The hygiene rating of Sir Ian McKellen’s bar has dropped two ratings after inspectors discovered expired food and a refrigerator working at 16 degrees Celsius.
The approximately 500-year-old, Grade II-listed The Grapes in Limehouse, east London, is co-owned by the 83-year-old actor.
However, the tavern has lately been reprimanded for a series of blunders in the kitchen, causing its council hygiene rating to drop from five to three stars.
Councils routinely audit and grade restaurants, with the highest-risk establishments inspected every six months and the least-risky establishments inspected every five years.
The hygiene rating of Sir Ian McKellen’s bar has dropped two ratings after inspectors discovered expired food and a refrigerator working at 16C.
The 83-year-old actor co-owns the approximately 500-year-old Grade II-listed The Grapes (shown) in Limehouse, east London.
On October 5, inspectors from Tower Hamlets Council degraded The Grapes’ rating, which ranges from 0 for the worst restaurants to 5 for the finest.
They are graded on a variety of factors, including recordkeeping, cleanliness, safety, and the physical condition of the facilities.
A study indicates that a number of issues were discovered, which resulted in the bar losing its top rating.
According to the report, “a lot” of food in the functional refrigerator had expired, including noodles that were 19 days past their expiration date, chicken curry and fish that were both 12 days past their expiration dates, and spicy tomatoes that were 10 days past their expiration date.
The report continued, “You must check the refrigerators daily and discard any expired food.”
A second refrigerator was discovered to be functioning at 16C, at least 11C above the normal maximum temperature for a refrigerator.
During the inspection, council authorities discarded all of the food from the refrigerator.
In addition, there was no antibacterial soap in the kitchen, and the chopping boards were stored on a dirty shelf, which could have led to contamination.
In addition, it was suggested that a temperature probe be purchased within a week to monitor the temperature of the stored food and that the broken seals on the refrigerator doors be repaired.
However, the tavern has lately been reprimanded for a series of blunders in the kitchen, causing its council hygiene rating to drop from five to three stars.
On October 5, inspectors from Tower Hamlets Council degraded The Grapes’ rating, which ranges from 0 for the worst restaurants to 5 for the finest.
Since 2011, when the previous licensee retired, Sir Ian, 83, has co-owned The Grapes with his former companion and film director Sean Mathias and businessman Evgeny Lebedev.
Each member of the trio is a director of The Pies Pub Ltd.
Sir Ian is most recognized for his portrayal of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
A representative for Tower Hamlets Council confirmed the pub’s five-star rating prior to October 2022, when it dropped to three stars.
They continued, “We conduct routine inspections of all food establishments to protect the public and maintain high standards.”
Our Food Safety Team is responsible for inspecting more than 2,500 food enterprises in the borough. This covers all food establishments where food is handled, processed, or stored, regardless of whether or not money is exchanged.
Businesses are not notified in advance of random inspections, which are scheduled according to the level of possible danger to ensure that high-risk locations are inspected more frequently.
Sir Ian McKellen and Pies Pub Ltd. were silent.
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