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Veeraswamy marks 100 years on Regent Street amid fight to save its historic home

The Michelin-starred restaurant celebrates its centenary with period dishes and classic uniforms

Veeraswamy marks 100 years on Regent Street amid fight to save its historic home

A court hearing is expected at the end of June but the owners say going to court was their last option

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Ashya Rose
By Ashya RoseMar 16, 2026
Ashya Rose

Ashya Rose is a junior journalist with Eastern Eye. She covers British Asian and community news, with a primary focus on business stories on UK and Asian companies. She also writes on tech, the restaurant industry, culture and world affairs.

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Highlights

  • Veeraswamy is celebrating 100 years since opening on Regent Street in March 1926.
  • The restaurant's owners marched to Buckingham Palace with a 20,000-strong petition asking King Charles III to intervene.
  • A court hearing over the restaurant's lease is expected towards the end of June.
Veeraswamy, one of the world's oldest Indian restaurants, is celebrating 100 years since it first opened on London's Regent Street in March 1926 — but the party comes with a cloud hanging over it.
The Michelin-starred restaurant, which has served famous guests including Mahatma Gandhi and Charlie Chaplin, is marking the milestone by bringing back dishes from its original menu, with staff dressed in classic uniforms from a century ago.
But the joy of the occasion is dampened by an ongoing fight to keep the restaurant in its home at Victory House as owners battle landlord the Crown Estate for a new lease.

Co-owners Ranjit Mathrani and sisters Namita and Camellia Panjabi said: "If Veeraswamy can survive the Blitz, surely it can succeed in overturning an ill-considered redevelopment."

The three owners behind MW Eat, which runs the restaurant, recently walked to Buckingham Palace with staff carrying a petition of over 20,000 signatures asking King Charles III to step in and help.

A court hearing is expected at the end of June but the owners say going to court was their last option. Mathrani said the landlord had been "completely uncaring" and turned down every solution put forward.

The restaurant's lease ran out at the end of June last year leading to the legal fight under MW Eat's protected tenancy rights.

A number of centenary events are taking place this month but staff remain worried about their jobs and the very real chance that one of London's most cherished restaurants could be lost forever.

regent streetclosuresindian restaurantcentenary yearveeraswamy 100 yearsveeraswamy restaurant
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