No English breakfasts or booze at Sharia hotel

AN exclusive hotel has banned alcohol and pork after being taken over by a Middle eastern businessman who wants to run it ‘in accordance with Sharia law’.

The strict Islamic policy was imposed without warning this week at London’s Bermondsey Square Hotel – where the bar and grill was previously run by Masterchef judge Gregg wallace.

Staff said the new rules were swiftly implemented on Tuesday on the orders of the new Muslim owner, forcing waiters to tell disgruntled guests that much of the menu was no longer available.

Diners were denied dishes that used only traces of alcohol – such as beer-battered fish, a pudding with ‘drunken cherries’ and rum ice cream. Drinkers were offered only non- alcoholic beer and elderflower cordial.

Forced to improvise, chefs are

‘We can’t serve alcohol any more’

now trying to source chicken and beef sausages instead of pork varieties for breakfast and have replaced the popular hog roast with rabbit terrine.

The £ 220- a- night hotel is believed to be one of the first in the country to introduce the strict Muslim policy but staff say the changes have caused business to plummet, with many reservations cancelled.

Several fear for their jobs unless the hotel – previously voted the UK’s trendiest place to stay and where Gordon ramsay once filmed a show – is marketed for a different clientele.

An IT consultant, who has been a regular at the hotel, said: ‘ A group of us were meant to be meeting in the bar and they said: “we can’t serve alcohol any more.”

‘when I contacted the manager to ask why, he told me that the new owner wanted it to be a Sharia law hotel.’