Dining and Bars

The East India Club Dining Room is among the top club tables in London, producing more than 200 meals an evening. Chef is a perfectionist, independent-minded but has a clear picture of the kind of traditional English fare that members enjoy. 

When the club began in the 19th century, food had been of the good school dinner variety. In 1853, the dining room was based on three joints of meat which, when cold, members could carve for themselves.

The club had long been known for its fish. When the room opened as the Canadian Bar, a 'Buttery' on the first floor of Duke Street opened in 1953 to serve seafood. In 1957 it moved to the Luncheon Room. 

Wine is even closer to members' hearts. A committee meets three or four times a year to select the wines for the club; doyen of this for many years was John Owen. The excellent wines club members drink today owe much to his skill. 

The committee chooses which wines they will be tasting and the secretary arranges for samples to be supplied. To ensure the tasting is blind, corks are removed and the bottles are wrapped in brown paper. 

The tasters submit their selection to the main committee, which then decides whether to follow the recommendations. More than twenty years from now, members, some of them currently in nappies, will be drinking excellent port. The club now buys its wines from producers; it also buys classic wines en primeur and vintage port to lay down.