The restaurant has decided to take time off while the issue is resolved rather than move elsewhere
By Victoria Munro

The Plough and Harrow pub and live cockroaches in the storeroom (credit: WF Council/Google Streetview)

A popular Indian restaurant has been forced to close temporarily after the owner of its new home was taken to court.

Star of India moved into the Plough and Harrow pub in High Road, Leytonstone, last September but in late March inspectors from Waltham Forest Council discovered signs of a cockroach infestation in the building’s storeroom.

Yesterday, Thames Magistrates Court ordered Foggy Lake Ltd, the company which runs the pub, to pay £1,328 to the council and ordered that no food service can operate from the building until the issue is resolved.

A spokesperson for Star of India told the Echo today that the restaurant was already taking steps to solve the problem when council hygiene inspectors arrived.

They said: “We’re not responsible for the pub, just the kitchen, and a lot of the time it’s booked for music, events and parties and used by other people. One side of the storeroom was also open to the stage so inevitably we were put at risk but those issues are now being addressed.

“Unfortunately, the company the landlord had in to do pest control did not do the job we were expecting them to do. We had started to take action by hiring our own pest controller and luckily the cockroaches are already gone now.”

A video of live cockroaches found in the storeroom (credit: WF Council)

Foggy Lake Ltd will still have to present the council with evidence the problem is gone and a plan to prevent future issues before the building can operate a food business again.

However, the restaurant’s spokesperson added that, while the court order only applied to the building rather than the Star of India, the business decided to take time off until the issue was resolved to allow staff to celebrate Ramadan.

They said: “It’s a holy month and we don’t normally get an opportunity to close for it so, rather than move somewhere else for a pop-up, we decided to take the month off to give us the chance to do things we can’t normally, like the hour-long prayer at the end of the fasting day.”

They added that, while the situation is “unfortunate”, they “are not blaming anyone” and maintain a good relationship with the pub’s owner.

A spokesperson for Waltham Forest Council said: “This case underscores the importance of good food hygiene standards and the hard work of our team in protecting our residents from risks to health and safety.

“While the council continues to do everything within its means to remove these risks, we urge customers to check food hygiene ratings before eating out or ordering a takeaway.”

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