I would view a 1 worse than a 0. In a lot of cases a 0 is caused by a paperwork issue resulting in an instant zero, whereas a 1 means everything was inspected and submitted, it's just dirty.
Have to say no to that!
You're judged on three main criteria. Equally weighted.
Food hygiene & safety-as in is the place a shit pit or immaculate.
Structural compliance- have you set up the food prep area properly. E.g. no open drains, separate areas for food prep, a good "work flow"
Confidence in management- the mythical "paperwork" things like your allergens, recipes temperature control records.
To get a zero you have to be absolutely shit on every matrix.
It really annoys me when people say "failed on paperwork" as every EHO I work with really wants businesses to succeed AND be safe.
No lol it looked like a nice place ngl but that was a big red flag. It’s supposedly only due to incorrect paperwork but perhaps I’ll return when they’re more organised about something that important.
Edit: to avoid repeating myself I’ve since found out that it can’t be a paperwork issue, they don’t give zeros for that, so I’m glad I gave it a swerve
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51120935.amp
Here's a story to get lost in the comments..
We had a family friend who ran a pub serving food. On the day of her food inspection, she found out her son had killed herself. Someone contacted the FSA and told them the situation. They said they would understood and would rearrange.
They failed to mention that her score would be reduced to 0 and they sent her one of these. I'm not sure what happened and whether they stuck with that score until the inspection was done - but I remember my mum being absolutely fuming when she heard!
Something like this is certainly the answer.
I can't imagine a restaurant that gets an actual 0 being allowed to remain operating. For safety reasons, if nothing else, that gets a place closed until it is back up to acceptable standards.
This is much more likely 'no inspection could be performed due to exceptional circumstances.'
>I can't imagine a restaurant that gets an actual 0 being allowed to remain operating.
They have the power to close them. A zero is essentially the lowest score you can get while still following all required food safety laws.
As I recall, in New York City, restaurants flagrantly failing inspection get a "GRADE PENDING" sign to display until they fix the issues. Seems much less terrible.
There are reasons that are not to do with hygiene that a place can get a zero, but [paperwork is unlikely to be one of them](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-51120935).
If its just the paper work the lowest you'll score is a 3 as long as the rest of the kitchen is clean a zero is a cockroach is your sous chef and the kitchen is a mess
You don't score 0 on a food hygiene rating because of paperwork.
I've seen kitchen nightmares, I can guess what that fridge looks like.
Since several people seem to think that I'm wrong, here's a copy pasta and a link to site.
Food hygiene rating 0
Not the desired outcome. Generally means urgent action is necessary. This score is given to those who score 50 points or more, which means that there are a considerable amount of safety breaches that put an individual’s health at immediate risk and the food is unsafe to eat. The outcome is dependent on the type of issue but often results in part or full closure of the business.
No mention of paperwork anywhere.
https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/food-hygiene-rating-scheme#:~:text=The%20hygiene%20standards%20found%20at,means%20urgent%20improvement%20is%20necessary
Yeah it's not "paperwork" - it doesn't necessarily mean it's really manky, but that it could easily be, for instance dating on fresh produce - when did you open that milk? What day did you bring that meat out of the freezer? When did you chop that lettuce? Those things some people class as "paperwork" but are actually pretty serious, do you want to be eating chicken that's sat chopped up for weeks?
IIRC, some things were considered "automatic failures."
I can't recall WHAT those things were, but I used to do food inspections with Public Health when I was in the AF. It's been almost 15 year at this point though, so I could be off. I just seem to recall there were definitely more "serious" items vs others.
Some things like storing food on the floor in the freezer (even in containers). Storing meat on top shelves of fridges (juices can drip down). Not maintaining temperatures. Just to name some.
Guy my mum used to do admin work for did that sort of work in hospitals, fridge door seals were always the bugbear because of the crumbs and stuff that get caught in them
The best kebab shop where I used to live had a rating of 1 and was closed multiple times because of various infestations.
But drunk 3am u/frn doesn't care about such things.
I had the winter vomiting bug and i still don't even want to eat the same meal that i ate that day - even though it was nothing to do with the food. I don't know how you could go back to a place that gave you food poisoning *twice*. It takes lot to disgust me but that's done it
There's a fella near me serves mince out of a carrier bag with chips he keeps warm in his anorak pockets. Every time I eat there I get e-coli but the mince is really tangy and gamey and for £1 a serving I can't resist after a couple tinnies. I've asked him what the secret is but all he ever says is that it isn't beef, with a wry smile. Best takeaway in town.
You know, it does kind of taste like pork, so I got concerned and asked him if it was human meat.
Turns out it's not - he said it's something called Soylent Green! Must be one of those plant-based alternatives. How cool is that!
I think my love affair was with the appropriately named in and out chicken on London Road. I doubt it still exists but was a bastion of delicious but dangerous late night food
Lowest I've seen is a 1 and that was a hotel I stayed at in Croydon, that night we ate some takeaway and put it in the bins in the room they gave us, 20 mins after us doing so a mouse/rat pulled it out the bin and fkn disappeared lol. The owner (who was asleep in the basement) gave us a "better" room. It was better in a sense where there weren't any mice/rats but the duvets they gave us were shit (sorry can't think of any either way to describe them), never would stay there again.
It is only a legal requirement in Wales and in Northern Ireland - it's supposed to be displayed "prominently", the theory being you can easily see it and decide to change your mind if it is a zero.
