was the early 80s and prawn cocktail, scampi and chips and Black Forest gateau were on the menu. We all had big hair, even bigger shoulder pads and eye make-up that would have given Charlie Cairoli a run for his money.
Inside the Pier Head’s Berni Inn in 1988(Image: Mirrorpix)
Despite its prime location, the building itself was something of an eyesore with its ugly 1960s design and Yellow Brick Road style façade.” A number of ECHO readers have previously shared their memories of Berni Inn in Liverpool. Diane Unsworth said: “Bernie Inn on the river, we use to get taken there when we were kids x”.
Tracey Moylan said: “Berni Inn at the Pier Head. Loved going there with my dad and brother as kids.” Roy Lindo said: “Can’t beat a good old Berni inn – great steak and fab coffee.”
And Christine Hollywood said: “Was a proper treat to go the Berni Inn for something to eat back in the day.”