What share of UK restaurants, cafes & canteens have a 5-star food hygiene rating?

75.3% of UK restaurants, cafes & canteens hold the top 5-star Food Standards Agency hygiene rating — 88,807 of 117,909 rated premises in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5. That is below the all-business-type UK average of 78.2%. Data as of 2026-06-12.

How many UK restaurants, cafes & canteens have a low (0 or 1 star) hygiene rating?

1.6% of rated UK restaurants, cafes & canteens (1,918 premises) score 0 or 1 star, the FSA's lowest bands. A low share here means most lower-rated premises sit at 3–4 stars, not at the bottom.

What do UK restaurants, cafes & canteens score worst on at inspection?

Across the FSA's three inspection components — Hygiene (food handling), Structural (cleanliness and condition) and Confidence in Management — UK restaurants, cafes & canteens score worst, relative to each band, on cleanliness & structure. Lower component scores are better; this reflects where inspectors most often note room for improvement, not unsafe food.

UK Restaurants, cafes & canteens Food Hygiene Ratings 2026

Quick answer

75.3% of UK restaurants, cafes & canteens hold the top 5-star food hygiene rating.

Across 117,909 rated restaurants, cafes & canteens, 88,807 (75.3%) carry the maximum 5-star Food Standards Agency rating and the average rating is 4.6 out of 5. That is below the all-business-type UK average of 78.2% (-2.9 percentage points). 1.6% (1,918) score 0 or 1 star.

Rating distribution

Every one of the 117,909 rated restaurants, cafes & canteens, by their 0–5 Food Hygiene Rating.

5 — Very good

88,807 (75.3%)

4 — Good

16,973 (14.4%)

3 — Generally satisfactory

8,085 (6.9%)

2 — Improvement necessary

2,126 (1.8%)

1 — Major improvement necessary

1,639 (1.4%)

0 — Urgent improvement necessary

279 (0.2%)

Where restaurants, cafes & canteens score worst

The FSA scores three things at every inspection. Each bar is the mean sub-score for restaurants, cafes & canteens — lower is better (0 = no issues found). Computed over 115,722 rated premises that carried all three sub-scores.

Hygiene (food handling, storage, cooking)3.5 / 25

Structural (cleanliness, layout, condition)4.4 / 25

Confidence in management (record-keeping, controls)4.2 / 30

For restaurants, cafes & canteens, the component dragging ratings down most — relative to its own scoring band — is cleanliness & structure. A higher sub-score there means more inspections flagged that area for improvement. It does not mean the food is unsafe: only 1.6% of rated restaurants, cafes & canteens sit at 0–1 star.

Compare

UK Food Hygiene by Business Type 2026 — all 14 categories ranked, restaurants vs takeaways and more.
The State of UK Restaurant Hygiene 2026 — national pass rate, best and worst local authorities.
UK Food Hygiene Ratings Directory — search the full dataset by local authority and postcode.
GeraCompliance — food safety and regulatory checks for businesses.

Methodology

Figures are computed directly from the Food Standards Agency Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) public register, restricted to premises the FSA classifies as "Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen" in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that carry a published 0–5 rating (117,909 premises). Percentages are over rated premises only. Scotland's separate FHIS pass/fail scheme is excluded so the five-star metric stays comparable. The average rating is the count-weighted mean of the 0–5 ratings. The three component sub-scores are the FSA's own Hygiene (0–25), Structural (0–25) and Confidence-in-Management (0–30) bands, where a lower score is better; the means shown are count-weighted over premises carrying all three. No figures are estimated or modelled. Food hygiene data © Crown copyright, Food Standards Agency, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data as of 2026-06-12.