A LEBANESE and Moroccan-fusion restaurant in Oxford has finally received its first five-star hygiene rating after working hard to make sure its standards were up to scratch.

Le Kesh on Cowley Road has managed to achieve the top score after an inspection by the city council on October 30.

It said it has come a long way since it first opened in 2011 when it first took over the site.

Neil Leonard, one of the restaurant's directors, said: "It’s great to have five stars on our eighth birthday. We've been rated four-stars for years and it’s taken many years of hard work to get to where we are which also includes being one of the top 23 restaurants in Oxford on Trip Advisor.

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"The site that we took over - which was also a restaurant - was in a very bad state. We completely gutted out the restaurant and started from scratch. It's taken a lot of hard work."

Mr Leonard said the team at Le Kesh, which is small, recently 'instilled a new diligence' in its hygiene and safety efforts.

He added: "Our staff are wonderful. Some of them have been working with us from the start. They have been dedicated and treat the restaurant as though it were their own."

Oxford Mail:

Oxford City Council has helped the team to make the necessary changes and improvements needed to get them from a four-star rating to five-stars and the restaurant hopes to now maintain its top score.

Mr Leonard said: "We had to work on a lot of little things to do with hygiene and safety of staff. It's important to have everything in place, from bar checks to constant cleaning, we have to really stay on top as much as we can."

Up to seven members of staff work at Le Kesh on a daily basis, but this does not stop them from delivering 'excellent' service and ensuring high hygiene standards are reached.

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The restaurant serves food such as falafel, meatball tagine, chicken shawarma, bastilla as well as cocktails and desserts.

Mr Leonard added: "The dishes are unique in Oxford - that's our priority."

Oxford Mail:

It has a four-and-a-half star rating on TripAdvisor with reviews saying the food is 'delicious', staff are 'attentive and friendly' and the restaurant has an 'authentic Moroccan feel'.

The restaurant has also received a 'Certificate of Excellence' from the reviews site and is listed as the second best Lebanese restaurant in Oxford.

Inspectors at the council rated Le Kesh's food hygiene and safety, structural compliance and confidence in management as 'Good' resulting in its five-star rating of 'Very Good'.