G-A-Y was given a poor hygiene rating after some of its ice machines were found to have not been cleaned for five years.

The venue, which is based in Soho, London, was inspected by the Westminster City Council in November 2021 and given a rating of ‘1’ over what was found.

Two ice machines were covered in mould and bacteria after staff had reportedly not serviced its filtration system for five years, MyLondon reported.

As well as this, fruit flies were seen lurking around a sink in the basement of the establishment.

“There were two ice-making machines located on the third floor which were heavily soiled with mould, limescale, sediments and possible bacteria within the inside compartment of the machine. Your water filtration system connected to both of the machines had not been serviced since 2017,” part of the report said.

“Bacteria that can cause serious harm to humans are able to survive in ice cubes and bacteria such as Salmonella, E Coli and Norovirus plus many other illnesses could occur from ingesting dirty or contaminated ice.”

Keiron Joy, G-A-Y’s daytime manager, acknowledged the condition of the machines in question to the aforementioned outlet but stated that they were not in use when the inspection took place.

He added: “We had recently bought a new much larger ice machine, which is located behind the ground floor bar for use.

“We were waiting for the old ones to be removed. Due to reduced capacities, the ice machines in question were not needed or used.

“Regarding fruit flies in the basement area, as examined there were a small number located in a sink in a section of the cellar that is not used or located near any stock. This was immediately disinfected, and signs placed for correct liquid disposal.”

Joy stated that the bar had made changes after the inspection which the Council has now seen and is happy with.