Veeraswamy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Veeraswamy
Restaurant information
Established	1926
Current owner(s)	Chutney Mary Group
Food type	Indian (Northern, Goan, and Anglo-Indian)
Dress code	Smart casual
Rating	(Michelin Guide 2016)
Street address	99-101 Regent Street
City	City of Westminster, London
Postal/ZIP code	W1B 4RS
Country	England
Website	www.veeraswamy.com

Veeraswamy is a famous Indian restaurant in London. You can find it at 99-101 Regent Street. It first opened its doors in 1926. The founder was Edward Palmer, a retired officer from the British Indian Army. He was also the grandson of an English general and an Indian princess.

Veeraswamy is the oldest Indian restaurant still open in the United Kingdom. When it first started, it served Anglo-Indian cuisine. This style of food mixed Indian and British cooking. Today, the restaurant offers many different kinds of Indian food. You can find dishes from Punjab, Lucknow, Kashmir, and Goa. Edward Palmer used "E. P. Veeraswamy" for his food business. Veeraswamy was his grandmother's family name. The name was first spelled "Veerasawmy," but a printing mistake changed it to "Veeraswamy."

The Story of Veeraswamy

How It All Started

Edward Palmer knew a lot about Indian food. He even gave talks about it. In 1896, he started a company called E. P. Veeraswamy & Co. His goal was to make Indian foods easy to use in Western kitchens. He sold his products under the brand name 'Nizam'. This was an Indian noble title, like a viceroy.

The British Empire Exhibition

In 1924, Palmer helped with the restaurant at the Indian Government Pavilion. This was part of the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley Park, London. A company called J. Lyons usually ran all the restaurants there. But the Indian Government wanted to use Indian cooks. They asked Palmer to be their "Indian Adviser" for the restaurant. He also helped provide some of the dishes.

The Indian Pavilion restaurant told people, "If you like Indian foods, eat lunch at the Indian Pavilion." The official report from 1924 said the Indian Restaurant was very popular. People often waited in long lines to get in. Palmer's help was a big reason for its success. The restaurant served about 500 curries every day!

In 1925, the Indian Government did not join the Exhibition. The Indian Pavilion became a market selling goods from India. But the restaurant stayed open. This time, Veeraswamy & Co. ran it completely. The restaurant could seat 200 people.

A High-End Indian Restaurant

Veeraswamy in Regent Street was not the first Indian restaurant in Britain. One had opened in 1810. But Veeraswamy was likely the first fancy one. It was also one of the first to serve mostly European customers. Many of these early customers had worked in India. It was definitely the first to serve European royalty.

In 1930, Sir William Steward took over the restaurant. He was married to a singer named Greta Gaye. The 1930s were tough times for businesses. But the couple worked hard and kept the restaurant going. In 1915, Veeraswamy had published a cookbook. It was called Indian Cookery for Use in All Countries. You can still buy it today!

The restaurant became very successful in the 1940s and 1950s. In the early 1950s, Veeraswamy Food Products even introduced the first ever canned curry. Sir William sold the restaurant in 1967. But he and his wife kept owning the food products business until the 1990s.

Modern Changes and Awards

The restaurant's look has changed several times. In the late 1990s, it looked very modern. But for its 80th birthday in 2006, it was redecorated. It now looks like it did in the 1920s. The Chutney Mary group owns Veeraswamy today.

The idea of drinking lager beer with Indian food might have started at the British Empire Exhibition. Prince Axel of Denmark visited the Veeraswamy-connected restaurant there in 1924. He liked his meal and later visited the Regent Street restaurant. He even brought a barrel of Carlsberg beer with him! He enjoyed his meal again. After that, he sent a barrel of Carlsberg beer to the restaurant every year. The beer became popular. So, the restaurant started importing Carlsberg. When waiters left to work at other Indian restaurants, they served Carlsberg too.

Many famous people have eaten at Veeraswamy. These include Winston Churchill, King Gustav VI of Sweden, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Charlie Chaplin.

In 1997, Ranjit Mathrani and Namitha Panjabi bought Veeraswamy. They brought back the old-fashioned decor. They made the inside look grand, like palaces from the 1920s.

In 2016, Veeraswamy received a Michelin star. This is a very special award for restaurants. The Michelin Guide inspectors said the restaurant "just keeps getting better and better!" They praised the classic dishes and the professional kitchen. They also loved the colorful room and the friendly staff.

Images for kids

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  The exterior of Veeraswamy restaurant.