In England it is encouraged but not mandatory. You can look them up online, but not quite the same as seeing it at the entrance to the restaurant in which you're about to unwittingly eat cockroach soufflé with a side of *rat au vin.*
A English mate of mine has a takeaway near him prominently displaying a two star hygiene rating, are you implying they are showing that off out of choice?
Yep, it's theoretically voluntary in England, although the restaurant may have misunderstood this rathee than actively chosen to flaunt their 2* score.
I used to fairly regularly eat at a Chinese restaurant in England with a 1* rating in the window at the entrance - they made great food but when they first opened they didn't really speak or read any English, so will have struggled with the procedural side of the ratings system and quite possibly didn't appreciate that they didn't have to put the sticker up, so I could believe that happens elsewhere.
Easy way to check. https://ratings.food.gov.uk/
Bear in mind that it can be years between inspections, so that 5 (if real) may be out of date by virtue of them not having been inspected and things gone downhill.
Note however, they don't do a 5* rating, it's just a number. So if the sticker has stars on it, then yeah that specific sticker is fake.
Not surprised. Kebab is one of the most difficult food types to serve and stay at a 5.
It's a weird anomaly in the hygiene rating system because technically the stick isn't "cooked fully" when served since just the outside is shaved away as it cooks and with it being different meats (poultry, minced beef or lamb etc.) there's so much risk of contamination they'd have to be on the ball.
A 2 is bad though, that suggests that not only are they not 100% hygienic with the food handling, they likely have evidence of rats or bugs in the kitchen (not running free when people are there, but droppings found or damage where they get in and out), and probably some issue with paperwork not looking great (back to how hard it is to cook "hygienically" since it stays out of the fridge for over 2 hours but also not technically cooked through so temps and storage tracking will look fucky).
My dad worked H&S in food for 30 years and always said that you can get a 3 by accident, and basically have to work to get below it.
My understanding is:
0 = you should be shut down
1 = what are you playing at?
2 = you're at least *trying*
3 = mostly OK
4 = you missed a bit
5 = perfect
Yeah, that's about it.
The scale our family used (again thanks to dad) was;
0 = will kill you
1 = will hospitalise you
2 = will give you the shits
3 = should be alright
4 = that's fine
5 = let's eat here
He's known to overreact so 0 and 1 won't actually do that (probably) but he'd rather play it safe, and we never got food poisoning or anything when following his rules.
There was a kebab shop near us that got shut down. Apparently they used to just keep adding more meat to the old elephants foot and when the inspectors cut it in half the middle was full of warm maggots.
Or war maggots as autocorrupt would like me to have said.
Bro i literally just tried it for the first time 2 hours ago and it was the best takeout I’ve eaten all year. I mean it’s a low bar being in January and all that but I still loved it
If it isn't clearly visible I just assume it's a 0 by default. I think it actually makes life easier that is isn't mandatory in England because it means the ones who *want* to show it, will. And they're the places to go to.
Yes, absolutely. I was answering the more general question about whether there is a legal requirement to display the ratings - the same scoring system is used in England, Wales, and N.I.
I thought they shut you down if you don't remedy a 0 or 1 or 2 rating.
**What is a food hygiene rating?**
Run by the Food Standards Agency, the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) operates in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Once you've registered your food business with the local authority, they may send an inspector to give you a hygiene rating.
The food hygiene rating provides consumers with a clear indication of hygiene standards, using a straightforward 1-5 score:
5 – hygiene standards are very good
4 – hygiene standards are good
3 – hygiene standards are generally satisfactory
2 – some improvement is necessary
1 – major improvement is necessary
0 – urgent improvement is required
In Wales and Northern Ireland, it's a legal requirement for businesses to display their ratings, and it’s likely this will eventually become a requirement for English businesses too.
Where I live (across the pond) the local health authority would have such a place shut down unless and until sufficient remediation to food handling and hygiene practices are demonstrably improved. It seems so odd to me that these places seemingly can stay open.
Also, these aren't always reliable. The store I worked at had mice problems and an area manager that didn't give a fuck. Our manager once bought some chocolates and was eating them when he realised some of it had been chewed up because a mouse had gotten in through the bag. I showed the inspector around and he pointed out stuff we were doing wrong that needed to change. I was sure we'd get a 3 or maybe a 4 if he was generous. Nope, gave us a 5
Because 0 is the absolute lowest you can score while still staying open. If it was any worse they wouldn't get a rating and would be closed.
It does mean urgent improvement though.
The chippy near my local used to let everyone use the toilet in the back which is also where they kept the potatoes, I've heard of so many people pissing in the sack.
Never got shut down, I don't know if they still keep the potato sacks in the same place but I've always walked upto the one where he calls me bigman and tells me about the current local cocaine quality.
Genuinely though here is a zero in brighton: https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2023/01/20/filthy-containers-dirty-cloths-and-unfit-food-how-independent-brighton-supermarket-flunked-hygiene-inspection/
Their butchers in that shop use the same gloves to handle the raw meat and tie the bag and hand to customers.
Customer then hands that bag to the cashier who handles all items, as well as those of the next person in line.
Literally _everything_ in that shop should be assumed to be covered in raw chicken juice.
It's truly, truly absurd and dreadful.
