Chicago's food hygiene rating

The rating: 1 - Major improvement necessary

This rating dates from 24 January 2025, but the business has been re-inspected and a new rating is awaiting publication, so the score shown here is about to change.

Only 1% of rated food businesses in Colchester score 0 to 2 like this, so a low rating here is the exception, not the norm. See all Colchester ratings →

Address: 8 Eld Lane, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1LS

How this rating has changed

Chicago's has gone backwards: it held a 5 before its inspection on 24 January 2025, and now holds a 1. A rating of 1 means the inspector found problems the business is required to fix.

The FSA publishes only a business's current rating. This history is our own record of what it has scored since we began watching.

How it compares in Colchester

A 1 is rare: only 8 of 1,358 rated places in Colchester score this low, about one in 170. By contrast 90% of the borough holds a 5, so this is well below what the council's inspectors normally find.

A further 284 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 Major improvement necessary
• How well they manage food safety Major improvement necessary

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 Chicago's the inspector recorded concerns over the condition of the premises and confidence in management. Because the overall rating is only ever as strong as its weakest area, that is what holds the score down.

Understanding this rating

• 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.
• 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 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

Colchester inspects and rates 1,642 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/