Latest news with #IlVicolo
Irish Independent
09-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Award-winning Galway restaurant hit with closure notice after discovery of rodent droppings
Il Vicolo of Bridge Mills O'Briens Bridge, Galway city was ordered to close on June 4 by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). The decision came after inspectors found rodent droppings within the food business. They concluded that the rodent droppings resulted in a grave and immediate danger for the public. The notice was lifted after two days of closure on June 6. Il Vicolo won 'Best Italian Establishment' at the 2024 edition of Food Awards Ireland and in 2022 was crowned Best Italian restaurant in Ireland at the the National Restaurant Awards. A total of eight food businesses were served closure orders in June for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the EU's Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation Regulations, 2020. The enforcement orders were issued by environmental health officers in the HSE. FSAI Chief Executive Greg Dempsey, Chief Executive said every food business has a legal responsibility to ensure the food they produce is safe to eat. 'Failures like poor hygiene, pest activity, and improper storage are basic errors that can have severe consequences to public health. Food safety isn't optional, it's essential. While we understand the daily pressures on businesses, food safety and hygiene standards must be maintained at all times,' he said. 'A robust food safety management system not only protects public health, but it also supports the long-term success of the food business. Non-compliance with food law is not tolerated and enforcement action will be taken where standards fall short.' Under the FSAI Act, 1998, a Closure Order is served where it is deemed that there is or there is likely to be a grave and immediate danger to public health at or in the premises; or where an Improvement Order is not complied with. Closure Orders can refer to the immediate closure of all or part of the food premises, or all or some of its activities.
Sunday World
14-06-2025
- Business
- Sunday World
Famous restaurant issued with closure order due to ‘immediate threat to public health'
The award-winning restaurant located in the historic Bridge Mills building overlooking the River Corrib A GALWAY restaurant which raised more than €116,000 in online donations to launch a legal challenge against Covid certs, was issued with a closure order earlier this month due to food safety concerns. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland issued an immediate closure order against Il Vicolo on Dominic Street Lower on June 6th after inspectors visited the premises. The FSAI issue issued the closure order due to a 'grave and immediate danger to pubic health' under the Food Safety Authority Act of 1988. Il Vicolo restaurant in Galway Today's News in 90 Seconds - June 14 2025 The FSAI have yet to publish full details of the reasons for closing the premises but will release a full report on it next month. The restaurant was allowed to reopen on June 8th after addressing the issued raised by inspectors. The Sunday World contacted Il Vicolo for comment but they had not responded at time of publishing. The award-winning restaurant located in the historic Bridge Mills building overlooking the River Corrib hit the headlines during Covid when the launched an online fundraising to take a legal challenge against covid restrictions. The HSE ordered the restaurant to close for three days in 2021 after repeatedly breaching regulations for indoor dining. They launched an online campaign to raise funds to mount a legal challenge over Covid regulations and raised €116,839 in donations from members of the public. They wanted to challenge the implementation of the EU Digital Covid-19 Certificate on the grounds of discrimination and breach of privacy law. They said due to their refusal to comply they were constantly inspected by HSE compliance officers and criticised the "divisive law" describing it as "legally, morally, and ethically wrong". They later closed down the fundraising page after it had reached almost €120,000 and restrictions were lifted. 'With the recent lifting of the restriction, our legal challenge needs to be reconfigured and/or varied somewhat since the immediate threat of closure is no longer in issue,' restaurant owner Gerry McMahon and manager Breffni Archer said in an updated statement at the time. 'The legislative measures were brought in for one reason, and one reason only. The Vaccine Pass was never about "proof of immunity" for if it had been, the alternative of testing would have been included.' 'It has since been admitted by mainstreamers (or mainstreamists) that the Vaccine Pass legislation was designed to increase vaccine uptake. This is why the option of testing was removed.' In 2022 the restaurant told Galway Beo that they used "most of the money to cover solicitors and court costs' and decided to donate the remaining money to Galway Fire Service.
Spectator
11-06-2025
- Spectator
The lure of St James's
Procrastination may be the thief of time, but in the right circumstances, it can be fun. The other day, I was enjoying myself in St James's, my favourite London arrondissement. There are delightful contrasts, from the grandeur of the royal palaces and the St James's Street clubs to the charming, intimate side streets and alleys with their pubs and restaurants. The late Jacob Rothschild would often cross from his palatial office in Spencer House to Crown Passage, in order to lunch at Il Vicolo (regularly praised here). His Lordship never bothered to reserve a table. Instead, he would send someone across with his form of booking: a bottle of Château Lafite. Crown Passage is also home to the Red Lion, one of the oldest hostelries in London. It has excellent beer, no music and no teenagers. One grows curmudgeonly with age. Though I never thought of Alan Clark as a pub habitué, he did visit the Red Lion, where he was indeed an egregious figure – to employ correctly just about the most misused adjective in current English. But he always seemed to enjoy himself: a change from Brooks's, perhaps. St James's is also full of art galleries and someone then said that there was an interesting exhibition round the corner in Mason's Yard. We went and were not disappointed. Harry Moore-Gwyn specialises in British art from the late 19th century onwards. His current offerings are all easily worth a visit. There are renowned names: Gwen John, Walter Sickert, Charles Rennie Mackintosh et al. But there were other figures whom I had never come across (so much the worse for me) such as Herbert Dalziel. However, I was particularly interested in Harry's Roger Frys. Fry, though no genius, was a serious painter who ought to be re-evaluated. Harry's walls offer much to enjoy, much to think about, much to covet, and after those pleasures, you are no distance from food and drink. Later on, our conversation moved on to another art form: winemaking. A friend had just come back from South Africa and was able to bring some good news from that benighted land. Since the passing of the old regime, the wine industry has flourished. Foreign markets are much easier, and there has been a lot of investment. It remains to be seen whether all this will continue to flourish as so much of that potentially glorious country succumbs to chaos. His Lordship would send someone across with his form of booking: a bottle of Château Lafite We heard one depressing non-economic story. Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country is much the finest literary work to come from South Africa. Everyone ought to read it. But a (white) youngster, educated at a good South African private school, had never even heard of it. Cry, indeed. South Africa has produced fine wine for centuries. But today the vineyards have spread outwards from the Stellenbosch region, especially to Swartland, which I have never visited. I am told that the winemakers are optimistic. Theirs is, of course, an optimistic profession. But let us hope they are right. The theme broadened to wine and war. During both world wars the French made remarkable quantities of wine, some of it excellent. Then again, for the poilus, wine was the equivalent of grog for the Royal Navy. If wine had not been available, the mutinies would have been much worse. Even so, miracles were achieved. I remember Alan Clark – no pub that day – treating David Owen and me to a bottle of 1916 La Mission Haut-Brion (in the Diaries, he says 'Latour' but I trust my own memory). Those grapes were ripening during the Somme. The grapes of wrath can produce great wine.
