A two-Michelin star restaurant that received a one-star food hygiene rating has found its way back to the top.
Ynyshir Restaurant near Machynlleth in mid Wales specialises in Japanese-inspired raw dishes as part of its 30-course tasting menu, which comes to nearly £500 per person.
Ceredigion council had initially found “significant hazards” were not properly identified, ordering the restaurant to stop serving raw lobster in October 2025.
However, Ynyshir said the inspectors did not understand its “specialised procedures”.
Dirty floor, inadequate hand-washing facilities in some areas and broken equipment were also identified by the inspectors.
The results of the inspection, published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), had declared that the management of food safety in Ynyshir requires “major improvement”, while the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building also need to be improved. Hygienic food handling was rated as “generally satisfactory”.
Chef Gareth Ward, who has featured as a guest judge on Masterchef: The Professionals, previously said he was not embarrassed by the one star.
He told the BBC at the time that Ynyshir is working “at the highest standard in the world”, arguing that it is merely doing “something different” in its approach to raw ingredients and techniques.
He added: “We buy in the best ingredients from around the world, and a lot of it I serve raw.
“I’m buying sashimi-grade fish from Japan, and they’re questioning, ‘Well, we don’t know the water, so how do we know it’s sashimi grade?’ Well, it is sashimi grade, this stuff’s eaten raw all over the world, and just because our rules don’t fit their rules, they’re questioning it.”
The council has now awarded the restaurant a hygiene rating of five following a re-inspection in February after it found the “business had addressed all matters identified during the original inspection”.
The council added:”This outcome demonstrates the effectiveness of the food hygiene inspection process and the positive results that can be achieved through constructive engagement between regulatory officers and food businesses to improve standards.
“Ynyshir was immediately notified of its revised rating and the updated score was published on the Food Standards Agency website, where it has been available for public viewing since March 2026.”
Ynyshir has been approached for comment.