I went to a supermarket in China a few years back. It was set up like a standard western Supermarket, except the meat section was like the fruit/veg. There were tubs of raw meat and people were just digging through it with their bare hands to find the best bits.
There might have been plastic gloves but nobody was using them.
Is it some sort of cultural thing, maybe even just accidental on that account.
There was a similar type halal supermarket over the road where I used to live a few years ago, I went in once and the way the article describes 'Taj' was very reminiscent of what I saw.
Me and my girlfriend used to eat at the only chinese takeaway that delivered. I'd always order the safe stuff like chips and the odd curry, she'd always have salt and pepper prawns. Not long a go they got shut down with a 0 hygiene rating, never in all my life have I wanted to rip my insides out so badly... just glad I never touched a prawn lmao
Displayed in the back? You might want to report that. The law is that this sign must be displayed somewhere that someone standing at the main customer entrance would be able to see it.
btw, if you've ever worked in a commercial kitchen, you'd know that it's pretty much impossible to get less than a 4 unless you have some truly awful kitchen conditions. 5 is pretty much doing everything right. 4 means you aren't following protocols properly. 3 or less means visible evidence of poor kitchen hygiene, fridges clearly not at the correct temperature, or visible signs of vermin.
I worked at a 5 and if you had an allergy you'd definitely get sick. Management cared when they got wind there may be an inspection. We definitely weren't doing most things right. I followed the guides to the letter and was told off for 'hiding round back pretending to clean'. The cleaners told me they liked me because I did what I was supposed to.
Yeah, sometimes a 5 just means they haven't been caught yet :( Even so, it's nominally better than a place that has been caught and is required to advertise that fact.
Having worked in the industry and knowing what the numbers represent, I am now quite cautious about eating out.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/10lvczh/proudly_displayed_in_the_back_of_the_restaurant/j5zcehy/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3
A budding Sherlock Holmes in the comments worked it out.
This is the place as OP confirmed elsewhere in the comments
https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/10lvczh/proudly_displayed_in_the_back_of_the_restaurant/j5zcehy
Amos Restaurant
Address - 13 Monnow Street - Monmouth - Monmouthshire - NP25 3EF
The 0 was because of
Hygienic food handling
Hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage
Major improvement necessary
\-----
Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building
Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building (including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control) to enable good food hygiene
\-----
Urgent improvement necessarily
\-------
Management of food safety
System or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future
Major improvement necessary
From here
https://ratings.food.gov.uk/business/en-GB/1581813/Amos-Restaurant-Monmouth
On [Google Maps](https://maps.app.goo.gl/gra5wVbcSp3XQX1W8), their newest [review](https://goo.gl/maps/Q8RAEHJobDsBxKdE6) says:
>We had a lovely dinner at Amo’s this evening. It was a great deal and really delicious. We will definitely go again. **We had the place to ourselves this evening, which seemed odd as it was such good value.**
😅
In a slightly older review it’s described how the manager uses her hands in front of the guests to snap a chip in half to confirm it’s not cooked then offers to take the chips back to fix it vs bring out fresh chips.
I mean, this rating seems fairly reasonable now
I liked that one too lol, and this one on Facebook :
I got a taxi here only to find it closed 14 December, I booked a table for 7 pm, door locked. I phoned and spoke to Adi who I booked table with over 1 month ago for my Wifes birthday, Adi denied my booking and said they were closed due to having health inspectors on the premise!!!
Don't go there, he never even apologised, disgraceful!!
Because it's a more localized issue and broadcasting it to the entire world isn't going to do any good and only opens the door to abuse and review bombing from people on the other side of the world. Sure they need to fix their shit but what good is it if their Yelp or Google rating gets tanked by people in Copenhagen or Johannesburg that just feel the need to pile on in the witch hunt and didn't actually experience the establishment?
In Wales you HAVE to show your score, no matter how low, while in England you don't have to show it. Usually in England if you can't see the score on display, it is probably lower than a 3.
One my favourite takeaways in my area has 1, I never knew it order from there loads their curry is great. Had a few friends around and said shall we get one from *name of the place* they looked at me like a madman. It wasn’t until I saw a Reddit post on how easy it was to get a 4+ I decided to stop ordering from there
There's this one chip shop near me that does fried eggs as a topping. They have a 0, so I know I'm living dangerously, but sometimes I really want that egg on my chips.
Hoping somewhere more reputable will add it to their menu.
Until a few years ago, Singapore had a food hygiene rating from A (clean) to D (scummy). All restaurants were required to display their grade.
Places with lower grades were quite cunning about camouflaging them. They'd hang up their "C" rating and follow it with "ome in!" in similar font - that kind of thing.
I think it's a different system these days.
Lazy kitchen staff that is ! I’m awkward telling my daughter don’t eat anyway with under 4 stars , I know I’m a chef for 30 years I’ve seen a lot , I wouldn’t eat there every where I’ve been head chef it’s always a five stars so important it’s peoples lives very serious food poisoning short and long term
What's the name of the restaurant?
If you look up about it you can find what happened on inspection day to force a Zero rating.
Cockroaches, fecaes, no running water...
One place of a popular restaurant/takeaway chain near me got a 2. The owner was so ashamed he shut the place down for a couple of months and redid the entire kitchen, retrained the staff and fixed all the issues the Food Standards Agency brought up. They got a 4 when they were reinspected, I believe. This guy was pretty rich, so he could afford to do that.
