An Italian restaurant in Highgate, north London, which blamed its closure on local residents, had been given a zero-star food hygiene rating just weeks before shutting down. Inspectors from Camden Council found mouse droppings, out-of-date seafood, and open jars of mayonnaise and breadcrumbs at Don Ciccio on August 8, according to a report from the Food Standards Agency.
The inspection revealed 'pest nesting materials' in the staff changing room, along with an open packet of breadcrumbs. Out-of-date frozen pasta, sausages, salmon, and prawns were discovered in the fridge, and mouldy strawberries were spotted in the kitchen. Some food items, including mussels, seafood, and cured pancetta, were unlabelled, making it impossible to track when they were first opened.
The report stated that 'major improvement (was) necessary' in all areas and noted a chaotic backroom setup with essentially just one person in the management team, which 'doesn't meet/provide capacity for delivering duties'. The restaurant announced its permanent closure on or around October 21, after six years of trade.
Owner Marco Claudio Valente had earlier taken a swipe at locals for choosing takeaways elsewhere, saying staff were often 'humiliated' by empty tables. He later doubled down on his remarks, stating, 'We were struggling there and were somehow humiliated in this place.' However, local newsagent Mario Seyho commented, 'Nobody was going to his restaurant. How many times have restaurants at that spot closed down?'
