A “dirty” Leeds city centre restaurant has been told to clean up and fix its "unusable" wash hand basin after being given a low food hygiene rating.
Viet Bistro on Lower Briggate, signposted Viet Guy, was given a damning two hygiene rating after the health inspector found multiple issues on October 4. The inspector, working on behalf of Leeds City Council and Food Standards Agency, made a multitude of requests in order to improve.
Restaurant management has apologised to their customers for the low rating and has made assurances the issues have been "acted on".
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Salad strainers were found stored on ‘dirty’ shelves and there was one “in the bin”. Shelving on the prep benches was “dirty”. The inspector wrote: “Wash hand basin was unusable. When used it was leaking water all over the floor over an electric cable."
Waste pipes from the sinks were also found not connected to the drainage system. Viet Bistro was told to keep all work surfaces and prep areas clean.
It will also told to clean all walls, ceilings, floors, fridges, freezers, microwaves, internally and externally, and all hand contact points. They needed to repair and replace damaged fridges, including ones which had been taped together, and the "scored and worn” chopping boards.
Some foods were left uncovered in the fridge. Defrosting food was left on the side in room temperature, which could encourage harmful bacteria to spread. Peanut sauce was left to cool over night.
Management was told to declutter the dry store to make it easy to clean and look for pests. The inspector was also not impressed when they were told the food safety management system had been “left at home”. The bistro was given an overall hygiene rating of just two stars out of five.
Viet Bistro apologises to customers
Viet Bistro/Viet Guy management said: "First of all, we would like to express our apologies to our customers regarding this matter.
"We would like to address that we have acted on issues that has been informed to us by the inspector, and we are waiting for the inspector's next visit - in which we are confident that our rating will be improved. As a team, we will continue our best to maintain the highest level of hygiene, in order to provide the best service possible for the customers and to introduce the Viet cuisine to everyone.
"Once again, we would like to express our gratitude to all of our customers who had been, are and will support us in our journey."
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