Biryani Near Me on Regent Street: Veeraswamy's 1926 Hyderabad Lamb Biryani

Hyderabad Lamb Biryani 1926 costs £39 at Veeraswamy, and the date in the name is the year the restaurant opened at 99 Regent Street. It sits on the mezzanine floor of Victory House, reached by a private lift from the street, and it has held a Michelin star since its 90th anniversary in 2016. If your biryani near me search starts at Piccadilly Circus, this is the oldest Indian dining room in sight.

The dinner menu groups three dishes under Classic Biryanis. Moradabadi Chicken Biryani is £36, the Hyderabad Lamb Biryani 1926 is £39 and the Nizami Vegetable Biryani is £28. A fourth, the Crab Biryani at £42, sits in a separate section of less familiar mains, alongside dishes such as Lampreis and Roast Duck Vindaloo. The kitchen describes its curries and biryanis as changing monthly, so the list rotates through the year.

The lamb biryani is the order that ties the plate to the room's history, since the restaurant names it after its founding year. Moradabadi chicken is the gentler choice, a style from the Uttar Pradesh city of Moradabad. For a table of two, order one biryani and one dish from the royal recipes section rather than two biryanis; the rice portions are built for sharing and you learn more about the kitchen that way.

From the royal recipes section, Begum's Noorani Lamb Chops cost £42 and Patiala Shahi Raan Encroute is £39.50. The restaurant describes the raan as Welsh lamb shank slow cooked for six hours, then wrapped in delicate pastry and grilled in the tandoor. For a lighter opening, the Anglo-Indian Mulligatawny Soup at £14.50 is a dish the menu says comes from the 1926 menu, and the Raj Kachori is £19.

Our honest advice is to skip ordering the raan alongside the lamb biryani. Both are slow-cooked lamb with deep spice, and together they make a heavy, one-note table that costs close to £80 before sides. Pair the lamb biryani with a vegetable side instead: Spinach Saag with Corn Kernels is £8.50 and Bhindi Do Pyaza is £9, which cut the richness without competing with the rice.

Guests step out of the lift into the Regency Room, a dining room overlooking Regent Street and flanked by the cocktail bar. Behind it, the Verandah Room looks on to Swallow Street with natural light and foliage that suit a long lunch. The third space, the Paisley Room, has crushed velvet and carpet and most directly recalls the 1920s history, when the restaurant was popular with royalty and celebrities.

Ask for a Regency Room window table at dinner if you want the view down to the buses on Regent Street, and the Verandah Room at lunch for daylight. The crowd mixes theatre-goers on the pre-theatre menu, business lunches and couples marking an occasion. The restaurant sets a smart dress code: gentlemen are asked to wear full-length trousers, and torn denim and flip-flops are not allowed.

The restaurant's own history page credits the founding to Edward Palmer, the great grandson of General William Palmer and the Moghul princess Faisan Nissa Begum, and says his great-grandmother shaped the original menu. MP William Stewart took over in 1934 and led what the restaurant calls its golden era. Namita Panjabi and Ranjit Mathrani of MW Eat bought Veeraswamy in 1996 and modernised the interiors and menu.

Veeraswamy calls itself London's oldest restaurant currently holding a Michelin star, and it is now in its 100th year. The milestone comes with uncertainty: The Caterer reported in June 2026 that the Crown Estate declined to renew the Regent Street lease and that the owners are fighting the eviction in court, with the hearing later delayed. For now the dining room is open and taking bookings.

Dinner runs Monday to Saturday from 5.30 pm to 10.30 pm and on Sunday from 6 pm to 10 pm. Weekday lunch is 12 noon to 2.15 pm, and weekend lunch starts at 12.30 pm. Online bookings cover tables of up to 8 guests and open 3 months in advance. A minimum spend of £60 per guest applies at dinner, though not on the pre-theatre menu, and lunch has no minimum spend.

Children aged 10 and over are welcome, and at weekend lunch the age drops to 6, so a family biryani outing works best on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. A 15 percent service charge is added to the bill, of which 9.5 percent is discretionary and 5.5 percent is fixed. If dinner is fully booked, a weekday lunch is the easiest way in, and the lunch menu carries the lamb biryani too.

Turn out of the Regent Street door and walk south to Piccadilly Circus, then west along Piccadilly to the Burlington Arcade, the covered Regency shopping passage where beadles in top hats still patrol. Swallow Street, the short lane behind the Verandah Room, is a quieter shortcut between Regent Street and Piccadilly that keeps you off the busiest pavement after dinner.

Walk north instead and the curve of the Regent Street Quadrant leads toward Oxford Circus, past the flagship stores, with Golden Square and the lanes of Soho a few minutes to the east if you want a nightcap. Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus are the nearest Underground stations, and the restaurant lists NCP car parks on Vigo Street and Brewer Street for drivers.

Address: Mezzanine Floor, Victory House, 99 Regent Street, London W1B 4RS. Nearest Underground: Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus. Dinner: Monday to Saturday 5.30 pm to 10.30 pm, Sunday 6 pm to 10 pm. Prices quoted come from the dinner menu on veeraswamy.com and include VAT.

Ask the Karpo APP for a pre-dinner cocktail near Swallow Street, a dessert stop in Soho, or a more casual biryani near Piccadilly if you would rather skip the £60 minimum spend this time.