The Sindh Food Authority has closed the kitchen and suspended food operations of Koel Café over unhygienic conditions, an SFA official informed.
The SFA fined Koel Café, The Valley and Newbury Café Rs350,000 each. They were issued “improvement lists” too.Officials found several issues at the three restaurants, SFA Deputy Director Shahzeb Sheikh told media. The list mentioned poor hygiene in kitchens and freezers, a lack of drainage, and substandard and expired raw materials.
Koel Café owner Rasikh Ismail appreciated the work of the SFA. “This restaurant has been there for 14 years, we’ve never had any issues like that,” he said. “All the pointers I’ve heard are pretty relevant, so me and my partners, we felt that it is great that we have these pointers and that we should work on them and we will absolutely get that done.”
Ismail has over 35 years’ experience in the restaurant business. He has served as the operations director for TGI Fridays and managed outlets in over 20 countries. He has also held key managerial positions at Tony Romas, Pizza Hut and Burger King.
The management of The Valley and Newbury Café could not be reached.
