[1][2] In its early years, Veeraswamy served Anglo-Indian cuisine, but in recent decades, based on the popularity of authentic Indian food in the UK, has served a menu of regional Indian cuisine, including dishes from Punjab, Lucknow, Kashmir, and Goa.

He founded E. P. Veeraswamy & Co. in Hornsey in 1896 to promote Indian foods "so that they could be used under Western conditions and yet produce Eastern results".

In 1924 Palmer was engaged to advise the restaurant in the Indian Government Pavilion at the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley Park, Middlesex.

[5][6][7] Veeraswamy in Regent Street was not the first Indian restaurant in Britain, as the Hindoostane Coffee House in Marylebone had been opened by Sake Dean Mahomed in 1810, closing in 1812.

[8] Nor was it the only one in 1926, but it was probably the first high-end one, and one of the first to cater to a largely European (though initially admittedly mostly ex-Indian Civil Service and Indian Army) clientele.

The restaurant decor was updated a number of times, and adopted an ultramodern theme in the late 1990s; however, for its 80th anniversary in 2006, it was redecorated in a 1920s motif.

He enjoyed his meal again, and decided to send a barrel of Carlsberg (the Danish royal beer) to the restaurant every year thereafter.

[13][14] Notable diners at Veeraswamy have included Winston Churchill, King Gustav VI of Sweden, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Charlie Chaplin and Ian Sinclair.

[1] Sir Abdul Qadir dined at the restaurant in February 1939, when the menu consisted of Mulligatawny Soup, Kashmiri fish, Chicken Madras and suji halva.