I remember a time when the Berni Inn was the place to celebrate.

The restaurant chain was founded by two Italian brothers who hailed from Emilia-Romagna, a region of Italy famous for its food. I’ve been to great restaurants in the region, in cities like Bologna, Parma, Modena and Ferrara. But a part of me is always craving food like it used to be at the Berni. After emigrating to Wales, the Berni brothers started their business with £300 inherited from their mum. A decade later, their restaurants were turning over £1 million a year in profit.

Joining them was a managing director who negotiated with them in Italian. He‘d learnt the language interrogating fascists during the Second World War. Chairman Paul Rosse was reputed to have spent his youth writing poetry in Russian. But by the mid 60s they were all poring over maps in the boardroom together, identifying Berni-free zones where they could make even more money. They pioneered the use of logos, penned slogans about good times.

The first Oxfordshire Berni was the Catherine Wheel in Henley, followed by the Evenlode in Eynsham. The Mitre on Oxford High Street opened its doors in 1968. Looking back at a mouth-watering 1980s menu it’s easy to forget how exotic dishes like taramasalta once were. In 1984 a dish of it would have set you back 95p. For 33p you could start with a fruit juice. What a civilised idea.

Berni Inns were most famous for their steaks of course. Top of the range was the 8oz fillet, which the 1984 menu describes “a melt in the mouth steak of the highest quality, oozing with its own juices”. It cost £7.20 – about £22 in today’s money. To wash it down, you could have a cup of coffee served in a wine glass, with some cream floating on top. How did anyone ever come up with that idea?

Other exotic dishes I remember are Chicken Cordon Bleu, Chicken Kiev and Duck A L’Orange. And for special occasions you could order a side dish of mushrooms for 50p. It is notably the only thing on the 1980s menu suitable for vegetarians.

The last Berni Inn closed its doors in 1995 but it does have a noble successor in the Beefeater. How does the 2015 menu compare? All the favourites are still there, the prawn cocktail, pate, soup and steak. The best steak does indeed cost £22 in today’s money. There are vegetarian options galore. And today’s menu also follows the current, inexplicable fad for pulled pork.

Failing this, of course, there’s always the Harvester in Wheatley, where local music legends Supergrass famously formed.

Next time you spot the plaque in their honour which graces the wall of the Jericho Tavern, take note. Exactly 50 years ago, this venue also became a Berni Inn.