Michelin-starred restaurant Dabbous handed zero food hygiene rating after mouse infestation

Michelin-starred: Dabbous in Fitzrovia
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Robin de Peyer26 November 2015

A Michelin-starred restaurant has been given the lowest possible food hygiene rating months after it was temporarily closed due to a mouse infestation.

Dabbous, in Fitzrovia, was told to urgently improve its hygiene by the Food Standards Agency.

The restaurant, which charges £56 per head for its set dinner menu, was shut down for a week in August as pest controllers blocked up mouse holes.

It has been praised as “one of the hottest tickets in town” by the Michelin guide, which added: “The food comes with elegantly restrained finesse and a bewitching purity.”

Owner Ollie Dabbous said that the FSA’s rating of zero - the highest rating being five - “does not reflect the hygiene levels we practise”.

Camden Council said it would inspect the restaurant in Whitfield Street again “in the near future”, adding that it is not aware of other issues apart from the previous mouse infestation.

Mr Dabbous told the BBC that the zero rating was “incredibly disappointing given we had five stars for three years previously.”

He added: “We are a situated in an old building in central London, so pest control is something that quite literally goes with the territory

"We did have some concerns and were unhappy with the services provided by our previous pest controller.

"We axed them just a few weeks prior to the inspection and immediately instated a new one, but unfortunately we could not remedy the situation in time.

"We are confident our next inspection will be a totally different story and have asked for a re-inspection as soon as possible."

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