40 of the 48 newest food hygiene ratings in St Albans district are fives. An AL5 retailer was rated zero and Lussmanns Harpenden two. Full list inside.
Forty of the 48 newest food hygiene ratings in St Albans district are fives, the top score. Every one of the 24 ratings dated in September so far is a five.
The same batch also holds the district’s second zero. Deli-Fayre Ltd, a retailer in the AL5 postcode district, was rated 0, urgent improvement necessary, on 17 August 2026. Lussmanns Harpenden, the restaurant on Leyton Road, was rated 2, improvement necessary, on 12 August.
These are the ratings the Food Standards Agency has published since we last read the district’s register on 7 September. We read it again on 5 October. The newest rating on it is dated 24 September, so the published picture still runs a week or more behind the inspectors.
The 48 newest ratings
The ratings dated between 7 August and 24 September 2026 break down like this:
- 5, very good: 40
- 4, good: 4
- 3, generally satisfactory: 2
- 2, improvement necessary: 1
- 1, major improvement necessary: none
- 0, urgent improvement necessary: 1
The zero: Deli-Fayre Ltd
The register lists Deli-Fayre Ltd as “Retailers - other”. It gives no street address, only the AL5 postcode district, which covers Harpenden. The register does this for some businesses, often those run from a private address.
Ratings are built from three separate scores, and on this scale a higher number is worse. Deli-Fayre Ltd scored:
- 25 for hygienic food handling, the worst score on that measure
- 15 for the condition of the structure
- 30 for confidence in management, the worst score on that measure
Companies House lists one active company of that name, Deli-Fayre Ltd, number 03814446. Its registered office is in Victoria Road, Harpenden, and it describes its business as retail by mail order or over the internet. It traded as Drawstorm Estates Ltd until July 2022.
The register records no right-to-reply statement from the business and no new rating pending, as of 5 October. The full entry is on the FSA site.
The district’s other zero is unchanged. Spud Kingz @ Housing 21, the catering operation at Lea Springs in Lower Luton Road, Harpenden, has held its zero since 9 June. We reported it in September.
The two: Lussmanns Harpenden
Lussmanns Harpenden, at 20A Leyton Road, was rated 2 on 12 August 2026. Its three scores were 10 for food handling, 15 for structure and 10 for confidence in management. The structural score is the weakest of the three, and that measure covers the cleanliness and condition of the premises rather than how food is handled.
The register records no right to reply and no new rating pending.
The fours and threes
Six more premises fell short of a five:
| Business | Address | Rating | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Peters Convenience Store | 97 St Peters Street, St Albans | 4 | 13 Aug |
| Battlekart | Unit 4, Brick Knoll Park, St Albans | 4 | 15 Aug |
| Verulam House Nursing and Residential Home | Verulam Road, St Albans | 4 | 15 Aug |
| Ozzie’s Kitchen Ltd | Mobile caterer, AL2 | 4 | 20 Aug |
| The Raging Ball | Unit 8, Verulam Industrial Estate, London Road | 3 | 20 Aug |
| Sushi and Bento House (also Kim-Bap Fusion) | 125 Southdown Road, Harpenden | 3 | 28 Aug |
The fives
The 40 fives run across the whole district and every kind of kitchen. They include:
- Pubs: The Cross Keys at Gustard Wood, Inn on the Green and the Old Cock Inn in Harpenden, and The King William IV on Sandridge Road
- Restaurants and cafes: Sopwell House Hotel and Country Club, Brad and Dills on Leyton Road, Gail’s in Harpenden, Nonno’s Pizza on Harpenden High Street, Souvlaki City on Hatfield Road, The Bakery Stop at The Colonnade, and Aspava, the cafe at the Alban Arena
- School kitchens: Aldwickbury School, St Albans Girls’ School, St Dominic Catholic Primary, The Lea Primary and Park Street Primary
- Nurseries and care: Grasshoppers Day Nursery, Brock House Nursery School, Cosmos Kindergarten, Spire Harpenden Hospital, Tenterden House Care Home and Strathmore Lodge
- Shops: R and M Family Butchers on Station Road, Harpenden, and the Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer food halls in Harpenden
Across the whole district, 823 of the 1,065 rated premises now hold a five. That is 77.3 per cent, up from 76.6 per cent when we read it on 7 September.
What it means for you
Check the date as well as the score. A rating stands until the next inspection, so it can be years old. The date sits next to the score on every FSA entry.
A zero is the bottom of the scale. It means the inspector found urgent improvement was necessary. It does not mean a business has been shut. Closure is a separate legal power, and the register does not record one here.
Businesses can answer back. Any business can appeal a rating to the council within 21 days, publish a right to reply on the FSA site, or ask for a re-inspection once it has made improvements. We will update this report if either rated business does.
To report a concern, contact the council’s food team at fhrs@stalbans.gov.uk.
Sources
- Food Standards Agency: food hygiene ratings, and the agency’s open data register for the St Albans City authority, read on 5 October 2026. It supplied every rating, rating date, address and component score above, the right-to-reply and pending-rating fields, and the district totals (1,065 rated premises, 823 at five).
- Companies House: Deli-Fayre Ltd, 03814446, for the registered office, nature of business and previous name.
- St Albans City and District Council: food hygiene rating scheme, the authority that carries out the inspections and handles appeals, right to reply and re-inspection requests.
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