UK’s oldest Indian restaurant calls on king to save it

LONDON: Around 20,000 people have signed a petition addressed to King Charles III calling on him to prevent the closure of legendary Indian restaurant Veeraswamy in London. The Michelin-starred restaurant, which opened in 1926, is the oldest Indian restaurant in the UK. But its landlord, the Crown Estate, refused to renew its lease last year, saying it needs to refurbish Victory House, the building it is located in in.

Victory House is in poor condition and in urgent need of renovation following a flood in 2023. The Crown Estate has received planning permission for refurbishment, which includes a major upgrade to offices and expanding the entrance. This involves removing the entrance to Veeraswamy.

Co-owners of the restaurant, which turns 100 in March, Ranjit Mathrani and Namita Panjabi, have commenced legal proceedings against the Crown Estate. Mathrani said: “If we are unable to reach an agreement, the matter will be resolved in the courts at about the end of June 2026.”

The couple, who took over the restaurant in 1996, started the petition which asks the King to intercede with the Crown Commissioners and asks the Crown Commissioners to renew the lease to “protect a historic institution”.

Veeraswamy’s founder, Edward Palmer, was the great-grandson of General William Palmer, private secretary to Warren Hastings, first governor-general of Bengal, and his wife, North Indian Mughal princess Bibi Faiz Bakhsh. Over the years, its patrons have included Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Winston Churchill. Celebrity chefs Raymond Blanc and Michel Roux are backing calls to save it.


A spokesperson for the Crown Estate said: “We need to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of Victory House to both bring it up to modern standards, and into full use. We understand how disappointing this is for MW Eat and have offered help to find new premises on our portfolio as well as financial compensation. The Crown Estate has a statutory responsibility to manage its property to create long-term value for the UK and return its profit to the UK govt for public spending.”