Four Norwich food businesses were rated 2 and one rated 1 after September inspections, the register shows. Home Cafe rose from a 1 to a 4. The full list.
Two well-known city centre pubs, The Belgian Monk on Pottergate and the Coachmakers Arms on St Stephens Road, were rated two out of five for food hygiene after inspections in September. A two means “improvement necessary”.
They are among five Norwich food businesses rated two or below from that month’s inspections. None was rated zero. The figures come from the Food Standards Agency register for Norwich City Council, which we downloaded on 2 November.
There was good news too. Home Cafe on Thorpe Road, one of five businesses rated one when we last looked at the register, is now rated four. It was re-inspected on 8 September.
Why September’s figures have changed
A five appears on the register as soon as the council uploads it. A rating of zero to four is held back for about three to five weeks, so the business has time to appeal, according to the Food Standards Agency’s guidance for businesses.
On 1 October, 27 Norwich inspections from September were on the register, and 26 were fives. With the lower ratings now published, the month looks different:
- 66 inspections carried out in September are now on the register
- 39 of them, or 59%, ended in a five
- 14 ended in a four and 8 in a three
- 4 ended in a two and 1 in a one
That 59% matches the pattern we found in October. Of 473 Norwich inspections between October 2025 and August 2026, 58.8% ended in a five, the lowest of any Norfolk district.
The five businesses rated two or below
These are the September ratings of two or below, as the register records them. The date is the day of the inspection. An inspector scores three areas: hygiene, the structure of the premises, and confidence in management. A higher score means more improvement is needed, and zero is the best.
| Business | Address | Rating | Inspected | Worst area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P Dang Thai | 1 Beckham Place, Edward Street, NR3 3DZ | 1 | 14 September | Management (20) |
| Cookmama Restaurant | 19 Fye Bridge Street, NR3 1LJ | 2 | 4 September | Structure (15) |
| Istanbul Kebab | 71 Knowland Grove, NR5 8YD | 2 | 14 September | Structure (15) |
| The Belgian Monk | 7 Pottergate, NR2 1DS | 2 | 21 September | Structure (15) |
| Coachmakers Arms | 9 St Stephens Road, NR1 3SP | 2 | 30 September | Structure (15) |
P Dang Thai is listed as a retailer. Its scores were 15 for hygiene, 10 for structure and 20 for management. The four businesses rated two all scored 15 for structure, which covers the condition of the building, cleaning, layout and facilities. Both pubs scored 5 for hygiene, the second-best score, and 10 for management.
None of the five had a written right to reply on the register when we checked. A rating reflects what the inspector found on the day. A business can ask the council for a re-inspection once it has made improvements, and it can publish a right to reply at any time before its next inspection. Any business named here is welcome to tell us what it has changed, at hello@norwichtimes.co.uk.
Who moved up
Home Cafe at 102 Thorpe Road was rated one after an inspection on 20 August 2025. Its September re-inspection gave it a four, with scores of 5 for hygiene, 5 for structure and 10 for management (register).
That leaves four Norwich businesses still rated one from earlier inspections: Piccolos on Prince of Wales Road, Foodbycpc on Aylsham Road, Pizza Oro on Thorpe Road and Lincolnshopper on Portersfield Road. With P Dang Thai, the city now has five businesses rated one, and still none rated zero.
Across the city
The register now lists 1,608 Norwich food businesses. Of the 1,366 with a rating, 910 hold a five, or 66.6%. That is barely changed from 66.4% on 1 October. Another 207 are waiting for their first inspection, up from 186.
What it means for you
- Check before you order. Every rating, with its inspection date and scores, is on the Food Standards Agency’s ratings site. Search by name or postcode.
- A two is a warning sign, not a closure. All five businesses above can keep trading. A rating of two means the inspector found things that need improving.
- Ratings change. Home Cafe shows a business can move from a one to a four at its next visit. Check the date on the sticker or the website.
- If something worries you, report it to Norwich City Council’s environmental health team, which inspects food businesses in the city.
For more on council services, see our guides to Norwich bin collection days and Norwich council tax bands.
How we did this
We downloaded the full Norwich City register (authority 33) from the Food Standards Agency’s open data on 2 November 2026. We counted ratings whose inspection date fell in September 2026, and current ratings from zero to five across the city. Businesses awaiting inspection and exempt premises are left out of every percentage.
Sources
- Food Standards Agency food hygiene ratings, Norwich City register downloaded 2 November 2026, for every rating, score, date and count in this story.
- Food Hygiene Rating Scheme guidance for businesses, Food Standards Agency, for the publication delay, the right to reply and re-inspections.
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