A curry house kicked off Uber Eats following a damning food hygiene inspection says it has put “sweat and tears” into turning the restaurant around.

Rahman’s Golden Oven in Herne Bay was blacklisted by the online delivery service in February after receiving a one-star rating – the second lowest possible.

It also saw a 60% drop in trade after council inspectors discovered dirty equipment and a complete disregard for food safety at the Sea Street eatery.

But now bosses are celebrating after receiving an improved four-star rating following a reinspection.

Mufassir Rahman, who runs the restaurant with his brother, Nahid, says their new score has been hard-earned.

“It’s been sweat and tears,” said the 31-year-old.

“The whole team has put in a lot of work and improved everything.

“Since the last inspection we’ve bought brand-new fridges, freezers, a new clay oven and microwave, and new storage containers.”

Mr Rahman told KentOnline he has also implemented a new daily cleaning schedule and now completes a deep-clean once a week.

He added the previous chef has been fired and replaced.

“All of the staff now have up-to-date training,” he said.

During the first visit, inspectors found dirty and rusty equipment, watered-down soap and food being stored in the garden.

Their report stated that raw chicken was seen unwrapped in the kitchen next to ice cubes being used in drinks in the restaurant – leading to an increased risk of cross-contamination.

Other high-risk food such as rice was being left out at room temperature overnight in pans, with officers warning such practices needed to be stopped.

Chicken was also defrosted in a bucket of water at room temperature.

While there, a gas engineer also had to be called out to fix a leak in the kitchen that had prompted the carbon monoxide alarm to sound during the visit.

Following February’s inspection, Mr Rahman was surprised to learn some infrastructural aspects of the building were not code compliant - despite them being unchanged from the previous owner, who had scored well during hygiene inspections.

But during the reinspection on May 13, food hygiene officers found the problems had been resolved.

“I’d like to thank my loyal customers who supported us during our updating period,” continued Mr Rahman, who hopes the restaurant will soon be relisted on Uber Eats.

“We are currently working on a new menu and would like to invite guests to join us Mondays through Wednesdays for a special dine-in offer."