The Ham and High can today reveal the filthiest local restaurants and takeaways which officials say need “urgent improvement”.

The restaurants and cafes given the lowest possible hygiene rating by the Food Standards Agency this year include:

Belsize Kitchen – Belsize Lane

Cafe Loren – Stables market

Chicken Cottage – Finchley Road

Mamas Jerk – Stables Market

Red Spice – Hawley Road

Red & Hot – Chalton Street

Roosters Villa – Camden High Street

The Bangalore Brasserie – Brecknock Road

Deshi Kitchens – Archway Road

Zing Zing – Kentish Town Road **SEE ZING ZING UPDATE BELOW**

Shops and markets are also rated by the agency. Two local markets that scored zero were the Al Karem Market snd Sabzi Bazaar Ltd - both on Queen’s Crescent.

These outlets received a score of zero out of five, when they were inspected for cleanliness earlier this year.

Inspectors check how hygienically food is handled throughout the cooking process as well as how dirty the building is and what sort of internal monitoring takes place.

The Food Standards Agency website states that restaurants with ratings of zero are “very likely to be performing poorly in all three elements and are likely to have a history of serious problems.”

“There may, for example, be a lack of sufficient cleaning and disinfection, and there may not be a good enough system of management in place to check and record what the business does to make sure the food is safe.”

**UPDATE** Following the publication of this article, Zing Zing sent us this statement:

“In May 2016 Camden council visited our Kentish Town Road store and reduced our food hygiene rating. Within 24 hours we corrected the short term issues, and the store now operates once again at the highest of standards. This has been verified by independent food safety consultants, we have already had a re-visit by the council and are currently awaiting a rescore.

“As ever, the Zing Zing experience is entirely transparent, our kitchens are open in store allowing our customers to experience the theatre behind each dish that is freshly prepared to order. We welcome you down to see for yourselves.”