COUPLES searching for the perfect candlelit dinner on Valentine’s Day tomorrow have been urged to check the restaurant’s food hygiene score before booking.

Oxford City Council warned there is ‘nothing romantic about food poisoning’ and encouraged people to steer away from places with two stars or lower.

The Oxford Mail can reveal that eight county restaurants have a zero food hygiene rating – meaning that urgent improvement is necessary.

But more than 85 per cent of the city’s 1,281 food outlets have a rating of three or higher with 68 per cent at the top five-star standard – providing plenty of stellar choices for the romantics out there.

The council’s environmental health officers carry out the stringent checks to food businesses regularly.

Oxford City Council board member for planning and regulatory Services, Alex Hollingsworth, said: “Most of Oxford’s restaurants and food business meet high hygiene standards but it’s always best to make sure before you book.

"You can’t tell a restaurant’s hygiene standards by how clean and tidy their staff look or by how romantic the ambience is. So check the food hygiene rating before you go - that way you’ll be sure that the venue you choose meets the standards you expect.”

Scroll through the gallery on this article to see the restaurants that haven't made the grade.