4

Spar food hygiene rating

Retailers - other · Cambridge City

Spar holds a 4, meaning hygiene standards at the shop are good. It is a solid result, the inspector found nothing serious, though a 5 was just out of reach.

The rating: 4 - Good

The rating dates from 27 August 2025, 10 months ago. Councils typically re-inspect higher-risk businesses every six months to two years, with well-run, low-risk places visited least often, so this is a normal gap.

Address: 249 - 251 Chesterton Road, Cambridge, CB4 1AS

How it compares in Cambridge City

In Cambridge City, 78% of rated places manage a 5, so Spar sits behind roughly 998 nearby businesses. 15% of the borough shares its 4.

Every rated food business in Cambridge City
5 out of 5 998 78%
4 out of 5 198 15% ← Spar
3 out of 5 56 4%
2 out of 5 25 2%
1 out of 5 10 1%
0 out of 5 0 0%

A further 187 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.

What the inspector found

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 Spar 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.

Food hygiene ratings nearby

The closest food businesses to Spar, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.

Business Distance Rating Inspected
Acorn Guest House Hotel/bed & breakfast/guest house 91 yards away 5 - Very good 21 March 2024
Butterfly Day Nursery Caring Premises 355 yards away 5 - Very good 26 May 2026
Bright Horizons Cambridge Milton Road Day Nursery and Preschool Caring Premises 369 yards away 5 - Very good 12 March 2025
Banana Leaf Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen 0.3 miles away 5 - Very good 24 January 2026
A Waller & Son Manufacturers/packers 0.3 miles away 5 - Very good 17 October 2025
5 Chapel Street B&B Hotel/bed & breakfast/guest house 0.4 miles away 5 - Very good 18 October 2023
Bowlers Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen 0.4 miles away 5 - Very good 2 October 2025
Boathouse Public House Pub/bar/nightclub 0.4 miles away 5 - Very good 30 November 2024

Questions about Spar

What is Spar's food hygiene rating?

Spar has a food hygiene rating of 4 out of 5 (good), given by Cambridge City Council on 27 August 2025.

Is Spar safe to eat at?

The rating covers hygiene standards found at inspection, not the food itself. At 4 out of 5, the inspector found hygiene standards at this shop to be good, the top end of the scale.

When was Spar last inspected?

Spar was last inspected on 27 August 2025, 10 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Cambridge City Council rather than by the business.

What did the inspector find at Spar?

The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "good", the cleanliness and condition of the building "good", and confidence in the management of food safety "generally satisfactory". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.

How does Spar compare to other places in Cambridge City?

78% of the 1,287 rated food businesses in Cambridge City hold the top rating of 5, while Spar holds a 4. 198 places in the area share that rating.

Who decides the rating?

Cambridge City Council inspects Spar and sets the rating; the Food Standards Agency publishes it. Neither the business nor this site can change a rating, a business that disagrees can appeal to its council, and can request a re-inspection once it has fixed the problems.

Tell me when this changes

The Food Standards Agency publishes only a business's rating today, not what it scored before, and not when it moves. We check every UK rating each night. Watch Spar and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.

Free, for three businesses, forever. No password, we send you a link. How rating alerts work →

Understanding this rating

More food hygiene ratings near here

Cambridge City inspects and rates 1,474 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Cambridge City

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

Rating from the Food Standards Agency under the Open Government Licence. Ratings reflect standards found at the time of inspection and can change. If you think a rating is wrong, the official record is held by the FSA and the local authority; corrections there flow through here. How ratings work →