Can King Charles save Veeraswamy, UK’s oldest Indian restaurant?

The United Kingdom’s oldest Indian restaurant is hoping to survive. Veeraswamy, which is set to celebrate its 100th anniversary next month, is facing closure.

Campaigners are now calling on King Charles to save the Michelin-starred restaurant. The Crown Estate, an independent property company, has refused to renew Veeraswamy’s lease.

Let’s take a closer look.

What’s the case?

Veeraswamy, founded in March 1926, operates from Victory House on Regent Street. It is one of the oldest rent-paying tenants on one of London‘s most iconic roads.

The only businesses older than the restaurant are Hamleys, opened in 1881, and Cafe Royal, opened in 1865.

The Crown Estate, which owns Victory House, has told the owners of Veeraswamy that it cannot expand the restaurant's lease, which is set to expire in June this year.

It argues that the building needs refurbishment, which they claim is not possible with the restaurant in place.

The Crown Estate says this is necessary to bring the building up to modern standards and into fuller commercial use.

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Westminster City Council has given a nod to Crown Estate plans to modify Victory House’s ground floor. This is part of a wider refurbishment effort to create office spaces on the upper floors, as per The Standard. They want to convert the restaurant space into offices, which will cut off access to the restaurant and force its closure.

Petitioners appeal to King Charles

Campaigners have delivered a petition to Buckingham Palace and the Crown Estate with more than 20,000 signatures, to stop the closure of the Indian restaurant.

The petition called on the British monarch to “protect a historic institution” and save a “symbol of Indo-British cultural connections”.

Protesters rallied outside Buckingham Palace, carrying placards that read “Keep calm and curry on”, “King Charles we are good tenants” and “Veeraswamy customers are heartbroken”.

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“If you believe in preserving culinary heritage, if you care about London’s cultural soul, or if you’ve ever experienced the magic of a meal at Veeraswamy — please stop this closure,” Ranjit Mathrani, joint owner of Veeraswamy, was quoted as saying by The Sun. 

“The world’s oldest Indian restaurant, is being pushed out of its home after nearly 100 years by its landlord, The Crown Estate. Unfortunately the Crown Estate which owns the building have kept on shifting the reasons for evicting the restaurant.

“They have not been open and have refused to have serious discussions.  We have taken legal steps to protect Veeraswamy’s location, but the outcome won’t be known until July 2026 and the risk of closure is very real.

“That’s why we’re calling on Your Majesty King Charles III to intercede with The Crown Estate and The Crown Estate to reconsider this short-sighted decision and protect a historic institution that has stood through war, migration and monarchy," Mathrani, 81, said.

“We urge them to recognise the value of Veeraswamy as a living piece of shared cultural history – and to allow this historic institution to continue its story at the very place it began," he added.

The Crown Estate has defended the move to remove the restaurant from its current premises, saying it is “not a decision we’ve taken lightly”.

A spokesperson for The Crown Estate told The Standard: “We need to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of Victory House to both bring it up to modern standards, and into full use.”

The spokesperson said Veeraswamy was offered help to find new West End premises, along with financial compensation.

They added: “The Crown Estate has a statutory responsibility to manage its land and property to create long term value for the UK and return its profit to the UK Government for public spending.

“With external advice, we have reviewed alternative proposals including those put forward by MW Eat, and unfortunately there isn’t an alternate scheme which meets our responsibilities as stewards of this heritage listed building, our legal obligations and our responsibilities to manage public money.”

Celebrity chefs including Raymond Blanc, Michel Roux and Richard Corrigan are among those calling on the Crown Estate to engage in “meaningful dialogue” and “act responsibly” to save the restaurant.

In an open letter to The Times, the chefs wrote: “As the Crown knows, heritage cannot be relocated, nor can history be replaced.

“Keeping Veeraswamy alive is an act of responsibility by the Crown worthy of London’s reputation as one of the world’s great dining and tourist cities.”

Will King Charles save Veeraswamy?

Buckingham Palace said in a statement that the decision to remove the restaurant from its current premises was a matter for the Crown Estate, BBC reported.

Veeraswamy has been a royal favourite. The restaurant catered for Queen Elizabeth II in 2008 and 2017, served Princess Anne, and often hosted King Edward VIII. It has also hosted the likes of Winston Churchill, Indira Gandhi and Charlie Chaplin.

Namita Panjabi, co-owner of the restaurant, said to BBC: “Veeraswamy have catered twice at Buckingham Palace for the late queen.

“The first time was in 2009 when president of India visited, secondly in 2017 when India celebrated her 70th year of independence. It is astonishing that we are being asked to close after all of this. Along with Hamleys and Liberty, we are the oldest tenants on Regent Street.”

King Charles is not directly involved in the management or decision-making of the building housing the Indian restaurant. However, the estate passes its profits to the Treasury, a percentage of which goes to the Royal family through a sovereign grant.

As its legacy faces uncertainty, Veeraswamy is planning to remain open until a hearing takes place, which could be within the next few weeks or months, reported The Sun.

If the court rules in favour of the restaurant, its lease could be extended for a further 14 years.

With inputs from agencies