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With the declining teashop era after the
Second World War, Lyons experimented with
a number of catering changes. One of the
more successful of these was the
introduction of the London Steak Houses.
These developed from the Grill &
Cheese restaurants which had been
introduced into the Corner Houses a few
years earlier. Conceived by the Catering
Division management, the Steak House
initiative did not initially have the full
financial support of the Lyons board.
Consequently the first restaurant was
prepared using in-house resources and
standard catering equipment. Because of
the strict licensing laws in the UK at
that time, a Lovibond Off Licence was
acquired in Baker Street, in preference to
one of the teashops, because the premises
had already a liquor licence and the
authorities were unlikely to refuse one
for a licensed restaurant. The new
restaurant opened in 1961 and was an
immediate success.
The Baker
Street restaurant traded at such a high
levels that by the time the Annual Report
and Statement of Accounts were issued the
board had certainly embraced the idea of
Steak Houses. Brian Salmon's statement
said: 'We have already announced our plans
to extend to other areas the form of
catering which has been successful in the
West End of London, and a beginning has
been made during the year under review
with the opening of the London Steak House
in Baker Street, and a modified Corner
House in Notting Hill Gate. As a result of
our experience, we plan to open
twenty-five or more Steak Houses in
locations within a fifty mile radius of
London. .........It is our intention that
the Steak Houses should be fully licensed
but unfortunately it is still difficult to
obtain a licence, even one restricted to
serving liquor with meals.' A year later
(1962) a new company, London Steak Houses
Ltd, was created to operate these
restaurants and Harold Young and Peter
Byford became directors.
The
original Baker Street Steak House had
seating for 100 people and the conversion
costs had worked out at £190 per
person. By now, however, the inevitable
'Lyons Committee' came into play and with
each new restaurant opened the cost of
decoration and fitting soared. Some of the
central restaurants, particularly those in
the West-End shopping centres, failed to
attract a sufficient level of evening
customers and in one case turned itself
into a 'bistrotheque' with music, dancing
and dim lights to attach a younger
clientele.
Parking in
central London at this time started to
become more difficult and so restaurants
opened in the outer residential areas and
in the leafy suburbs of Wimbledon,
Kingston, Tunbridge Wells and Dulwich. At
their peak Lyons were operating 43 Steak
Houses in London and the Home Counties.
Unlike the teashops, Steak Houses were all
designed on an individual basis with
particular treatment to the outside
appearance. Some were created in old or
listed buildings and had bags of
character. It was a pleasurable experience
to visit any of the Steak Houses. The food
remained pretty much standard with steaks
being the preferred dish.
Other than
they made money, the profitability of the
Steak Houses is not known. Like all of the
subsidiary companies of Lyons they did not
disclose their profit/loss
information.
Several
London Steak House restaurants had
previously been Lyons teashops. After
having being run as Steak Houses some were
later turned into more fashionable fish
restaurants under the names of Fisherman's
Wharf and Hook Line & Sinker. Some
also became Lyons Grills'. The Steak House
at Northwood, Hillingdon, opened as an
Italian restaurant in April 1977 named, Il
Mondo Cane (it's a Dog's World).
©
Peter
Bird 2002
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