Big Fish

The 1 out of 5 hygiene rating, and what it is actually for

A one-star rating reads like dirty food. At Big Fish the published numbers say something narrower than that, and it is worth reading before you decide.

The Food Standards Agency scores every inspection on three separate elements and publishes all three. Lower is better, and a score of 20 in any single element caps the overall rating at 1 on its own, whatever the other two do. Big Fish’s 10 March 2026 inspection came out like this:

• Food hygiene and safety: 0. The best score available. This is the element that covers handling, cooking, cooling, storage and cleanliness of the food itself.
• Structural compliance: 5. Also good. Cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and the condition of the premises.
• Confidence in management: 20. Poor, and the single number that sets the rating.

Confidence in management is about paperwork and systems rather than the kitchen: documented procedures, food safety management records, staff training records and the inspector’s judgement that standards will be maintained between visits. A 20 there pulls the headline rating to 1 even though the food hygiene element scored a clean 0.

That is the whole of the public record. The FSA shows no re-inspection since 10 March 2026 and the business has filed no right to reply, so the 1 stands more than six months on. Businesses can ask their council for a re-rating visit once they have made the improvements, and Lewes District Council is the inspecting authority here. If a new inspection is published we will update this page.

One other thing worth checking on any Lewes listing for this shop: the postcode is BN7 2DG, not the BN7 1YH some directories still carry.