Two restaurants inside the historic government palace have been given one star food hygiene ratings by environemtnal health (EHO) inspectors in Westminster, London. Both Café Lapérouse and Paper Moon, which operate independently next door to the new Raffles London hotel within the Old War Office (OWO), said all required improvements had been implemented following the inspections.
Inspectors from Westminster City Council gave Cafe Laperouse London a hygiene rating of one following an inspection on November 1.The council inspectors said major improvements were needed in the management of food safety.Cafe Laperouse said in a statement: “Since Westminster City Council’s initial visit, we have implemented all the necessary improvements. We would assume the restaurants did not have correct opening and closing checks and was not recording temperature and other records adequately. This usually results in a one star hygiene rating.
“Regular internal and third-party food safety audits are being conducted to maintain these improvements. A thorough review of our food safety documentation has also been completed.We have been in regular communication with Westminster City Council and have invited them for a follow-up visit. This inspection was to ensure that all previously identified issues were rectified, in anticipation of an official re-rating before Christmas.” Inspectors also gave Paper Moon Restaurant a hygiene rating of one following an inspection on November 2. Hygiene inspectors said major improvement was needed in the restaurant’s “handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage”.
Reading Food Standards Agency (FSA), the low rating was predominantly due to the restaurant’s management of food safety. Standards around hygienic food handling and the cleanliness and condition of facilities and the building scored slightly higher, but were still flagged with “improvement necessary”. At GuardStar we would assume the restaruants weren’t recording food temperatures and carrying out opening and closing checks, maintainting records of all fridge and freezer temperatures, incidents and checklists. These are all done automatically on the GuardStar food safety system on a tablet and saved in the cloud.
The restaurants have been featured in the national and locals press with Evening Standard, Times, Daily Mail and just about every online and physical newspaper reporting this story.
Neighbouring OWO restaurant Paper Moon was also scored a one by the FSA, with the inspection concluding there was “major improvement necessary” around hygienic food handling. Meanwhile, the cleanliness and condition of facilities and building scored an “improvement necessary”, while management of food safety scored a higher grade of “generally satisfactory”.
A statement from Paper Moon said: “Paper Moon London stresses its commitment to food and hygiene safety regulations and procedures. Following the Environmental Health officer (EFO) inspection, Paper Moon London has worked to rectify those issues with immediate effect, alongside external consultancies to ensure any outstanding issues are addressed in an appropriate, time-conscious, and thorough manner.
“Since the initial EHO inspection which identified issues, the team at Paper Moon has been in regular communication with EHO to update them on the necessary changes and demonstrate full implementation on all the recommended health and safety procedures.”
Both restaurants said they are in regular communication with the council and are expecting a second inspection before Christmas. The Raffles OWO Hotel opened in September 2023 and houses four independent restaurants including Café Lapérouse and Paper Moon.
The Raffles London hotel within the historic OWO building itself operates a further five restaurants have recently been inspected by the FSA, and given an overall rating of four out of five, but this yet to be published on the FSA’s website.
Its clear that all the restaurants need a robust food safety system. We would be happy to present the GuardStar digital food hygiene system which we believe would help Raffles London help to get 5 star hygiene ratings for all of its premises.