Mayfair restaurant where ‘man had throat slashed’ can stay open

A high-end Mayfair restaurant where a man’s throat was allegedly slashed by a fellow customer has been told it can stay open.The Mistress of Mayfair in St James’s Street was the scene of an incident last month which left Rhys Copas with an 8cm wound — exposing his voice box and damaging nerves.Lucci Guthrie, 28, who is charged with attempted murder, is set to appear at the Old Bailey this week.The venue voluntarily closed following the incident on Monday, August 10, before its licence was temporarily suspended by a Westminster City Council Licensing Sub-Committee.Following a full licensing hearing on Monday, the premium ‘dinner and dance’ destination was told it could continue business as long as it kept to a set of imposed conditions.Licensing officers and police raised concerns over several failures at the venue on the night of the incident, including that it had been “in effect been operating like a nightclub”.Police officers also found that the suspect’s ID had not been scanned upon entering the venue, despite this being a condition on the Mistress of Mayfair’s licence.A representative for the licensing authority, Westminster City Council, said: “The premises holder on the night in question didn’t operate to the standard that we would expect of a premises in Westminster. There was remedial action taken straight away which we commend.“However, we expect high standards from all our premises and they should be complying with the conditions at all times.”The Mistress of Mayfair had met with the police to discuss the incident following the emergency hearing in August, the sub-committee heard.Read MoreLegal counsel for the applicant, Gary Grant, said: “My client’s primary concern, from the moment the incident took place, has been for the victim and to ensure that none of our customers have to experience something like that again. If our customers don’t feel safe in our venue, we have no business.”Rhys Copas was found to have suffered a “catastrophic bleed” by police, who were called to the venue at 12.20am on the night of the incident (Monday, August 10).The restaurant had also failed to ensure that all door staff were wearing distinctive clothing on the night of the incident.Following the hearing, several restrictions were added to the Mistress of Mayfair’s licence.These include ending alcohol sales earlier on Sundays, preventing the venue from being turned into a dance floor and making sure security staff can be easily recognised. The former General Manager has also been replaced.