A HUGELY popular Warrington restaurant has received a new four-out-of-five food hygiene score following a reinspection.

Last month Donatello in Orford was handed a one-out-of-five-star score by the Food Standards Agency.

The Orford Lane eatery was told that, in terms of the management of food safety, ‘major improvement’ was necessary.

While in the hygienic food handling category and the cleanliness and condition of facilities and building category, improvement was said to be necessary, according to inspectors.

Following the rating, the owners of family-run Donatello issued a statement to customers in which they said they were committed to regaining a five-star rating within weeks following this ‘low point’.

The statement said that the low score was due to structural improvements required to the building, as well as minor improvements to paperwork regarding staff training, and fixes to hygiene cladding on kitchen walls.

The business said that all issues highlighted received attention, and a reinspection was ordered.

Now, following that reinspection, it can be confirmed that the restaurant, which has been in business for more than 25 years, has been awarded a four-out-of-five score.

Although the Food Standards Agency website has not yet been updated, due to the inspection occurring last week and an appeal period of just over a month existing, this will be changed to reflect the new score in due course.

In a statement, the Donatello team said: “Last week, we received another hygiene inspection, and we are pleased to share we have been awarded four stars.

“While we are disappointed that we did not receive the five stars we committed to just over two weeks ago, we did fix all the recommendations from the previous visit.

“Naturally, as it was a different officer that carried out the inspection, they noticed some further structural elements that we would agree are fair advisories.

“This is mainly the ceiling in our dry store area, which of course we will rectify promptly as we did with the other advisories.

“We hope that this news can ease anybody who was worried or concerned about dining with us, and if anyone has any further questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

“Finally, a big ‘thank you’ to all our customers who supported us, both through Facebook and by coming to dine with us.

“It absolutely did not go unnoticed, and we feel honoured and immensely proud to be a part of the Warrington community.

“We hope we can continue to serve Warrington great Italian food, and be home to your birthdays, family get-togethers, celebrations, catch-ups and date nights for many years to come.”

The family-run business also operates a second Warrington venue, Don Quattro at Fearnhead Cross, which was awarded a five-star rating last month.