A cornerstone of British-Indian cuisine since its inception in April 1926, the establishment has welcomed an array of notable guests over the years, from Marlon Brando to Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her birth.
However, despite withstanding the Blitz and the fiercely competitive dining landscape of London, a dispute with the current monarch’s property management jeopardizes the future of this historic restaurant, which is nearing its centenary.
The Crown Estate, the landlord of Victory House—home to the Michelin-starred Veeraswamy restaurant located near Piccadilly Circus—has announced that it cannot continue to renew the restaurant’s lease due to upcoming plans for renovations and upgrades to the office spaces within the same building.
Ranjit Mathrani, one of Veeraswamy’s co-owners, is preparing to take the case to the High Court to seek an extension of the lease, intending to file official objections against the proposed plans.
Mathrani is confident that the royal family would find the current situation unacceptable, as it impacts a restaurant that has long been celebrated as a symbol of British-Indian culinary excellence. “They value history—living history—and that’s precisely what this restaurant represents. It’s more than just a museum, and I believe they would be disheartened to see an establishment associated with them treated so insensitively,” he expressed.
On a recent Monday lunchtime, patrons shared their fondness for the restaurant’s legacy and its contemporary dishes, enjoying offerings like the patiala shahi raan en croute, a Welsh lamb shank slow-cooked for six hours, enveloped in pastry, and then grilled in a tandoor. The menu features images of historical dishes, revealing past wartime offerings that included lobster mayonnaise, jugged hare, and sherry trifle. While the cuisine has adapted and evolved with modern British-Indian trends, its roster of celebrity guests has remained unwavering.
One diner remarked, “It’s such a delightful venue, and for as long as I can recall, there’s always been a sense of excitement surrounding it. I remember visiting a few years back when the Prince of Wales was dining in a separate area. Although the curtains were drawn, the atmosphere was electric.”
Founded in 1926 by Edward Palmer, who was both the great-grandson of the first governor general of India’s private secretary and a descendant of a north Indian Moghul princess, the restaurant was created to ‘educate’ Londoners about Indian cuisine long before the rise of celebrity chefs. In 1934, it changed hands to MP Sir William Steward, who transformed it into a fashionable meeting place for members of royalty and British elites returning from India.
After experiencing a decline in the 1980s, Mathrani and Namita Panjabi acquired the restaurant and invested significantly to restore its former prestige. In 2008, it catered an event hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and was invited back to launch the UK-India 2017 Year of Culture. It achieved a Michelin star in 2016.
However, current commercial considerations now cast uncertainty on its future. The Crown Estate aims to reclaim the space, planning to extend the ground-floor reception area for offices situated above the restaurant, potentially reducing the restaurant’s entrance area by 11 square meters.
In a recent statement, the Crown Estate articulated the necessity of a comprehensive refurbishment at Victory House. “This involves a significant enhancement of the office facilities and improving accessibility at the entrance,” they explained. “Considering the limited alternatives in this listed building, we must eliminate the restaurant’s entrance, which means we cannot offer Veeraswamy a lease extension when their current term concludes.”
