A well-known Chinatown restaurant was fined more than £40,000 after cockroaches and dead mice were found in its kitchen.
A council probe of Wong Kei, a Cantonese restaurant on Wardour Street, found dead mice and cockroaches at the venue, as well as cross contamination of raw and precooked food.
The venue’s operators, Gosing Limited, pleaded guilty to four offences of failing to comply with EU food safety and hygiene regulation at Westminster Magistrates Court and were fined.
It was ordered to pay £31,503.25 in fines and costs.
The court heard that after an initial visit by food inspectors in 2022, Wong Kei was served two Hygiene Improvement Notices and was asked to improve standards.
The business was then operated by Jexstar Limited under director Daniel Luc.
But while council officials were told Mr Luc had parted company with the business, when they visited a year later, while the business was operated by Gosing Limited, they found Mr Luc still retained overall control.
The court found unsanitary hygiene practices by staff and fined Luc, who pleaded guilty, a total of £10,803.25.
The total fines amounted to £42,306.50, and between Luc and Gosing Ltd, a Westminster City Council spokesperson said.
Both he and the company pled pled guilty to over eleven food hygiene offences.
In a separate case, the director of Italian themed restaurant Little Sicily on Whitehall was also issued penalties of £20,176.50 for three food hygiene offences.
The court heard how a routine inspection found evidence of mice droppings in the kitchen and storage areas, and mouldy food in the fridge.
Inspectors also found sinks blocked by lettuce heads, grease dripping from cookers and mice droppings on the ground.
Cllr Aicha Less, Westminster City Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Public Protection said: “These fines demonstrate that Westminster Council remains committed to ensuring the safety and protection of consumers who enjoy the wide variety of food within the borough.
“Our vigilant food safety officers will continue to monitor and inspect all food-preparing and food-serving places to ensure they adhere to all laws and regulations that we as a council set.
“And it is only fair that we ensure that those businesses who invest in compliance have the chance to thrive and that those who put others at risk of harm are held to account for their failures and unscrupulous practices.”