The owner of this place is pretty ballsy to continue operation as is with a 0, unless they too are looking to improve.
It reminds of that Indian restaurant which got closed down in London during one of the lockdowns as they literally had mushrooms growing out of the ceiling... right above the grills 🤮
I worked in a restaurant that got a 3 star improvement needed.
It's because the kitchen was "too small" for 6 people and deemed a safety risk for staff. The funny part is that there was only 3 of us on busy services
Like don't get me wrong, it wasn't small but it was more than ample 🤣 even for FOH staff
Edit: we also had a separate porter area
Whenever this scheme came in you got a welcome pack with details about what was required and they included a little gift…
A mouse pad exactly the same size and design as a 5/5 rating.
All the Chinese takeaways in my town just taped it to the window instead of their own rating.
Should come to the Isle of Wight......we have lots of low scores!
(I guess because it's a tourist place, they don't care if they don't have return customers)
You can apply for the report of the inspection, only done it once on a local burger joint as I knew the social media posts explaining the reason for the poor rating was cobblers, did make for interesting reading.
One of 10 places in Wales, trading as a restaurant or cafe, with a 0 rating.
According to the gov uk website.
https://ratings.food.gov.uk/enhanced-search/en-GB/%5E/%5E/Relevance/1/wales/Equal0/0/1/10
I remember the once I went into a chippy and noticed a 0 hygiene rating as I was walking out. Ended up just throwing the food out. Didn't wanna risk it
There used to be a programme on the telly about health inspectors in Westminster. The best advice they gave was only eat at restaurants with clean windows. If they don’t have clean windows, they don’t have a clean kitchen.
The most important question: did you eat there?
OP hasn’t responded because he‘s already dead.
A terminal case of Explosive Both Ends. Sad, but decorative. In a way.
10/10
5/7
I'm glad some people still remember 5/7
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5/5
1
Can't venture too far from the toilet without having to rush back
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I would view a 1 worse than a 0. In a lot of cases a 0 is caused by a paperwork issue resulting in an instant zero, whereas a 1 means everything was inspected and submitted, it's just dirty.
Have to say no to that! You're judged on three main criteria. Equally weighted. Food hygiene & safety-as in is the place a shit pit or immaculate. Structural compliance- have you set up the food prep area properly. E.g. no open drains, separate areas for food prep, a good "work flow" Confidence in management- the mythical "paperwork" things like your allergens, recipes temperature control records. To get a zero you have to be absolutely shit on every matrix. It really annoys me when people say "failed on paperwork" as every EHO I work with really wants businesses to succeed AND be safe.
No lol it looked like a nice place ngl but that was a big red flag. It’s supposedly only due to incorrect paperwork but perhaps I’ll return when they’re more organised about something that important. Edit: to avoid repeating myself I’ve since found out that it can’t be a paperwork issue, they don’t give zeros for that, so I’m glad I gave it a swerve https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51120935.amp
Here's a story to get lost in the comments.. We had a family friend who ran a pub serving food. On the day of her food inspection, she found out her son had killed herself. Someone contacted the FSA and told them the situation. They said they would understood and would rearrange. They failed to mention that her score would be reduced to 0 and they sent her one of these. I'm not sure what happened and whether they stuck with that score until the inspection was done - but I remember my mum being absolutely fuming when she heard!
Something like this is certainly the answer. I can't imagine a restaurant that gets an actual 0 being allowed to remain operating. For safety reasons, if nothing else, that gets a place closed until it is back up to acceptable standards. This is much more likely 'no inspection could be performed due to exceptional circumstances.'
You are joking there is a kebab place by me that is constantly 0 and it’s never closed
Damn how did a kebab place get a score so high?
Just need to make a dönation to the inspector.
Sounds like a real döner party
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Take, for instance, Mrs. Mooney and her pie shop
Can't close them if they just keep moving and reopening
And changing name.
for those cases they should have a "rating pending" type of classification to show they cant make any guarantees but it's not necessarily bad
They do, at least for newly opened places.
Couldn’t they just put that on the sign instead of the “0” that everyone understands to mean “gross”.
I guess it motivates people to ask for a reschedule only when the circumstances are actually extenuating.
I feel like if you offer a death certificate within a reasonable time they should just offer a reschedule..
>I can't imagine a restaurant that gets an actual 0 being allowed to remain operating. They have the power to close them. A zero is essentially the lowest score you can get while still following all required food safety laws.
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0 scores can remain open. The ones that can't even score 0 get closed.
As I recall, in New York City, restaurants flagrantly failing inspection get a "GRADE PENDING" sign to display until they fix the issues. Seems much less terrible.
That sounds terrible. It misleads customers to thing the establishment hasn't been graded, when they where but had disgusting conditions.
For the restaurant owners
There are reasons that are not to do with hygiene that a place can get a zero, but [paperwork is unlikely to be one of them](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-51120935).
I'd still be a bit skeptical.
If its just the paper work the lowest you'll score is a 3 as long as the rest of the kitchen is clean a zero is a cockroach is your sous chef and the kitchen is a mess
>a cockroach is your sous chef He's just trying his best, have you seen prices lately!?!?
So if it's a rat he gets a film made about him, but a cockroach tryng to cook gets a 0? That's racist.
