The Merchant House food hygiene rating

The rating: 5 - Very good

This is a fresh result: The Merchant House was inspected on 29 June 2026, so the rating reflects what the inspector found very recently.

Address: 9 - 11 Highland Road, Southsea, PO4 9DA

How it compares in Portsmouth

That puts The Merchant House among the 978 places in Portsmouth holding top marks, 64% of everywhere the council rates. A 5 is the norm here rather than the exception, so it is the rating to expect, not to be impressed by.

Every rated food business in Portsmouth

5 out of 5		978	64%	← The Merchant House
4 out of 5		310	20%
3 out of 5		124	8%
2 out of 5		67	4%
1 out of 5		53	3%
0 out of 5		2	<1%

A further 269 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.

What the inspector found

• Hygienic food handling Good
• Cleanliness & condition of the building Good
• How well they manage food safety Good

An inspection scores three things: how food is handled, the physical condition of the premises, and how much the inspector trusts management to keep standards up. At The Merchant House none of the three raised a concern, the overall rating is only ever as strong as its weakest area, so a clean sweep is what produces a high score.

Understanding this rating

• What does a 0 food hygiene rating mean? A 0 means the inspector found serious problems and urgent improvement is necessary. It is the lowest rating the scheme gives, but it is not a closure order, and a business with a 0 can, and usually does, keep trading while it puts things right.
• Does a low hygiene rating mean the food is unsafe? A low rating tells you that an inspector found problems on a particular day. It is not a measurement of the food, it is not a prediction, and it is not a verdict on whether you will get ill. It is the best single signal a member of the public has, and it is a snapshot.
• Does a business have to display its hygiene rating? It depends where you are. In Wales and Northern Ireland a food business must display its rating where you can read it before you go in. In England it is voluntary, a business there can legally show you nothing.

More food hygiene ratings near here

The Merchant House is one of 541 rated food businesses in Southsea. See every hygiene rating in Southsea →

Portsmouth inspects and rates 1,803 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Portsmouth →

The official record is held by the council: http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk