A West End sushi bar has been fined after inspectors found filth encrusted equipment and food strewn over the floor. 
 
City of Westminster health officers were called in after complaints about the Mitsukoshi Restaurant in Regent Street.

They found mould in the fridge, a saucepan rack above the oven dripping in grease and greasy deposits and food spillages on the kitchen and storeroom floor.

The male toilets were stained and dirty, food was being stored on rusty shelves, paint in the storerooms was peeling off the walls, and ceiling tiles were damaged in the women’s changing room.

Prosecutors dropped allegations that a cockroach and mouse droppings were also found on the premises.

Deputy District Judge Kwame Inyundo slammed the restaurant for a ‘catalogue of failures’ as he hit owners with a £6,000 fine plus £1,977 costs. 

‘This particular restaurant had a history of concerns raised with food hygiene’, said Judge Inyundo.

‘The history was such that at one stage this restaurant was considered in the high risk category for food hygiene. 

‘It showed a number of examples of clear food hygiene failures, one can almost describe as a catalogue of failures.  

‘It is quite apparent to me that this restaurant fell short of what is required. 

‘It stands to reason that there was a fear of infection and infestation, and with the standard of food hygiene being affected, those who came to use the facility at the restaurant would be highly compromised.’ 

During the inspection, on June 14 last year, staff were spotted not washing their hands before preparing food and one blew their nose in the kitchen. 

Inspectors also found a bag of raw beef without a use-by date in the fridge, in breach of food safety regulations. 

Alan Richards, representing the restaurant, said changes had been made to the restaurant since the inspection, and staff had been sent on food training courses. 

‘This is a company which always adopted a serious attitude towards food safety’, he said. 

‘Sadly it has been found lacking in the past. 

‘You can have confidence that steps have been taken, improvements have been made, and this looks most unlikely to trouble the courts in a similar way in the future.’

Restaurant bosses admitted contravening food safety regulations.

Mitsukoshi Restaurant Ltd was fined £3,000 for the dirty equipment and premises, £2,000 for poor staff hygiene, and £1,000 for the undated beef. 

It was also ordered to pay £1,977.32 in court costs and a £15 victim surcharge, all payable within a fortnight.  

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