York café Bar Hashery gets one star food hygiene rating

Bar Hashery, at 3 Bootham, was handed a score of one - meaning 'major improvement necessary' - following an inspection by City of York Council officials on January 24. 

But the cafe's owner said the business always maintains food safety.

The visit by inspectors came before refurbishment work had been completed, and some documents had not all been gathered in one place - a mistake which had been quickly rectified, the owner added.

The café holds a 4.5/5 rating on Tripadvisor.

On Google, it has received a 4.8/5 rating from 196 reviews with customers praising it for its ‘waffles’ and 'atmosphere’, with one reviewer even stating that it offers the ‘best vegan breakfast in York for my money.’

The café also prides itself on being the ‘one and only café that serves savoury waffles in York’.

READ MORE:

• The Olive Tree, York, receives one star hygiene rating

• York theatre group Bluelight donates £3,000 to MNDA and YAC

• Clare Jagger, of York, sets up Everlasting Memory Keepsakes

However, the council inspectors were only able to hand the café a one star food hygiene rating.

The café was 'generally satisfactory' for cleanliness and condition of facilities and the building.

However, inspectors said hygienic food handling needed improvement.

Management of food safety - including systems or checks in place to ensure food is safe to eat and evidence that staff know about food safety - was said to require 'major improvement'.

The owner of Bar Hashery told The Press: “During the visit we were still undergoing refurbishment of the café. We were closed for 10 calendar days in January and the officer visited us just after reopening. We were waiting for contractors to complete customer toilets which are now completed.

“We made a mistake of placing wrong sink labels just after refurbishment. However, our kitchen team knew which sink is used for what purpose.

“We always make sure the team is following correct procedures during operation to maintain food safety. Also, all our dishes are made from scratch and that allows us to serve the best quality.

“What comes from our kitchen is our pride."

The owner said any order with an allergen notice will take longer to prepare due to safe-food procedures.

Bar Hashery's location at Bootham (Image: Google Maps)

They added: “We follow all required laws for food handlers, have several different checklists that are completed daily. All our team members have Level 2 food handling certificates.

"Unfortunately, during this visit the officer did not see all documents in one place and we accept our mistake. We took immediate action to place documents in one folder."

The owner said they hoped inspectors would return for a re-visit soon to see that action had been taken, mistakes corrected - and to answer the cafe's questions.

“For all our loved customers, we want to say a massive thank you for trust in what we serve and we want to assure all of them that we would not put anything in front of them that would be unsafe," the owner added.

Bar Hashery has a second ‘hatch’ location on Platform 10/11 at York Train Station, which received a three star rating (generally satisfactory) when inspected on the same day as their main store.

According to its website, Bar Hashery aims to 'to create atmosphere where everyone can relax and enjoy their time, create a moment with quality food and drinks’.