3 days Ago By [email protected] (David Humphreys)
The venue has been highly rated by Guardian food critics in the past A popular Liverpool wine bar and bistro left shocked by a poor hygiene rating has begun to turn its fortunes around. Queens Bistro, which is nestled in between the shops and artisan venues of Queen Avenue off Castle Street, and heralded by the likes of Guardian food critic Jay Rayner was hit with a shock food hygiene rating of zero after an inspection in the summer. The Bistro bosses said previously they were “very upset” with the rating and were working hard to be compliant in all areas.
A report issued by Liverpool Council ’s environmental health team revealed earlier this week how inspectors reported finding a number of frozen foods in a chest freezer that were past their in-house use by date as well as some food stuffs with no durability information and some past their manufacturers use by date label. The unannounced inspection was carried out by a team from Liverpool Council's environmental health department on August 15 and resulted in the highly regarded bistro being slapped with a zero rating for food hygiene, the lowest rating available from the Food Standards Agency. A fresh inspection has now offered a positive update on the business’ fortunes.
Officials visited the location on December 10 and have deemed the performance to be “generally satisfactory.” It is the first step for the business which said in a statement it seeks to achieve a five out of five rating. A spokesperson for the venue said its standards were “incredibly high” and changes in staffing and “a matter of oversight on our part” led to the low score earlier in the year.
In a separate statement, the spokesperson said: “Since receiving a 0-star rating in August, we have worked closely with the Environmental Health Officer and an external food compliance expert to restore our high standards. “Significant changes to our in-house team and processes have led to a much-improved 3-star rating following a revisit on December 10. With another review already planned, we are fully committed to achieving a 5-star rating and ensuring the highest standards for our guests.
” In 2022, Queens Bistro was positively reviewed by respected Guardian food critic Jay Rayner, who described the venue as somewhere that “shows you a very nice time indeed”..
