‘The employees responsible no longer work for the company,’ the Mediterranean restaurant told us
La Braseria in Swansea has received a zero food hygiene rating
One of Swansea’s longest-running restaurants has received the worst possible food hygiene score. La Braseria, in Wind Street, blamed the rating on employees who “no longer work for the company”.
The Mediterranean restaurant, which opened in 1986, was assigned a zero rating by Swansea Council last month, meaning “urgent improvement necessary”. The business told us its previous score was three (generally satisfactory) although for a period in 2022 it had a rating of one (major improvement necessary), which it attributed at the time to “a high turnover of staff and a shortage of chefs” during Covid.
In the latest inspection, the council officer rated the family restaurant as needing urgent improvement in its “management of food safety”, which refers to the system in place to ensure food is safe. Always keep on top of the latest Welsh news with our newsletter
Its “hygienic food handling” was also deemed to need improvement, although the cleanliness and condition of its facilities were considered generally satisfactory.
When we asked La Braseria the reasons for the current zero we did not get a direct answer, but its office manager Karen Davies said: “The company is extremely disappointed with the score that was generated from a routine inspection by the environmental health office. The employees responsible no longer work for the company.
La Braseria, Wind Street, Swansea(Image: WalesOnline/Gayle Marsh)
“The environmental health office are happy that all improvements were acted upon immediately and we are confidently waiting a rescore.”
La Braseria – which has an average customer rating of 3.9 stars after more than 900 Google reviews – is run by Daniel Tercero, who took over from his father Manuel several years ago. Its website says it specialises in “fresh, locally sourced produce, complemented by one of the largest wine selections in Wales”.
In 2006 the business opened a sister restaurant, La Parrilla, in the SA1 quarter. A second La Parrilla followed 11 years later in Mumbles, but both branches shut in 2020 citing “a backdrop of unprecedented tough times”.
Following its one-star rating in 2022, La Braseria said: “Our industry has been very challenging recently with a high turnover of staff and a shortage of chefs during the coronavirus pandemic. This has regrettably led to some of our standards slipping, which were picked up on a spot visit.
“In our 35 years in business, we have never been through such a challenging time as we have over the last two years. We’ve had temporary staff and agency staff in just to keep the doors open as we’ve struggled immensely to recruit… We’re confident that we’ll regain our score to its usual very high standard.”
You can read our recent list of the restaurants with the lowest food hygiene ratings in Wales here.