The Highlands

Birtley

Food hygiene rating 5 / 5 · Very good

Squeaky clean

The Highlands scored a 5 out of 5 at its last inspection. Tuck in.

The breakdown

Hygiene Good Cleanliness & condition Good Confidence in management Very good

Last inspected on 2 December 2025 by Gateshead.

Rating over time

We have recorded 2 Food Standards Agency inspections for The Highlands, from May 2019 to December 2025. Its hygiene rating has held steady, from 5 in 2019 to 5 in 2025.

Food hygiene rating (0 to 5) at each FSA inspection of The Highlands.

Food hygiene rating history for The Highlands
Inspection date	Rating	Verdict
29 May 2019	5 / 5	Very good
2 December 2025	5 / 5	Very good

What does this rating mean?

The Highlands in Birtley has a food hygiene rating of 5 out of 5 (very good). On the Food Standards Agency scale, 5 is the best and 0 is the worst. Yes - 5 is the top food hygiene rating. It means hygiene standards were very good at the last inspection.

The rating reflects standards found at the last inspection. It is not a verdict on how the food tastes - it scores how well the business manages food safety. How often a place is inspected depends on its risk: lower-rated and higher-risk businesses are revisited more often than spotless ones.

Where is it?

Durham Road,
Birtley,
Chester Le Street,
DH3 1LY

This is the official Food Standards Agency hygiene badge for The Highlands. The data is published by the FSA under the Open Government Licence.

Who inspects The Highlands?

Food hygiene at The Highlands is inspected by Gateshead, the local authority responsible for this area. You can reach them at http://www.gateshead.gov.uk or [email protected].

Questions about The Highlands

What is The Highlands’s food hygiene rating?

The Highlands has a food hygiene rating of 5 out of 5 (Very good), based on its last Food Standards Agency inspection on 2 December 2025.

When was The Highlands last inspected?

The Highlands was last inspected by Gateshead on 2 December 2025.

Is a 5 out of 5 hygiene rating good?

Yes - 5 is the top food hygiene rating. It means hygiene standards were very good at the last inspection.

What do the food hygiene scores mean?

The rating combines three checks made on the day of the inspection: how hygienically food is handled, the cleanliness and condition of the premises, and how confident the inspector is that management will keep standards up. A higher overall score, from 0 up to 5, means fewer problems were found.