Bembridge’s Crab & Lobster pub has been handed a 1-star food hygiene rating after inspectors discovered out-of-date food and dirty conditions in the kitchen.
It was on 20th August that the Isle of Wight Council’s Environmental Health team paid a visit to the Forelands Field Road establishment. But the state of the kitchen was so grim that it was determined a full, deep clean of the kitchen was needed prior to the business opening the next day.
Such was the severity of the situation that inspectors revisited the following morning to ensure the cleaning had been carried out overnight. The business was allowed to open as normal following the re-inspection.
The inspector’s report details how a number of food items were discovered in the fridge that were past their ‘use by’ date, some by several days, including mussels, prawns, short rib trim, short ribs, feta cheese, mayonnaise, bacon, garlic butter and roast beef slices.
Furthermore, other food items such as paté were not covered in the fridges, walk-in chiller and freezers.
Dirty conditions were also highlighted during the Summer inspection including fat dripping down from an extractor onto the oven, food debris across the floor and a large build-up of dead flies in the insectocutor, which were falling onto the floor where a saucepan was stored. The insectocutor was also not working, meaning the kitchen had a large number of flies buzzing around.
Other issues found include:
- Various hand contact surfaces throughout the kitchen were dirty
- The dishwasher area was dirty and there were pools of water across the floor. Racking was dirty and disorganised
- The wash hand basins were dirty
- The inside of various equipment was dirty such as the fridge racks and draws
- The plate warmer was dirty with old food debris inside the unit that had been there for a considerable period of time
- The white chopping board being used for sandwich preparation was dirty and badly scored
- The microwave ceiling was dirty with old food debris
- There was an accumulation of old oil containers outside the outside chiller
- The freezer seals were dirty
- The inside of the upright freezer was dirty with old food debris
- The racking in the walk in chiller was rusty and had deteriorated
- The ceiling in the kitchen in one area had been replastered but there was still a leak in the ceiling. The plaster was damaged and at risk of breaking
- Other areas of the kitchen ceiling were in a very poor condition and you could see where the paint was peeling above the food preparation areas
The Crab & Lobster Inn has been approached for a statement.
Food Hygiene Rating – Scores on the Doors
Compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures – 15
Compliance with structural requirements – 20
Confidence in management/control procedures – 10
Y now to tell us, absolutely disgusting especially for high risk foods such as shellfish ect .
Absolutely shocking. Their website states they are a landmark seafood establishment. I think not!! £26 for a crab salad is a disgusting rip off generally. I’ve made myself much nicer with a dressed crab from Morrison’s!! And shell on prawns from Tesco. To read this disgusting review – well – I hope all the ‘posh folk’ who go there and spend ‘silly money’ now realise the error of their ways!! Shame on you C&L. Simply disgraceful.
Locals have known for ages that the food was pretty poor for the inflated prices charged, but this shows a much deeper problem.
When I was just a boy, I am now 76, our neighbour used to work in the kitchen and she told us that she opened the tins of “Fresh” crab. She said that only the locals would know the difference. Why do that? Before the big freeze, shell fish were plentiful.
As anyone who has suffered food poisoning would know, this is wholly unacceptable. Shut it down