In 1810, Sake Dean Mahomed opened the Hindoostane Coffee House in central London. This was the UK’s first curry house, and it was an idea ahead of its time.

In 1810 he opened the Hindoostane Coffee House serving Hookha with real Chilm tobacco and Indian-style dishes. The premises is now a building called Carlton House.

Mr Mahomed’s plan had been to serve “Indianised” British food which would appeal to the Indian aristocracy in London as well as British people who had returned from India, he said.

“The Indian aristocracy however would not come out to eat in the restaurant because they had chefs at home cooking more authentic food - it was just not a big enough draw to come out.” [Link]

Unable to draw either brown or white diners, he was forced to declare bankruptcy two years later in 1812.

While his restaurant was a bust, Sake Dean Mohamed recovered and went on to further success. He opened up a “health resort” (or sorts) in Brighton, specializing in “shampooing” — steam room massage.

He received the ultimate accolade by being appointed Shampooing Surgeon to both George IV and William IV. [Link]

Mohamed seems to have been quite a colorful character. He joined the East India Company Army at 11, and rose all the way to the rank of captain. He served as a “trainee surgeon” although other accounts also indicate that he fought in a series of campaigns.

He emigrated to Ireland in 1786, when he was 25. There he wrote his first book, The Travels of Dean Mahomet, making him the first Indian to have a book published in English. He also “ran away with” an Irish woman who became his wife, Jane Mahomet.

His second book, published in 1820, was called “Shampooing; or benefits resulting from the use of the Indian Medicated Vapour Bath” and went into 3 editions. “He even had poems written in his honour.”