To still eat at this place?

[Lostsocksaresoannoying]

I've just found out that my absolute favourite takeaway has a food hygiene rating of 1.

Dh and I have been eating from this place for 15 years almost every other week with no problems. We've never found anywhere else like it in terms of we just love the food. We don't go out much and our weekend takeaway is just about the highlight of our week. We're not generally fussed about takeaways we just don't bother but we love this place.

We didn't go in somewhere for lunch today as it was rated 3, displayed in the window and I'm quite fussy about food hygiene, or at least I thought I was, we were saying how we wonder what our favourite takeaway is as we've never checked. So we checked online and it's rated 1, which means major improvements needed.

Aibu to just pretend I don't know and carry on eating from there.

If they inspected my kitchen I'd probably get zero, but I'm still alive and well...

you can email the council and ask for a copy of the report under freedom of information

This sounds like a good idea.

It personally wouldn't bother me, if I had eaten there for years without a problem.....but would you genuinely enjoy it now knowing the score or has it spoilt it for you anyway.

You’ve probably got an amazing immune system, OP!

If you’ve always loved it, and never had any problems, then just pretend you never saw their low score.

I had a similar experience with a local chinese restaurant. Had eaten in, had takeaways and enjoyed the food.
Then I got wind of the rating and like you initially thought 'but everything tastes good'.
I applied to see the full report and it was shocking.... dead mice in the kitchen and such like. Definitely a deal breaker for me !

I have found somewhere else a little further away with a 5 star rating, so I still get my lovely chinese food and hopefully without a dose of salmonella or worse!

A pizza oven is pretty hot (? 500 Celsius) which will make mouse droppings safe to eat.

I was thinking that.
What's the worst that could survive the oven?

I've done it. Our favourite Chinese in town got rated a 1, but the food was so tasty we just carried on eating there!

Yes I would, quite a few by me got really low marks and they are always then nicer ones. I think my immune system is probably nails after surviving food cooked in my kitchen and I work on the theory that if it was a proper health hazard they would close it down.

I would the hygiene rating is as much about form filling as actual cleanliness and if it was dangerously dirty they would have closed it down immediately

Agree. It’s not all about the food. The ratings could be because of inability to do the paperwork. Just get a copy of the report. If all is ok I’m sure they will be thrilled for you to continue eating there and may offer a discount if you volunteer to reassure others
Mind you, if the report is awful

What's the worst that could survive the oven?

Unless the pizza comes straight out of the oven to its box down a sterile chute, it doesn't really matter. That pizza has to go through a gauntlet of hands, tools, surfaces...and even the box itself might have already had a mouse's arsehole all over it.

I'd really want to see that report.

@ Joey2412 the place I mentioned had a plumber onsite fixing the hot water at the time (they had a retest a few weeks later & got 5)

I’ve abandoned my local take away because it only had a 2. When looking for a replacement I only considered 4 and 5. Though that was difficult as the vast, vast majority of take aways were 3 and below.

Not unless you are both happy to pretend the meals have raisins in? Rat raisins that is. Deli beli? You are braver than me OP. I had a favourite take away only to find they were filthy and over run with rats

I think that on the whole we are far too cautious about food. I am sure that in our own kitchens, most of us wouldn't get a 5, yet we eat from there every day.

However, I have anxiety and am ridiculously picky with food, so unless it's got a 5 rating it's a no from me, despite logically knowing that you would most probably be fine.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45888709

That article should answer your question.

Our local got a low rating because they told inspector the wrong amount of seconds they left disinfectant down for before wiping. Not that they weren’t actually leaving it down long enough.

Oh the horror

Your probably eating rat and staff have probably had a poo and not washed hands but hey if you like it, carry on eating the food 🤷🏻‍♀️

After seeing a news report on ratings of just eat restaurants I always check the rating before I order/dine. I've been shocked that some of my go to places have less than 5 star ratings (a couple of Chinese restaurants I frequently ordered from had 1 🤢) It's just not acceptable to run a food business and have lax hygiene.

I thought anywhere with a 1 ended up having to make improvements or be forced to close.

Ran hotels and restaurant for years until recently. It’s not bloody hard to get a 5. I wouldn’t eat somewhere like this knowing just how easy it is to get a 4 or 5, it’s basic flipping stuff that people handling food should always be doing anyway.
People will always say ‘it’s all about paperwork’ but by paperwork they mean they haven’t been checking fridges or dates on food, gross and takes barely anytime. Mingggg

Thedarkpassenger I had been told that it wasn't hard to get a 5, so I've never been keen to eat anywhere with less than a 5, obviously not realising about this place. Although I do wonder how we haven't got unwell from the food. Do you think it's just luck that we haven't?

Searching up food hygiene ratings I'm actually quite shocked, there are 'grotty' pubs that I wouldn't have eaten in in a million years that have 5, yet the 5 star hotel we have stayed in has a 4!

Normally I reckon It's a paperwork type of issue, if it was truly awful it would be directly closed. I do remember a few years ago celebrity chefs restaurant was closed on the spot for food poisoning and then EHO found other stuff.
See how you feel after you order again.

Our council appears to do hygiene on a pass/fail rating. My Chinese is a pass, they cook everything from scratch and you can see it all being prepped as you stand waiting. It is run by 3 Chinese guys and is very very good.

If there were rodents or other vermin is that not an automatic closure until their dealt with?!

My local Chinese got a 1 so I stopped eating there but all the others I looked at also had a one so I thought fuck it and went back to it! Maybe it's a thing about Chinese restaurants.