House of Flavourz was the subject of a licensing review after the council’s licensing team received ‘multiple complaints’ within days of each other
A South London restaurant which attracted complaints from some residents over alleged noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour (ASB) has kept its licence but with additional conditions. House of Flavourz, in Forest Hill, was the subject of a licensing review after the council’s licensing team received “multiple complaints” within days of each other.
The Afro-Caribbean restaurant in the area of Lewisham opened in January of this year and is open from Thursday to Sunday from 10am to 11pm. On May 21, 2026, licensing officers working for Lewisham Council received complaints relating to noise, ASB and disorderly behaviour which residents claimed was originating from people coming from the restaurant.
A few days later on May 24, officers said they received complaints regarding noise from music which was coming from an event happening at the premises.
During a meeting of the council’s Licensing Sub-Committee last Thursday (July 23), it was revealed that prior to the review, licensing officers had worked with the restaurant in an attempt to resolve noise concerns. They said although they had attended the homes of those who had complained more than 10 times, they never witnessed nuisance coming from the venue.
Licensing officers said they were not seeking a revocation of the licence, nor were they looking to reduce the licence hours, but instead wanted the Committee to consider the additional conditions they had proposed.
During the meeting, the restaurant’s manager apologised for the two incidents, and explained that the first incident which led to a physical fight was a “domestic incident” within a large family booking of 17 people and did not involve other customers.
She pointed out that restaurant staff were the first to call the police and had tried to de-escalate the fight and had kept their customers safely inside.
Regarding the May 24 incident, she admitted it was “entirely our fault” and said it was of “bad judgement” to allow a live DJ to bring a standalone speaker for a day party without anticipating how loud it would be.
The manager also responded to allegations over “illegal parking” and accusations of customers from the premises smoking marijuana.
She said: “We can recognise that cannabis use in public is a concern. However, we respectfully submit that the premises cannot control the actions of every individual in the surrounding public areas, nor can we identify whether a person in the vicinity is one of our customers or entirely unconnected to our business.
“Along Perry Vale, there’s constant foot traffic, whether it’s from the train station, local pubs, as well as other businesses. So we can’t take sole responsibility for people in the public’s actions. We can only enforce our zero drugs policy in our venue.”
Cllr Leni Candan, Chair of the Committee, explained that issues around drug use or parking were not within the remit of the Committee and could not really be discussed. The licensing review had received support from the Metropolitan Police alongside 28 people, while 21 people had objected to the review.
‘I can hear noise from the restaurant over my television’
One resident in support of the review said problems with noise had taken a toll on people’s mental health, and said there had been “multiple occasions” where they have had to leave their home.
Another resident who lives close to the venue said: “The noise, I can hear it in my flat. I can hear it over my television. Whether I’ve got my windows open or closed, it’s not reasonable.
“Also out on the street, on a number of occasions, the atmosphere is hostile now, I’m wary to go out when there’s a lot of noise going on. I think that’s wise, given the incidents that occurred in May.”
A resident of 30 years who was against the review argued that many of the complaints, including parking, litter and cannabis use “appear to relate to wider issues within the area”.
They added: “Having read the representations in detail, I’m concerned that a number of issues raised have been attributed to House of Flavourz without clear evidence that the premises is responsible.”
Restaurant bringing ‘so much new life to neighbourhood’
A local alcohol supplier who has worked in the area for the last 13 years praised the restaurant and its management for bringing “so much new life to the area”.
The Committee ultimately chose to impose the conditions suggested by police, as well as three additional conditions which are the production of a written event management plan, refusal of re-entry where a person has left to smoke marijuana and a former written dispersal policy.
The police’s conditions included keeping an incident log on site and conditions relating to staff training, CCTV, age verification, public nuisance, door supervision prevention of crime and disorder and the supply of alcohol – on and off sales.
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