Fly infestation and build-up of sludge found at Toby Carvery pub

The pub in Bromley Common, was inspected by Bromley Council’s food safety team on 4 August and found there was improvement necessary in the pub’s hygienic food handling alongside the cleanliness and condition of facilities and the building.

But, there was major improvement necessary in the pub’s management of food safety including systems or checks in place to ensure the food sold or served is safe to eat.

Raw food preparation

In a report seen by The Morning Advertiser​ the inspector said: “The drain channel in the floor by the potato peeler/rumbler was blocked with sludge and it was not included on the cleaning schedule. The drain smelt and was probably partly to blame for a fruit fly infestation in the kitchen.”

Inspectors also found the mat between the kitchen and servery/carvery area was covered in a thick layer of grease.

Ovens and grills in the pub's kitchen were ‘greasy and full of burnt fat and food debris’ and the sinks where salad and other vegetables were washed were dirty, according to the report.

Extremely disappointed

A Toby Carvery spokeswoman outlined how the pub had changed management and staff had been retrained following the food hygiene rating.

She said: “We are extremely disappointed by the reduction in our food-hygiene rating.

“We are working to ensure the issues raised are corrected. Following the inspection a thorough clean of the business was completed, retraining has been given to the kitchen team and a new manager has now joined the business too.

“We will continue to closely monitor standards and want to reassure our guests that we have taken the matter very seriously.”

Bromley Council public protection executive councillor Kate Lymer said: “When our food safety officers carry out a routine unannounced inspection, if the risk rating has been low, we will then proactively re-visit on a number of occasions to check compliance.  This will depend on the exact nature of the problem and what has been found. 

"As part of this proactive work, we have already re-visited the premises and noted that cleaning work had taken place and some of the maintenance work had been started. We will continue to monitor progress on our next visit.”