A Brighton seafront restaurant has been told it must make urgent improvements after a hygiene inspector gave it zero stars.
Little Bay on King’s Road was rated bad for both food hygiene and safety and for structural compliance, and the inspector said it had little confidence in management.
Brighton and Hove City Council said it would only release the full report in response to a Freedom of Information request, which has been submitted, but the restaurant said it was now starting from scratch to address the concerns.
Manager Luka Bosnyak said: “We’ve started doing everything from the beginning and looking at every issue one by one. There are so many things to do, like equipment, cleaning labels, that sort of thing.
“We got five stars at our last inspection, but now it’s a completely new staff and we have to start from the beginning. I was a waiter before and now I’m the manager.
“We are doing our best, and we will probably call the inspector to come and see us again to show that we are doing something. So many things have changed here in the last three weeks.”
This is not the only misfortune to hit the restaurant in recent months. Business was badly affected last year after the Fortune of War arch collapsed, leading to nine months of roadworks on King’s Road above, just outside Little Bay.
Mr Bosnyak said: “We lost customers because we had roadworks in the front of the restaurant. It was a really bad season because of that.”
Two more Brighton eateries have also had bad hygiene reports, with their one star rating meaning they need to make major improvements.
Both Shahcoal Kebab in Crestway, Moulsecoomb and Milk No Sugar in Trafalgar Street, North Laine were rated poor for food hygiene, with little confidence in management.
I went in once – tho’ ne’r seen anyone sitting / eating in it – and it took ’em some 30 minutes to gimme a cold & worn meal kinda stuff. As I’m poking it with the fork, I noticed that I was given a tv-dinner which had been nuked few minutes ago, coz the giveaway piece of film ( the one that’s stuck on top of the plastic container ) ended up in the dish. I told ’em that it was ok , but I’d only pay £2.50 for the effort and we’re all square. In answer they sent me out, stealing my dough too. Wish they shut the place and somebody who knows how to run a rest’rant bought it. Whatever they do, I won’t be turning up again. Shame for Brighton, because there’re plenty of better places to eat out at in the city. This den just wastes the retail place! I’de rather suggest your local greasy spoon…
Pomy Collingwood
So sad to read this report as I’ve had some brilliant nights out at Little Bay, with superb food, great entertainment and terrific service. As the manager says, they achieved 5 stars at the previous inspection, so he’s right to treat the situation as a huge wake-up call and restore standards to the way they were. Fingers crossed this gem of a restaurant gets back on track as I know I’m not alone in my love of the place. It’s certainly my favourite Brighton restaurant. x
Why didn’t the inspector close it until the improvements were complete?
This is such a shame. We’ve been along to this family restaurant with live music/entertainment a number of times over the years and it was brilliant with great staff and food, so what on earth went wrong here?
Surely the Management and team must have realised that they were not cleaning the establishment to a minimum standard, let alone an acceptable standard.
The owners need to get their fingers out and take appropriate action immediately, though I suspect it is already too late.
I have eaten at Little Bay, and can only say I’m shocked at this report.The food was delicious, the staff were friendly, the entertainment was good (the Opera Singers) and it was clean. I wouldn’t hesitate to return there again. I’m sure it’s a blip and will be rectified rapidly.