Berni Inn

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Berni Inn were one of a range of British restaurants.

Aldo Berni founded the first one in 1955 in The Rummer public house in Bristol. It introduced the post-war British public to the joys of prawn cocktail, steak chips and peas, and Black Forest Gateau.

The chain quickly expanded, first throughout Bristol and then the rest of the country. Unlike other restaurants, they didn’t do their own butchery but bought in steaks already chopped. It was taken over by GrandMet in 1970 and later sold to Whitbread.

British tastes have moved on, and Aldo Berni died in 1997 at the age of 88. The chain is now defunct and many former Berni Inns have since been converted to other brands owned by Whitbread such as Beefeater or Brewers Fayre.

[edit] References in Popular Culture

• Referenced in British Sci-Fi Sitcom Red Dwarf "Loneliness weighs heavily on us all. Personally, the only thing that keeps me going is the thought that we are over 60 billion miles away from the nearest Berni Inn."
• In Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge whilst interviewing a French chef Alan Partridge had asked him "Now, you are known as the top chef in your field. You've only got one restaurant. Berni Inn has thousands. Jealous?"
• In Life on Mars Series 1 episode 7, when Sam takes DCI Hunt to Rusholme for a curry, he says "When I said different, I meant maybe a Berni Inn."