Evening dining in Rhuthun/Ruthin. Less choice and poorer food hygiene scores is the new reality.
To start with, here's a thing. Upon the door of recently reopened Small Plates we see a November 2019 hygiene rating of 4 out of 5.
Small Plates reopened on April 18th. A month before, the county council reassessed its food hygiene rating... and scored it 2 out of 5. Yet, as of yesterday, the rating on the door had not changed. So what's going on?
Its home delivery business, Sorbus Tree, also rated on the same day, also scored 2 out of 5. Yet, the owners of both businesses who used to run On The Hill had from 2012 been 5 out of 5 for On The Hill till by July 2017 and December 2018, when it slipped one point.
Successor business in the On The Hill building is The Fat Boar. It's chasing a different market to On The Hill and appears to angle itself towards specials and family food, with regular offers for children. It's pitched ahead of Wetherspoon's but cannot touch the former On The Hill. The Fat Boar opened daytimes in Rhuthun/Ruthin from January 11th, 2022 with evenings soon following. What it does offer is every day dining (compared to the extended weekend opening for Small Plates and the former On The Hill). Denbighshire assessed The Fat Boar on March 9th and scored it 2 out of 5. This compares badly to its Yr Wyddgrug/Mold and Wrecsam premises.
Meanwhile, in the biggest shock of all, on February 9th 2022, the Ruthin Castle Hotel & Spa was 'awarded' zero out of 5. They started their rating in June 2011 with 3 out of 5 and was consistent thereafter till getting 2 out of 5 by September 2014 and March 2015. Matters improved by July 2017, with 4 out of 5 and again by December 2018 to 5 out of 5. Now, they have taken the snake all the way from top to bottom.
The sum total of all this is that not only are there far fewer general restaurants available for us to use, most of the main ones in town are problematic in terms of their hygiene scores.
Considering more specialist evening dining, Ocean Pearl was scored 3 out of 5 after opening but by December 2018 was awarded zero. The media reported this in January 2020 when it said that magistrates had called this a 'flagrant disregard for the law'. The Ocean Pearl was also reported as displaying its 0 out of 5 sticker upside down to give the impression of the highest score. It is currently 'awaiting inspection'.
The Panda Garden started its ratings history consistently at 1 out of 5 but gradually pulled itself up to 4 out of 5 before dropping back to 3 out of 5 and them improving again to 4 out of 5. Its March 2021 rating is now 3 out of 5. New Himalaya managed 3 out of 5 in December 2021.
Better news all round is that although not a recent result the Manor House has consistently reached 5 out of 5, as has Wetherspoon's.
Tags:
Food hygiene