Britain's oldest Indian restaurant will get its day in court with the Crown Estate. Veeraswamy is battling to stay at Victory House in Regent Street, central London, which has been its home for the past century.
But the landlord, the Crown Estate, wants to take back the building to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of the offices on the upper floors. Your Daily Star has spearheaded a balti battle to save the restaurant, which opened in 1926, from eviction and closure.
The Michelin-starred institution is widely considered the birthplace of the British love for curry. So we have united with 20,000 diners, history buffs and celebrity chefs from around the world in a major campaign to keep it currying on.
Now the county court in central London will hear arguments from the Crown Estate and Veeraswamy's owner, MW Eat, in a five-day hearing starting on June 29. The court's verdict will settle a legal battle that has been running for more than a year.
Veeraswamy is among the oldest occupants on Regent Street, alongside Hamleys and Cafe Royal, and is popular with royals, politicians and businesspeople. The Crown Estate has refused to renew its 205,000-pound-a-year lease after it expired last summer, but Veeraswamy remains open due to the pending legal action.
It claims that work cannot be carried out while the restaurant is on site, but Ranjit Mathrani, the co-owner of MW Eat, has disputed that. He said: It is well within the competence of many reputable contractors to deliver the defendant's programme of works in a manner which could accommodate the restaurant business. This is a standard part of many similar refurbishments in London and elsewhere in the UK.
A Crown Estate spokesman said: This is not a decision we've taken lightly. We need to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of Victory House to both bring it up to modern standards, and into full use. We understand how disappointing this is for MW Eat and have offered help to find new premises on our portfolio so that the restaurant can stay in the West End as well as financial compensation.
