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Daily Photo: 04/03/10 – Inside

March 4, 2010 By Rob Powell

Inside

I had an exceptional lunch yesterday at Inside, Greenwich South Street. It's hard not to be too enthusiastic about this place: excellent food, really good value for money with its lunch time set menus and friendly customer service. No wonder this is many people's favourite restaurant in Greenwich.

Filed Under: Daily Photo Tagged With: Greenwich South Street, restaurants

Peninsula Chinese restaurant gets food hygiene fine

February 22, 2010 By Rob Powell

The Peninsula restaurant in Bugsby's Way has been handed a fine of £13,500 by Woolwich Magistrates.

The hefty fine was issued last Monday after a number of food hygiene breaches were found in an unannounced inspection by Environmental Health officers at Greenwich Council.

During the inspection, officers found:

  • Dirty equipment, walls, floor and ventilation ducting in the kitchen
  • Food storage containers in a poor state of repair
  • Failure to protect food from contamination in the refrigerator
  • Inadequate procedures were put into place to control pests
  • Mouse droppings were found in the storage areas
  • General cleanliness of the premises was below standard

Peninsula restaurant, which is in the same building as the Express by Holiday Inn hotel, pleaded guilty to the offences and were charged £13,500 and ordered to pay the council's costs of £6,800.

Councillor Maureen O’Mara, Greenwich Council’s Cabinet Member for neighbourhood services, said: “The Council will continue to carry out unannounced visits to food businesses and will take necessary action to safeguard customers’ health. It is essential that food businesses take all the appropriate steps to ensure general food hygiene standards are met".


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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Food, Greenwich Council, Greenwich Peninsula, restaurants

Andrew Gilligan: Frank Dowling Loses His Temper

September 9, 2009 By Andrew Gilligan

SO THERE I was, standing in the Somerfield checkout queue, when the phone rings. "I'm gonna f*** you," says a voice. Now, as it happens - you may not be totally surprised about this - it's not the first time I've had a threatening phone call, so I wasn't all that bothered. "Who is this?" I said. "You've always had it in for me," said the mystery caller. "You and your little blog, you c***. I'm gonna sue you."

After a few more servings of abuse, I finally worked out who it was. "Is this Frank Dowling?" I said, incredulously. It was. Frank, for those of you not aware of him, is the American businessman who now owns roughly half the pubs and restaurants in central Greenwich, including the Trafalgar Tavern, the Spread Eagle, the Admiral Hardy, the Coach and Horses,  the Bar du Musee, the George delicatessen, the Greenwich Park Bar & Grill, the Inc Bar, the (now-closed, and not even slightly missed) Lani Tiki Lounge - plus a whole load of concept outlets at that shrine to high catering, the 02.

You can't tell their ownership from their names - they've kept their original titles. But you can tell, if you're a regular Greenwich eater, from their almost universal mediocrity. As I said in the March 2008 Evening Standard review which cemented my very special relationship with Frank, "none is exactly bad, but all are somehow dispiriting. The food is not disastrous, but it is bland. Both it and the staff seem interchangeable between 'outlets.'" This verdict was described as "absolutely correct" by the leading London restaurant critics and publishers of Harden's Guides, Richard and Peter Harden, on their blog.

But though Frank's grub may not be all that good, he's certainly a better class of nuisance caller than my usual kind. They normally tend to be assorted scrotes that I've turned over in print somewhere or other, not local multi-millionaire businessmen. I pointed this out to Frank and said I was a bit surprised at his behaviour.

The cause of the latest food-fight was a column I did for greenwich.co.uk about three weeks ago, listing the local restaurants and takeaways which had failed the council's hygiene awards inspection - meaning, in the council's words, that they were "not up to standard" for cleanliness.

Among them were three of Frank's - the Coach and Horses in the Market, plus Inc Brasserie and Union Square at the 02. I highlighted them - along with Rhodes Bakery, the local branch of the Prezzo chain and three non-Frank pubs, the Mitre, the Richard I and the Gipsy Moth - as well-known places which charge quite fancy prices but which have all failed the hygiene test. I didn't make a special feature of Dowling's emporia - I even pointed out that his one halfway decent restaurant, the Spread Eagle, had passed the inspection. But if you are Frank Dowling, I suppose you have good reason to be sensitive about your coverage.

