Ynyshir regains five-star hygiene rating after one-star inspection

Ynyshir has regained a five-star food hygiene rating after being handed a one-star score in January 2026 for problems inspectors said included flies, broken equipment, a dirty knife, dirty food preparation areas and cross-contamination concerns. The reversal returned Wales’ only two-Michelin-star restaurant to the top of the hygiene scale after a sharp public clash over standards in one of the country’s best-known kitchens.

The restaurant, Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms, sits in Eglwys Fach, near Machynlleth in Powys, Wales, and has been discussed as a possible contender for a third Michelin star. That reputation made the January inspection more than a routine local enforcement issue, turning a food-hygiene score into a test of how much leeway, if any, should be given to a destination restaurant with a national profile.

Chef-patron Gareth Ward pushed back immediately. He said he was “not embarrassed” by the score and argued that the inspection reflected the restaurant’s use of raw ingredients and its specialised preparation and handling practices rather than unsafe food. Ward also said the inspectors were “not 100% wrong” and later said the restaurant’s fish had been sent for laboratory testing and had come back “absolutely clear.”

The dispute quickly broadened beyond Ynyshir itself. Giles Coren said Michelin-starred restaurants should not have to abide by normal health and safety rules, while Jack Stein publicly backed the kitchen after saying he knew people working there and describing it as one of the most organised and clean kitchens in the country. The clash left Ynyshir balancing two reputations at once: a dining room celebrated at the highest level of gastronomy, and a food-safety inspection that had to be answered in the same plain, public terms as any other restaurant in Wales.

By February 2026, the five-star hygiene rating was back. The rapid restoration showed how quickly an inspection record can change when conditions are addressed, but it also left the January findings, and the questions they raised about enforcement, firmly on the public record.