Caramba Steak House in York rated one for food hygiene

The Caramba Steak House in Stirling Road, Clifton Moor, received a one rating, meaning ‘major improvement necessary’, following a visit from City of York Council inspectors on August 1.

City of York Council has declined to release a report on what officers found, in case it prejudices any future action against the restaurant.

However, the Food Standards Agency website has given some details.

The website says when it came to hygienic food handling, it was a matter of ‘improvement necessary'.

The same rating was also awarded for the cleanliness and facilities of the building.

However, when it came to management of food safety, the agency website recorded ‘major improvement necessary'.

Caramba Steak House director Dale Laverick was manager on duty on the day of the inspection.

Dale says the rating was “a bit of a shock".

The restaurant at Clifton Moor (Image: Street View)

He explained: “We had an issue with our boiler, this is what caused the main drop in the score.

“This has since been fixed the following day of the visit. We were told it would have scored around four stars without this issue on the day.

“There were some other bits that seemed a bit picky but were quiet fixes on the day.”

He added: “We are sorting a revisit. Yes, we have always got 4/5s over the years we have had our restaurants.”

After submitting a Freedom of Information request to City of York Council, the council responded that “due to ongoing investigations the council believe that releasing the full hygiene reports at this time could prejudice the council’s ability to enforce the provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 which will inhibit the council’s legal obligation to protect the public".

A statement added: “To assist with your enquiry the full food hygiene report will be able to be disclosed after the conclusion of the council’s investigations and any subsequent actions.”

The Caramba Steak House is a well-regarded venue, with high ratings on review websites. The York venue also has a sister restaurant in Selby.

Google has given the York restaurant 4.6 stars out of five, based on 215 reviews.

TripAdvisor awards the York restaurant 4.5 stars, ranking it 238 out of 709 York restaurants. Some 34 out of 41 reviews were excellent.

The restaurants are family owned and run establishments with Brazilian chefs.

Earlier this year, the venue near the Vue Cinema, was transformed into a New York-style Italian trattoria.

This was because the building was being used for the filming of a NetFlix movie featuring Rory Kinnear, called “Bank of Dave: The Sequel.”

Several large American cars and a yellow New York Taxi were sited nearby whilst filming took place.