Aljawhara Gardens' director must pay £4,978 after council officers found up to 30 people smoking shisha in an enclosed room in Lexham Gardens, South Kensington.
The director of Aljawhara Gardens, a shisha lounge in Lexham Gardens, South Kensington, has been ordered to pay £4,978 after Kensington and Chelsea Council Trading Standards officers found between 20 and 30 people smoking shisha in an enclosed area at the back of the premises.
Soumia Belfaquih, director of NHN Cakes Limited, which trades as Aljawhara Gardens, pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 8 of the Health Act 2006, the council says. At Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 30 September she was told to pay a £1,000 fine, £3,578 towards the council’s legal costs and a £400 victim surcharge.
What officers found
The visit was part of a council operation against the sale of illegal shisha tobacco across the borough. Trading Standards officers went to Aljawhara Gardens in February 2025 to make a test purchase of shisha tobacco. Inside, the council says, they found 20 to 30 people smoking shisha in an enclosed area that lacked ventilation.
The council put it plainly: officers found “as many as 30 people smoking shisha in an enclosed area with closed windows, demonstrating a lack of ventilation within the premises.”
The council sent the photographs in this story, which it says show shisha smoking in the premises.
Why the council took it to court
The council says the business had been given repeated warnings and advice by its Trading Standards officers, and that there were alleged breaches of smoking law before the February 2025 visit. In its own words: “Director Soumia Belfaquih ignored repeated warnings and advice from our Trading Standards officers to bring the shisha lounge into compliance. We decided to proceed with prosecution to prevent reoccurrence of the alleged smoking offence as well as protecting residents from harm.”
Cllr Johnny Thalassites, the council’s lead member for resident services, planning and enforcement, said:
“Our Trading Standards officers are on a mission to help businesses operate in a responsible way for people to safely enjoy the amazing spaces that Kensington and Chelsea has on offer.
“In this case, repeated warnings and advice from our officers fell on deaf ears as the business operator chose to put members of the public at risk instead of taking the necessary steps to prevent it in the first place.
“This prosecution shows our commitment to hold wrongdoers responsible for their actions and to ensure they stick by the rules.”
What the law says
Section 8 of the Health Act 2006 puts a legal duty on anyone who manages or controls smoke-free premises to take reasonable steps to stop people smoking there. That is the duty the director admitted breaching.
The council’s case for why it matters is about the coals. It says the burning coal and wood cinders used in shisha “are known to emit dangerous levels of carbon monoxide within a smoke free premises”, and that both smokers and anyone else in the room can breathe in chemicals and toxins that could cause respiratory reactions.
What it means for you
- The duty to keep smoke-free premises smoke-free sits with whoever runs them. The council’s case was built on an enclosed room with closed windows, the kind of space it says lets carbon monoxide build up.
- If you think a venue in the borough is letting people smoke indoors, or selling shisha tobacco that looks illegal, you can report it to Kensington and Chelsea Trading Standards.
- The council’s press office is on 020 7361 2826.
Amended 13 October 2026: a quotation was reattributed to the council at the request of its press office.
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