UNTRAINED staff, out of date meat and ‘off’ smelling fish were among the litany of complaints when inspectors visited a newly-opened Thai restaurant in East Oxford.

Jai Fai was given a two star rating by hygiene inspectors following an investigation of the St Clement’s business in May.

The score, which is out of five, was accompanied by a list of changes needed ranging from properly recording food storage temperatures to providing full allergy information for customers on the menu.

A report stated: “Out of date food was stored in the cold room and refrigerator. Salmon steaks, which I was informed were delivered on Tuesday, smelled off.”

It added: “There were no temperature records available to demonstrate safe cold storage, cooking and reheating temperatures.

“At the time of inspection two staff were present in the kitchen. No training records were available for these food handlers.”

Other complaints included the need to repair a broken light in the disabled toilets, to make sure water was not allowed to collect on the kitchen floor under the sink, and to keep the kitchen door closed while cooking.

It was a less than ideal start for the eatery, which is hoping to set itself apart from troubled restaurant Thai Orchid it replaced three months ago.

At the time of its final inspection in February, the former restaurant was given the lowest possible rating of zero.

Jai Fai manager Michael Krmakhi said the restaurant had been taken over by Untptpet Jiwkoraj, who had worked at Thai Orchid, but insisted things were very different from its predecessor.

He said: “We have a smaller menu with fewer dishes and everything is fresh and the highest quality."

He went on: “The old owners did not want to carry on and that is why it was sold. We had only just opened when the inspection happened and I admit the staff were not trained fully but they have been now and have all the correct paperwork.”

He added other issues raised by the hygiene inspectors, including the menu and cleanliness of the kitchen, had also been dealt with and many stemmed from how new the restaurant was.

Mr Krmakhi said: “We’d only had a soft opening and we were still getting things in place.

“It is a shame that we are judged by the initial inspection.”

On the issue of out-of-date meat, he added: “Staff were keeping their lunch in the kitchen fridge, which they don’t do anymore, and it was this mince that was a day or two out of date."