All 30 Canterbury district food hygiene inspections rated in August 2026 scored the top mark of 5, from Whitstable Harbour huts to a Herne village pub.
Food safety inspectors rated 30 businesses across the Canterbury district in August, and every single one took the top score. All 30 were rated 5, “very good”, under the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. Not one was rated 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0.
That is a cleaner month than July, when 33 of 34 ratings were a 5 and a Herne Bay butcher took a 3. The figures come from the Food Standards Agency’s public register, which records every rating issued in the Canterbury City Council area. We retrieved the August ratings on 1 September. (Food Standards Agency, food hygiene ratings register)
Ratings are added as the council publishes them, so a few late August inspections may still appear after this was written.
Whitstable Harbour, a golf clubhouse and a nursing home
Whitstable accounted for eight of the month’s ratings. Two of them are at the harbour: Thalassa, the takeaway in Hut 2 of the harbour market on South Quay, and Keller at 28 Harbour Street, both rated 5 on 10 August.
The Horsebridge Road pair went through together on 5 August: Lotties Sweet Creams at number 1, registered as a manufacturer and packer, and Sweet Treats at number 2. The same day, Nineteen, the restaurant at Whitstable and Seasalter Golf Club on Collingwood Road, took a 5.
Out on the Thanet Way, KFC at Highgate Park was rated 5 on 7 August and Yo Sushi inside the Tesco on Millstrood Road followed on 19 August. Whitstable Nursing Home on West Cliff was rated 5 on 18 August.
Two Herne pubs and the Herne Bay seafront
Herne Bay and the villages around it also produced eight ratings. Both pubs in Herne village scored 5: The Butchers Arms on Herne Street on 7 August, and The Smugglers Inn on School Lane on 10 August.
On the seafront, TOAST at Beach House on Beach Street was rated 5 on 4 August, the same day as La Chiave on William Street. The Costa Coffee on The Boulevard followed on 7 August. Three more CT6 premises were rated 5 without a street address published on the register: Little Pep, Rubicon Children’s Homes and The Studd Hill Residents Association.
The city, and two places to stay
Canterbury itself accounted for twelve of the 30. Along the High Street and St Peter’s Street, Abode Canterbury at 30-33 High Street, American Candy & Gifts at number 36, Canterbury Express at 35 St Peters Street and The Black Griffin all took a 5.
Elsewhere in the city, the ratings went to Saint Smokeys BBQ House in the St Georges Centre, Domino’s Pizza on Military Road, Kudos Restaurant on Dover Street, Thais ‘R’ Us on Lower Bridge Street and the Londis at Lakeside Service Station on Sturry Road.
Two places to stay were rated. Canterbury Youth Hostel on New Dover Road scored 5 on 17 August, and The Pig At Bridge Place at Bourne Park Road in Bridge scored 5 on 7 August.
Care settings made up five of the month’s ratings and all five scored 5: Lark View Care Home on Cockering Road in Thanington Without, Bovan Creek at Lady Wootton’s Green, Elizabeth House on Island Road at Upstreet, Whitstable Nursing Home and Rubicon Children’s Homes.
That is 12 ratings in Canterbury, eight in Whitstable and eight in and around Herne Bay. The remaining two are in villages: Bridge, about three miles south of the city, and Upstreet, about six miles east of it.
What it means for you
A hygiene rating is the closest thing you get to seeing inside a kitchen before you order. A 5 means the inspector judged food handling, the state of the building and the food safety management all up to standard on the day of the visit.
A perfect month is not the same as a perfect district. Across the whole Canterbury City Council area the register currently holds 1,648 rated premises. Of those, 1,156 hold a 5, which is 70.1 per cent. A further 188 hold a 4 and 118 hold a 3. Twenty-four premises hold a rating of 2 or below, and 71 are awaiting inspection.
Ratings change after a reinspection, so check the current score rather than an old one. Every business named here links to its own entry on the official register. Businesses can appeal a rating, have a right of reply published alongside it, and can ask for a revisit once improvements are made. The FSA publishes how to appeal or request a revisit.
We will report the September figures when they are published. For other practical local information, see our guides to bin collection days, parking in Canterbury and planning applications in the district.
Update, 25 September 2026: more August inspections have since reached the register. It now holds 59 ratings dated August 2026: 44 rated 5, five rated 4, eight rated 3 and two rated 2. The 30 ratings reported above were all that had been published on 1 September. The full picture, including the two ratings of 2, is in our September hygiene roundup.
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