London, February 24 A petition signed by over 20,000 people, urging King Charles III to save Veeraswamy, one of London’s oldest Indian restaurants, from being forced out of its iconic Regent Street location, was delivered to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
A group of supporters and employees of the Michelin-starred restaurant marched to the palace gates, waving placards appealing to the King to intervene and help reverse the landlord's decision not to renew Veeraswamy's lease at Victory House, where it has been operating for 100 years.
A copy of the petition was also delivered to the nearby office of the Crown Estate, the landlord of the historic building and managers of the British monarch's property portfolio.
"We are here with our petition to appeal to His Majesty the King to help save Veeraswamy because the Crown Estate is asking us to close permanently," said Namita Panjabi, co-owner of the restaurant with her husband Ranjit Mathrani and sister Camellia Panjabi.
"The legendary Veeraswamy will be 100 years old in a few weeks and has attracted hundreds of thousands of lovers of Indian food through its doors – a symbol of Indo-British cultural connection. It is the first restaurant to have a tandoor in this country and represents the great soft power of India," said Mathrani.
Their petition urges the Crown Estate to reconsider its "short-sighted decision" and recognize the value of Veeraswamy as a "living piece of shared cultural history" by allowing the historic institution to continue its story at the very place it began in March 1926.
"If you believe in preserving culinary heritage, if you care about London's cultural soul, or if you've ever experienced the magic of a meal at Veeraswamy, please stop this closure," added Mathrani.
The petition follows months of growing concern over the potential loss of an institution that has hosted maharajas and nawabs among its high-profile diners and attracted the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu, as well as Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill.
Dubbed one of London's most historically significant dining institutions, the "Save Veeraswamy" campaign has gained momentum across the UK capital's hospitality and cultural communities, as well as among historians and diners.
The Crown Estate has said that it needs to undertake a "comprehensive refurbishment" of Victory House to bring the building up to modern standards and into full commercial use.
The proposals would see the restaurant space converted into office accommodation.
MW Eat, the company behind Veeraswamy, has taken legal steps to protect its tenancy, but the outcome is not expected until July 2026, making the risk of closure very real.
"We understand how challenging this is for MW Eat. Our focus remains on working with all parties and has included offering to help find new premises from our portfolio so that they can continue to be in the West End, as well as financial compensation," the Crown Estate has stated.