The owner of a mouse-infested pub in Acton has been fined thousands of pounds for serious food safety failings.
Rogerio Mendes, trading as Mendes Sheepwalk Tavern, in Market Place, Acton, pleaded guilty to 6 food hygiene charges at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 23 December 2025.
The charges included failing to follow pest control protocol and keep the premises clean and maintained, and failing to comply with a Hygiene Improvement Notice (HIN) issued by the council.
Mendes, of Harrow Road, West Kilburn, was fined £2,154, plus ordered to pay £5,522 in court costs and an £862 victim surcharge – a total of £8,538. In addition, he now has a criminal record.
Immediate closure
The court heard that the council’s food safety team served Mendes Sheepwalk Tavern with a hygiene emergency prohibition notice on 30 November 2023. The notice ordered the business to close because of evidence of pest infestation, including mouse droppings. It was allowed to reopen on 12 December 2023, once the council was satisfied that it had carried out the necessary improvement works.
In June 2024, during another food hygiene inspection at Mendes Sheepwalk Tavern officers found mice droppings around the drinks storage area of the basement. There was also no hot water to the only wash hand basin in the kitchen.
Mendes Sheepwalk Tavern continues to operate with a food hygiene rating of 2. The council is continuing to inspect the business and working with it to ensure compliance.
Protecting residents
Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, the 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.
“If you’re thinking of eating out, we highly recommend checking the business’s hygiene rating first. You can check the hygiene rating of any restaurant or café on the Food Standards Agency website. Or by using the Scores on the Doors app.”
To tell the council about a food business that you have concerns about, email foodsafety@ealing.gov.uk
