More than 300 London food businesses have been given a zero hygiene rating, new figures show, with Newham, Ealing and Waltham Forest emerging as the worst-performing boroughs in the capital.
The figures, compiled by Cairn Catering Engineers from Food Standards Agency (FSA) data updated on 27 October 2026, show that 5.7 per cent of London’s rated food businesses have a hygiene score of two or below. That puts London fourth worst among England’s 30 largest cities, and well above the national average of 3.1 per cent.
In total, 302 businesses received a zero rating, meaning urgent improvement is necessary, while 1,721 were rated one and 2,046 scored two — a combined 4,069 businesses across London where some level of improvement is needed.
The worst boroughs
Newham tops the list, with 13.9 per cent of its 2,447 rated food businesses scoring two or below. The east London borough also has the third highest number of zero-rated businesses, at 30.
Ealing follows closely, with 13.1 per cent of its 3,202 rated businesses scoring two or below, while Waltham Forest ranks third at 12.4 per cent — and has the highest number of zero-rated businesses in London, at 71.
Enfield comes in fourth at 9.4 per cent, while Barking and Dagenham and Camden both stand at 7.9 per cent. Camden has 44 businesses with a zero rating, the second highest in London, while Westminster, with 5,324 rated businesses, recorded 16 premises with the lowest possible score.
At the other end of the scale, Kensington and Chelsea has the lowest proportion of businesses rated two or below — just 0.9 per cent of its 1,824 rated businesses, with an average score of 4.83 out of five. Merton and Bromley follow at 1.6 per cent, Richmond upon Thames is next at 2.3 per cent, and Hammersmith and Fulham and Southwark both record 2.5 per cent. Hammersmith and Fulham and Merton are also among the boroughs with no businesses holding a zero rating in the dataset.
The worst postcodes
The research also looked at ratings by postcode district, and the gaps between individual areas are stark. The UB2 district, covering parts of Southall, recorded the highest proportion of businesses rated two or below, at 25.2 per cent of its 274 rated businesses. The E13 district, covering Plaistow, followed at 23.5 per cent of 307 businesses, while East London’s E12 district, covering Manor Park, recorded 22.4 per cent and UB1 in Southall recorded 20.7 per cent. Leyton’s E10 district also featured among the worst, at 16.8 per cent.
What the ratings mean — and how to check
The FSA’s hygiene rating scheme assesses how well businesses meet food safety requirements. Businesses receive a rating between zero and five following an inspection by their local council: five means hygiene standards are very good, four means good, and three means generally satisfactory. A rating of two indicates that some improvement is necessary, one means major improvement is required, and zero means urgent improvement is necessary. Inspectors consider food handling, cleanliness, the condition of premises and how businesses manage food safety.
Two caveats matter for anyone reading the figures. Ratings reflect conditions at the time of inspection and do not necessarily indicate a business’s current standards — businesses can appeal or request a further inspection after making improvements. And 22 per cent of London’s published ratings are more than two years old. The figures also exclude businesses awaiting inspection and those exempt from the scheme.
Despite the findings, most of London’s rated food businesses score well: 49,067 businesses, or 68.5 per cent, hold the highest possible rating of five, another 12,632 (17.6 per cent) are rated four, and a further 5,904 are rated three. London’s average food hygiene rating is 4.46 out of five, compared with 4.65 across England.
Londoners can check the hygiene rating of restaurants, cafes, takeaways and other food businesses using the FSA’s online search service, which allows searches by business name, location or postcode and shows the date of the latest published inspection.
For context on how hygiene ratings play out locally, see our earlier reporting on eleven Bexley takeaways rated one or two stars after inspections and the temporary closure of a long-running Barnet chip shop after a fire.
