Mersea Barns food hygiene rating
Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen · Colchester
Mersea Barns holds a 3: generally satisfactory. The restaurant met the legal standard, but the inspector recorded enough minor issues that it fell short of a good or very good rating.
The rating: 3 - Generally satisfactory
The rating dates from 22 May 2025, 13 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: East Road, East Mersea, Essex, CO5 8TQ
How it compares in Colchester
In Colchester, 89% of rated places manage a 5, so Mersea Barns sits behind roughly 1,283 nearby businesses. 4% of the borough shares its 3.
| 5 out of 5 | 1,200 | 89% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 out of 5 | 83 | 6% | ||
| 3 out of 5 | 50 | 4% | ← Mersea Barns | |
| 2 out of 5 | 5 | <1% | ||
| 1 out of 5 | 9 | 1% | ||
| 0 out of 5 | 2 | <1% |
A further 302 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.
What the inspector found
- Hygienic food handling Generally satisfactory
- Cleanliness & condition of the building Generally satisfactory
- 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 Mersea Barns 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 Mersea Barns, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.
| Business | Distance | Rating | Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| J & J Wilson Supermarket Retailers - other | 0.7 miles away | 5 - Very good | 2 April 2025 |
| Mersea Water Park Limited Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | 1.3 miles away | 4 - Good | 20 August 2025 |
| Vineyard B&B Hotel/bed & breakfast/guest house | 1.5 miles away | 5 - Very good | 27 July 2025 |
| Vineyard caf'e Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | 1.5 miles away | 5 - Very good | 29 October 2025 |
| Mersea Outdoors Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | 1.5 miles away | 5 - Very good | 12 February 2025 |
| T\&Cake Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | 1.6 miles away | 4 - Good | 6 November 2025 |
| Alladins Cave Manufacturers/packers | 1.6 miles away | 5 - Very good | 25 March 2025 |
| Bateman's Tower Café Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | 1.7 miles away | 5 - Very good | 4 September 2024 |
Questions about Mersea Barns
What is Mersea Barns's food hygiene rating?
Mersea Barns has a food hygiene rating of 3 out of 5 (generally satisfactory), given by Colchester Council on 22 May 2025.
Is Mersea Barns safe to eat at?
A 3 means the restaurant met the legal standard, so it is lawful to eat there, but the inspector recorded issues that stopped it scoring higher. It is the middle of the scale.
When was Mersea Barns last inspected?
Mersea Barns was last inspected on 22 May 2025, 13 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Colchester Council rather than by the business.
What did the inspector find at Mersea Barns?
The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "generally satisfactory", the cleanliness and condition of the building "generally satisfactory", and confidence in the management of food safety "good". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.
How does Mersea Barns compare to other places in Colchester?
89% of the 1,349 rated food businesses in Colchester hold the top rating of 5, while Mersea Barns holds a 3. 50 places in the area share that rating.
Who decides the rating?
Colchester Council inspects Mersea Barns 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 Mersea Barns and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.
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Understanding this rating
More food hygiene ratings near here
Colchester inspects and rates 1,651 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Colchester →
The official record is held by the council: https://www.colchester.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 →