![\"Mouse](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_Droppings-on-tablecloths.jpg\")
Mouse droppings were found on tablecloths(Image: Cardiff Council)<\/p>\nThe restaurant will be replaced by a ‘completely different’ one in a few weeks’ time<\/p>\n
12:26, 18 Jul 2025Updated 14:47, 18 Jul 2025<\/p>\n
Mouse droppings were found on tablecloths(Image: Cardiff Council)<\/p>\n
A popular curryhouse has permanently shut months after a scandal over food hygiene<\/a>. Lake Spice, near Cardiff’s Roath Park, put customers’ safety at risk by prioritising profit and failing to deal with a mouse infestation.<\/p>\n The Indian restaurant on Lake Road West had an average rating of 4.5 stars after 320 Google reviews, attracting glowing reviews that lauded the “delicious” food and “welcoming” staff. But in March the business and its owner Mamun Miah were ordered to pay \u00a316,254 after pleading guilty at Cardiff<\/a> Magistrates’ Court to food hygiene crimes.<\/p>\n The restaurant changed its name to Lake Garden but closed soon afterwards.<\/p>\n Planning to open in its place in two to three weeks is Konak, an independent which will offer Mediterranean and Turkish fine dining, its manager Aydin “Andy” Dursun told WalesOnline.<\/p>\n Mr Dursun said the ownership is “completely different” and all the previous equipment is being replaced.<\/p>\n “We communicate with pest control and we are very serious about it,” he said. “Everything is going to be changed.”<\/p>\n Lake Spice’s problems came to light in September 2023 when inspectors found its storage facilities were infested with mice and the premises were “not clean or well-maintained”.<\/p>\n A Cardiff council<\/a> spokesman said the restaurant’s “layout, design, construction, siting, and size were inadequate for maintaining good hygiene practices”.<\/p>\n Pictures showed mouse droppings on tablecloths and on the kitchen floor.<\/p>\n Miah, 44, of Bacton Road in Gabalfa, and the business itself each pleaded guilty to three food hygiene offences. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here<\/a><\/p>\n His solicitor Garth James said there was no contamination in the food or in the food preparation areas and that efforts were made to limit pest activity, though these fell short of requirements.<\/p>\n District Judge Mark Layton said profit was prioritised over safety causing serious health risks. He warned that if Miah were to commit similar offences in the future an immediate prison sentence would be appropriate.<\/p>\n Speaking about the new venture, Mr Dursun \u2014 who previously worked at Kervan Kitchen, a highly-rated Turkish restaurant in Ipswich \u2014 said Konak will offer Turkish lager on tap and quality wines from countries including Greece and Italy.<\/p>\n![\"Lake](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1_Lake-Spice-Image.jpg\")
Lake Spice in Cardiff has closed<\/p>\n![\"Mouse](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_Droppings-and-bait-kitchen-floor.jpg\")
Mouse droppings on the kitchen floor of Lake Spice(Image: Cardiff Council)<\/p>\n