Britain's filthiest pubs, bars and nightclubs are today named on the Daily Mail's annual list of shame.

Our audit of Food Standards Agency (FSA) food hygiene ratings – part of a wider series unmasking the nation's dirtiest shops – found 1,224 failed inspections.

Nationwide, it means one in 42 fall below minimum standards.

As judged by the FSA, the failures in this category of venue included major chains like Toby Carvery, Harvester and BrewDog.

Forty-five pubs, bars and nightclubs serving food scored zero – the worst possible rating. All of them were told that 'urgent improvement is required'.

Inspectors have found rotting food, rodent droppings, insect infestations at some of the worst-offenders, while others have been scolded after being caught storing raw chicken dangerously.

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In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, all venues serving food are judged on a scale between zero and five.

Scores of two or below are counted as a fail.

The Mail's probe discovered 583 had a rating of two, with the FSA warning them that 'some improvement is necessary'.

Another 376 scored one – meaning major improvement is necessary.

Out of a total of 51,000 pubs, bars and nightclubs nationwide, it means 2.4% failed.

FSA research found it is twice as likely for foodborne illness outbreaks to occur in zero, one or two rated businesses than in those that are rated three, four or five. 

Venues in Scotland are graded on a binary pass/fail basis.

Mail analysis found 220 businesses were slapped with an 'Improvement Required' label.

BrewDog, the trendy 'punk' craft beer brand, received the shameful accolade at its pub in Aberdeen city centre's flagship shopping centre. The company has said it has requested another visit from inspectors in a bid to improve its rating.

In the most serious cases, officers can close a business until improvements are made and can also recommend that a firm be prosecuted for breaching food standards regulations.

Broken down by local authorities, Aberdeen had the worst rate of hygiene failures at 13.5%, followed by Highland (12.5%) and Ealing (10.5%).

At the other end of the scale, 79 councils in the UK didn't have a single pub that failed a hygiene rating.

Another location to have a poor rating was the hugely popular central London venue Top Secret Comedy Club in Covent Garden.

Despite playing host to some of the biggest names in British stand-up, such as Jack Whitehall and Romesh Ranganathan, inspectors slapped it with a zero rating after discovering mice droppings on bar surfaces and mould in the ice machine.

An inspection fail can devastate businesses, damaging their reputation permanently overnight.

Consumers are now far more aware of food hygiene ratings than ever before, according to Food Safety Consultancy UK. 

A spokesman told the Daily Mail that more people are now regularly checking ratings online, and local community Facebook groups can highlight poor scores very quickly. 

'If a rating isn’t displayed, that in itself should raise questions', they added.

However, some pubs, such as the White Swan in Nottinghamshire, seemingly try to pull the wool over their customer's eyes. 

The Daily Mail found its website boasted a five star rating, when in actuality, the venue was branded a zero at its latest inspection in August. 

The director of the company told this newspaper the website was set up by the landlord five or six years ago, but he has not able to update it since then. 

He said he is aware of the problem and has been using Facebook for marketing while he tries to get the website taken down.

Meanwhile, although the importance of choosing a safe restaurant to eat at is important for everyone, food experts stress that customers with allergies should be the most careful.

A Food Safety Consultancy UK spokesperson said: 'Getting this wrong can have life-threatening consequences and has been a key factor in major prosecutions. 

'Other ongoing challenges include pest control, staff training, record-keeping, and maintaining standards during busy periods.' 

But despite the dangers, some businesses still take shortcuts — for example not having a proper pest control contract in place, inadequate cleaning regimes, or incomplete due-diligence records. 

Staff shortages and high turnover also mean training often falls behind, which directly impacts standards. 

And although a lower inspection score does not necessarily mean food is unsafe at that moment, customers should definitely be wary of what they are walking into.

Ian Andrews, of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: 'Food hygiene standards depend on a range of factors, from the training of staff and good cleaning regimes, to things like the age of the building.

