Camellia Panjabi fights to save Veeraswamy, Britain’s oldest Indian restaurant

“We showed the British however to devour Indian food,” says Camellia Panjabi.

Group manager of Veeraswamy’s genitor institution MW Eat, which besides runs different fine-dining Indian restaurants successful London specified arsenic Chutney Mary and Amaya, Camellia is warring to support the doors of her 99-year-old edifice open. Veeraswamy is nether imminent menace of closure arsenic its lease remains unrenewed by its landlord, The Crown Estate. 

Camellia asserts, “The Crown Estate (reporting to the Treasury of the British Government) has terminated the lease of Veeraswamy. And isolated from petition and nationalist outcry, we person initiated ineligible action, arguing that the edifice has a protected tenancy and that the redevelopment plans are precise flimsy. A tribunal proceeding is expected betwixt March and June 2026, with the edifice remaining unfastened until then.” 

A spokesperson connected behalf of The Crown Estate says, “We request to transportation retired a broad refurbishment of Victory House to some bring it up to modern standards, and into afloat use. We recognize however disappointing this is for MW Eat and person offered assistance to find caller premises connected our portfolio truthful that the edifice tin enactment successful the West End arsenic good arsenic fiscal compensation.” He adds, “The Crown Estate has a statutory work to negociate its onshore and spot to make agelong word worth for the UK and instrumentality its nett to the UK Government for nationalist spending.”

Camellia counters that it is “common” successful England for buildings to beryllium renovated by preserving the crushed level tenants portion doing so. “The 2 entrances of the edifice and the gathering are separate,” she says. “Veeraswamy was established and tally by British owners for the archetypal 40 years. It is simply a awesome of large Indo-British practice successful jointly creating a gathering spot for 2 cultures.” The restaurateur has raised an online petition to Buckingham Palace arsenic well.

The ineligible conflict aside, Camellia is unhappy with the deficiency of enactment from Indian counterparts. “Apart from the media penning astir the imminent closure of the restaurant, determination has been small enactment from India... Over 20,000 radical person signed the petition to the landlord and to King Charles to prevention Veeraswamy but a bulk of the signees are British.”

Memories astatine Veeraswamy

To Camilla, Veeraswamy “is not conscionable a marque name, a menu, and unit that if you determination it you tin recreate it”. “There are scores of radical who travel to dine due to the fact that their parents and grandparents walked the aforesaid steps and sat successful the aforesaid spot successful the restaurant, and they came arsenic children. And their parents got engaged oregon had their archetypal date.”

UK-based Subha Balakrishnan, laminitis of beverage marque Bodha Drinks, moved to the UK successful 2003 arsenic a student. She recalls visiting Veeraswamy for the archetypal clip to observe her graduation. “It is not an mundane restaurant; it is an aspirational 1 wherever you spell to observe thing special. I went determination for my 40th birthday, anniversaries, and it holds truthful galore memories. This is not conscionable for maine but for truthful galore others and it is bittersweet to spot it combat for its existence.”

Subha adds that its determination connected Regent Street, 1 of London’s oldest neighbourhoods is significant: “To person a good eating Indian edifice successful the bosom of London is simply a substance of pride.”

Iqbal Wahhab OBE, laminitis of The Cinnamon Club and Roast, has been eating astatine Veeraswamy for decades. “Nearly 30 oregon 40 years ago, determination were aged English men who would dine solo to punctual themselves of their clip serving successful India. You could often perceive them code waiters arsenic ‘bearer’! The edifice has been done assorted owners, not each of whom gave it the attraction and emotion it deserved but erstwhile Namita Panjabi and Ranit Mathrani took it over, they gave it a caller glow,” says Iqbal, who was besides exertion of commercialized journal Tandoori Magazine.

He adds that edifice attracted the large and the good: Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Charlie Chaplain, among others. “Veeraswamy whitethorn not get talked astir arsenic overmuch these days arsenic much edgy Indian restaurants similar Gymkhana oregon Dishoom are astir but it has an unrivalled spot successful the past of London eating and the improvement of Indian nutrient successful Britain.”

UK-based Chef Radhika Howarth explains however Veeraswamy introduced flavours, formats and rituals of eating that were unfamiliar to London erstwhile it opened successful the 1920s. She adds, “It did much than thatch London diners what to eat; it besides taught them however to attack Indian nutrient with curiosity, respect and openness. They understood that Indian nutrient overseas doesn’t request to beryllium diluted to beryllium accessible, and ne'er felt the request to apologise for complexity oregon depth. That’s a acquisition galore restaurants inactive conflict with.”

Recalling her past repast astatine Veeraswamy featuring raj kachori, greenish masala prawns, and Kerala prawn curry, Radhika says the edifice is simply a surviving archive of Britain’s narration with Indian food. She adds, “It represents 1 of the earliest moments erstwhile Indian cuisine entered the British eating country not arsenic novelty, but arsenic thing to beryllium respected, celebrated and savoured. If a spot similar this closes, we don’t conscionable suffer tables and menus; we suffer stories, continuity, and a carnal transportation to the past. In a metropolis similar London, which prides itself connected being planetary and layered, that nonaccomplishment feels peculiarly profound.”