In July Browns opens its 27th bar and brasserie in Liverpool – 40 years on from the launch of the brand in Brighton.

The current Duke Street restaurant was opened back in 1973 by Jeremy Mogford – an occasion which was marked last month with a big birthday party at the inaugural location, complete with a giant birthday cake supplied by Choccywoccydoodah.

Current staff donned fancy dress to recreate the Victorian-themed Christmas cards Browns used to send to customers and suppliers in those early years (pictured right).

According to marketing manager Paul Hulyer, the venue remains an institution for the brand, as well as something of a unique location as it is the only Browns to have a separate restaurant and bar connected solely by the kitchen.

“It may not be the biggest or most visible but it is the place that has a special place within the brand,” says Hulyer, who started working for Browns 22 years ago as a waiter, before moving on to open its Bristol branch and eventually look after the brand nationally.

“People often don’t connect the bar and the restaurant [which is separated by Heals]. The bar was added after Browns opened its second venue in Oxford, which had a vibrant bar. The opportunity came up to take over the property where the bar is – we wouldn’t necessarily choose to do that again!”

Mogford sold the brand to Bass on January 1, 1998, which was later taken over by Mitchells And Butlers.

“Mitchells And Butlers have more financial clout so they can acquire great new sites for Browns,” says Hulyer, who was running the Bristol venue at the time of the sale.

Key locations

“Before we were opening a new business every five or six years on average – with Jeremy looking for the right buildings in different places. He wouldn’t compromise on locations.”

The original Browns had a colonial brasserie feel – which Hulyer compares to Raffles in Singapore.

The style and look has evolved over the years into a grand European brasserie, the sort which might be found in Paris or Brussels.

“We brought in features which were retro-fitted in Brighton,” he says. “Recently more colour has been added. We need to move with the times, while trying to be classic, stylish and timeless.”

Similarly, the Browns menu has changed and grown over the years – something which is documented in a new book set for release next month.

“Some dishes, such as steak, mushroom and Guinness pie and Caesar salad were unique and new when they were first introduced,” says Hulyer.

“Now they are established parts of menus across the country.

“Back in the 1970s, putting a burger on a restaurant menu was innovative and different too.

“There is a picture of a blackboard in Brighton from the 1970s which says the special was coq au vin with green salad – for just 75p!”

To give customers a taste of that time, Browns branches across the country (except Mayfair) are offering a 1970s menu until December – with Friends Of Browns getting two courses for two people for just £19.73.

On the menu are starters including the classic Caesar salad, king prawn cocktail and roasted goat’s cheese, while main courses feature crab and king prawn linguine, Cumberland sausage and mash, fillet of sea bass and grilled breast of chicken.

Among the retro puddings are salted caramel cheesecake with caramel and lime sauce, Crème Brûlée, and sticky toffee pudding.

The forthcoming book will feature recipes for Browns’s dishes and cocktails from the last 40 years, as well as memories of news and culture from each decade.

It is set to be launched at the restaurant’s St Martin’s Lane branch in London on Wednesday, July 24, with live music from Beverley Knight.

Knight was just one of the celebrities who celebrated their 40th birthday at branches of Browns across the country. She marked her milestone in Birmingham, while Hove’s own Peter Andre threw a party at the St Martin’s Lane branch and Ben Fogle is set to celebrate later in the year.

“Once the book is launched it is something all of us will be extremely proud of,” says Hulyer, revealing Browns are planning to run special events in their Edinburgh branch to link in with the city’s literature festival in August.

“We are hoping it is something that will live on for many years.

“Not many restaurants have been around for this long.

“I always describe working for Browns as like a marriage – I started as a waiter to pay off my student debts and never left because I fell in love with it.

“There’s something about Browns – people go back to it as it is reassuring and trustworthy. If we ever let people down they always ask us to fix it, because they want to come back.

“People have been coming for years and want to keep coming back.”