Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England London Sake Dean Mahomed Plaque
Sake Dean Mahomed Plaque is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Gastro Obscura

Sake Dean Mahomed Plaque

The "shampooer of kings" who opened London's first curry cafe was a celebrity in the 19th century, but is all but forgotten now.

London, England

Added By
James T. Bartlett
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Plaque honoring Mahomed on the site of the Hindoostane Coffee House   Simon Harriyott
Historic photo of Mahomed’s baths.   The British Library
Sake Dean Mahomed, circa 1810.   Thomas Mann Baynes
“Sake Deen Mahomed. Shampooing surgeon. Brighton.”   T.M. Baynes/Wellcome Images
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In 1810, Sake Dean Mahomed opened the first curry restaurant in London, the Hindoostane Coffee House. But he did much more than that. An author, soldier, immigrant, and entrepreneur, his life was a wild ride of travel, financial ups and downs, and celebrity. These days, he’s much less known, remembered only by a small London plaque that honors his culinary first.

The Indian restaurant wasn't the only "first" that Mahomed would claim. In 1794, Mahomed published a book, The Travels of Dean Mahomet [sic], an autobiographical account of his life adventures, recounting his time in the Indian military, his travels to Ireland to study English, and his controversial interracial, mixed-faith marriage to his wife, Jane Daly. It became the first book written and published in English by an Indian writer. It also represented the first time that accounts in English of Indian colonization by the British were written from the point of view of an Indian person.

Mahomed and his family later left Ireland for England, where the entrepreneur's second act began. In London, he started working as a medical practitioner, though the job was closer to spa worker than doctor. Mahomed worked in a steam bath and added the practice of chāmpo, a Hindi word referring to a head massage with oils, the origin of the English word "shampoo."

Later, he opened up Hindoostane Coffee House, describing the restaurant in an advertisement as "for the entertainment of Indian gentlemen, where they may enjoy the Hoakha, with real Chilm tobacco, and Indian dishes, in the highest perfection. . . to be unequalled to any curries ever made in England." Although the restaurant had good reviews, that didn't translate to revenue. Mahomed filed for bankruptcy in 1812.

With the goal of reinventing himself for his third act, Mohamed and his family moved to Brighton two years later, where he turned his earlier bathhouse experience into something much bigger. Dubbing himself the "Shampooing Surgeon," he opened his own bathhouse in 1821 featuring oils he marketed as authentically Indian, herbal treatments, therapeutic steam baths, reading rooms, and of course, his signature shampooing. Both King George IV and King William IV of England were patrons of his spa, earning him another nickname, "shampooer of kings."

Mohamed published two more books, including Shampooing, an analysis of all the aches, pains, and maladies that shampooing and steam baths could cure or alleviate (reportedly including paralysis, sore throat, and indigestion). Gradually, however, his methods fell out of favor completely, and the Shampooing Surgeon was all but forgotten when he died penniless in 1851.

It wasn't until 2005 that Mohamed's achievements as a writer, veteran, entrepreneur, and notable immigrant to the U.K. were honored with a plaque. It hangs near the former location of the Hindoostane Coffee House.

Related Tags

Plaques Food India Military History Literature Military

Know Before You Go

The green plaque is inside the small entrance to an office building that’s not open to the public; you can only see it through the glass.

Community Contributors

Added By

jbartlett2000

Edited By

Ashawnta

  • Ashawnta

Published

October 6, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.prestonpages.com/brightonhistory/turbulent-life-and-times-sake-dean-mahomed-aka-dr-brighton-1759-1851
  • http://www.thekeep.info/stories-from-the-collections-sake-deen-mahomed/
  • http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.movinghere.org.uk//galleries/roots/asian/tracingasianroots/dean_mahomed2.htm
  • http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft4h4nb20n&brand=eschol
  • https://forgottennewsmakers.com/2013/12/29/sake-dean-mahomed-1759-1851-first-indian-to-publish-a-book-own-a-restaurant-and-do-shampooing-in-england/
  • https://books.google.com/books?id=yhcDAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=sake+dean+mahomed+shampooing&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiN8c_J7dfWAhVh04MKHYLdCX4Q6AEILzAB#v=onepage&q=sake%20dean%20mahomed%20shampooing&f=false
Sake Dean Mahomed Plaque
102 George Street
London, England
United Kingdom
51.517853, -0.152825
Get Directions

Nearby Places

The Wallace Collection Armory

London, England

miles away

British Dental Museum

London, England

miles away

River Tyburn Conduit

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 109

Nearby Places

The Wallace Collection Armory

London, England

miles away

British Dental Museum

London, England

miles away

River Tyburn Conduit

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 109

Related Places

  • Retaining wall on WWII firing range

    Staffordshire, England

    Cannock Chase Military Training Grounds

    Parts of this former military training ground may have inspired parts of J.R.R. Tolkien's famous fantasy series.

  • The Ermita.

    Somosierra, Spain

    Battle of Somosierra Memorial

    A tiny church remembers the Polish cavalrymen who charged their way into a Napoleonic victory.

  • The memorial plaque.

    Hartlepool, England

    Heugh Gun Battery Memorial Tablet

    This memorial honors the first British soldier killed by enemy action on home soil during World War I.

  • Completed Japanese balloon is inflated for laboratory tests at a California base, recovered in 1945.

    Omaha, Nebraska

    Site of a Japanese Balloon Bomb Explosion

    These experimental weapons brought World War II to Nebraska as well as 26 other U.S. states.

  • San Nicolas Island

    Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California

    San Nicolas Island

    A stranded woman lived alone on this remote island for 18 years, inspiring the great children's novel "Island of the Blue Dolphins."

  • Luftbrückendenkmal and C-47 Rosinenbomber, Rhein-Main Airbase in Frankfurt.

    Frankfurt, Germany

    Luftbrückendenkmal: Monument to the Berlin Airlift

    The sweet story of how American cargo planes became known as "Candy Bombers" during the Berlin Blockade.

  • The George Orwell Route

    Alcubierre, Spain

    The George Orwell Route

    A series of recreated fortifications mark George Orwell's path through the Spanish Civil War.

  • The tomb of General Tso.

    Changsha, China

    General Tso's Tomb

    The man who is mainly remembered for a chicken dish he had nothing to do with is buried under a large concrete dome.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.