A well-known Farnham restaurant has expressed its dismay after health inspectors gave it a poor hygiene rating.
On its website, Megan’s on West Street boasts of “stunning, fairy-lit interiors” and “an equally as stunning Mediterranean inspired menu too”.
However, the Waverley Borough Council report from February ranked the restaurant one out of five for its food hygiene rating. It found that the business needed “major improvements” in its management of food safety.
Issues included the lack of adequate systems or checks to ensure food served is safe to eat, and concerns over whether staff were properly trained in food safety. Inspectors also lacked confidence that standards would be maintained in future.
The report further highlighted the need for improvements in hygienic food handling, including areas such as preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling, and storage.
A spokesperson for the restaurant apologised, saying the poor rating was due to “administration not hygiene.”
The senior management team responsible at the time of the inspection are no longer with the business, and steps have since been taken to remedy the situation.
A spokesperson for Megan’s said: “We want to take a moment to address the recent food hygiene score at our Farnham location. Like you, we were shocked and disappointed by the result, as it does not reflect the exceptional standards we uphold across Megan’s.
“We are proud to consistently achieve the highest food hygiene ratings across our locations, working with Food Alert, the UK’s leading external health and safety advisors, to maintain best-in-class standards.
“This result was a failure in administration rather than hygiene. While the site itself was clean and safe, key processes were not properly managed. As a result, the senior management responsible for the site are no longer employed by the business.”
They reassured customers that the Farnham site and its kitchen had “always been clean and well maintained.”
“With an open kitchen at the heart of the restaurant, everything is in plain sight, and we welcome our guests to see this for themselves,” the spokesperson said.
“We have taken immediate and decisive action, including enhanced training procedures and strengthened leadership at the site to ensure our high standards are upheld at all times.”
Megan’s confirmed it was working closely with Waverley Borough Council and has requested a re-inspection at the earliest opportunity—three months after the initial assessment.
“We fully expect to be awarded the 5-star rating that reflects the standards we uphold,” the spokesperson said.
“Farnham, we are sorry. We are committed to regaining your trust and delivering the exceptional experience you deserve. Thank you for holding us to the standards we expect of ourselves - we will do better.”
Megan’s opened last year in the former Argos site on West Street. The brand also operates Megan’s in the Hamlet in Dulwich, London, and Megan’s by the Way in Weybridge, Surrey.
Out of more than 200 restaurants inspected in Farnham, more than 90 percent received a satisfactory rating of three stars or higher. Fewer than 3 percent received a one-star rating.
Most low scores were due to issues with “management of food safety”.