Now, if you are of a certain age, the Golden Egg, along with Wimpey, Berni Inns and the Little Chef are what formed a meal out.
And for those who wanted something even quicker, there were the Lyons Tea Rooms.
So for all those who remember these culinary delights and all those who don’t, here is a piece of pure indulgence.
It comes from Andy Robertson who commented, “Do you remember Golden Egg restaurants of the 1960s?
I was having a bit of a clear-out and found this which I must have ‘acquired’ about 1967/8.
I can't imagine how I got it, and it is one of the naughtier moments in my history.
It is made of a sort of hardboard and almost two foot across...took a lot of smuggling out!”
And not only is it a bit of nostalgia for our collective youth but a real insight in to what was regarded as the best to eat.
I had quite forgotten Alaskan Delight “Ice Cream Topped With Hot Chocolate Sauce or Maple Syrup”, Snowball “Meringue With Ice Cream and Topped With Fresh Cream”. Or that the Pasta dishes on offer consisted of “Macaroni au Gratin or Ravioli au Gratin”
And the food ranged in price from 8 shillings and 9 pence for Sirloin Steak down to 3/6 for Egg and Bacon, Cheddar Cheese and Biscuits at 1/6, with Bread and Butter at just 9d.
The restaurants will I guess have been franchised and like Wimpy were quickly copied.
I remember the Golden Grill in Woolwich along with the Eltham Grill and a vast collection of similar outlets in Manchester City Centre.
There will be those who disparage the chain and their imitators but back then they offered good quality food at a decent price, and that did for me.
What I didn’t know was that when they began in the early 1960s each one was very different, with some having an Italian theme, others Spanish and some even Hollywood.
Added to which the earliest used handmade ceramics and modern materials such as coloured plastics and fibre-glass.*
Only later did they take on the same corporate image by which time a little of the idiosyncratic style had gone, like the eight foot high head of a chicken in the Edgware Road 'Golden Egg'.
Of course a few years later I discovered the Ceylon Tea Centre, and The Plaza and a whole range of eating places but those are stories for another time.
Location, the 1960s.
Pictures; Golden Egg Menu, circa 1967/8 from the collection of Andy Robertson and the Golden Grill, Woolwich, 1979, from the collection of Andrew Simpson
 |
| The menu, 1967/8 |
So for all those who remember these culinary delights and all those who don’t, here is a piece of pure indulgence.
It comes from Andy Robertson who commented, “Do you remember Golden Egg restaurants of the 1960s?
I was having a bit of a clear-out and found this which I must have ‘acquired’ about 1967/8.
 |
| The exotic on offer at 5/-, 1967/8 |
I can't imagine how I got it, and it is one of the naughtier moments in my history.
It is made of a sort of hardboard and almost two foot across...took a lot of smuggling out!”
And not only is it a bit of nostalgia for our collective youth but a real insight in to what was regarded as the best to eat.
I had quite forgotten Alaskan Delight “Ice Cream Topped With Hot Chocolate Sauce or Maple Syrup”, Snowball “Meringue With Ice Cream and Topped With Fresh Cream”. Or that the Pasta dishes on offer consisted of “Macaroni au Gratin or Ravioli au Gratin”
 |
| The Golden Grill ...... an imitator, Woolwich, 1979 |
The restaurants will I guess have been franchised and like Wimpy were quickly copied.
I remember the Golden Grill in Woolwich along with the Eltham Grill and a vast collection of similar outlets in Manchester City Centre.
What I didn’t know was that when they began in the early 1960s each one was very different, with some having an Italian theme, others Spanish and some even Hollywood.
Added to which the earliest used handmade ceramics and modern materials such as coloured plastics and fibre-glass.*
Only later did they take on the same corporate image by which time a little of the idiosyncratic style had gone, like the eight foot high head of a chicken in the Edgware Road 'Golden Egg'.
Location, the 1960s.
Pictures; Golden Egg Menu, circa 1967/8 from the collection of Andy Robertson and the Golden Grill, Woolwich, 1979, from the collection of Andrew Simpson
*Designing Britain 1945-1975 Matthew Partington, https://vads.ac.uk/learning/designingbritain/html/goldenegg.html
Did there used to be an Egg and I in Albert Square ?
ReplyDeleteThere is - or was, pre-Pandemic - still a Wimpy Bar in Streatham!
ReplyDeleteGosh .... Wimpy Bars of the World sally forth again!
DeleteThere’s one in Hornchurch.
DeleteHow can I find out about people who worked in the Golden egg in the 1970s in brixton... any ideas welcome
ReplyDeletePerhaps an appeal on social media l doubt there will be any records easily available.
DeleteI worked at the Manchester Piccadilly branch in the 70’s, I loved working there. I remember the pancakes with maple syrup and eggs on them.
ReplyDeleteI worked in piccadilly golden egg in the 70,s the pancakes with cherry and maple syrup were my favourites
DeleteWhere was it located in Picadilly?
DeleteWas there a golden egg at Upton Park?
ReplyDeleteIm also interested in this answer
ReplyDeleteOoooh the banana splits at the Golden Egg! Mmmmmmmm
ReplyDeleteWhat about all those Golden Egg outlets @ Butlins Holiday cames too I can't remember but all those in the south had them ! O happy holis !
ReplyDeleteI've just found your blog while researching details of the 1996 IRA bomb in Manchester and this post brought back a few memories for me.
ReplyDeleteIn the summer of 1976 I worked for a short while as a waitress at the Golden Egg on Deansgate in Bolton - the manager was a horrible little man called Mr Paz and he was on your case all the time. In quiet periods we had to sit at a table at the back and fold serviettes in a particular way. I hated that job and the manager and I only lasted about a month before I quit. The best thing about it was the divine cherry pie filling they used in the pancakes, every time I went behind the counter I would sneak a spoonful out of the big container :-)
The joys of casual jobs ... had more than my fair share
DeleteI remember the golden egg in Goodge Street.. loved eating there
ReplyDeleteWimpey are or were a construction company, Wimpy are/were a restaurant chain.
ReplyDeleteOpps
DeleteWas spoilt at the Golden Egg Woolwich on my birthday back in the 70’s
ReplyDeleteWith an LP of Slik and free apple pie with the letter J done in cream from the Manager/Owner
I worked at the Golden Egg Stratford upon Avon good memories great food.
ReplyDeleteFamous peach Melba and baked Alasca
My Mum worked there! Do you remember Phil/Philippa?
DeleteI worked at the Golden egg in Blackpool as a chef, and then went as a relief chef around the country while the managers went on holiday. Altrincham and Stafford to name a couple.
ReplyDeleteI remember The Golden Egg in Reading, a Saturday treat when shopping with Mum and Dad 😁
ReplyDeleteWorked as a waiter and cook at the Wolverhampton Golden Egg in the 70's. Very busy on footie nights when Wolves played at home. Then out for a Spanish coffee after work across the road at the Berni's.
ReplyDeleteWe always went to the one that was just up from Whitehall and the one at Ilford.
ReplyDeleteI used to visit the one in Chiswick High Road and, once, one near Luton. Lovely decor, lots of colour.
ReplyDelete