'However, when food safety controls fail, illness can result, which ties up really valuable NHS resources. 

'Environmental Health Practitioners will investigate what went wrong and look for ways to prevent it happening again. They will also take enforcement action where required to prevent illness spreading in the community.'

But although it is now easier than ever to find the results of a hygiene inspection online, businesses are still not required by law to display them in England – with only 72% choosing to do so.

And perhaps unsurprisingly, the likelihood of displaying it is linked to a higher rating, with 79% of five stars showing it off compared to 38% of those rated three.

Only establishments in Wales and Northern Ireland are required by law to have it displayed, but campaigners such as Which? and the FSA want to change England and Scotland's law to be the same.

The FSA was set up in the late 1990s, in the wake of the mad cow disease crisis and the 1996 e-coli outbreak in Lanarkshire which killed 20 people.

Since then the UK's framework has been become well-established and viewed as generally effective.

The system works by local authorities inspecting businesses in their area at least once every two years, before passing on the results to the FSA or Food Standards Scotland (FSS).

But questions are being raised regarding if it is able to meet the demand, as many council environmental health departments have been struggling to recruit sufficient qualified staff in recent years.

Over the past decade, the number of food standards inspectors employed by local councils has fallen by 45%.

The FSA and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have previously warned that staff shortages and cuts are 'putting unsustainable pressure on existing local authority teams and may increase the risk of important food safety issues being missed'. 

There are currently 1,976 pubs serving food have never been inspected.

Farrelly Mitchell, the co-founder and managing director of international food consultancy firm Farrelly Mitchell, told the Daily Mail outcomes can vary depending on a local authority's resources.

He said: 'Inspection capacity remains uneven across the country, particularly in peripheral areas or areas with a high concentration of food outlets. 

'This can lead to longer gaps between inspections and delays in re-rating. 

'Mandatory display of food hygiene ratings in England would likely help address this by increasing transparency and encouraging operators to prioritise compliance. 

'Evidence from parts of the UK where display is already mandatory (Wales/NI) suggests it drives improvements and raises overall standards.'

A spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents councils, said they 'know their local areas best' and target their reduced resources at the riskiest businesses.

But it said 'ultimately it is the responsibility of food businesses to ensure the products they produce comply fully with food safety law and pose no risk', although it stressed councils will do all they can to maintain checks 'despite severe budgetary pressures'.

Sue Davies, head of food policy at Which?, said it supports the FSA ensuring that more complex businesses operating nationally comply with food law, which enables local authorities to focus on high risk businesses in their areas.

A UKHospitality spokesman said: 'The most recent FSA data shows over three-quarters (76.6%) of food businesses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland achieved a top rating of 5 for hygiene.

'Even with reported local authority resourcing challenges, this shows the sector demonstrates very high compliance.

'Despite the pressures the sector has faced in recent years, the safety of our customers remains non-negotiable and food hygiene is a major focus for businesses – alongside work on allergens and food crime.'

The FSA claims the inspection is a 'snapshot' of the standards of food hygiene. 

Its ratings do not cover issues such as the quality of food, customer service, culinary skill, presentation or comfort, instead concentrating on how the food is stored and prepared.

The Mail's data was extracted from the FSA website and is correct as of December 16, 2025.

The results of every inspection is available on the FSA website, which is subjected to constant daily daily updates as more inspections roll in.

FSA chiefs recommend businesses are inspected depending on risk, ranging from once every six months to two years.

Some extremely low-risk premises – such as newsagents, market stalls and cricket clubs – may have even longer intervals between check-ups.

Businesses that fail can book a retest once they have rectified the issues in the initial report. 

A FSA spokesman said: 'The fact that premises with poor hygiene standards are being identified and scored appropriately demonstrates that local authority food officers are doing their job in protecting consumers. 

'Food hygiene standards across the UK are very high. Almost 97% of establishments achieve a rating of "generally satisfactory" or better

'Ratings are displayed online even if a business does not display their sticker.'