The restaurant, which has a five-star hygiene rating, said it is taking report of the incident ‘extremely seriously’ after being alerted
A Bristol restaurant is working with pest control after reports that a mouse was spotted under tables by a customer last week, causing her to leave the venue early.
Aqua Welshback, which has a five-star food hygiene rating after inspection in late July this year, said it is taking the incident “extremely seriously”.
Lauren Witts spotted the mouse while visiting Aqua Welshback for her birthday on Wednesday night (September 9) at around 7:30pm.
She filmed the rodent running from behind a curtain and under a table, in what she said was an effort to capture evidence of the incident before reporting it to a member of staff.
The city centre eatery says it was not informed of the incident on the night, but after being contacted by BristolLive, is reviewing the area with pest control partners. It says it will take any further action required and that guest safety and hygiene remain their priority.
It added that they maintain ongoing staff training, documentation on pest control, have regular bin collections and work closely with the Bristol BID. The restaurant is also cleaned seven days a week by external contractors.
Speaking after the incident, Lauren told BristolLive: “We ordered a bottle of wine and my friend was looking away from us and I said ‘is everything alright?’ and she said ‘no, I’ve just seen a mouse’.
“A couple moved tables and reported it to a waitress.
“Me and my friend got up to leave and the waitress came over and said ‘is everything ok’ and I said ‘no we’ve just seen a mouse’ and she said ‘oh that’s fine, someone reported that earlier’, so, they were fully aware about it and they kept the restaurant open.
“They said they would call pest control in the morning but that’s still too late, they should have shut the doors [to the restaurant].”
Lauren said she and her friend decided to leave the restaurant and described how she felt “disgusted” that the establishment remained open.
“We literally left,” she said. “We put our coats on, left our drinks on the table and walked out.
“I felt disgusted and annoyed that they kept the restaurant open and still served food because that obviously could make everyone ill.”
A spokesperson for Aqua Welshback said: “This report is news to us. Aqua Welshback has operated for 30 years, holds a 5-star food hygiene rating from the Environmental Health Officer, and has an established pest-control arrangement in place. Guest safety and hygiene are non-negotiable for us.
“Now we are aware, we are reviewing the area with our pest control partners and will take any further action required. Guest safety and hygiene remain our priority.
“We take any such report extremely seriously.”
The business added that “standards and cleanliness are paramount” to how the restaurant is operated.
