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Number 19 of 20 in London

Veeraswamy

Edward Palmer was a retired officer of the Indian Army, the great-grandson of an English general and an Indian princess. In 1926 he opened a restaurant to give London the cooking he had grown up with.

What it is
Indian restaurant
Opened
1926
Area
Regent Street
Nearest museum
The National Gallery, 650 m

London this week

    What Veeraswamy is known for

    1. The room

      A first-floor dining room that looks down on the curve of Regent Street, decorated in the colours of a maharaja's palace of the 1920s: silk, coloured glass and chandeliers.

    2. The guests

      The Prince of Wales, Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Charlie Chaplin and King Gustav of Sweden have all eaten here.

    3. Curry and lager

      A prince of Denmark who dined here is said to have sent a barrel of Carlsberg every year afterwards, which began the British habit of drinking lager with Indian food.

    What to know

    • Opened in 1926, the oldest Indian restaurant in the United Kingdom
    • The entrance is round the corner, in Victory House on Swallow Street
    • Its founder first sold Indian spices and chutneys, from 1896

    Where Veeraswamy is

    Address

    99-101 Regent Street
    London W1B 4RS, United Kingdom

    Nearest station

    Piccadilly Circus (Bakerloo, Piccadilly), two minutes on foot

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line from the restaurant.

    India on Regent Street

    Palmer had run the restaurant of the Indian pavilion at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924. Its success persuaded him to open in the West End two years later.

    The restaurant has changed hands several times and has belonged since the 1990s to the family that also owns Chutney Mary and Amaya.

    Veeraswamy: common questions

    Where is Veeraswamy?
    At 99-101 Regent Street, in Mayfair, London. The nearest station is Piccadilly Circus (Bakerloo, Piccadilly), two minutes on foot.
    Which museums and sights are near Veeraswamy?
    The National Gallery is 650 m away, The British Museum is 1.3 km away, Westminster Abbey is 1.4 km away. Distances are in a straight line from the restaurant.
    What is Veeraswamy known for?
    The room, The guests, Curry and lager. The oldest Indian restaurant in Britain, on the first floor above Regent Street since 1926, where Londoners first learned to eat curry in style. Three minutes from the Royal Academy.
    When did Veeraswamy open?
    In 1926. Opened in 1926, the oldest Indian restaurant in the United Kingdom.

    What visitors say about Veeraswamy

    Rating from Google

    4.3

    2,413 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 8 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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