The most unhygienic UK regions for dining out

50 million people eat out in Great Britain every year on average, across 2.4 billion dining out occasions according to research. 

But with over 120,000 dining establishments across the UK to choose from, how does one decide where to go? 

By location? Likely. By cuisine? Also likely. But what about by hygiene rating? We doubt it.

With this in mind, we decided to find out which UK regions are the most and, well, the least cleanly when it comes to food hygiene!

Analysing data from over 500,000 food businesses across Great Britain, we’ve ranked the 50 largest towns and cities based on their average food hygiene rating out of 5. 

We’ve also found out which regions rank above and which rank below the national average and broken down each UK region by individual districts.

Key Findings

• The average food hygiene score in the UK is 4.65.
• 146 local UK authorities have an average score lower than this national average, and 198 local authorities have an average score above this.
• Waltham Forest, London, has the lowest average rating in the UK with an average score of 3.95. This is followed by other London authorities Newham, Ealing, Lambeth and Enfield.
• Outside of London, Birmingham has the lowest average hygiene rating followed by Walsall, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Blaenau Gwent. 
• The most food-hygienic region in the UK is Northern Ireland with an average score of 4.80, followed by the East Midlands, North East England and South West England with an average score of 4.73. The lowest-ranked region is London, with 4.40.

Sarah Baker, Chief Learning Officer, was keen to point out, “eating out really is one of life's pleasures, whether it be catching up with friends, bonding with family, or trying new cuisine. Something that people often overlook though, when choosing a restaurant is its food hygiene rating. This is a criterion set by the Food Standards Agency that ensures fairness across the board because all businesses are inspected on the same areas of food safety. At the end of the day, undercooked food and unclean equipment can both make you really ill, so it's something that anyone dining out should be aware of. Unfortunately, it's not mandatory to display food hygiene ratings in England or Scotland so it's always a good idea to check on the Food Standards Agency before you go - just as you'd be likely to look at reviews on Tripadvisor or Google!

"And as consumers become savvier on this, it's important for any businesses working with food to establish guidelines and keep these up to date. Not only will they be ensuring the safety of consumers but organisations with a good reputation in food hygiene are more likely to stand apart from their competitors who do not offer the same standards, which is another incentive for businesses to get the best rating possible!"

So, if you want to see how your town fared, check out the ranking below of the 50 most significant UK towns…

Now, to break things down further, we’ve delved into each region in the UK to find out how each stacks up against the National average and how their local districts stack up against one another!

Key Findings

• London is the least hygienic region in the UK when it comes to food, with its score of 4.40 being lower than both the national average and all other regions in Britain. 

• Waltham Forest, London, has the lowest average rating of any individual district in the UK with an average score of 3.95. This is followed by other London authorities Newham, Ealing, Lambeth, Enfield and Camden.

• In London specifically, Kensington and Chelsea has the highest average hygiene rating with a score of 4.82.

• Of the 32 individual district scores in the region, 91% ranked below the national average with only Greenwich, City of London Corporation and Kensington and Chelsea scoring 4.65 or above.

East of England

Key Findings

• Broadland has the highest average hygiene rating in the East of England with a score of 4.88, followed by Stevenage and Mid Suffolk tied with 4.84.

• On the other hand, Norwich City has the lowest average hygiene rating in the East of England with a score of 4.40.

• Out of the 50 largest cities and towns in the United Kingdom, Eastern England city, Ipswich, has the highest average food hygiene rating, with an impressive score of 4.92. 

• Looking at the 34 individual district scores in the region too, 59% rank below the national average hygiene rating of 4.65. 

East Midlands

Key Findings

• In the East Midlands, Bassetlaw has the highest average hygiene rating with a score of 4.92. The district also has the second highest average hygiene rating in out of all districts in the United Kingdom, with its score being behind only Hull and Goole Port’s 5.00. 

• Neighbouring city Leicester had the lowest score in the region, with its score of 4.38. The city also scored 47th out of the 50 most hygienic largest cities and towns in the United Kingdom. 

• On the other hand, East Midlands’ Nottingham City has the fourth-highest average food hygiene rating of the UK’s 50 largest cities and towns, with a score of 4.80 putting it joint with Exeter City and Colchester. 

North East England

Key Findings

• North East England is the most hygienic region in the North with an average score of 4.73 compared to 4.61 in Yorkshire and the Humber and 4.52 in North West England.

• In the entire UK, the region is the joint-second most hygienic (with East Midlands and South West England) with an average score of 4.73 and ranking only below Northern Ireland’s average score of 4.80.

• Stockton on Tees has the highest average hygiene rating in the region with a score of 4.90, followed by Hartlepool, Darlington and Redcar and Cleveland.

• On the other hand, South Tyneside has the lowest average hygiene rating in North East England with a score of 4.54, followed by Middlesbrough and Durham with a joint average of 4.57.

North West England

Key Findings

• Sefton has the highest average hygiene rating in North West England with a score of 4.78, followed by Warrington with 4.72 and Bury with 4.71.

• On the other hand, Bolton has the lowest average hygiene rating in the region with a score of 4.24. 

• The city also had the second-lowest average food hygiene rating of the 50 largest cities and towns in the United Kingdom, being second only Birmingham.