The management of The India Club, which will close permanently on September 17, is seeking new premises for the historic restaurant.
The move has been made apparent in an email from the Hotel Strand Continental, which is situated in the same building as the restaurant and which manages correspondence and bookings.
“The India Club is coming to an end on September 17 and management are looking for alternative premises,” a note from the team reads.
Details as to where the new site might be and when, if at all, it will be found remain sparse. The Standard is awaiting more information.
But news that The India Club’s owners, Yadgar Marker and his daughter Phiroza, are looking into continuing the restaurant in a new location will prove welcome to its legions of fans. The India Club announced its closure last month, having lost out to developers intent on turning the building into a luxury hotel.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we announce the closure of The India Club,” said the family.
Phiroza added: “I have been helping here since the age of 10. This is heartbreaking.”
In 2017, it became known that freeholders Marston Properties had put in a planning application with Westminster Council to develop the six-storey building, which houses both the restaurant and the Strand Continental Hotel, and build new tourist accommodation. That year, more than 10,000 Londoners signed a petition opposing the application. Marston Properties has yet to respond to a request for comment.
At its current address at 143 The Strand, The India Club has been operating as a “home away from home” for thousands of Indian diners in London since the 1950s. In its early days, the restaurant served as a way for India and Britain to foster positive relations following years of colonisation by the latter.
News of its closure came as a shock to customers, many of whom shared their sadness at its demise. Many will hope that the restaurant is now able to live on in a new space. More to come.
