A popular restaurant and takeaway in Friargate has been fined for twice mis-selling dairy-free burgers which actually had milk in them.
Lancashire County Council has issued a food safety warning after taking action against the operator of Coco’s Soul Food.
Officers say it was twice caught mis-selling dairy-free food in November 2023 and February 2024.
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Director of Coconut (NW) Ltd who operate the restaurant, 51-year-old director Ebrahim Paruk, appeared at Lancaster Magistrates’ Court on 9 June after previously admitting food safety offences.
An undercover trading standards officer visited the restaurant in November 2023 and was served a burger which turned out to contain milk protein at a potentially harmful level, despite having declared a milk allergy beforehand.
The county council issued a warning to Coco’s operator after the incident along with guidance on allergen controls.
The restaurant is ranked in the top 15 restaurants in and around the city on TripAdvisor and has been visited by foodie YouTubers and creators in recent years.
A second visit to the restaurant in October 2024 saw Mr Paruk serve the meals to another undercover officer and personally confirm they were dairy-free – but later tests found they showed milk protein present in the food.
Trading Standards say lax checks and poor allergen control procedures with a decision to switch from ordinary burger buns to brioche buns being the likely cause. The restaurant has a three out of five rating for food hygiene standards according to the Food Standards Agency website with its last inspection in June 2025.
Coconut (NW) Ltd was fined £6,500 by district Judge Thompson and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £2,600 along with court costs of £1,800.81. Mr Paruk was fined £650 and must also pay a victim surcharge of £260.
Cabinet member for rural affairs, environment and communities, county councillor Joshua Roberts, said: “People with food allergies rely on businesses to provide accurate information and take proper care when preparing food.
“In this case, a simple change in ingredients led to unsafe food being served, despite a previous warning. Failure to keep allergen information up to date and ensuring staff understand the risks could put customers at risk, and even potentially kill someone with a dairy allergy.
“This is why our Trading Standards officers do so much allergen control work, and they will continue to do so and to take action where businesses fail to meet their responsibilities and put customers at risk.”
Coco’s remains open and trading as usual.
