A YORK restaurant that scored zero on a food hygiene inspection has spoken out.

As The Press reported earlier today, Vitoria, an Italian and tapas restaurant on Coppergate, received a score of zero following a food and hygiene rating on November 21. This means that urgent improvements are necessary with the restaurant's food hygiene and safety, confidence in the management, and structural compliance.

A member of their management team has now spoken to The Press to explain the situation.

Natasha Dent, the operations manager at Vitoria, said that the restaurant was visited two days after they opened. They were informed that the kitchen had structural issues which didn't align with the Food Standards Agency's obligations, so they closed with immediate effect.

After completing the work that was requested, Vitoria was re-inspected and was told it was safe to open.

Natasha Dent said: "It has been very disappointing to find out that the second visit where we were told it was okay to open was not considered a scored visit, but they kept their initial zero rating despite an inspector being very impressed with the standards of the kitchen and allowing us to continue.

"We registered for a reinspection however several weeks later this is yet
to happen."

She said Vitoria have also reshuffled the management team, including a new general manager and kitchen manager, and place food and drink safety at the forefront of their staff training.

Natasha said: "We actively encourage any members of the council to come view our kitchen and due diligence records and they will see what high level of cleanliness we hold ourselves too.

"It is a shame for a new independent business who followed local governments guidelines when re-opening and paid for a second inspection to still be in this position of negative press.

"We hope for a resolution to all of this soon so our business can continue to grow in York's hospitality scene."