Haute Dolci at The Oracle was rated zero on 1 September, the only zero of the month. 31 of 37 September ratings in Reading were fives, nine at schools.
Haute Dolci, a dessert bar on The Riverside at The Oracle, was given a food hygiene rating of zero on 1 September. Zero is the lowest rating there is. The Food Standards Agency describes it as “urgent improvement necessary”.
It was the only zero among the 37 Reading ratings dated September on the public register. Thirty one of the 37 were fives, the top rating.
The figures come from the Food Standards Agency register, which publishes the ratings Reading Borough Council’s inspectors give. We read the whole Reading list on 10 October.
What the inspector found at Haute Dolci
The rating is built from three scores. At Haute Dolci, the inspection on 1 September found:
- Hygienic food handling: major improvement necessary
- Cleanliness and condition of the building: improvement necessary
- Management of food safety: major improvement necessary
Food handling covers preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling and storage. Management covers the checks a business keeps and whether the officer is confident standards will hold.
The unit is still listed on The Oracle’s own directory, with opening hours of 10am to 10pm at weekends. The shopping centre’s guide to dessert places describes its menu as baked treats, ice cream, milkshakes, mocktails and hot chocolate, alongside breakfast, brunch and lunch dishes.
The register shows no appeal, no right to reply and no re-inspection pending. A business can ask for a re-inspection once it has made the improvements, and can publish its own response on the register at any time.
Haute Dolci brings the number of Reading food businesses rated zero to six. When we last counted, on 8 September, there were five.
The other lower ratings in September
Five more September ratings came in below the top score:
| Business | Address | Inspected | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haute Dolci | Unit 15a, The Riverside, The Oracle | 1 September | 0 |
| Saffron Alley (distributor) | 46-48 Portman Road | 1 September | 2 |
| Kings Grill | 16 Kings Road | 1 September | 3 |
| Elles Baguettes | 200 Oxford Road | 4 September | 3 |
| Village Tandoori Restaurant | 14 Kidmore End Road, Emmer Green | 3 September | 4 |
| Mogafresh (mobile caterer) | RG30 | 4 September | 4 |
A two means “improvement necessary” and a three “generally satisfactory”. Saffron Alley’s register entry carries no breakdown of its scores. Kings Grill and Elles Baguettes were both scored “generally satisfactory” on all three measures.
Where the fives went
The September fives lean heavily towards schools and childcare. Nine were school kitchens or school clubs:
- Caterlink at Moorlands Primary School, Tilehurst
- Caterlink at St John’s CE Primary School, Orts Road
- Caterlink at English Martyrs RC Primary School, Tilehurst
- Micklands Primary School, Caversham
- Meadow Park Academy, Tilehurst
- HCL at Ranikhet Academy, and the Ranikhet Academy Breakfast and After School Club, Tilehurst
- HCL at Green Park Village Primary Academy
- HCL at The Palmer Primary Academy, Northumberland Avenue
Four more were nurseries or children’s centres: Rainbow Day Nursery on Craven Road, Wigwam Day Nursery on Fatherson Road, Emmer Green Kindergarten, and Caterlink at Caversham Children’s Centre.
The rest included:
- hotels: Hilton Reading on Drake Way, Premier Inn Reading (Caversham Bridge) and the YMCA on Parkside Road
- supermarkets: Morrisons on Basingstoke Road and Waitrose on Oxford Road, Tilehurst
- bars and venues: Reading and District Irish Association on Chatham Street, Celeste Bar and Escape Hunt on Kings Walk, and Popworld and Sub 89 on Friar Street
- places to eat: Mr Cod on Oxford Road, Gooi Nara on Whitley Street, Work House Coffee Company on Oxford Road and Pizza Hut on Shinfield Road
- others: the B&M store at Brunel Retail Park, Reading City Football Club at Scours Lane, the Tasty States mobile caterer and two home bakers and caterers
Three scored the best possible mark on every measure: Caterlink at Moorlands Primary, HCL at Ranikhet Academy, and Popworld and Sub 89.
The first rating of October is also a five. Wolseley Street Bakery on the Robert Cort Industrial Estate was inspected on 6 October.
Why September looks so good
Every rating dated after 4 September is a five, 27 of 27. That is unlikely to be the whole picture. A business has 21 days to appeal a rating, and inspections from the second half of September may not all have reached the register yet.
September also looks light. The register holds 37 ratings for the month, against 58 for August and 65 for July. We will recount when the October figures settle.
Across Reading as a whole
The register lists 1,293 Reading food businesses with a rating from zero to five. Of those:
- 836 are rated five, or 64.7%
- 235 are rated four
- 139 are rated three
- 41 are rated two
- 36 are rated one
- 6 are rated zero
What it means for you
Displaying the rating sticker is voluntary in England, unlike in Wales and Northern Ireland, so a missing sticker tells you nothing. The register is the reliable check. Search ratings.food.gov.uk by name or postcode before you book.
A rating is a snapshot of one visit. Haute Dolci can be re-inspected once it has made the changes, and the score can rise quickly.
If you are heading into town to eat, our guide to parking in Reading lists the cheapest car parks near The Oracle.
If you think a food business is unsafe, report it to Reading Borough Council’s food safety team through the FSA’s report a food problem service.
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