Harlow's September food hygiene ratings: 16 fives, a 4 and a 3, with no zeros. Golden Dragon, Cafe Blue and the Oasis Hotel among the top scores.
Harlow Council’s food safety officers rated 18 food businesses in September, and 16 of them got the top score of 5. One was rated 4, one was rated 3, and none scored below that.
The figures come from the Food Standards Agency register, which we read on 3 October. They cover every rating dated 1 to 30 September 2026 for premises in the Harlow council area.
Rated 5 (very good) in September
| Business | Where | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxe XV Events Limited | CM20 (mobile) | Mobile caterer | 2 Sep |
| Ladybird’s Catering | Mead Park Industrial Estate | Canteen | 4 Sep |
| MarizaiCakes | CM18 | Caterer | 11 Sep |
| Holy Cross Pre-School | Tracyes Road | Caring premises | 15 Sep |
| Kelly And Kate’s Kitchen | Wych Elm | Caterer | 15 Sep |
| Bidvest Noonan at Teva | Harlow Number One | Canteen | 16 Sep |
| BMAT Education | Sir Frederick Gibberd College | School | 18 Sep |
| Cafe Blue | High Street, Old Harlow | Cafe | 18 Sep |
| St Alban’s Catholic Academy | First Avenue | School | 18 Sep |
| Zenz | Station Road, Old Harlow | Restaurant | 22 Sep |
| Golden Dragon | 94 The Stow | Takeaway | 24 Sep |
| Harlow Vintage and Retro, St Clare Hospice | 3 Broad Walk | Shop | 25 Sep |
| Newhall Primary Academy (HCL) | Round House Way, Newhall | School | 25 Sep |
| Oasis Hotel | Hart Road, Old Harlow | Hotel | 28 Sep |
| Mapuldor | CM17 | Caterer | 30 Sep |
| Mila Cafe Harlow | Harlow Business Centre, Lovet Road | Cafe | 30 Sep |
Where only a postcode district is shown, the register does not publish a street address.
Rated 4 and 3
- Farmhouse Pizza, 10 Service Industry Bays, The Stow: rated 4 (good) on 11 September.
- The Pitstop, a mobile trader at North Place: rated 3 (generally satisfactory) on 4 September.
A 3 is a pass. The scheme’s safeguards for businesses say a business can appeal a rating within 21 days, ask for a re-rating visit once it has made improvements, and publish a right to reply on its register entry. Neither register entry carries a reply.
How Harlow looks overall
Across the whole district, 621 premises currently hold a rating from 0 to 5. Of those, 516 are rated 5, which is 83%. Another 36 are awaiting their first inspection and 39 are exempt from the scheme.
The four still below 3
Four Harlow premises currently sit below a 3. None of them was rated in September, so these are older ratings still standing:
| Business | Where | Rating | Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverway Cafe | Ozdil House, River Way | 1 | 14 May 2026 |
| Harlow International Youth Hostel | 13 School Lane | 1 | 27 Feb 2026 |
| Mobile sandwich van | CM20 (mobile) | 1 | 27 Feb 2026 |
| Rasyumm | 12A to 12B Terminus Street | 2 | 21 Aug 2025 |
A 1 means “major improvement necessary” and a 2 means “improvement necessary”. The register records the rating on the date of the last inspection. Any of these businesses may since have improved and be waiting for a re-rating visit.
What it means for you
- Check before you order. Every rating is on the FSA’s search, and businesses in England do not have to display their sticker, so the register is the reliable place to look.
- If you have a concern about a food business in Harlow, report it to the council’s food safety team through the FSA’s reporting tool, which routes it to the right council.
- School and nursery parents: Holy Cross Pre-School, St Alban’s Catholic Academy, Newhall Primary Academy and BMAT’s kitchen at Sir Frederick Gibberd College all scored 5 this month.
For more on the town’s food scene, see things to do in Harlow.
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