THE owners of a new Andover bar, which has been told it needs to improve its hygiene standards following an inspection, said they feel "incredibly let down". 

The Duck and Tipple, which opened in London Street on February 3 following a huge refurbishment, was visited by a hygiene inspector on July 3 who gave it a two out of five for its hygiene.

The bar, which opened following the success of the owners’ first venue in Basingstoke, serves freshly made cocktails and craft beers, along with burgers and boards, and bottomless brunch.

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The hygiene inspector said ‘improvement is necessary’ regarding the hygienic handling of food, which includes preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage.

The venue, which was previously a nail salon, was given a major transformation ahead of the opening earlier this year. 

The hygiene inspector said the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building were ‘generally satisfactory’.

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

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Food safety management was also considered ‘generally satisfactory'.

This includes having systems or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and that the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained.

The bar was opened by Morgan Copelin and Matt Creeper, who have been friends since school.

They set up The Tipsy Goose in 2014, offering quirky bars and marquee services for events such as weddings, before opening their first venue in Wote Street, Basingstoke in 2018, which has the top rating of five for its hygiene. 

The owners blamed the poor rating on a member of staff, who they said had 'let us down'.

They added: "We have successfully been running our other premises for five years having kept a five for food hygiene for the duration and having run it solely under the management of the two of us.

"We pride ourselves on this and go above and beyond in terms of food standards. The unfortunate pitfall of expanding a business means you put a large amount of trust in new but experienced staff, particularly ones hired with the sole purpose to run the kitchen to a high standard.

"Unfortunately on the day we were inspected, failings were found, particularly relating to a food item found out of date that had unknowingly fallen down the back of the fridge.

"We feel incredibly let down by this and the staff member responsible is no longer employed with us. We immediately rectified their mistakes, and all points/recommendations from the report were swiftly acted upon. We would like to reassure customers that we are working at the high standard we strive for.

"The inspector understood this and agreed to carry out another inspection.

"We are still desperately awaiting this revisit, but unfortunately that hasn't happened yet due to EHO's busy workload.

"We feel that this second inspection will provide a much truer reflection of our standards, and we can only hope that, in the meantime, our customers will be able to understand that the problem has been dealt with.

"We warmly welcome any questions anyone may have and we can be contacted via hello@duckandtipple.co.uk."