Hindoostane Coffee House Opens

34 George Street, London

In 1810 Sake Dean Mahomed set up the Hindoostane Coffee House in 34 George Street. The establishment catered for the growing clientele of nostalgic former East India Company employees and nabobs, serving Indian cuisine in an ‘oriental’ atmosphere and also hookah smoking. Dean Mahomed was a skilled entrepreneur and knew how to tap into the lure and appeal of an exoticized fantasy of the East. The success of the Coffee House was short-lived, and he had to declare bankruptcy in 1812. The Coffee House continued trading under new ownership until 1833.