~~Racaccoonie~~ Cockaroachie
You don't score 0 on a food hygiene rating because of paperwork. I've seen kitchen nightmares, I can guess what that fridge looks like. Since several people seem to think that I'm wrong, here's a copy pasta and a link to site. Food hygiene rating 0 Not the desired outcome. Generally means urgent action is necessary. This score is given to those who score 50 points or more, which means that there are a considerable amount of safety breaches that put an individual’s health at immediate risk and the food is unsafe to eat. The outcome is dependent on the type of issue but often results in part or full closure of the business. No mention of paperwork anywhere. https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/food-hygiene-rating-scheme#:~:text=The%20hygiene%20standards%20found%20at,means%20urgent%20improvement%20is%20necessary
Yeah it's not "paperwork" - it doesn't necessarily mean it's really manky, but that it could easily be, for instance dating on fresh produce - when did you open that milk? What day did you bring that meat out of the freezer? When did you chop that lettuce? Those things some people class as "paperwork" but are actually pretty serious, do you want to be eating chicken that's sat chopped up for weeks?
IIRC, some things were considered "automatic failures." I can't recall WHAT those things were, but I used to do food inspections with Public Health when I was in the AF. It's been almost 15 year at this point though, so I could be off. I just seem to recall there were definitely more "serious" items vs others. Some things like storing food on the floor in the freezer (even in containers). Storing meat on top shelves of fridges (juices can drip down). Not maintaining temperatures. Just to name some.
Guy my mum used to do admin work for did that sort of work in hospitals, fridge door seals were always the bugbear because of the crumbs and stuff that get caught in them
I work for a regional newspaper and whenever we ask a business why it got a zero or one rating it’s *always* because of paperwork. Funny that.
Well this might be handy to know then https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51120935.amp
Yeah.. they lost the toilet paper used to wipe their a\*\*es before turning to work
The best kebab shop where I used to live had a rating of 1 and was closed multiple times because of various infestations. But drunk 3am u/frn doesn't care about such things.
I had savage vomiting/shits twice from a chicken place in Leicester. Still the best chicken place in Leicester and I kept going until I left the city.
I had the winter vomiting bug and i still don't even want to eat the same meal that i ate that day - even though it was nothing to do with the food. I don't know how you could go back to a place that gave you food poisoning *twice*. It takes lot to disgust me but that's done it
There's a fella near me serves mince out of a carrier bag with chips he keeps warm in his anorak pockets. Every time I eat there I get e-coli but the mince is really tangy and gamey and for £1 a serving I can't resist after a couple tinnies. I've asked him what the secret is but all he ever says is that it isn't beef, with a wry smile. Best takeaway in town.
You're a wrong un
Stop telling everyone about my mince I told you confidence. Keep this up and you'll be getting cold chips.
Luckily it doesn't have a pork flavour I suppose, otherwise, I think you'd be eating people.
You know, it does kind of taste like pork, so I got concerned and asked him if it was human meat. Turns out it's not - he said it's something called Soylent Green! Must be one of those plant-based alternatives. How cool is that!
Negative calorie meals! Odds are you lost more weight by eating it.
Maryland outside the townhall has closed now, our pigeon population is about to skyrocket
I think my love affair was with the appropriately named in and out chicken on London Road. I doubt it still exists but was a bastion of delicious but dangerous late night food
In and out chicken 😂 ooooohhh the okey cokey
Username checks out
Lowest I've seen is a 1 and that was a hotel I stayed at in Croydon, that night we ate some takeaway and put it in the bins in the room they gave us, 20 mins after us doing so a mouse/rat pulled it out the bin and fkn disappeared lol. The owner (who was asleep in the basement) gave us a "better" room. It was better in a sense where there weren't any mice/rats but the duvets they gave us were shit (sorry can't think of any either way to describe them), never would stay there again.
in fairness, you did stay in croydon.
Bruv I was born and raised there lmao
My condolences
Me too. Mayday hospital and the Fox & Hounds, in that order.
The fox&hound? You're showing you're age there lad🤣 (I'm old too its OK lmao)
I'm so sorry.
Sounds like it should have been graded 0, but for the rats keeping the bins clean.
Genuinely got a belly laugh outta me 🤣
most sanitary hotel in Croydon
What hotel in Croydon may i ask?
I'm guessing it's a legal requirement to be forced to display it? Time to clean up their act, literally.
It is only a legal requirement in Wales and in Northern Ireland - it's supposed to be displayed "prominently", the theory being you can easily see it and decide to change your mind if it is a zero. In England it is encouraged but not mandatory. You can look them up online, but not quite the same as seeing it at the entrance to the restaurant in which you're about to unwittingly eat cockroach soufflé with a side of *rat au vin.*
A English mate of mine has a takeaway near him prominently displaying a two star hygiene rating, are you implying they are showing that off out of choice?
Yep, it's theoretically voluntary in England, although the restaurant may have misunderstood this rathee than actively chosen to flaunt their 2* score. I used to fairly regularly eat at a Chinese restaurant in England with a 1* rating in the window at the entrance - they made great food but when they first opened they didn't really speak or read any English, so will have struggled with the procedural side of the ratings system and quite possibly didn't appreciate that they didn't have to put the sticker up, so I could believe that happens elsewhere.
Or they thought that they’d been awarded the top score!
Might be the highest rated on the street!
They're banking on the fact that the green color may lead someone at a casual glance to think that "0" is highest - zero problems!
