“Perhaps they didn’t actually pay much regard to Indian food"
Veeraswamy, Britain’s oldest Indian restaurant, has accused the Crown Estate of treating Indian cuisine as inferior to European food as it fights to remain at its central London home.
Ranjit Mathrani, chairman of Veeraswamy, claimed the Crown Estate was seeking to evict the Michelin-starred restaurant partly because it did not consider Indian food “very important in their lexicon of gastronomy”.
The dispute follows the Crown Estate’s decision not to renew the restaurant’s lease last year.
The legal battle is due to go to court in November, with Veeraswamy fighting to remain open at Victory House on Regent Street.
The Crown Estate wants to renovate the building and convert it into offices. The plans would see Veeraswamy lose its premises after 100 years at the site.
Mr Mathrani, who leads Veeraswamy’s parent company MW Eat, told The Telegraph that the restaurant had been treated unfairly because it served Indian rather than European cuisine.
He said: “Perhaps they didn’t actually pay much regard to Indian food being very important in their lexicon of gastronomy.
“French cuisine and European cuisine are somehow regarded as being at a different level from, say, Indian or Japanese or other cuisines of the world.
“Had it been Michel Roux or Gordon Ramsay, that would be different.”
The dispute comes as the hospitality industry faces a difficult economic climate, with restaurants and pubs dealing with weaker demand, higher operating costs and rising tax bills.
Mr Mathrani continued: “This is the worst economic environment we have experienced in 36 years, apart from Covid.
“Hospitality is on its knees. This is a great living restaurant. It’s very successful. It’s attracting tourists. They’ll be wiping it out for a period of time.”
Veeraswamy was founded in 1926 by Edward Palmer, an officer in the British Indian Army, and served curries that reflected the cuisine associated with British India.
The restaurant survived the Blitz and remained open throughout the Second World War, becoming a longstanding part of London’s dining scene and introducing generations of customers to high-end Indian cuisine.
It has welcomed royalty and celebrities including Elizabeth II and Marlon Brando, while also catering for state occasions at Buckingham Palace.
One of the restaurant’s early regulars was the King of Denmark, who visited so frequently that a cask of Carlsberg was kept at Veeraswamy for his visits.
Veeraswamy was awarded a Michelin star in 2016, cementing its reputation as one of the UK’s leading Indian restaurants.
However, its long-standing home is now at the centre of a legal dispute with the Crown Estate.
The Crown Estate operates independently and manages the King’s property on behalf of the Treasury. The King has no control over how its properties are managed.
The landlord has said a comprehensive refurbishment of Victory House is necessary to bring the building into full use following a flood in 2023 that damaged its upper offices.
Under the plans, Veeraswamy’s existing space would become a large office reception, meaning the restaurant could not return once the works were completed.
A spokesperson said: “We understand how disappointing this is for MW Eat and have offered help to find new premises on our portfolio so that the restaurant can stay in the West End, as well as financial compensation.
“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.”
However, Mr Mathrani said attempts to reach a compromise that would allow Veeraswamy to remain at Victory House had been rejected.
