A top-ranking Oxfordshire restaurant on Tripadvisor has been handed an abysmal food hygiene rating.

Cafe Le Raj on Horsefair in Chipping Norton is an Indian restaurant which was listed among the top eateries for Indian cuisine on Tripadvisor in 2022.

The restaurant, which has been open for decades, was previously praised for its “delicious meals” and “interesting menu”.

West Oxfordshire District Council’s Environmental Health team begged to differ though when they visited on Thursday, February 15.

Oxford Mail: Cafe Le Raj in Chipping Norton.Cafe Le Raj in Chipping Norton. (Image: Google Maps)

They labelled Café Le Raj as requiring 'major improvement' and slapped the business with a poor one-out-of-five rating.

The eatery’s hygienic food handling which includes the preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage of food was deemed to require 'improvement'.

Inspectors also saw improvement to be 'necessary' when assessing the cleanliness and condition of both the facilities and the building.

This refers to having an appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control to enable good food hygiene.

The report then took a major swipe at the restaurant stating that the management of food safety required 'major improvement'.

This regards having a system or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat as well as if there is evidence that staff know about food safety.

It also concerns whether or not the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.

Café Le Raj has been approached by The Oxford Mail for comment on the shocking score.