A popular Indian restaurant had its food hygiene rating dramatically downgraded by three levels after a number of mix-ups, which the owner believes is “unfair”.

Machaan, in High Street, Hampton Wick, was inspected by an environmental health officer last month,

But the restaurant’s owner Baldev Kholi said he was not there during the unannounced inspection and things would have been different if he had been.

Before the inspection on August 21, the restaurant was graded “good” - level four on the food hygiene rating scale.

But the inspector downgraded it to level one, which means “major improvement is necessary”.

The inspector's report lists a number of requirements that Machaan needed to act on immediately, after they were not being complied with.

The inspector stated during the inspection the temperature of a triple fridge, which stored “high risk” foods, was above the legal limit of 8C and either needed to be adjusted, serviced or replaced.

The inspector also found that there was cross-contamination in the sink area.

The report reads: “I was advised by [worker] that he washed raw chicken and lamb in the kitchen sink.

“By washing raw meat in the kitchen sink you can transmit bacteria onto the kitchen sink, plates, other food products and surrounding surfaces which can lead to food poisoning.

"You should therefore cease this practice immediately.”

Owner Mr Kholi insisted his restaurant adhered to good practice and said: “We were inspected between lunch and dinner, before cleaning was finished, and our chef was stuck in traffic.

“If the inspector had been able to wait for the chef to come and discussed things with him then it would have been different.”

The report also said onions were stored on the kitchen floor, paneer was stored below raw meat in the freezer and coriander was left uncovered in the fridge.

Another section of the report said the levels of cleanliness were poor in some areas of the kitchen, which was “completely unacceptable”.

The inspector said: “All areas where food is prepared and stored must be clean and capable of being kept clean.

“As you have in the past had problems with cockroaches, even the smallest spillage of food is sufficient to attract cockroaches and hence you should be particularly vigilant in cleaning the kitchen."

Mr Kholi said while the restaurant had issues with pests in the kitchen previously, they have not seen any in years.

He said: “I think when we are re-inspected, we are capable of achieving a rating of five. We are normally very clean and everything is well documented.”

Machaan will be revisited by the environmental health officer to ensure it complies with food hygiene legislations, but the rating cannot be changed until it proves permanent improvements have been made.

Have you eaten at Machaan? Let us know at newsdesk@rtt.co.uk