A Chatham care home and a Rainham restaurant got Medway's lowest food hygiene ratings in August. Of 92 businesses rated that month, 78 earned the top mark of 5.
A care home in Chatham and a restaurant in Rainham were given the lowest food hygiene ratings handed out in Medway in August.
Both were rated 1, which means “major improvement is necessary”. They were the only two businesses below a 3 that month.
We pulled the whole Medway register from the Food Standards Agency on 12 October 2026 and took every rating with an inspection date in August. There are 92. Most of them are good news: 78, or 85%, got the top rating of 5.
The two rated 1
| Business | Type | Address | Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquarius Residential Home | Care home | 8 Watson Avenue, Horsted, Chatham ME5 9SH | 26 August |
| Darjeeling Heights | Restaurant | 335 High Street, Rainham ME8 8DS | 10 August |
Both scored the same way on the three things an officer checks. The FSA’s record for each says:
- Hygienic food handling: generally satisfactory
- Cleanliness and condition of the building: improvement necessary
- Management of food safety: major improvement necessary
That last heading covers the checks and records a business keeps, whether staff know about food safety, and whether the officer trusts standards to hold. It is where both lost most marks.
The care home matters more than most entries on the list, because its residents cannot choose to eat elsewhere. The Care Quality Commission lists Aquarius Care Home as run by Radha Krishna Healthcare Ltd. It cares for older people and younger adults, including people living with dementia. Its last CQC report, published on 22 December 2025, rated it requires improvement overall, with “requires improvement” for safe and well-led, and “good” for effective, caring and responsive.
The food hygiene rating is a separate inspection by Medway Council’s environmental health team, and it covers only the kitchen.
The rest of the list below a 5
Five businesses were rated 3, “generally satisfactory”:
- The Dead Pigeon, 378 High Street, Rochester (5 August)
- Far East Express, 88B Station Road, Rainham (6 August)
- Lordswood Sports and Social Club, North Dane Way, Lordswood (6 August)
- Star Meadow Sports and Social Club, Darland Avenue, Gillingham (6 August)
- The Tudor Rose, 29 High Street, Upnor (25 August)
Seven were rated 4, “good”:
- Caleys Cabin, Gillingham bus station, Nelson Road
- Castle Club, 3 Esplanade, Rochester
- Oulala Suya and Grill, 100 The Brook, Chatham
- Pizza Bello Kebab House, 70 Victoria Street, Gillingham
- Post Office Convenience Store, 71 Woodside, Rainham
- Rainham Mark Social Club, 56 London Road, Rainham
- Wasted Kitchen, Bligh Infant School, Strood
No business in Medway was rated 0 or 2 in August.
Among the 78 fives
The top rating went to all sorts of places people use every day. They include:
- Puccino’s at Rochester station
- David Lloyd Gillingham, Featherby Road
- Newhaven Lodge at Medway Maritime Hospital
- Capstone Dementia Day Centre, Princes Park
- Jet Bean Coffee at Rochester airport
- Tarana Restaurant, 85 High Street, Rainham
- Sombrero House and Kiki, both on Rochester High Street
- Disco Bowl in the Pentagon Centre, Chatham
- SOAR Electric Karting, Courteney Road, Gillingham
Chatham’s ME4 postcode had the most ratings of any part of Medway in August, with 20. Rainham’s ME8 and the ME5 area covering Walderslade and Lordswood had 16 each.
Why this is August, not September
A rating is not published the day of the inspection. The business first has 21 days to appeal, so the lower ratings tend to appear on the register weeks after the fives.
That skews any early count. On 12 October the register showed 68 ratings dated September, and 66 of them were 5s. That is a gap in publishing, not a sudden improvement. We will count September properly once the appeal window has closed on all of them.
What it means for you
- Check before you book or order. Every rating is on the FSA’s search page, with the three scores behind it. Businesses in England do not have to display their sticker.
- For a care home, ask. If someone you love lives at a home with a low kitchen rating, ask the manager what has changed since the inspection. You can also ask Medway Council for the officer’s report.
- Ratings change. A business can ask for a re-inspection once it has made improvements, appeal the rating, or publish a right to reply on the FSA site. A 1 in August may not be a 1 by Christmas.
The rating covers food hygiene on the day of the visit. It says nothing about how the food tastes or how good the service is.
Our Medway food hygiene overview has the district-wide picture: how many businesses hold each rating, and which kinds score worst.
Source: Food Standards Agency food hygiene rating data for Medway Council (local authority 295), all establishments, retrieved 12 October 2026 and filtered to ratings with an inspection date between 1 and 31 August 2026. Care Quality Commission location profile for Aquarius Care Home, retrieved 12 October 2026. Ratings can be appealed, and a business can publish a right to reply on the FSA website.
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