For the majority of the British population, eating out was a rarity and a luxury until the establishment of cheaper, more informal eateries in the late 1950s and 1960s. Veeraswamy (pictured above in 1962) is Britain's oldest Indian restaurant, and opened in 1926 on Regent Street, London. In its early years, Veeraswamy served only upper-middle-class and elite customers, such as visiting Indian princes and officer-class Britons, that had lived in, or visited, India during the British Raj (1858-1947). ​