A Desi pub is a British
pub
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
owned or managed by a landlord of Indian origin. They generally serve
Punjabi food
Punjabi cuisine is a culinary style originating in the Punjab, a region in the northern part of South Asia, which is now divided into an Punjab, India, Indian part to the east and a Punjab, Pakistan, Pakistani part to the west. This cuisine ha ...
while maintaining traditional British pub elements, such as
ale
Ale is a style of beer, brewed using a warm fermentation method. In medieval England, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops.
As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to balance the malt and act as a preservative. Ale ...
and
pub games
A pub game is one which is traditionally played inside or outside a pub. Most pub games date back centuries and are rooted in village culture. Many derive from older outdoor sports.
Pub games can be loosely grouped into throwing games, dice game ...
. The term "
Desi
Desi ( or or ; Hindustani language, Hindustani: देसी , , ) also Deshi, is a loose term used to describe the ethnic groups in South Asia, peoples, culture of South Asia, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their Sout ...
" comes from
Hindustani, and is derived from the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
word for "land" or "country". Desi pubs originated during the 1960s following widespread migration from the Indian subcontinent to the UK. They have been cited as a successful example of
cultural integration between Asian and British communities.
History

The introduction of the
British Nationality Act 1948
The British Nationality Act 1948 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 56) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on British nationality law which defined British nationality by creating the status of "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies" (C ...
following the breakup of the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
and the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
precipitated an increase in immigrants arriving in the United Kingdom from former
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
nations. Between 1951 and 1971, it is estimated that the British Indian population grew from around 30,000 to around 483,000. These new arrivals were not well received by some sections, and many establishments introduced
colour bar
Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by people ...
s, including some pubs which had separate "white" and "coloured" rooms.
In 1965, the human rights activist
Malcolm X
Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...
was invited by
Avtar Singh Jouhl of the Indian Workers' Association to visit one such pub, the Blue Gates in
Smethwick
Smethwick () is an industrial town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before bei ...
, near
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, to experience this discrimination and protest against racial segregation in the town.
Three years earlier, the first known landlord of Asian origin in a British pub, Sohan Singh, had taken over the Durham Ox in
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
. The brewery that owned the pub had chosen an Indian manager as many of its clientele were from multi-ethnic backgrounds.
In 1968, Hans Raj Dhanjal became the first Indian publican in the
Black Country
The Black Country is an area of England's West Midlands. It is mainly urban, covering most of the Dudley and Sandwell metropolitan boroughs, with the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall and the City of Wolverhampton. The road between Wolverhampto ...
when he leased the Heart of Oak, a
Mitchells & Butlers
Mitchells & Butlers plc (also referred to as "M&B") runs circa 1,784 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The company's headquarters are in Birmingham, England. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...
pub in
Whitmore Reans
Whitmore Reans is in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north-west of the city centre, in the city council's Park and St Peter's wards.
History
The name 'Whitmore' is said by toponymists to come from the Old Engli ...
,
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
. These bars spread throughout the region during the 1970s, often taking over struggling traditional pubs and targeting them towards a new customer base.
They came to be known as Desi pubs; the term "
Desi
Desi ( or or ; Hindustani language, Hindustani: देसी , , ) also Deshi, is a loose term used to describe the ethnic groups in South Asia, peoples, culture of South Asia, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their Sout ...
" is borrowed from
Hindustani and is derived from the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
word for "land" or "country".
As the number of Desi pubs grew, several pubs which had previously been meeting places for racist groups such as the
National Front or which had barred non-white customers eventually became Indian-owned, including the Blue Gates.
[ ] Desi pubs also appeared further afield, including the
Glassy Junction in
Southall
Southall () is a large suburban town in West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns.
It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...
, west London, which accepted payments in
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee (symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 '' paise'' (Hindi plural; singular: ''paisa''). The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve ...
s as well as
pounds sterling
Sterling (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...
.
Most modern Desi pubs are
gastropub
A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves food of high quality, with a nearly equal emphasis on eating and drinking. The term was coined in the 1990s in the United Kingdom.
History
The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coi ...
s, serving Punjabi dishes such as
saag
Saag also spelled sag, saagh or saga, is a leafy vegetable dish from the Indian subcontinent. It is eaten with bread, such as roti or naan, or in some regions with rice. Saag can be made from mustard greens, collard greens, basella or finel ...
and
chicken tikka
Chicken tikka is a chicken dish popular in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the United Kingdom. It is traditionally small pieces of boneless chicken baked using skewers on a brazier called or over charcoal after marinating in Indian spices and ...
and traditional British pub drinks such as beer and ale.
The pubs are popular among people from different communities, including Caribbean, Somali and Eastern European.
As of 2016, there were more than fifty Desi pubs in the Black Country.
In 2024, the food critic
Jay Rayner
Jason Matthew Rayner (born 14 September 1966) is a British journalist and food critic. He has worked as a freelance journalist for newspapers including ''The Observer'' and ''The Independent on Sunday.'' He was the ''Observer'' restaurant criti ...
wrote that Desi pubs "have now become symbols not of exclusion, but of inclusion".
In popular culture
In 2010, Desi pubs were the subject of a
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
documentary presented by the Punjabi DJ
Bobby Friction
Paramdeep Sehdev () (born 21 August 1971) better known as Bobby Friction, is a DJ, television presenter and radio presenter.
Early life
After studying Contemporary Arts at Nottingham Trent University, Friction's career as a DJ started in 1997 ...
. It explored how the pubs had helped to bring diverse communities in the West Midlands closer together, and commented on alcohol-related illness among South Asian men. Creative Black Country, an arts collaborative based in
West Bromwich
West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...
, collated an extensive body of media related to Desi pubs, including portrait photographs,
pub sign
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
s and
stained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
windows.
Part of the collection was displayed at the
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
in 2016 as part of the Alchemy festival of South Asian culture,
following which some of the signs and windows were installed in Desi pubs around the Black Country.
In his 2012 book on modern British history, ''Hope and Glory'', the author and radio presenter
Stuart Maconie
Stuart John Maconie (born 13 August 1961) is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of pop music and popular culture. He is a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music where, alongside Mark Radc ...
called the Desi pub "one of the most welcome additions to the Midlands high streets" and described the combination of Indian food and British beer as "a delicious tableau of integration".
In 2024, the
Campaign for Real Ale
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs.
History
The organisation was founded on 16 ...
commissioned a documentary, ''Desi: A Pub Story''.
References
{{reflist
Pubs
Types of drinking establishment
Restaurants by type
Culture of the United Kingdom
Punjabi culture