3

The Waterfront food hygiene rating

Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen · Folkestone and Hythe

The Waterfront 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 17 March 2026, 3 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: Hythe Bay Fish Restaurant Marine Parade, Hythe, CT21 6AW

How it compares in Folkestone and Hythe

In Folkestone and Hythe, 84% of rated places manage a 5, so The Waterfront sits behind roughly 1,069 nearby businesses. 5% of the borough shares its 3.

Every rated food business in Folkestone and Hythe
5 out of 5 958 84%
4 out of 5 111 10%
3 out of 5 62 5% ← The Waterfront
2 out of 5 5 <1%
1 out of 5 4 <1%
0 out of 5 0 0%

A further 144 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 Waterfront 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 Waterfront

What is The Waterfront's food hygiene rating?

The Waterfront has a food hygiene rating of 3 out of 5 (generally satisfactory), given by Folkestone and Hythe Council on 17 March 2026.

Is The Waterfront 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 Waterfront last inspected?

The Waterfront was last inspected on 17 March 2026, 3 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Folkestone and Hythe Council rather than by the business.

What did the inspector find at The Waterfront?

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 Waterfront compare to other places in Folkestone and Hythe?

84% of the 1,140 rated food businesses in Folkestone and Hythe hold the top rating of 5, while The Waterfront holds a 3. 62 places in the area share that rating.

Who decides the rating?

Folkestone and Hythe Council inspects The Waterfront 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 Waterfront and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.

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Understanding this rating

More food hygiene ratings near here

The Waterfront is one of 128 rated food businesses in Hythe. See every hygiene rating in Hythe

Folkestone and Hythe inspects and rates 1,284 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Folkestone and Hythe

The official record is held by the council: http://www.folkestone-hythe.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 →