The phone call ended with Frank promising to sue and demanding the documentation for my story. I pointed out that the piece contained a link to the council's food hygiene awards report, which is carried on its website.

Two and a half weeks on, I'm still waiting for the writ, though I did get another couple of kindly texts from the great entrepeneur saying: "Why don't you go away. You have no clue about real people, real lives. You seek to destroy everything you touch...I got something for you. I will send you a picture of it when it's done. You will love it." Still no sign of that, either - and I can't wait to see what form the "something" will take.

Maybe it'll be a repeat of a threat made during one of our previous spats, when Dowling said he would ban me from all his properties. I did point out that this was perhaps not the most spine-chilling prospect for a person who has publicly written that he would rather eat in McDonalds than any of the Dowling establishments.

Rather than ringing up and ranting at me, Frank, the best way to stop people attacking your empire is to raise standards a bit. And until you do, I'll go on knocking you, from time to time.

Filed Under: Andrew Gilligan Tagged With: restaurants

Popular Eateries Fail Hygiene Standards Inspections

August 15, 2009 By Andrew Gilligan

MANY OF Greenwich’s best-known restaurants, pubs and takeaways have been officially judged “not up to standard” for cleanliness and have failed council hygiene inspections, greenwich.co.uk can reveal.

The outlets which the council found did not have a “good standard of hygiene” include:

- Rhodes Bakery.
- Three of Frank Dowling’s Inc Group restaurants – including the Inc Brasserie and Union Square at the 02, and the Coach and Horses pub in Greenwich Market.
- Another restaurant at the 02, Cheyenne Spur.
- Three well-known Greenwich pubs: the Gipsy Moth, the Mitre and the Richard I in Royal Hill.
- The Greenwich branch of the well-known Italian chain, Prezzo.

In total, 59 of SE10’s 194 catering outlets failed the inspection – they are listed at the end of this article. What's notable, however, is the spread of failure – with a surprising number of upmarket and expensive places alongside the usual-suspect kebab houses.

The Union Square, for instance, is described by Inc Group as its “flagship restaurant” and a “destination eatery in its own right.” Main courses at the restaurant run to as much as £26 for a steak. It failed its inspection just last month. Rhodes Bakery, too, which failed in October, is far from cheap.

The best three restaurants in Greenwich – Inside, the Rivington Brasserie and Dowling’s Spread Eagle – all passed, as did most of the local chains, including Pizza Express, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Nando’s, KFC and McDonalds. Most of the pubs also passed.

However, other well-known central Greenwich restaurants – including San Miguel tapas bar, the Pier fish and chip shop, the Organic Café opposite the Picturehouse, the new Biscuit ceramic café on Nelson Road and other Nelson Road outlets Café Sol, Pistachios and Saigon – failed. The popular Wing Wah Chinese buffet on Woolwich Road also failed, as did the Queen Anne coffee shop at the University of Greenwich in the Naval College.

The outlets were inspected at various times over the last 18 months as part of the council’s “food hygiene award” scheme. According to the council: “The scheme is about ensuring that food at catering premises is handled and prepared safely.” Outlets which met its standards were awarded a “food hygiene certificate.” Those without an award are, in the words of the council, “not up to standard.”

Embarrassingly for the council, three of its own school kitchens also failed the hygiene test – though none were in Greenwich itself. We haven’t included these or other outlets from other parts of the borough, though there were also substantial numbers of failures in Eltham, Charlton and Woolwich.

Greenwich restaurants have, of course, always been pretty mediocre – the ceaseless flow of tourists means that restaurateurs don’t have to worry about people not coming back. None of the places that failed would have been my top destinations for a meal. But this survey was about cleanliness, not quality.

The full borough-wide list of restaurants which passed and failed – which runs to 102 pages – can be downloaded here

Here are the failures, set out by category.

