Spice Cottage food hygiene rating
Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen · Rother
Spice Cottage holds a 2, which means some improvement is necessary. The inspector found problems at the restaurant that the business is required to fix.
The rating: 2 - Some improvement necessary
The rating dates from 8 June 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.
Only 1% of rated food businesses in Rother score 0 to 2 like this, so a low rating here is the exception, not the norm. See all Rother ratings →
Address: 1 High Street, Ticehurst, TN5 7AL
How this rating has changed
Spice Cottage has gone backwards: it held a 3 before its inspection on 8 June 2026, and now holds a 2. A rating of 2 means the inspector found problems the business is required to fix.
| Inspected | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 8 June 2026 | 3 2 | 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 Rother
A 2 is rare: only 4 of 1,019 rated places in Rother score this low, about one in 255. By contrast 87% of the borough holds a 5, so this is well below what the council's inspectors normally find.
| 5 out of 5 | 891 | 87% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 out of 5 | 92 | 9% | ||
| 3 out of 5 | 30 | 3% | ||
| 2 out of 5 | 4 | <1% | ← Spice Cottage | |
| 1 out of 5 | 2 | <1% | ||
| 0 out of 5 | 0 | 0% |
A further 10 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 Improvement necessary
- 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 Spice Cottage the inspector recorded concerns over how food is handled and the condition of the premises. 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 Spice Cottage, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.
| Business | Distance | Rating | Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy The Weigh Retailers - other | 27 yards away | 5 - Very good | 17 August 2026 |
| The Coffee Pot Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | 77 yards away | 4 - Good | 29 April 2026 |
| The Village Store Retailers - other | 77 yards away | 4 - Good | 16 December 2025 |
| The Greedy Goat Cafe Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | 89 yards away | 5 - Very good | 20 November 2024 |
| Ticehurst Market Garden Farmers/growers | 343 yards away | 5 - Very good | 1 July 2026 |
| Ladybirds Caring Premises | 0.4 miles away | 5 - Very good | 10 November 2025 |
| Ticehurst and Flimwell C of E Primary School School/college/university | 0.4 miles away | 5 - Very good | 11 November 2024 |
| Parsonage Farm Day Nursery Caring Premises | 0.4 miles away | 5 - Very good | 22 January 2026 |
Questions about Spice Cottage
What is Spice Cottage's food hygiene rating?
Spice Cottage has a food hygiene rating of 2 out of 5 (some improvement necessary), given by Rother Council on 8 June 2026.
Is Spice Cottage safe to eat at?
A 2 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 Spice Cottage last inspected?
Spice Cottage was last inspected on 8 June 2026, 3 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Rother Council rather than by the business.
What did the inspector find at Spice Cottage?
The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "improvement necessary", the cleanliness and condition of the building "improvement necessary", and confidence in the management of food safety "generally satisfactory". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.
How does Spice Cottage compare to other places in Rother?
87% of the 1,019 rated food businesses in Rother hold the top rating of 5, while Spice Cottage holds a 2. 4 places in the area share that rating.
Who decides the rating?
Rother Council inspects Spice Cottage 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 Spice Cottage 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 2 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 Rother, 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: Rother
Understanding this rating
More food hygiene ratings near here
Spice Cottage is one of 24 rated food businesses in Ticehurst. See every hygiene rating in Ticehurst →
Rother inspects and rates 1,029 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Rother →
The official record is held by the council: http://www.rother.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 →