A Chinese restaurant in Spain was shut down after a raid uncovered disgusting scenes and the fact that it was passing off street pigeons as duck to its customers. The incident was reported in March, and the police officer who was at the scene is now describing the nauseating scene.
Jin Gu, a restaurant located in Madrid's Usera district, had roast duck on its menu. However, an investigation revealed that it was instead serving street pigeon to the customers ordering the duck. The restaurant was closed following the discovery.
The restaurant had reportedly been serving pigeons for months and no one even got a whiff of the creepy replacement. Aftet the police raided the restaurant, they came across scenes they were not ready for.
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They saw bowls of pigeons who had been plucked and roasted to be served. There were also strips of meat hanging from clothes horses. Breeding pigeons is legal in Spain, however, for these pigeons the restaurant had no paperwork. The police believe the pigeons were caught from the streets.
The Madrid restaurant also had illegal items, such as sea cucumbers.
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Food storage in Madrid restaurant serving pigeons was not as per rules
Meat storage was also found to be in violation of the rules, making it completely unhygienic and prone to going bad, which probably made it to customers' plates on several occasions. In Spain, it is mandatory to have a thermometer to ensure that the food is being stored at the required temperature.
Content warning: Disturbing scenes. User discretion is advised
El restaurante Jin Gu, en la calle de Perpetua Díaz, 37 Madrid pic.twitter.com/IAh3tt4v5P
— Nottorinin 乗っ取り人 (@nottori_nin) April 6, 2025
🇪🇸 | ¡Asqueroso! — Autoridades clausuran un restaurante chino en Madrid con 300 kilos de comida podrida. Mataban palomas a patadas y las servían como pato laqueado.pic.twitter.com/7YhMBQ0qjR
— UHN Plus (@UHN_Plus) April 8, 2025
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As per food storage rules, frozen meals must be kept at or below -18 degrees C, refrigerated meals (less than 24 hours) at or below 8 degrees C, refrigerated meals (longer than 24 hours) at or below 4 degrees C, and hot meals at or above 65 degrees C.
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But the police found unlabelled meat and fish in freezers without any thermometers. Several other food items were randomly stored and not kept at the right temperature.
Rat traps in kitchen, ingredients stored in toilet
The restaurant was extremely unhygienic as well. The police saw ingredients being stored in the toilet, rat traps in the kitchen and a shelf to hide a room infested with cockroaches.
Given the conditions, the stench was unbearable. The officer told The Times, "Everything smelled of rotten seafood. It was almost unbearable."
Locals told Spanish media that the restaurant was always emanating a weird smell which kept them away from it. The owners are now being investigated.