A NEW FOREST restaurant is "under investigation" by a public health watchdog.

A report from environmental health chiefs, who carried out an inspection at the Amalfi Restaurant & Pizzeria, gave it a food hygiene rating of one out of five.

Visiting the eatery on Hythe High Street on inspectors found the cleanliness of the premises needed improvement.

They found that systems to ensure that food is safe to eat and that staff know about food safety needed major improvement.

Meanwhile, the inspectors found that the hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage at the pub was generally satisfactory.

Inspectors from the environmental health partnership of New Forest District Council undertook the visit on December 10.

According to the council, the one-star rating will remain in place until the next food hygiene inspection is undertaken in late 2020.

However, business may request a re-inspection sooner at a fee.

Online, the restaurant is described as an authentic Italian eatery where the very best of the Amalfi Coast is celebrated through excellent food, delicious wine and a lively atmosphere.

Despite its poor hygiene rating, Amalfi holds a 4.5 rating out of five on review website TripAdvisor.

A council spokesperson said: On December 10 our food and safety team carried out a routine food hygiene inspection of Amalfi Restaurant and Pizzeria, High Street.

"Issues relating to the poor standard of cleanliness at the premises during the inspection, and a lack of food safety management procedures – that is the ability of the company to demonstrate that they are taking appropriate measures to produce safe food, were identified. The business was required to take action to address these issues and to secure compliance.

"On the basis of the inspection findings the business was awarded a food hygiene rating of 1, and we are working with the business to achieve full compliance.

"The one-star rating will remain in place until the next food hygiene inspection is undertaken in late 2020."

A statement on the Amalfi Facebook page says: "Good morning to all our customers. We have news to give you, unfortunately after so much hard work to open our business, we decided to take staff to help us, but having had a bad result after the inspection, we decided to change all the staff because we want the best for us and our customers. So we have worked to fix everything pending the re-inspection, we want to announce that we are looking for new complete staff, with more skills, to ensure that it does not happen again. I hope you all understand. We wish everyone a good day. Thank you."