5

The Friar food hygiene rating

Pub/bar/nightclub · Colchester

The Friar holds a 5, the highest food hygiene rating there is. At its last inspection the pub met every standard the inspector checked, with nothing needing attention.

The rating: 5 - Very good

The rating dates from 29 August 2024, 22 months ago. That is getting on for the longest gap councils usually leave, so the score may not reflect how the business is run today.

Address: The Friar Public House, St Christopher Road, Colchester, CO4 0NE

How it compares in Colchester

That puts The Friar among the 1,200 places in Colchester holding top marks, 89% 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 Colchester
5 out of 5 1,200 89% ← The Friar
4 out of 5 83 6%
3 out of 5 50 4%
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

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 Friar 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.

Questions about The Friar

What is The Friar's food hygiene rating?

The Friar has a food hygiene rating of 5 out of 5 (very good), given by Colchester Council on 29 August 2024.

Is The Friar safe to eat at?

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

When was The Friar last inspected?

The Friar was last inspected on 29 August 2024, 22 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 The Friar?

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 "good". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.

How does The Friar compare to other places in Colchester?

89% of the 1,349 rated food businesses in Colchester hold the top rating of 5, and The Friar is one of them.

Who decides the rating?

Colchester Council inspects The Friar 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 Friar 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 →