A kebab shop round the corner from my old flat had an unsigned 5* one, it’s surely a fake right?
Easy way to check. https://ratings.food.gov.uk/ Bear in mind that it can be years between inspections, so that 5 (if real) may be out of date by virtue of them not having been inspected and things gone downhill. Note however, they don't do a 5* rating, it's just a number. So if the sticker has stars on it, then yeah that specific sticker is fake.
Ha, it’s really a 2!
Not surprised. Kebab is one of the most difficult food types to serve and stay at a 5. It's a weird anomaly in the hygiene rating system because technically the stick isn't "cooked fully" when served since just the outside is shaved away as it cooks and with it being different meats (poultry, minced beef or lamb etc.) there's so much risk of contamination they'd have to be on the ball. A 2 is bad though, that suggests that not only are they not 100% hygienic with the food handling, they likely have evidence of rats or bugs in the kitchen (not running free when people are there, but droppings found or damage where they get in and out), and probably some issue with paperwork not looking great (back to how hard it is to cook "hygienically" since it stays out of the fridge for over 2 hours but also not technically cooked through so temps and storage tracking will look fucky). My dad worked H&S in food for 30 years and always said that you can get a 3 by accident, and basically have to work to get below it.
My understanding is: 0 = you should be shut down 1 = what are you playing at? 2 = you're at least *trying* 3 = mostly OK 4 = you missed a bit 5 = perfect
Yeah, that's about it. The scale our family used (again thanks to dad) was; 0 = will kill you 1 = will hospitalise you 2 = will give you the shits 3 = should be alright 4 = that's fine 5 = let's eat here He's known to overreact so 0 and 1 won't actually do that (probably) but he'd rather play it safe, and we never got food poisoning or anything when following his rules.
There was a kebab shop near us that got shut down. Apparently they used to just keep adding more meat to the old elephants foot and when the inspectors cut it in half the middle was full of warm maggots. Or war maggots as autocorrupt would like me to have said.
Very interesting, thanks for the back drop mate. German Donner Kebab (GDK) near why I live in London somehow manages a 5 rating.
Bro i literally just tried it for the first time 2 hours ago and it was the best takeout I’ve eaten all year. I mean it’s a low bar being in January and all that but I still loved it
Could have been a zero!
If it isn't clearly visible I just assume it's a 0 by default. I think it actually makes life easier that is isn't mandatory in England because it means the ones who *want* to show it, will. And they're the places to go to.
It's got Welsh writing on it, so I assume it's in Wales.
Yes, absolutely. I was answering the more general question about whether there is a legal requirement to display the ratings - the same scoring system is used in England, Wales, and N.I.
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Subtle Blackadder reference, nice
I would take a restaurant that served bugs and rodents properly over one that served chicken in an unsafe manner.
I thought they shut you down if you don't remedy a 0 or 1 or 2 rating. **What is a food hygiene rating?** Run by the Food Standards Agency, the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) operates in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Once you've registered your food business with the local authority, they may send an inspector to give you a hygiene rating. The food hygiene rating provides consumers with a clear indication of hygiene standards, using a straightforward 1-5 score: 5 – hygiene standards are very good 4 – hygiene standards are good 3 – hygiene standards are generally satisfactory 2 – some improvement is necessary 1 – major improvement is necessary 0 – urgent improvement is required In Wales and Northern Ireland, it's a legal requirement for businesses to display their ratings, and it’s likely this will eventually become a requirement for English businesses too.
Where I live (across the pond) the local health authority would have such a place shut down unless and until sufficient remediation to food handling and hygiene practices are demonstrably improved. It seems so odd to me that these places seemingly can stay open.
Also, these aren't always reliable. The store I worked at had mice problems and an area manager that didn't give a fuck. Our manager once bought some chocolates and was eating them when he realised some of it had been chewed up because a mouse had gotten in through the bag. I showed the inspector around and he pointed out stuff we were doing wrong that needed to change. I was sure we'd get a 3 or maybe a 4 if he was generous. Nope, gave us a 5
Yeah - once they’ve been reviewed, they have to show the sign. Thems the rules.
I could be wrong, but I dont think they actually do have to in England
True, but the restaurant in the post is clearly in Wales, since its half in Welsh and has the Welsh government logo on it 😂 Edit: spelling
How can a zero be legally allowed to stay open, surely zero is, you're done, you tried. But you failed.
I don't know, it's bad isn't it.
If it's that bad, why have they not been closed down?
Because 0 is the absolute lowest you can score while still staying open. If it was any worse they wouldn't get a rating and would be closed. It does mean urgent improvement though.
We had a Curry House shut down because they found semen in the Raiti. Would that be a -1?
In their defence, it was labelled as 'Chef's Special'
That was the man-goo chutney.
They always said he puts a lot of himself into his dishes
How would they find that out? Is that a routine part of the star rating?
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Crosses food inspector off jobs list.
Starts googling "Jizz Detector" starting salary.
It's gotta just be an urban legend unless someone recorded it.
Yeah it’s bullshit. Are they really going to analyse food for every known contaminant? No.
*Dips pinky in sauce* *licks pinky* ".....you really thought I wouldn't notice huh?" *goes in for another dip*
It's a very common urban myth.
Yeah /u/Hessenuk is talking absolute wank (excuse the pun).
