Costa food hygiene rating
Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen · Winchester City
Costa 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 1 July 2026, 2 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.
Only 1% of rated food businesses in Winchester City score 0 to 2 like this, so a low rating here is the exception, not the norm. See all Winchester City ratings →
Address: Unit D3A, Whiteley Shopping Centre, Whiteley Way, PO15 7PD
How this rating has changed
Costa has gone backwards: it held a 5 before its inspection on 1 July 2026, and now holds a 1. A rating of 1 means the inspector found problems the business is required to fix.
| Inspected | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2026 | 5 1 | Worse |
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 Winchester City
A 1 is rare: only 6 of 1,080 rated places in Winchester City score this low, about one in 180. By contrast 89% of the borough holds a 5, so this is well below what the council's inspectors normally find.
| 5 out of 5 | 962 | 89% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 out of 5 | 89 | 8% | ||
| 3 out of 5 | 20 | 2% | ||
| 2 out of 5 | 3 | <1% | ||
| 1 out of 5 | 6 | 1% | ← Costa | |
| 0 out of 5 | 0 | 0% |
A further 113 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.
What the inspector found
- Hygienic food handling Improvement necessary
- Cleanliness & condition of the building Very 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 Costa the inspector recorded concerns over how food is handled and 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 Costa, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.
| Business | Distance | Rating | Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amparo Lounge Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | at this address | 5 - Very good | 30 June 2026 |
| Baja Mexicali Other catering premises | at this address | 5 - Very good | 28 September 2022 |
| Bar And Block Other catering premises | at this address | 5 - Very good | 9 September 2024 |
| Caffe Nero Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | at this address | 5 - Very good | 1 July 2026 |
| Chang Tong Thai Street Food Mobile caterer | at this address | 5 - Very good | 9 April 2025 |
| Cineworld Cinemas Retailers - other | at this address | 5 - Very good | 6 July 2026 |
| Greggs Retailers - other | at this address | 5 - Very good | 24 January 2024 |
| Harvester Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | at this address | 5 - Very good | 4 June 2025 |
Questions about Costa
What is Costa's food hygiene rating?
Costa has a food hygiene rating of 1 out of 5 (major improvement necessary), given by Winchester City Council on 1 July 2026.
Is Costa 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 Costa last inspected?
Costa was last inspected on 1 July 2026, 2 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Winchester City Council rather than by the business.
What did the inspector find at Costa?
The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "improvement necessary", the cleanliness and condition of the building "very 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 Costa compare to other places in Winchester City?
89% of the 1,080 rated food businesses in Winchester City hold the top rating of 5, while Costa holds a 1. 6 places in the area share that rating.
Who decides the rating?
Winchester City Council inspects Costa 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 Costa 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 Winchester City, 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: Winchester City
Understanding this rating
More food hygiene ratings near here
Costa is one of 49 rated food businesses in Whiteley. See every hygiene rating in Whiteley →
Winchester City inspects and rates 1,193 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Winchester City →
The official record is held by the council: http://www.winchester.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 →