How the big chains really score
A chain does not have a hygiene rating. Every branch is inspected separately, by its own local council, so the name above the door tells you less than you would think. Here is how each chain's branches score across the whole country.
51 chains · 41,777 branches · each rated by its own local council. Sorted by number of UK sites.
Tap a column heading to sort.
| Chain | UK sites | Rated 5 | Average | 2 or below |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesco | 3,301 | 94% | 4.92 | 12 |
| Costa Coffee | 2,624 | 92% | 4.90 | 4 |
| Greggs | 2,616 | 97% | 4.97 | 1 |
| Co-op | 2,375 | 93% | 4.92 | 4 |
| Subway | 1,962 | 84% | 4.78 | 18 |
| Morrisons | 1,698 | 81% | 4.74 | 23 |
| Sainsbury's | 1,535 | 96% | 4.96 | 1 |
| McDonald's | 1,496 | 98% | 4.97 | 3 |
| Starbucks | 1,326 | 97% | 4.96 | 1 |
| Domino's Pizza | 1,318 | 99% | 4.99 | 0 |
| Boots | 1,307 | 99% | 4.98 | 2 |
| Asda | 1,288 | 89% | 4.87 | 5 |
| Spar | 1,269 | 77% | 4.65 | 30 |
| Londis | 1,188 | 63% | 4.41 | 56 |
| One Stop | 1,076 | 86% | 4.80 | 15 |
| Aldi | 1,069 | 98% | 4.98 | 2 |
| Lidl | 1,049 | 97% | 4.96 | 3 |
| KFC | 989 | 93% | 4.92 | 1 |
| Iceland | 817 | 92% | 4.91 | 4 |
| B&M | 790 | 87% | 4.79 | 18 |
| Nisa | 724 | 61% | 4.29 | 54 |
| Marks & Spencer | 685 | 98% | 4.97 | 1 |
| Holland & Barrett | 654 | 98% | 4.98 | 0 |
| Slimming World | 647 | 99% | 4.98 | 0 |
| Home Bargains | 613 | 97% | 4.96 | 2 |
| Caffè Nero | 591 | 72% | 4.64 | 11 |
| Burger King | 562 | 94% | 4.93 | 0 |
| Premier Stores | 547 | 51% | 4.19 | 31 |
| Card Factory | 526 | 99% | 4.99 | 0 |
| Poundland | 524 | 90% | 4.88 | 3 |
| Pret A Manger | 511 | 95% | 4.95 | 0 |
| Nando's | 496 | 99% | 4.98 | 1 |
| Costcutter | 494 | 51% | 4.15 | 35 |
| Papa John's | 427 | 86% | 4.80 | 4 |
| Pizza Hut | 414 | 83% | 4.78 | 4 |
| Waitrose | 347 | 97% | 4.97 | 0 |
| Pizza Express | 269 | 98% | 4.98 | 0 |
| Budgens | 240 | 65% | 4.39 | 12 |
| WHSmith | 236 | 96% | 4.95 | 1 |
| Five Guys | 188 | 99% | 4.97 | 1 |
| Wagamama | 172 | 100% | 5.00 | 0 |
| Taco Bell | 162 | 95% | 4.94 | 0 |
| German Doner Kebab | 138 | 91% | 4.87 | 0 |
| Toby Carvery | 127 | 91% | 4.89 | 0 |
| Zizzi | 126 | 96% | 4.95 | 0 |
| Harvester | 77 | 84% | 4.79 | 1 |
| Bella Italia | 76 | 81% | 4.76 | 1 |
| Frankie & Benny's | 45 | 86% | 4.81 | 1 |
| J D Wetherspoon | 34 | 97% | 4.97 | 0 |
| Brewers Fayre | 19 | 72% | 4.72 | 0 |
| Beefeater | 13 | 58% | 4.42 | 0 |
Scottish branches use a pass-or-improve scheme rather than a score out of five, so they are counted as sites but never averaged into the numbers above.
Why branches of the same chain differ
A food hygiene rating is set by an environmental health officer at the local council, on an unannounced visit, and it scores three things: how food is handled, the condition of the premises, and how much confidence the inspector has that management will keep standards up. The overall rating reflects the weakest of the three.
None of that is set nationally. A chain can standardise its recipes and its training; it cannot standardise the kitchen it inherited with a lease, or the manager on shift the day the inspector walked in. That is why the same brand can hold a 5 in one town and a 1 in the next , and why the branch matters more than the name.
Data from the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland under the Open Government Licence. Chains are identified from the business names councils publish; a branch trading under an unusual name may not be counted here.