Don Pino food hygiene rating
Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen · North Northamptonshire
Don Pino holds a 1: major improvement is necessary. The inspector found significant problems at the restaurant and the business is legally required to address them.
The rating: 1 - Major improvement necessary
The rating dates from 8 July 2025, 12 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: 16 Lower Street, Kettering, NN16 8DH
How it compares in North Northamptonshire
A 1 is rare: only 28 of 2,804 rated places in North Northamptonshire score this low, about one in 100. By contrast 85% of the borough holds a 5, so this is well below what the council's inspectors normally find.
| 5 out of 5 | 2,391 | 85% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 out of 5 | 283 | 10% | ||
| 3 out of 5 | 75 | 3% | ||
| 2 out of 5 | 26 | 1% | ||
| 1 out of 5 | 28 | 1% | ← Don Pino | |
| 0 out of 5 | 1 | <1% |
A further 289 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.
What the inspector found
- Hygienic food handling Good
- Cleanliness & condition of the building Good
- 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 Don Pino the inspector recorded concerns over confidence in management. Because the overall rating is only ever as strong as its weakest area, that is what holds the score down.
Food hygiene ratings nearby
The closest food businesses to Don Pino, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.
| Business | Distance | Rating | Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bella Vita Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | 5 yards away | 5 - Very good | 4 June 2026 |
| Cafe Amore Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | 24 yards away | 5 - Very good | 3 February 2025 |
| Cake Box Takeaway/sandwich shop | 50 yards away | 5 - Very good | 6 February 2023 |
| American Candies Retailers - other | 52 yards away | 5 - Very good | 7 December 2023 |
| Adams Green Grocer Retailers - other | 118 yards away | 5 - Very good | 28 July 2022 |
| Bloom Takeaway/sandwich shop | 134 yards away | 5 - Very good | 1 April 2025 |
| Boots The Chemist Ltd Retailers - supermarkets/hypermarkets | 160 yards away | 5 - Very good | 15 December 2023 |
| Buffalo Chicken Takeaway/sandwich shop | 203 yards away | 5 - Very good | 9 January 2025 |
Questions about Don Pino
What is Don Pino's food hygiene rating?
Don Pino has a food hygiene rating of 1 out of 5 (major improvement necessary), given by North Northamptonshire Council on 8 July 2025.
Is Don Pino safe to eat at?
A 1 means the inspector found problems the business is required to fix. The restaurant is not shut down, a rating is not a closure order, but standards were found to be below what the law expects at the time of inspection.
When was Don Pino last inspected?
Don Pino was last inspected on 8 July 2025, 12 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by North Northamptonshire Council rather than by the business.
What did the inspector find at Don Pino?
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 "major improvement necessary". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.
How does Don Pino compare to other places in North Northamptonshire?
85% of the 2,804 rated food businesses in North Northamptonshire hold the top rating of 5, while Don Pino holds a 1. 28 places in the area share that rating.
Who decides the rating?
North Northamptonshire Council inspects Don Pino 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 Don Pino 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 →
Is this your business?
A rating of 1 is public, and most customers look. Only 18% of people say they would order from a business rated 2 or below, against 94% from one rated 4. Delivery platforms may decline to list you.
We cannot change this rating, and nor can you. It was set by an environmental health officer at North Northamptonshire, and it stands until they inspect again. What you can do:
- Fix what the inspector found, then ask the council for a re-inspection. Most charge between £120 and £316, and will not re-visit within three months of the original inspection.
- If you believe the rating is simply wrong, you have 21 days from being notified to appeal to the council. That is 21 calendar days, not working days.
- You may submit a right to reply at any time. It is published alongside the rating, here, and on the FSA's own site.
What a low rating means → · How re-inspections and appeals work →
Your council: North Northamptonshire
Understanding this rating
More food hygiene ratings near here
Don Pino is one of 492 rated food businesses in Kettering. See every hygiene rating in Kettering →
North Northamptonshire inspects and rates 3,093 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in North Northamptonshire →
The official record is held by the council: https://www.northnorthants.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 →