Food safety officers shut down the Highgate Road restaurant, affiliated with the trendy Soho House group, after discovering breaches of hygiene rules including “a widespread and active rodent infestation resulting in an imminent risk to health.”
After their inspection on July 25 and July 26, members of Camden’s environmental health team reported: “During the inspection rodent (mice) droppings were noted in the the service kitchen area on food equipment(chopping boards)”
Rodent droppings were also found on the kitchen floor of the restaurant in Highgate Road.
There were also droppings on shelves holding takeaway materials, food equipment and cleaning cloths.
The inspection also found evidence of an infestation of flies in the kitchen area and said that the kitchen and service areas were “dirty”.
Inspectors gave the restaurant a zero hygiene rating and said that “In view of the extreme seriousness of the situation” they would take emergency action to shut it down.
The restaurant signed a voluntary closure agreement following the inspection on July 26 and was told it could not reopen until an environmental health officer “deems the risk to the public has been removed.”
Managers say they were shut until safety officers gave it a clean bill of health and reopened on August 1.
The Chicken Shop restaurant was launched by the trendy Soho House group founded by entrepreneur Nick Jones. It is now run by Quentin Restaurants Ltd who say they are a separate entity.
But it shares the same registered address as Soho House UK Ltd in Dean Street and Nick Jones is listed at Companies House as a director of both.
Soho House was founded in London in 1995 by Jones as a private members’ club for people in the creative industries and went on to open clubs across Europe and North America, as well as restaurants, cinemas, workspaces, spas and bedrooms.
The Kentish Town branch of Chicken Shop is in the basement under the group’s Pizza East restaurant and offers takeaway as well as eat-in.
A Quentin spokesperson said: “For two days last summer there were issues noted in the basement and we voluntarily closed. Inspectors returned and were satisfied that everything had been addressed, and we reopened that week. We look forward to our next inspection in the near future.”
She confirmed the branch was currently open as usual.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here