Hindustani coffeehouse/pub, Portman Square, and nabobs
From ch15. Portman Square in Westminster, London was a popular place for nabobs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabob, but according to this article... https://londonist.com/2016/06/the-story-of-london-s-first-indian-restaurant... so-called āHindustani coffee housesā were rare before the early 20th century. In fact, it claims that only one true restaurant of this sort existed during the 19th century... and only for a short time... before Victoria even became queen. She did make curries popular, but most people made the dishes themselves or hired cooks to make them. People just didnāt eat out much.
Back in 1810, and lasting only a year under his ownership, there was Hindoostane Coffee House, an Indian-inspired restaurant owned by a Bengali man named Sake Dean Mohamed. It remained open under different ownership until 1833. And it was indeed located in the Portman Square area. He was a surgeon, an importer of curry spices, a captain with British East India Company, and an entrepreneur (shampoo bathhouse, Indian restaurant and hookah lounge, etc.).... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sake_Dean_Mahomed
Apparently, there were coffeehouses and pubs with curries on the menus, but they didnāt count as āIndian restaurantsā. The vast majority were run by nabobs, just like it suggests in the manga, but I have not been able to find Watson Cafe or anything similar to that name.
