All 33 Southend food businesses rated in September scored 5, including a Leigh cafe that was on 1 in February. The city's only zero has gone from the register.

Every food business in Southend given a hygiene rating in September scored the top mark of 5. There are 33 of them on the Food Standards Agency register, which we read this morning (FSA food hygiene ratings). There were no fours, threes or anything lower.

One of them has gone from near the bottom of the scale to the top. Corner Club, at 44 Broadway in Leigh-on-Sea, was rated 1 in February. It was rated 5 on 2 September. A 1 means major improvement is necessary; a 5 means hygiene standards are very good.

It is the second month running with nothing but fives. In August all 22 new ratings were fives too, as we reported in Southend food hygiene: all 22 new ratings scored a 5. Two September ratings, Byfords Food Hall and Taste of China, were in that report because they were inspected on 1 and 2 September. The other 31 are new here.

Rated 5 in September

  • Leigh and Eastwood: Corner Club (44 Broadway), Dash (36 Leigh Road), The Shift Shed (149A Leigh Road), Flour And Spoon artisan bakery and cafe (134 Eastwood Road North), Drift Café and No Place Like Home (both at Leigh Marina, High Street), Smiffys Whippys (Leigh Marina), Byfords Food Hall (114 to 118 Eastwood Old Road), Taste Of China (991 London Road), and Recover Labs (SS9, address not published)
  • Westcliff: Jazz Bar And Restaurant (242 London Road), Sweet Crush (298 London Road), Sreepur Spice (809 London Road), Glenwood Cafe (51 West Road), Essex County Bowling Club and T And K Catering (both Imperial Avenue), Mandy’s Ices (kiosk by the Holland Road steps, Western Esplanade)
  • Southend: Wendy’s (66 to 68 High Street), Clarence Restaurant & Cafe (13 Clarence Street), Beaches (Marine Parade), Mini Donut (Adventure Island), Byers Bakery (681 Southchurch Road), Randells Food And Wine (71 to 73 Southchurch Road), Wake Cup Cafe (307 Sutton Road), Garon Golf Complex (Garon Park), EKCO Sports And Social Club (Thornford Gardens), The Faded Frappe (Manners Corner), Rocking Horse Childcare (24 Chancellor Road), and three caterers whose addresses are not published: Bruins Bites, 84 Bakes and Maamestreats
  • Shoeburyness: Eastbeach (Rampart Terrace) and Thorpedene Primary School And Nursery (Delaware Road)

The register does not publish an address for some small caterers, usually because they work from home or from a vehicle. Most of the 33 are restaurants and cafes: 18 of them. The rest include three takeaways, two supermarkets, two mobile caterers and two schools or nurseries.

A rating is a snapshot of what an officer found on the day of the inspection. It is not a verdict on the food.

A month of fives does not mean no low scores were given

Low ratings can reach the register later than high ones. The STARS Recovery Cafe at 27 Weston Road, Southend, was rated 1 on 6 August. It was not on the register when we published the August round-up on 7 September, and it is now. So some September inspections may still appear, and not all of them will be fives.

Every business has three safeguards under the scheme (Food Standards Agency):

  • it can appeal to the council within 21 days of being told its rating
  • it can publish a right to reply alongside the rating
  • it can ask for a re-inspection once it has made improvements

The wider register: the zero has gone

Southend’s register now holds 1,477 entries. 85 are exempt, such as newsagents selling only wrapped goods, and 9 are waiting for a first inspection. That leaves 1,383 with a published rating, the same number as a month ago.

Bar chart of food hygiene ratings held by the 1,383 rated businesses in Southend-on-Sea on 5 October 2026: 989 rated 5, 237 rated 4, 115 rated 3, 31 rated 2, 11 rated 1 and none rated 0.
Ratings held across Southend-on-Sea on 5 October 2026, from the FSA register. Chart by Southend Today.
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How the totals have moved since we read the register on 7 September:

Rating 7 September 5 October Change
5 976 989 up 13
4 241 237 down 4
3 116 115 down 1
2 34 31 down 3
1 15 11 down 4
0 1 0 down 1

71.5% of rated Southend food businesses now hold a 5, up from 70.6%. Another 237 hold a 4, so 88.6% are on 4 or 5.

In September the only zero belonged to Bogaz Kitchen, a takeaway at 382A Rayleigh Road in Eastwood, rated on 20 April 2026. It no longer appears on the register, and there is no entry at that address. The register does not say why, so we cannot say whether the business closed, changed hands or was re-registered under another name.

The totals move for more than one reason. A business can be re-inspected and move up or down, and entries come off when a business stops trading. So the fall in low ratings is not, on its own, proof that kitchens got better.

What it means for you

  • Look a business up before you book or order. The FSA’s search shows the score and the date. In England a business does not have to display its sticker.
  • Check the date as well as the number. The register does not expire. Some Southend church halls still carry ratings from 2014.
  • If a rating looks wrong to you, or you have a concern about a food business, the council’s food safety team investigates complaints (Southend-on-Sea City Council).

Sources