Melbourne’s worst restaurants in the southeast: Dirty eateries revealed
There’s nothing like the smell of a bakery. But health inspectors likely turned their noses up when finding droppings, insect-infested bread and mouldy beetroot at a Rye bakehouse. And it wasn’t the only dirty eatery in Melbourne’s southeast.
South East
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Melbourne has a reputation as Australia’s foodie destination with upscale bars, top-notch restaurants and chic cafes.
But not every eatery is something to rave about, and health workers have their work cut out ensuring the ever changing mix of dining spots and drinking holes meet regulations.
So rather than celebrate Melbourne’s best, let’s take a moment to appreciate some of the worst identified by council health and safety inspectors. Bon apetit!
Pontiac Burgers & Wings, Vermont South and Mitcham
Pontiac Burgers and Wings in Vermont South and Mitcham was forced out of business after health inspectors discovered dirty cooking equipment, poorly stored food and inadequate hand washing facilities. The burger joint’s pop-up store in a Burwood Highway carpark in Vermont South was not registered with Whitehorse Council, and also had improper lighting and continued to operate in breach of health regulations despite initial warnings. Business owner Todd Buzza was later fined a total of $30,000 at Ringwood Magistrates’ Court. He was also convicted of assaulting or threatening to assault, abuse or intimidate the food safety inspectors who were just doing their jobs. The Federal Circuit Court also fined him more than $300,000 for exploiting workers at his previous burger outlets, Burger Buzz, located in Brunswick and West Melbourne.
Conroy’s Bakehouse, Rye
Mouldy beetroot, rat droppings and insect-infested bread brought the ire of Mornington Peninsula Shire’s food safety inspectors when they visited Conroy’s Bakehouse in Rye. The bakery was plagued with pests and cleanliness problems from late 2017 through to mid 2018. The owner, Peter Conroy, later pleaded guilty to 59 food safety breaches. The single father of two told the court at the time he was under a lot of pressure and was working long hours, causing cleanliness at the bakery to fall by the wayside. He was fined $8000 without conviction and ordered to pay the council’s court costs.
Breadlicious, Dandenong South
Dandenong South bread supplier Bread Choice Pty Ltd, trading as Breadlicious, was fined twice within 12 months between late 2017 and 2018 after it was busted baking bread in a filthy factory. Inspectors found staff were not properly trained in food safety and hygiene, grime and grease were not kept to an acceptable level and garbage was allowed to accumulate. The grotty factory, which makes egg tarts, pork rolls and other baked goods, also had holes in the ceiling, mould on the walls, food was stored in dirty containers and staff failed to keep pests out of the building.
Wood ‘n Chimney, Prahran
Prahran pizza shop Wood ‘n Chimney in Greville St was fined $15,000 over a slew of food safety violations in November 2018. Customers slammed the pizzeria’s slow service in their Google reviews, complaining of “off chips”, and “inedible”, “undercooked” food. Staff also mucked up their order, they wrote. Stonnington Council health inspectors were similarly unimpressed with the restaurant’s offering, leading it to cop a listing on the food safety convictions register. Offences included failing to keep live animals out of the kitchen or to maintain the restaurant to a satisfactory level of cleanliness.
Red Rooster, Springvale Rd, Springvale
A rat, dirty, greasy and broken equipment and poor cleaning practises were found at a Springvale Red Rooster restaurant. Health inspectors found 23 food act breaches, prompting the company’s head office to temporarily close the store in late 2018 because it “did not reach the standards we pride ourselves on”, according to a statement. Gratian Pty Ltd, former franchisee of the Springvale Rd store, later pleaded guilty to the breaches at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court, which included a significant build up of grease on filters and equipment, an unclean heating lamp, food waste beneath storage units and odours emanating from the skip. Broken taps in the staff toilets and a dead rodent were also discovered by health inspectors. Gratian’s lawyer told the court at the time the restaurant received no customer complaints and to their knowledge no one became sick after eating the restaurant’s food. The company was fined $5000 without conviction.
Mr Hu’s, Mitcham
Mr Hu’s Malaysian restaurant in Mitcham copped $50,000 in fines after a family of cockroaches was found living in the kitchen. Whitehorse Council health inspectors also discovered dangerous food preparation practises, with an officer’s report slamming staff members’ food handling protocols, which they said rendered the food unsuitable for serving. Dirty kitchen equipment and improper temperature controls in food storage areas were also deemed a cause for concern. Business owner Peter Hu addressed the council’s concerns, which he said stemmed in part from his Malaysian staff members’ English language difficulties and differences in cultural expectations related to cleanliness. After fixing up the issues he was allowed to stay open, and the council also later confirmed the business had undergone a number of follow up inspections and was found compliant.
Akiya Japanese Restaurant, Brighton
Brighton’s Akiya Japanese Restaurant was forced to close temporarily in 2018 after inspectors found it was so filthy it posed an “immediate risk to public health”. The Leaderunderstands a routine inspection uncovered cockroaches scuttling across the floor of the Church St restaurant, which specialises in serving up sushi, chicken and raw fish, as well as unsafe food handling practices. The business was fined $15,000 and has since been brought into line with health and safety regulations and granted permission to continue trading.
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