Here’s how Darien Health Department inspectors rated and scored restaurants and other food-serving establishments in town during recent health inspections.
How it works
Some restaurants and other food establishments display their Darien ratings certificates on their front windows, as Darien Doughnuts did here.
Restaurants in town are rated under the Darien Health Department’s own Good/Fair/Poor ratings system. Health inspectors also use the state health code regulations to score restaurants, with a perfect score set at 100, and deductions for various code violations.
The Darien system takes into account problems that are ongoing or that have been fixed, so a restaurant scoring higher than others on the state scale may actually get a lower score on the Darien scale, or vice versa.
You can find the past several inspection ratings under the Darien ratings system for food-serving establishments on this website.
See also our previous article listing restaurant inspection ratings.
Any establishment actually deemed unsafe can be closed by the town Health Department until violations are fixed. Darien Health Director David Knauf says that has never happened in the time he’s been with the department.
Every restaurant and Royle School received a Darien rating of “Good” and a state score in the 90s, with Royle School receiving a perfect 100 state rating. Here’s an alphabetical list of the results of Darien health inspections (information is listed by name, address, Darien rating, state score):
- Darien High School — 80 High School Lane — Oct. 1 — GOOD — 98 — (dinged 2 points for “foods left unprotected during storage”)
- Duchess Restaurant — 306 Post Road — Sept. 24 — FAIR — 91
- Dunkin Donuts — 967 Post Road — Oct. 1 — POOR — 82 — Inspector’s remarks: “no training documentation of the only two workers on line; (1) milk fridge at 58 to 60 degrees (12 half gallons of milk at 58 degrees) […] electrical problem? (2) yogurt and cream cheese case [in] case front/customer area at 58 degrees, yogurt product temp was 58; ice not covered (not busy); no handwashing after handling money and making drinks/grabbing donuts; no paper towels at hand sink (near ice machine); unclean under equipment; odor from grease trap; dumpster lids open; back door propped open.” Inspector’s additional comment: “Rating not posted!”
- Heights Pizza — 330 Heights Road — Oct. 6 — FAIR — 92
- Lithos Estiatorio — 319 Post Road — Oct. 1 — FAIR — 91
- Matsuri Grill — 390 Post Road — Oct. 6 — FAIR — 90
- Rory’s — 416 Post Road — Sept. 24 — FAIR — 91
- Sbarro Darien — Darien North rest stop on Interstate 95 — POOR — 89 — Inspector’s remarks: “Time v. temp log nto kept for foods kept out of temperature; amount of quat in sanitizer buckets not adequate, three-bay [sink] OK; scouring pads in poor condition and unclean; blade of can opener has food residue; no paper towels at ware wash hand sink; utensils not stored properly between use.”
- The Shack Lobster Craft ‚ 284 Tokeneke Road — Oct. 1 — GOOD — 98
- Sugar Bowl — 1033 Post Road — Oct. 1 — GOOD — 97
- Tengda Asian Bistro — 25 Old Kings Hwy. N. — Oct. 6 — FAIR — 89
- Uncle’s Deli — 1041 Post Road — Oct. 1 — GOOD — 93