El Portal restaurant on Ming Avenue has voluntarily closed Tuesday for a deep clean on the same day the Kern County Public Health Department received a complaint about a rat being seen at the restaurant. 

Health Department officials said they received a complaint Tuesday morning about the rat that was seen by a couple Monday night in the restaurant. The couple said they let the hostess know about the rat. 

El Portal closed down the restaurant for a deep clean and let the Health Department know about the situation. 

Public Health, per protocol, has since sent an inspector to check out the restaurant.

Michelle Corson, a spokesperson for Kern County Public Health said that she is glad they closed but the restaurant should have addressed the situation prior to receiving the complaint.

"We are asking that El Portal stay closed until we have a chance to assess issue. Good they closed but should have addressed this problem before and should have closed well in advance of the customer complaint," Corson said.