Birmingham magistrates heard there had been incidents of mouse activity at the restaurant on occasions in the two weeks prior to the inspection, including one caught in a trap days before.
But the court also heard two subsequent unannounced visits by inspectors had since resulted in the McDonald’s being awarded a five-star food hygiene rating – the highest possible.
At a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, the court heard the franchisee had made major changes at Kingstanding and had employed a new manager to oversee it and another restaurant.
The company pleaded guilty in April to one charge of breaching the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.
Henry Skudra, prosecuting, said: “A customer said they were ordering food and a small mouse was spotted running from the counter.
“Employees were said to be unfazed and treated the incident as a regular occurrence.”
He added “unsafe food” was being sold and there was “an imminent risk of injury to health”, leading to the restaurant’s closure under an emergency prohibition notice.
The restaurant was allowed to reopen the next day after required works were carried out.