King asked to save UK's oldest Indian restaurant

Campaigners have taken a petition to Buckingham Palace to call on King Charles to stop the closure of the UK's oldest surviving Indian restaurant.

Veeraswamy was founded in March 1926. It has remained in its original home at Victory House on Regent Street since it opened, also continuing to serve food through the wartime Blitz.

Restaurant co-owner Ranjit Mathrani said he was asking the King to help save Veeraswamy "from extinction", and said not renewing the lease was "short-sighted".

The Crown Estate has said removing the restaurant from its current premises is "not a decision we've taken lightly". In a statement, Buckingham Palace said the decision was a matter for the Crown Estate.

The Crown Estate is an independent property company, whose profits go to the Treasury.

Celebrity chefs including Raymond Blanc, Michel Roux and Richard Corrigan have also signed the petition which now has more than 20,000 signatures.

The petition calls on the King to "protect a historic institution" and save a "symbol of Indo-British cultural connections".

Mathrani said he felt "100 years of history is being relegated to the dustbin".

He added: "The Crown Estate are like a brick wall covered with polystyrene politeness.

"We would like the King to persuade the Crown (Estate) to talk to us, be reasonable and have a discussion."

His wife, and restaurant co-owner, Namita Panjabi, said: "Veeraswamy have catered twice at Buckingham Palace for the late queen.

"The first time was in 2009 when president of India visited, secondly in 2017 when India celebrated her 70th year of independence.

"It is astonishing that we are being asked to close after all of this. Along with Hamleys and Liberty, we are the oldest tenants on Regent Street."

Sinan Artar has been a regular customer at Veeraswamy since he moved to London 25 years ago.

He said: "The Crown Estate should look out for public interest and look to save this precious institution... this place should not be turned into an office. Every time I go there I feel at home."

Sonia Cannavo, who has worked at Veeraswamy for 21 years, said: "I'm very sad about the news, we are standing together and hopefully the Crown Estate will keep us open.

"We have been here for 100 years and it's been an honour to be a part of it."

The restaurant received a Michelin star in 2016.

Veeraswamy's dispute with the Crown Estate started after the landlord announced plans to modernise the Grade II-listed building.

Planning documents show changes to the current entrance which would make the restaurant inaccessible.

A spokesperson for The Crown Estate said: "We need to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of Victory House to both bring it up to modern standards, and into full use."

The spokesperson said the business was offered help to find new West End premises plus financial compensation.

They added: "The Crown Estate has a statutory responsibility to manage its land and property to create long term value for the UK and return its profit to the UK Government for public spending.

"This is not a decision we've taken lightly."

"With external advice, we have reviewed alternative proposals including those put forward by MW Eat, and unfortunately there isn't an alternate scheme which meets our responsibilities as stewards of this heritage listed building, our legal obligations and our responsibilities to manage public money."

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