Restaurant ratings can mean different things depending on the city or country. This guide explains A, B, C grades, numeric scores, pass/fail inspections, and UK 0-5 ratings.
Food safety ratings are public summaries of government inspections. They help consumers compare restaurants, takeaways, cafes, supermarkets, caterers, and other food businesses before visiting. The challenge is that there is no single global rating system.
In the United States, many cities publish local inspection results. New York City uses A, B, and C grades based on violation points. Los Angeles County uses a 100-point score converted into A, B, and C grades. Chicago uses Pass, Pass with Conditions, and Fail. Dallas publishes numeric inspection scores.
In the United Kingdom, food businesses are usually rated from 0 to 5 under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. A rating of 5 means very good hygiene standards, while 0 means urgent improvement is required. Scotland uses a separate Food Hygiene Information Scheme with Pass or Improvement Required results.
| Rating type | Used by | Best result | Lower result |
|---|---|---|---|
| A/B/C grades | NYC, Los Angeles, Louisville and others | A | B or C |
| 0-5 food hygiene rating | England, Wales, Northern Ireland | 5 | 0, 1 or 2 |
| Pass/Fail | Chicago and some other US cities | Pass | Fail or conditional pass |
| Numeric score | Dallas and other local systems | High score, usually 90+ | Low score, often below 70 |
| Smiley rating | Denmark | Happy smiley | Neutral or angry smiley |
In letter-grade systems, A is normally the best grade. In the UK Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, 5 is the best rating. In pass/fail systems, Pass is the best result.
A C grade usually means inspectors found more serious or more numerous violations than for A or B grades. The exact threshold depends on the city. In NYC, C means 28 or more violation points.
Food inspections are usually run by local or national authorities. Each authority decides how to score inspections and how to publish results, which is why labels differ across places.