ONE of the owners of a Greek restaurant in Oxford has resigned after it received a zero food hygiene rating.

The Greek Takeaway, registered on May 26 under the ownership of two men in St Clement’s, was given a zero rating after food hygiene inspectors visited the site on June 14.

They discovered that the place ‘required major improvement’ in hygienic food handling, cleanliness and conditions of the building and management of food safety.

Detailed report from the inspection stated that the cooked meats and rice had been out of temperature control for more than five hours, but once the risk of food poisoning was explained, the food was disposed of immediately.

The cold display in the servery was not working properly either and salad, dressings and mayonnaise were stored at a range of temperatures between 31°C and 34°C, well above the storing temperature of 8°C or below.

In addition, no dedicated hand washing facilities were provided in either the rear food preparation area or the servery and main cooking area, and the sink being used to wash hands contained a chopping board and knife that had just been used to dice raw chicken.

The report asked for installation of hand wash basins in both places with hot and cold water, to prevent the risk of cross contamination by maintaining adequate standard of personal hygiene. Further, the food safety management system was not available at the time of inspection.

According to the Companies House website, Rajmond Dobra and Manol Mitre registered the restaurant on May 26 with Mr Dobra holding significant control. However, following the inspection, Mr Dobra resigned as director and left the business on 1 July, with his co-owner, Manol Mitre, taking up complete control of the restaurant.

Since then, inspectors have revisited the site on August 13 and have found no faults, confirming that the new rating will be updated on the website soon.

An Oxford City Council spokesperson said: “Following a visit to this premises on August 13, 2021 by one of the officers, the premises has been re-registered with a new owner and the previous operator has ceased trading.

“The premise score will be updated on the food hygiene rating scheme (FHRS) platform with the new operator; no concerns were raised following this visit.”

The restaurant now has a sticker showing a four food hygiene rating.

In the past month, The Greek Takeaway has also been receiving glowing reviews from some of its customers online.

Reviews have praised the restaurant for it ‘authentic’ and great tasting food. One customer wrote: “Wonderfully prepared food with a nostalgic flavour of sunny Greece. Friendly atmosphere and great service. Thank you for bringing a piece of Hellas into the heart of Oxford.”

Another added: “Excellent food and service. The one thing that was missing from the Oxford area.”

The Greek Takeaway declined to comment.