By Smoke Connoisseur

More than two centuries ago, an Indian entrepreneur created a place in London where guests could enjoy Indian food and retire to a dedicated room for hookah smoking.

His name was Sake Dean Mahomed, and his establishment was the Hindoostane Coffee House.

Established around 1810, it holds an important place in the history of hookah in the UK. Widely recognised as London’s first Indian restaurant, it also offered an early documented example of a commercial hookah-smoking room. Calling it Britain’s first-ever hookah lounge requires more certainty than the surviving evidence provides—but its significance needs no exaggeration. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Its story connects Georgian London with Indian hospitality, wealthy patrons and the specialist hookah bearers who attended elite households.

For Smoke Connoisseur, it is a history that invites us to look beyond the pipe itself: towards the makers, attendants and settings that gave it meaning.

Was Hindoostane Coffee House Britain’s first hookah lounge?

Hindoostane Coffee House was a pioneering London establishment that explicitly offered hookah alongside Indian dining.

An advertisement from February 1810, reproduced by food historian Sejal Sukhadwala in Londonist, called the business the “Hindoostane Dinner and Hooka Smoking Club”. Hookah was clearly part of its identity. ^[2]

However, “hookah lounge” is a modern description. Evidence of this business does not establish that no earlier British venue offered waterpipes, or that hookah smoking first reached Britain in 1810.

The most accurate description is a pioneering Indian restaurant with a dedicated hookah-smoking room in Georgian London.

That distinction preserves what makes the establishment remarkable while respecting the limits of the historical record.

Who was Sake Dean Mahomed?

Sake Dean Mahomed was born in Patna, in what is now Bihar, India. His life took him to Ireland and later England, where he pursued several businesses. He was also a writer, publishing The Travels of Dean Mahomet in 1794. ^[1]

The London Archives dates his restaurant venture to February 1810, at 34 George Street, Marylebone, near Portman Square. ^[1]

His intended customers included former East India Company employees and wealthy people returning from India. Familiar with Indian food and customs, they represented a potential audience for the experience Mahomed offered. ^[3]

There is some disagreement over the opening date. Historian Michael H. Fisher places it in late 1809, while The London Archives and the commemorative plaque use 1810. The latter remains the widely commemorated date. ^{[1] [4] [9]}

Inside the Hindoostane Coffee House

Surviving descriptions suggest that Mahomed paid attention to the surroundings as well as the food.

A passage from The Epicure’s Almanack, reproduced by London Historians, describes bamboo seating, Asian decorative pictures and a room set aside for hookahs. ^[5]

That separate room is particularly significant for the history of British hookah hospitality. Smoking had a dedicated place within the establishment.

Fisher also describes Indian scenes on the walls, ornate waterpipes and specially prepared tobacco. Together, these details suggest an interior intended to evoke customers’ associations with India. ^[4]

The evidence does not provide an exact inventory of the pipes or a complete reconstruction of the rooms. Nevertheless, it establishes a distinctive combination: Indian dining, carefully furnished surroundings and a separate space for hookah smoking.

Hookah bearers: the attendants behind elite hospitality

The story of hookah service begins well before Mahomed’s London venture.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a painting titled Maharaja Bhupat Pal of Basohli smoking, dated around 1685. It depicts the ruler with a hookah bearer attending him.

The museum identifies the painting as a retrospective portrait, created decades after the ruler’s death. It is therefore a representation of royal status rather than an eyewitness record of a particular occasion. ^[6]

Its composition is revealing. The ruler, the hookah and the attendant appear together. The person providing service forms part of the presentation of elite life.

Historical sources record the occupation under names including hookah-burdar and huqqa-bardar. The Anglo-Indian glossary Hobson-Jobson describes the role as attending to an employer’s hookah. ^[7]

Visual records also survive. The British Library’s catalogue entry Add Or 466, dated 1830–1840, identifies a painting as Hookah-bearer and records the inscription “Hookah badar”. ^[8]

These records restore an often-overlooked person to the history of the pipe: the attendant whose work made the service possible.

Did wealthy people employ their own hookah bearers?

Yes. Historical evidence documents specialist hookah attendants in Indian elite settings and among some Europeans living in India.

One striking example appears in Hobson-Jobson. An invitation attributed to Mr and Mrs Hastings in 1779 requests a guest’s attendance at a concert and supper. It asks that servants should not accompany the guest, with an exception for the hookah attendant. ^[7]

The exception suggests how closely this form of service could be associated with an individual’s social routine.

Captain Thomas Williamson provides further detail in The East India Vade-Mecum, published in 1810. He describes dedicated hookah attendants and reports instances of employers retaining separate attendants for daytime and night-time service. ^[10]

These accounts concern life in India. They do not establish that such arrangements were standard in British aristocratic households, or that Mahomed’s London establishment employed the same staffing system.

What they do demonstrate is that, for some wealthy patrons, hookah service was a specialised household responsibility.

What did a hookah bearer actually do?

Williamson describes the hookah-burdar as the preparer of the pipe.

Depending on the employment arrangement, responsibilities could include:

• Preparing the hookah for the employer.
• Providing tobacco and fuel.
• Supplying parts of the smoking apparatus.
• Having the pipe available when required.
• Accompanying the employer to provide that service elsewhere.

^[10]

The title “bearer” can therefore understate the role. It could involve preparation and responsibility for supplies as well as carrying the apparatus.

