Food hygiene ratings in Dorset

Q: How many food businesses does Dorset rate?

Dorset publishes food hygiene ratings for 5,147 businesses, of which 4,026 currently hold a score.

Q: What is a typical food hygiene rating in Dorset?

95% of rated businesses in Dorset hold a 5, the top score. A 5 is therefore the norm rather than a distinction, it is worth checking, because anything below it puts a business behind most of its neighbours.

Q: How many places in Dorset have a bad hygiene rating?

10 food businesses in Dorset hold a rating of 2 or below, including 0 rated 0 and 3 rated 1.

Q: Who inspects food businesses in Dorset?

Environmental health officers employed by Dorset carry out the inspections, unannounced, and set the rating. The Food Standards Agency publishes the results. How often a business is visited depends on its risk, a busy restaurant is seen far more often than a shop selling wrapped sweets.

Dorset inspects and rates 5,147 food businesses, every restaurant, takeaway, pub, school kitchen, care home and shop in the area that handles food. 4,026 of them currently hold a published rating; the remaining 1,121 are awaiting their first inspection or are exempt because they handle so little food there is nothing to score.

Hygiene standards in Dorset

Standards here are high: 95% of rated businesses in Dorset hold the top score of 5, and 99% hold a 4 or better. 10 businesses, under 1% of those rated, score 2 or below, meaning an inspector found problems they are required to fix.

How every rated business in Dorset scores
5 out of 5	3,840	95%
4 out of 5	142	4%
3 out of 5	34	1%
2 out of 5	7	<1%
1 out of 5	3	<1%
0 out of 5	0	0%

Towns in Dorset

Food hygiene ratings for each town Dorset inspects.

Weymouth 659 places
Dorchester 248 places
Bridport 190 places
Swanage 170 places
Portland 138 places
Sherborne 130 places
Blandford Forum 120 places
Lyme Regis 115 places
Ferndown 108 places
Wimborne Minster 101 places
Shaftesbury 99 places
Wareham 90 places
Gillingham 83 places
Chickerell 80 places
Verwood 49 places
Sturminster Newton 46 places
West Bay 40 places
Beaminster 39 places
Corfe Mullen 36 places
West Moors 36 places
Poundbury 31 places
Corfe Castle 30 places
West Lulworth 28 places
Charmouth 27 places
Stalbridge 24 places
Wool 23 places
Abbotsbury 22 places
Lytchett Matravers 22 places
Studland 21 places
Sturminster Marshall 20 places
St Leonards and St Ives 19 places
Holton Heath 19 places
Upton 18 places
Burton Bradstock 18 places
Colehill 17 places
Crossways 17 places
Wimborne 17 places
Bovington 15 places
Cranborne 15 places

Recently inspected in Dorset

The most recent inspections published by Dorset, newest first.

Business	Type	Rating	Inspected
Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust	Caring Premises	5 - Very good	24 August 2026
Dorset County Hospital Ward Kitchens	Caring Premises	5 - Very good	24 August 2026
Highgrove Rest Home - Samily Care	Caring Premises	5 - Very good	21 August 2026
Kids Love Nature Kindergarten	School/college/university	5 - Very good	21 August 2026
Liberty Farm Ice cream	Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen	5 - Very good	21 August 2026
The Grill Haus	Mobile caterer	5 - Very good	21 August 2026
The Tea Cabin Limited	Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen	5 - Very good	21 August 2026
Multiple Sclerosis Society Bournemouth & Dorset	Caring Premises	5 - Very good	20 August 2026
Oxfords bakery	Other catering premises	5 - Very good	20 August 2026
The Black Dog	Pub/bar/nightclub	5 - Very good	20 August 2026
KFC Ferndown	Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen	5 - Very good	18 August 2026
Marks & Spencer	Retailers - supermarkets/hypermarkets	5 - Very good	18 August 2026

Lowest-rated places in Dorset

The lowest-rated food businesses in Dorset are listed below. 3 businesses hold a 1, major improvement necessary. A low rating is not a closure order: these places are still trading, and a business can request a re-inspection once it has fixed the problems the inspector found.

Business	Type	Rating	Inspected
The Bridport Dagger	Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen	1 - Major improvement necessary	12 May 2026
Kings Arms	Pub/bar/nightclub	1 - Major improvement necessary	2 May 2025
Maharaja	Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen	1 - Major improvement necessary	12 August 2021

Questions about food hygiene in Dorset

How many food businesses does Dorset rate?

Dorset publishes food hygiene ratings for 5,147 businesses, of which 4,026 currently hold a score.

What is a typical food hygiene rating in Dorset?

95% of rated businesses in Dorset hold a 5, the top score. A 5 is therefore the norm rather than a distinction, it is worth checking, because anything below it puts a business behind most of its neighbours.

How many places in Dorset have a bad hygiene rating?

10 food businesses in Dorset hold a rating of 2 or below, including 0 rated 0 and 3 rated 1.

Who inspects food businesses in Dorset?

Environmental health officers employed by Dorset carry out the inspections, unannounced, and set the rating. The Food Standards Agency publishes the results. How often a business is visited depends on its risk, a busy restaurant is seen far more often than a shop selling wrapped sweets.

Food businesses in Dorset

A sample of rated businesses. Use search to find a specific place.

Data from the Food Standards Agency under the Open Government Licence. Most recent inspection published for this area: 2026-08-24. Browse all UK councils →