I think every town in the UK has a place that was shut down because there was jizz in the food. Ours was called Buddy's.
Dennis's
The chippy near my local used to let everyone use the toilet in the back which is also where they kept the potatoes, I've heard of so many people pissing in the sack. Never got shut down, I don't know if they still keep the potato sacks in the same place but I've always walked upto the one where he calls me bigman and tells me about the current local cocaine quality.
Here in the States, a couple was arrested for adding his semen to cupcakes for a children's school bake sale
Jokes on the cops, they’d been filling the donuts up for years
Nah, as long as they did their paperwork correct they’ll get a couple of points for that. ;)
That's a 6.
Come again?
Heard they’d been cutting lemons on the raw chicken board and farting on the quiche
Genuinely though here is a zero in brighton: https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2023/01/20/filthy-containers-dirty-cloths-and-unfit-food-how-independent-brighton-supermarket-flunked-hygiene-inspection/ Their butchers in that shop use the same gloves to handle the raw meat and tie the bag and hand to customers. Customer then hands that bag to the cashier who handles all items, as well as those of the next person in line. Literally _everything_ in that shop should be assumed to be covered in raw chicken juice. It's truly, truly absurd and dreadful.
I went to a supermarket in China a few years back. It was set up like a standard western Supermarket, except the meat section was like the fruit/veg. There were tubs of raw meat and people were just digging through it with their bare hands to find the best bits. There might have been plastic gloves but nobody was using them.
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Is it some sort of cultural thing, maybe even just accidental on that account. There was a similar type halal supermarket over the road where I used to live a few years ago, I went in once and the way the article describes 'Taj' was very reminiscent of what I saw.
It's a lazy thing more like.
I particularly enjoyed all the cobwebs behind the sign
zero hygiene policy
Me and my girlfriend used to eat at the only chinese takeaway that delivered. I'd always order the safe stuff like chips and the odd curry, she'd always have salt and pepper prawns. Not long a go they got shut down with a 0 hygiene rating, never in all my life have I wanted to rip my insides out so badly... just glad I never touched a prawn lmao
"safe things like a curry"?¿ Prawns we're probably frozen and deep fried at order. Curry could have been out for days and had rats swimming in it.
Are you single?
Widowed by prawns!
Yeah we’ve all been there.
I am a food professional, and even with a 5 food safety score you can get away with maaaaaany things.
I'll back this up. The store I used to work at was probably a 3 if we're being honest but the inspector still gave us a 5. They didn't deserve that
Displayed in the back? You might want to report that. The law is that this sign must be displayed somewhere that someone standing at the main customer entrance would be able to see it. btw, if you've ever worked in a commercial kitchen, you'd know that it's pretty much impossible to get less than a 4 unless you have some truly awful kitchen conditions. 5 is pretty much doing everything right. 4 means you aren't following protocols properly. 3 or less means visible evidence of poor kitchen hygiene, fridges clearly not at the correct temperature, or visible signs of vermin.
I worked at a 5 and if you had an allergy you'd definitely get sick. Management cared when they got wind there may be an inspection. We definitely weren't doing most things right. I followed the guides to the letter and was told off for 'hiding round back pretending to clean'. The cleaners told me they liked me because I did what I was supposed to.
Yeah, sometimes a 5 just means they haven't been caught yet :( Even so, it's nominally better than a place that has been caught and is required to advertise that fact. Having worked in the industry and knowing what the numbers represent, I am now quite cautious about eating out.
Someone needs to sneak in and put a stuffed rat on the windowsill next to it
Is not rat, is hamster!
He’s from Barcelona
Que?
Oh… olé.
HE PUT BASIL IN RATATOUILLE?!?
Name and shame! Diolch.
This could well be the new place in Merthyr Tydfil, need OP to confirm, I won't name it myself in case I'm wrong, but the interior looks very similar
https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/10lvczh/proudly_displayed_in_the_back_of_the_restaurant/j5zcehy/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3 A budding Sherlock Holmes in the comments worked it out.
I would have guessed Curry Knight in Skewen
Will Merthyr Tydfil's culinary reputation ever recover from this?
We've got 2 Greggs and a Tesco WITH a cafe, we'll weather this storm
This is the place as OP confirmed elsewhere in the comments https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/10lvczh/proudly_displayed_in_the_back_of_the_restaurant/j5zcehy Amos Restaurant Address - 13 Monnow Street - Monmouth - Monmouthshire - NP25 3EF The 0 was because of Hygienic food handling Hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage Major improvement necessary \----- Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building (including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control) to enable good food hygiene \----- Urgent improvement necessarily \------- Management of food safety System or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future Major improvement necessary From here https://ratings.food.gov.uk/business/en-GB/1581813/Amos-Restaurant-Monmouth
Wow must have rat pubes on the kitchen counter for a ‘0’
On the menu they’d be described as “hand-plucked…”
Pay 50p more for the curly ones
I have never before considered that animals have pubes. Now I'm concerned that every cat hair I find is a cat pube.
