St Albans pub Ye Olde Fighting Cocks has been awarded a five-star hygiene rating by inspectors – just weeks after being hit with a dreaded 1/5 rating.
The Abbey Mill Lane boozer received a return visit from food hygiene inspectors last week after being told in March that “major improvement” was needed.
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks is believed to be the oldest pub in Britain and promised to make the necessary changes to deliver a ‘five-star summer’.
They’ve made good on their word, with relieved landlord Martin Robinson saying: “We’ve been eagerly waiting for another visit as we knew we would regain a 5-star rating because we corrected the issues immediately, at huge cost, when told about them.
“However it took time for them to return, but we are happy that at last they have given us the rating we think we deserve".
Inspectors had raised concerns about food safety and the cleanliness of conditions inside the pub.
After the disappointing initial rating, Martin and his team quickly got to work fixing the issues highlighted by inspectors, ahead of the crunch follow up inspection.
He said: " We did a lot of retiling and repainting and I've spent £7000 on a new cooler in the cellar because the old one was leaking, which was unacceptable."
Some staff have also undergone retraining and the pub's paperwork has been taken digital, creating a more organised system without mountains of paperwork.
Having received a four-star rating last year, staff were expecting a full five this time round and were shocked by the one-star verdict.
Martin said: "None of the issues were raised so last year so we certainly weren't expecting such a harsh rating. But now I feel like we're where we should have been in the first place."
The pubs roots date back to the eighth century and they survived a scare in 2022, going into administration - only to be saved by a team of former staff.
Martin added: "This weekend looks like it’s going to be sunny - so come on down for a drink!”
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