The owner of a bar and restaurant in Acton has been fined £8,538 after admitting a series of food hygiene offences linked to a mouse infestation.
Rogerio Mendes, who trades as Mendes Sheepwalk Tavern in Market Place, pleaded guilty to six charges at Uxbridge magistrates court on 23 December 2025. The offences included failing to follow pest control procedures, failing to keep the premises clean and maintained, and failing to comply with a Hygiene Improvement Notice issued by Ealing Council.
Mr Mendes, of Harrow Road in West Kilburn, was fined £2,154 and ordered to pay £5,522 in costs and an £862 victim surcharge, bringing the total to £8,538. He will also have a criminal record.
The court heard that council officers served the business with a hygiene emergency prohibition notice on 30 November 2023, requiring it to close immediately after evidence of pest infestation, including mouse droppings. The bar and restaurant was allowed to reopen on 12 December 2023 after improvement works were completed.
A further inspection in June 2024 found more droppings in a basement drinks storage area and no hot water at the kitchen hand-wash basin. Mendes Sheepwalk Tavern currently has a food hygiene rating of two.
Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, Ealing council’s cabinet member for decent living incomes, said: “All food businesses in the borough have a responsibility to operate safely, and failing to meet these basic standards puts the public at risk. When inspections uncover conditions like this, despite our efforts to help business operators, we have no choice but to act firmly. We will continue to hold any business that disregards food safety rules fully to account.”
Residents can report concerns about food hygiene to: foodsafety@ealing.gov.uk
