The Oval Cafe food hygiene rating
Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen · St Albans City
The Oval Cafe 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 21 January 2026, 5 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: The Clock Building, 6 Highfield Oval, Ambrose Lane, AL5 4FB
How it compares in St Albans City
In St Albans City, 78% of rated places manage a 5, so The Oval Cafe sits behind roughly 974 nearby businesses. 6% of the borough shares its 3.
| 5 out of 5 | 821 | 78% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 out of 5 | 153 | 14% | ||
| 3 out of 5 | 65 | 6% | ← The Oval Cafe | |
| 2 out of 5 | 10 | 1% | ||
| 1 out of 5 | 10 | 1% | ||
| 0 out of 5 | 0 | 0% |
A further 98 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 Good
- How well they manage food safety Generally satisfactory
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 Oval Cafe 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 The Oval Cafe, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.
| Business | Distance | Rating | Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spire Hospital Caring Premises | 284 yards away | 5 - Very good | 26 April 2025 |
| Harpenden Day Nursery and Preschool Caring Premises | 426 yards away | 5 - Very good | 29 September 2025 |
| Noahs Ark Nursery at The Lea / TLC Caring Premises | 0.3 miles away | 5 - Very good | 24 September 2025 |
| St George's School School/college/university | 0.3 miles away | 5 - Very good | 3 July 2025 |
| Bright Horizons Harpenden Luton Road Day Nursery Caring Premises | 0.4 miles away | 5 - Very good | 2 April 2025 |
| Old Bell Pub/bar/nightclub | 0.4 miles away | 5 - Very good | 19 September 2024 |
| HCL Catering @ Manland Primary School School/college/university | 0.5 miles away | 5 - Very good | 7 March 2025 |
| Harpenden Bethesda Home Caring Premises | 0.5 miles away | 5 - Very good | 2 April 2025 |
Questions about The Oval Cafe
What is The Oval Cafe's food hygiene rating?
The Oval Cafe has a food hygiene rating of 3 out of 5 (generally satisfactory), given by St Albans City Council on 21 January 2026.
Is The Oval Cafe 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 The Oval Cafe last inspected?
The Oval Cafe was last inspected on 21 January 2026, 5 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by St Albans City Council rather than by the business.
What did the inspector find at The Oval Cafe?
The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "generally satisfactory", 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 The Oval Cafe compare to other places in St Albans City?
78% of the 1,059 rated food businesses in St Albans City hold the top rating of 5, while The Oval Cafe holds a 3. 65 places in the area share that rating.
Who decides the rating?
St Albans City Council inspects The Oval Cafe 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 The Oval Cafe 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
The Oval Cafe is one of 191 rated food businesses in Harpenden. See every hygiene rating in Harpenden →
St Albans City inspects and rates 1,157 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in St Albans City →
The official record is held by the council: http://www.stalbans.gov.uk/business/Health-and-safety/food-safety/foodHygieneRating.aspx
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 →