RESTAURANTS WHICH FAILED

Name Cuisine Address Inspected
Cafe Sol Tex-Mex 13 Nelson Road 8.1.09
Cheyenne Spur American The O2 9.2.09
Inc Brasserie Modern Euro The O2 27.2.09
Kum Luang Thai 326 Creek Road 15.5.09
Organic Cafe Mod Euro 285 Greenwich High Road 3.11.08
Paprika Indian 131 Vanbrugh Hill 7.8.08
Peninsula Chinese 85 Bugsby's Way (at Holiday Inn) 20.3.09
Prezzo Italian 35 Bugsby's Wat (by Odeon) 16.2.09
Saigon Vietnamese 16 Nelson Road 4.12.08
San Miguel Tapas 18 Greenwich Church Street 28.10.08
Tai Won Mein Chinese 39-41 Greenwich Church Street 22.1.09
Union Square American The O2 1.7.09
Vietnam Vietnamese 17 King William Walk 15.4.09
Windies Cove West Indian 135 Trafalgar Road 30.10.08
Wing Wah Buffet Chinese 4-6 Woolwich Road 23.6.09

PUBS WHICH FAILED

Name Address Inspected
Belushi's (St Chrisotpher's Inn) 189 Greenwich High Road 5.1.09
Coach & Horses Greenwich Market 28.10.08
Gipsy Moth 60 Greenwich Church Street 3.11.08
Hardys (not the Admiral Hardy) 92 Trafalgar Road 4.6.09
Mitre 291 Greenwich High Road 28.8.08
Pelton Arms 23 Pelton Road 14.1.09
Prince Albert 72 Royal Hill 27.1.09
Richard I 52 Royal Hill 22.7.09

TAKE-AWAYS/ CAFES WHICH FAILED (ALPHABETICALLY BY STREET)

Green Chillies 110 Blackheath Road 13.5.09
Kebab & Burger Bar 111 Blackheath Road 11.1.08
Burger Stall Fountain Food court 28.9.08
Phillies 9 Greenwich Church St 16.6.09
Pier Fish Restaurant 19 Greenwich Church St 4.2.09
Cutty Sark (the cafe not the pub) 38 Greenwich Church St 11.11.08
Real Taste 243 Greenwich High Rd 28.10.08
Gaucho Son of Pumpa Greenwich Market 28.2.09
Jakoba Greenwich Market 28.2.09
Just Coffee Greenwich Market 19.7.09
Love Me Tender Greenwich Market 13.6.08
Teriya Kiya Greenwich Market 4.7.09
Pizza Hot Express (not Pizza Express) 129 Greenwich South St 5.6.09
Le Popadom 141 Greenwich South St 8.7.08
Ultimate Pizza 143 Greenwich South St 9.9.08
Paul's Cafe 18 Haddo St 11.9.08
Kiosk 8 King William Walk 18.3.09
Rhodes Bakery 37 King William Walk 28.10.08
Beijing Express 79 Lassell St 19.11.08
Biscuit Ceramic Cafe 3-4 Nelson Rd 11.2.09
Pistachios 15 Nelson Rd 12.11.08
Diner Outside North Greenwich Stn 20.4.09
Moza 101 Trafalgar Rd 10.7.09
Milano's Pizza 106 Trafalgar Rd 3.8.09
Kerala Zone 119 Trafalgar Rd 26.5.09
Mister Chung 166 Trafalgar Rd 22.7.09
Yummy Yummy 180 Trafalgar Rd 15.7.09
Queen Anne Coffee Shop University of Greenwich 24.4.08
Curry Royal 9 Woolwich Road 14.5.09
New Hong Kong Garden 22 Woolwich Road 5.3.09
Greenwich Cafe 27 Woolwich Road 27.2.09
Bengal Spice 44 Woolwich Road 25.6.09
Morleys 117 Woolwich Road 15.7.09
Millennium Pizza 119 Woolwich Road 10.2.09

Filed Under: Andrew Gilligan Tagged With: Greenwich Council, restaurants

Daily Photo 17/03/09: Mogul

March 17, 2009 By Rob Powell

Mogul Indian Cuisine

Mogul Indian Cuisine at the corner of Greenwich Market.

Filed Under: Magazine Tagged With: Daily Photo, restaurants

Visit the Old Royal Naval College

Book tickets for the Old Royal Naval College

They Shall Grow Not Old

Roll of Honour Brand new booklet listing Greenwich's fallen from the First World War. See the list of over 1800 local men combined with photography of local memorials. Available now - £5

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