A Vietnamese restaurant in London has shut down after inspectors allegedly found dog meat in the freezer.
It was labelled ‘goat wrapped in leaves’ but when they sent it for analysis it came back as dog meat, a court heard.
They also reported mice droppings and live and dead cockroaches at Pho Na restaurant in Old Kent Road, Southwark.
Vuong Quoc Nguyen, 47, the Vietnamese owner of the restaurant, denied multiple food safety and hygiene offences when he appeared at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Nguyen appeared at the brief hearing wearing a navy blue polo neck, black jeans and and blue trainers.
Defence solicitor Piers Kiss-Wilson insisted the 47-year-old defendant had no idea the ‘goat’ was dog meat and said it was supplied to him by someone else.
He added the dog meat was not for sale for human consumption and that the owner had brought in pest control to try and fix the issues at the restaurant.
Nguyen is due to stand trial at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on December 18.
Vuong Quoc Nguyen, 47, the Vietnamese owner of the restaurant, denied multiple food safety and hygiene offences
The dog meat was allegedly found at the former Pho Na restaurant in Old Kent Road, Southwark, London (pictured)
Pho Na is now listed on Google as ‘permanently closed’.
Prior to the alleged discovery of the dog meat in one of the eatery’s freezers, it had a 4.6-star rating.
A new Vietnamese takeaway called Dac San Xu Nghe has since opened at the former site of Pho Na.
According to Companies House, it is operated by 35-year-old Vietnamese national Hung Van Nguyen, who was appointed director on March 19.
In a statement, Lewisham Council told Daily Mail: ‘Following a failed food safety inspection at the former local business Pho Na, Lewisham Council commenced prosecution action in relation to food hygiene offences in 2023.
‘The Council did not order the closure of the business, which was subsequently sold independently. As this matter is subject to ongoing legal proceedings, we are unable to provide further comment at this time.’
