Why Karen’s Diner in Grand Central Birmingham was told to improve by food hygiene inspectors

Popular Australian chain restaurant Karen’s Diner is renowned for its hilarious bad service to customers.

From being scoffed at for ordering salad to rude comments about your age if it’s your birthday, a visit to this venue is not for the faint hearted.

It’s all tongue in cheek of course, and a unique experience for those looking for an alternative meal out which also includes fun interactive games.

But the American-style diner in Grand Central, Birmingham, raised a few eyebrows for another reason when food standards inspectors made their latest call back in November.

The restaurant was awarded a one star rating by the Food Standards Agency which means it ‘major improvement necessary’ - and the details of this report have now been revealed to BirminghamWorld in response to an FOI to  Birmingham City Council.

Before we share the details of the report with you, please note that Karen’s Diner management have assured us that all the issues raised by the FSA have since been resolved.

The report shows that the inspection at Karen’s Diner, located next to the Kitty Cafe on the top floor of Grand Central, took place after two customers complained.

One customer complained on September 16, 2022 that “they became aware that the walk-in fridge allegedly had not been working since the restaurant opened and that high-risk foods were being stored outside of temperature control.”

Another complaint on November 19, 2022 said: “Two customers who ate chicken dishes and afterwards became ill with symptoms of unconfirmed food poisoning.”

What the Environmental Health Officer found

During the inspection, an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) found several issues with the restaurant.

1. The access doors to the kitchen were propped open with chairs and advice was given to close the doors to  prevent access by vermin/pests into the business.
2. There was a lack of appropriate cleaning products and cleaning equipment. Cleaning product containers and equipment were dirty. Dirty cloths were evident.
3. Food handlers were wearing dirty catering clothing whilst handling foods and dirty catering clothing was left in the staff changing room.
4. Cooked burgers were in a water bath adjacent to the griddle, probe temperature at 46 degrees centigrade,  outside of the required hot hold temperatures.
5. Not all items stored in the fridges had in house durability date labels.
6. Raw chicken was being coated in a two-stage process on a low-level table, in a traffic route/stair access to  rear preparation kitchen. The surfaces of the table and containers of chicken coating mix/water were dirty.
7. ‘Clean’ utensils were stored in dirty reused vegan mayonnaise tubs.

There were several other issues including access to clean toilets, clothing and certifications for staff. Since then, Karen’s Diner has had a change in their staff and have taken action on the issues mentioned by the Environmental Health Office.

What Karen’s Diner said about the one star food hygiene rating

Karen’s Diner spokesperson Paul Levin’s told BirminghamWorld previously: “When we opened there were some specific structural issues and we were not compliant with requirements and we were marked down.

“Since then, the whole kitchen has been upgraded. We have a new head chef and staff and we are in a happy place now. More than 45,000 diners have visited us for the good quality, well-prepared and safe food. Our kitchen is managed and controlled by Shield Safety and we are waiting to be inspected again. Sadly, we are burdened with the historical rating but we are patiently waiting for the next inspection.”