From WeHo to Beverly Hills: Another Power Player Shutdown Down by Rats

First San Vicente Bungalows. Now The Peninsula Beverly Hills.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health ordered The Roof Garden, the rooftop restaurant at The Peninsula, closed April 18 after inspectors found a vermin infestation. It’s the second high-end vermin closure in the area in less than a week.

On April 14, county inspectors shut down an event kitchen at San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood — the invitation-only members club at 845 N. San Vicente Blvd. owned by hotelier Jeffrey Klein, where photography is forbidden, members can’t discuss what they witness inside, and the clientele has included Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, and Ted Sarandos. The health report cited the presence of insects, rodents, or birds, plus violations tied to sanitation of food contact surfaces.

A club spokesperson had answers ready. Separate event kitchen. Under renovation. Not used to prepare or serve food. A health inspector was invited in, a few things noted, handled same day. Approved within 48 hours. Main kitchen has an A rating and never skipped a beat.

OK.

The Peninsula is not a place people stumble into. AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star, every year since 1993 — no other Southern California hotel has done that. The Belvedere downstairs is the only AAA Five Diamond restaurant in Los Angeles. The Roof Garden is upstairs: herbs grown on-site, poolside tables, California cuisine, the kind of check that makes you do math on the way home.

The closure came off an 11-point vermin violation. Automatic under California health code, no exceptions. Inspectors also flagged a major problem with hot and cold water — bad enough to affect food safety and handwashing both. Plumbing failures and pest problems tend to go together. Lower-level citations hit floors, surfaces, general maintenance.

It stays closed until the vermin are gone, the water’s back, and a reinspection sign-off is issued. Facility ID: FA0052232.