These descriptions also need to be read in context. Colonial writers frequently portrayed Indian servants through their own prejudices. Their accounts offer evidence of an occupation, but not necessarily a fair or complete account of the people performing it.

Were hookah bearers the original “hookah masters”?

“Hookah master” offers a useful modern comparison, but it is not the historical title verified in these sources.

The documented terms are hookah-bearer and hookah-burdar. They describe a person entrusted with preparing and attending to the pipe.

That specialist responsibility will be recognisable to anyone familiar with professional shisha service today. However, a resemblance between roles does not establish an unbroken professional tradition, a historical qualification or a formal hierarchy of “masters”.

There is also no verified staffing list in the sources used here showing that Hindoostane Coffee House employed people under either title.

The connection is the wider culture of service familiar to some of Mahomed’s intended customers.

Why did Hindoostane Coffee House struggle?

Mahomed’s venture was distinctive, but finding a sustainable audience proved difficult.

Fisher argues that wealthy residents around Portman Square could already satisfy their preferences through private kitchens and household servants. The establishment’s costs and Mahomed’s limited capital added to the pressure. He petitioned for bankruptcy in March 1812. ^[4]

His bankruptcy should not be confused with the final closure of the venue. South Asian Britain: Connecting Histories records that the coffee house continued under new ownership until 1833. ^[3]

Mahomed later developed another career in Brighton through his bathing and shampooing business. His London venture remains an important example of Indian entrepreneurship in Britain, even though it did not bring him lasting financial success.

Where was Hindoostane Coffee House?

The original address was 34 George Street, near Portman Square, London. Following changes to the numbering, the site is commemorated at 102 George Street. ^{[2] [9]}

A green plaque identifies it as the site of London’s first Indian restaurant and names Sake Dean Mahomed.

The plaque does not describe the establishment as Britain’s first hookah lounge. Its recognised position in restaurant history and its documented hookah room are connected, but distinct, parts of its story. ^[9]

Key dates in British hookah history

• Around 1685: The painting now held by The Met depicts Maharaja Bhupat Pal with a hookah bearer. ^[6]
• 1779: An invitation reproduced in Hobson-Jobson makes an exception for a guest’s hookah attendant. ^[7]
• Late 1809 / 1810: Historical accounts place the opening of Mahomed’s London establishment across these dates. ^{[1] [4]}
• 1812: Mahomed petitions for bankruptcy. ^[4]
• 1833: The coffee house’s later operation ends, according to South Asian Britain. ^[3]
• 2005: Westminster unveils the commemorative plaque. ^[2]

From historical hookah service to British-made shisha

At Smoke Connoisseur, we approach this history through our interest in design, craftsmanship and British-made shisha.

What interests us is the attention given to the complete experience. Historical paintings show the presentation of the object. Occupational records reveal the people responsible for its preparation. The London smoking room demonstrates the importance of setting.

For a contemporary maker, these are useful perspectives. A shisha’s design involves proportion, materials, balance and the way its components work together. Understanding its history also means recognising the people whose work surrounded it.

The Hindoostane Coffee House deserves to be remembered for more than a disputed “first”. It connects Indian enterprise, Georgian London and the specialist service behind elite hospitality.

Explore Smoke Connoisseur’s British-made shishas.

Frequently asked questions

What was the Hindoostane Coffee House?

It was Sake Dean Mahomed’s Indian dining establishment in Marylebone, London, associated with the opening date 1810. It also offered a dedicated hookah-smoking room. Historical spellings include Hindostanee Coffee House. ^{[1] [4]}

Was it called the Hindoostane Hookah House?

The recorded names used here are Hindoostane Coffee House and Hindoostane Dinner and Hooka Smoking Club. “Hindoostane Hookah House” is not the historical business name established by these sources. ^{[1] [2]}

What is a hookah bearer?

A hookah bearer, also recorded as a hookah-burdar, was an attendant responsible for an employer’s hookah. The role could include preparation, supplies and providing the pipe when required. ^{[7] [10]}

Did the elite have hookah masters?

Historical sources document specialist attendants in Indian elite settings and among Europeans in India. “Hookah master” is a modern comparison; hookah-bearer and hookah-burdar are the documented titles used here. ^{[6] [7] [10]}

Is the original Hindoostane Coffee House still open?

No. Its historical location is commemorated by a plaque at 102 George Street, London. It should not be confused with a currently operating restaurant or shisha lounge. ^{[3] [9]}

Sources and further reading

This article draws on historical scholarship, archival records, museum catalogues and period writing. The newspaper advertisement and Epicure’s Almanack description were consulted through the secondary sources listed below.

1. The London Archives — Unforgotten Lives: Dean Mahomed
2. Sejal Sukhadwala, Londonist — The Story of London’s First Indian Restaurant
3. South Asian Britain: Connecting Histories — Sake Dean Mahomed
4. Michael H. Fisher, in The Travels of Dean Mahomet, University of California Press, 1997
5. Emma Jolly, London Historians — The Hindoostane Coffee House
6. The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Maharaja Bhupat Pal of Basohli smoking
7. Hobson-Jobson — “Hooka-Burdar”, via Wikisource
8. British Library — Add Or 466: Hookah-bearer
9. London Remembers — First curry house
10. Thomas Williamson — The East India Vade-Mecum, Volume I, 1810, pp. 221–230