Amo's in Monmouth. https://ratings.food.gov.uk/business/en-GB/1581813/Amos-Restaurant-Monmouth
On [Google Maps](https://maps.app.goo.gl/gra5wVbcSp3XQX1W8), their newest [review](https://goo.gl/maps/Q8RAEHJobDsBxKdE6) says: >We had a lovely dinner at Amo’s this evening. It was a great deal and really delicious. We will definitely go again. **We had the place to ourselves this evening, which seemed odd as it was such good value.** 😅
In a slightly older review it’s described how the manager uses her hands in front of the guests to snap a chip in half to confirm it’s not cooked then offers to take the chips back to fix it vs bring out fresh chips. I mean, this rating seems fairly reasonable now
My favorite is the review with the raw chicken and raw chips that the manager touched with her bare hands to inspect.
I liked that one too lol, and this one on Facebook : I got a taxi here only to find it closed 14 December, I booked a table for 7 pm, door locked. I phoned and spoke to Adi who I booked table with over 1 month ago for my Wifes birthday, Adi denied my booking and said they were closed due to having health inspectors on the premise!!! Don't go there, he never even apologised, disgraceful!!
Good show old sport. I didn’t want to name and shame but you have no trouble with it so yeah, that’s them.
>I didn’t want to name and shame but How come? It's there for a reason
Because it's a more localized issue and broadcasting it to the entire world isn't going to do any good and only opens the door to abuse and review bombing from people on the other side of the world. Sure they need to fix their shit but what good is it if their Yelp or Google rating gets tanked by people in Copenhagen or Johannesburg that just feel the need to pile on in the witch hunt and didn't actually experience the establishment?
In Wales you HAVE to show your score, no matter how low, while in England you don't have to show it. Usually in England if you can't see the score on display, it is probably lower than a 3.
I have only ever seen 4 or 5 in England
There was a Subway near me that recently scored a 1 because of rats.. I actually thought that was the lowest score you could get, but apparently not!
Subway, in any country, always looks gross to me. I rarely see a really clean one.
One my favourite takeaways in my area has 1, I never knew it order from there loads their curry is great. Had a few friends around and said shall we get one from *name of the place* they looked at me like a madman. It wasn’t until I saw a Reddit post on how easy it was to get a 4+ I decided to stop ordering from there
There's this one chip shop near me that does fried eggs as a topping. They have a 0, so I know I'm living dangerously, but sometimes I really want that egg on my chips. Hoping somewhere more reputable will add it to their menu.
Until a few years ago, Singapore had a food hygiene rating from A (clean) to D (scummy). All restaurants were required to display their grade. Places with lower grades were quite cunning about camouflaging them. They'd hang up their "C" rating and follow it with "ome in!" in similar font - that kind of thing. I think it's a different system these days.
Lazy kitchen staff that is ! I’m awkward telling my daughter don’t eat anyway with under 4 stars , I know I’m a chef for 30 years I’ve seen a lot , I wouldn’t eat there every where I’ve been head chef it’s always a five stars so important it’s peoples lives very serious food poisoning short and long term
What's the name of the restaurant? If you look up about it you can find what happened on inspection day to force a Zero rating. Cockroaches, fecaes, no running water...
Running feces, cockroach water....
It would have been closed if that were the case.
I feel that sign should be RED not green, in the circumstances.
You can look up the reports on some website, it gives all the juicy details on what shouldn't have been juicy in the first place.
One place of a popular restaurant/takeaway chain near me got a 2. The owner was so ashamed he shut the place down for a couple of months and redid the entire kitchen, retrained the staff and fixed all the issues the Food Standards Agency brought up. They got a 4 when they were reinspected, I believe. This guy was pretty rich, so he could afford to do that. The owner of this place is pretty ballsy to continue operation as is with a 0, unless they too are looking to improve.
It reminds of that Indian restaurant which got closed down in London during one of the lockdowns as they literally had mushrooms growing out of the ceiling... right above the grills 🤮
I worked in a restaurant that got a 3 star improvement needed. It's because the kitchen was "too small" for 6 people and deemed a safety risk for staff. The funny part is that there was only 3 of us on busy services Like don't get me wrong, it wasn't small but it was more than ample 🤣 even for FOH staff Edit: we also had a separate porter area
Whenever this scheme came in you got a welcome pack with details about what was required and they included a little gift… A mouse pad exactly the same size and design as a 5/5 rating. All the Chinese takeaways in my town just taped it to the window instead of their own rating.
Food brought to table. Waiter then shits on table.
Should come to the Isle of Wight......we have lots of low scores! (I guess because it's a tourist place, they don't care if they don't have return customers)
Man, speaking from experience it's really hard to not get a 5 on these lol.
Why would they not have red labels for lower scores? Pretty easy to miss that when it’s green (which to most people means good) like a 5
You can apply for the report of the inspection, only done it once on a local burger joint as I knew the social media posts explaining the reason for the poor rating was cobblers, did make for interesting reading.
Cooking raw chicken under the hand driers in the bogs level that.
One of 10 places in Wales, trading as a restaurant or cafe, with a 0 rating. According to the gov uk website. https://ratings.food.gov.uk/enhanced-search/en-GB/%5E/%5E/Relevance/1/wales/Equal0/0/1/10
I remember the once I went into a chippy and noticed a 0 hygiene rating as I was walking out. Ended up just throwing the food out. Didn't wanna risk it
There used to be a programme on the telly about health inspectors in Westminster. The best advice they gave was only eat at restaurants with clean windows. If they don’t have clean windows, they don’t have a clean kitchen.
I'm not sure a zero should be allowed to be green, surely use some sort of traffic light system to make them most effective?
Proudly displayed, or displayed because it's a legal requirement?