A YORK tapas bar has hit out after receiving a food hygiene rating of two following an inspection - despite receiving five stars in a dummy inspection.

Trio Mezze Tapas Bar, Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, has been told that improvements are necessary after receiving a food hygiene rating of two following an inspection carried out by City of York Council on January 19. 

However, one of the bar's owners, Taylan Ozer, has said that the bar received a five star rating in a previous dummy inspection which cost £300.

Taylan said: "I’m one hundred per cent confident there is nothing wrong with the bar.

"In the real inspection, I wasn't there and we had changed chefs - we change our registered chefs every one to two weeks, and there was a lack of communication between the inspector and chef because the chef couldn’t explain himself as he did not speak good English.

York Press:

"The inspector came early before we opened, and they had just taken the tomato sauce for pastas out of the fridge and the inspector said it was too cold.

"They checked the temperatures on the fridge, and were told we needed to have checked it, yet this was never mentioned at the dummy inspection.

"The kitchen is brand new, it has a new structure and everything is spotless top to bottom, nothing has changed since the dummy inspection.

"Our other business next door, Trio Patisserie, under the same ownership, had an inspection on the same day by the same inspector yet it received five stars.

"I have called the council about this but they were no help and I am willing to take this further if necessary."

Trio Mezze Tapas Bar has scheduled for another food hygiene inspection which is expected to take place within the next two weeks.

The report said that improvements were necessary with the bar's food handling and safety procedures, meaning that more effort was needed to not fall below standards.

However the report said that the structural compliance, which refers to the bar's facilities and layout, was good, meaning that they had achieved a high standard of compliance.

The report said that the confidence in management was generally satisfactory, meaning that they had a satisfactory record of compliance to food safety.

However this does not mean that the inspector believed the bar should reconsider its manager, rather it refers to how well they achieved a good food hygiene performance.