{"id":1026,"date":"2025-04-20T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merlinscove.com\/?p=1026"},"modified":"2025-04-20T08:06:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T08:06:43","slug":"i-ate-at-the-uks-oldest-indian-restaurant-its-closure-would-be-a-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.merlinscove.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/20\/i-ate-at-the-uks-oldest-indian-restaurant-its-closure-would-be-a-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"I ate at the UK\u2019s oldest Indian restaurant \u2014 its closure would be a \u2018tragedy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Reporter Danny Rigg was delighted by the menu when he visited Veeraswamy (Picture: w8media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a child growing up in Birmingham<\/a>, I was spoiled for choice when it came to Indian<\/a> food.<\/p>\n

At our local bakery<\/a>, my sister and I would gaze at the Gulab jamun marinating in syrup, and the golden swirls of jalebi. <\/p>\n

Assorted bhajis, pakoras, aloo tikki, and samosas would sit freshly folded after being fried each day \u2014 a tradition that began in 1974. When we moved to rural Ireland<\/a>, we packed 50 samosas in a freezer bag. <\/p>\n

One year, my sister chose rasmalai over a traditional birthday cake, selecting the soft sponge soaked in a sweet, spiced milk from behind the glass counter of a shop on Soho Road.<\/p>\n

Birmingham’s Indian food scene, the ‘birthplace of Balti’, is what made me a good cook. I spent years trying to match the quality of those mom-and-pop shops.<\/p>\n

Since moving to London, I find a real joy living near to to such amazing Indian restaurant once more. <\/p>\n

I love being able to stroll down Brick Lane, haggling the best deal with the waiters who are luring us in with their promises of a succulent Indian meal, knowing they can deliver.<\/p>\n

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Owner Ranjit Mathrani, 81, was a customer for three decades before he bought Veeraswamy (Picture: w8media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over on the other side of the city, in Piccadilly Circus, Veeraswamy \u2014 which at 99 years old is Britain\u2019s oldest Indian restaurant \u2014 is a different kind of nostalgic.<\/p>\n

This place is bougie, tied up with royalty and Empire. It even catered for the Queen at Buckingham Palace one year, the owners say.<\/p>\n

But now, the Crown is trying to evict Veeraswamy from it’s home on Regent Street, a property where sunlight floods the dining room, in order to conduct renovations on the Grade II listed building it sits in.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a tragedy\u2019, owner Ranjit Mathrani, 81, told Metro<\/strong>, describing its possible closure as \u2018an act of cultural vandalism\u2019.<\/p>\n

Veeraswamy wasn\u2019t the first Indian restaurant to open in the UK. The now-closed Hindoostane Coffee House beat it by 110 years, but Veeraswamy has been a pioneer of British Indian cuisine.<\/p>\n

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