Sir Ian McKellen's pub sees hygiene rating drop by two stars after inspectors find out of date food

Sir Ian McKellen’s pub has seen its hygiene rating plummet by two stars after inspectors found out of date food and a fridge operating at 16C.

The actor, 83, part-owns Grade II-listed The Grapes in Limehouse, east London, which dates back nearly 500 years.

But the pub has recently been rapped over a series of errors in the kitchen which have seen the boozer’s council hygiene rating slip to three stars from the maximum of five.

Councils inspect and score eateries regularly, with those considered the highest risk looked at every six months, while for those not considered a risk it will be every five years.

Sir Ian McKellen’s pub has seen its hygiene rating plummet by two stars after inspectors found out of date food and a fridge operating at 16C

The actor, 83, part-owns Grade II-listed The Grapes (pictured) in Limehouse, east London, which dates back nearly 500 years

Inspectors from Tower Hamlets Council went to The Grapes on October 5 and downgraded its rating, which runs from 0 for the worst eateries to 5 for the best.

They are scored on a number of criteria, including record keeping, cleanliness, safety and the premises themselves.

A report shows a series of problems were found, which led to the pub losing its top rating.

The report said ‘a lot’ of food in the working fridge was expired, including noodles which were 19 days out of date, chicken curry and salmon, both 12 days out of date, and spiced tomatoes, which were ten days out of date.

The report added: ‘You must check the fridges daily and any out of date food must be discarded.’

A second fridge was broken and found to be operating at 16C – at least 11C over the top temperature of a normal working fridge.

All food from that fridge was thrown away by the council officials during the inspection.

Antibacterial soap was also found not to be available in the kitchen while a shelf the chopping boards were stored on was dirty, which could have led to contamination.

It was also recommended a temperature probe was bought within a week to check the temperature of stored food and to fix the seals on the fridge doors, which were broken.

But the pub has recently been rapped over a series of errors in the kitchen which have seen the boozer’s council hygiene rating slip to three stars from the maximum of five

Inspectors from Tower Hamlets Council went to The Grapes on October 5 and downgraded its rating, which runs from 0 for the worst eateries to 5 for the best

Sir Ian, 83, has owned The Grapes alongside his former partner and film director Sean Mathias and businessman Evgeny Lebedev, since 2011, when the previous licensee retired.

The trio are all directors of The Pies Pub Ltd.

Sir Ian is best known for his role as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films.

A spokesman for Tower Hamlets Council confirmed the pub had been rated a 5 before October 2022, when its rating slipped to 3.

They added: ‘We carry out regular checks on all food premises to ensure the public is protected and that high standards are maintained.

‘Our Food Safety Team is responsible for the inspection of over 2,500 food businesses in the borough, this includes all food premises where food is handled, prepared, or stored – whether money is exchanged or not.

‘Businesses are not pre-warned about impending spot checks; these are scheduled according to the degree of potential risk ensuring high-risk premises are visited more frequently.’

Sir Ian McKellen and Pies Pub Ltd did not comment.