Wong Kei: London's 'rudest' restaurant fined £40,000 over mouse infestation

A Chinatown restaurant once dubbed the “rudest” in London has been fined over £40,000 after mice and cockroaches were found in its kitchen.

Wong Kei, which has traded on Wardour Street for decades, was prosecuted for food hygiene offences and after its owners were found to have falsified documents.

Westminster City Council’s environmental health team found issues with mice and cockroaches, cross contamination of raw and pre-cooked food, and unsanitary hygiene practices by staff at the restaurant.

After an initial visit in 2022, Wong Kei, operating under Jexstar Limited, was served two hygiene improvement notices. The council was later told its director Daniel Luc had left the restaurant.

However, when Wong Kei was revisited in May 2023 inspectors found no change to the business, which by then operated under Gosing Ltd, and Luc remained in overall control.

Gosing Ltd was ordered to pay £31,503 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to failing to comply with EU food safety and hygiene regulation at Westminster Magistrates Court on 4 September.

Luc also pled guilty and was fined £10,803. The two parties combined pled guilty to over 11 food hygiene offences.

Wong Kei received a food hygiene rating of two, meaning ‘improvement necessary’, when it was last inspected in July this year.

A Westminster Council spokesperson said it received a follow up visit on the 6 September when inspectors found it had addressed most of the issues of non-compliance.