The Covent Garden branch of iconic French pâtisserie brand Ladurée has been handed the lowest possible food hygiene rating of 0.
Following an inspection on 19 January 2026, the restaurant at 1 The Market, Covent Garden, was found to have issues across all areas of food safety.
The report identified concerns in hygienic food handling, cleanliness, and overall management.
Inspectors said that improvement was necessary for the hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage.
The cleanliness and condition of the facilities were found to need “Major improvement necessary.”
Issues raised included layout, ventilation, hand-washing provisions, and pest control.
Management of food safety was also found to require “Major improvement necessary”.
This included the system or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and confidence that standards will be maintained in future.
Ladurée Covent Garden describes itself as a luxury patisserie and tea room.
It offers a classic French “salon de thé” experience in the heart of central London, combining Parisian elegance with British tradition.
The venue features a ground-floor patisserie and an upstairs tea room, serving afternoon tea menus with both sweet and savoury French-inspired dishes.
It is part of the historic Ladurée brand, which originated in Paris in 1862 and is credited with popularising the double-decker macaron.
Ladurée operates multiple locations across London, including sites at Harrods, the Royal Exchange, and Mayfair.
Afternoon tea at Covent Garden is typically priced from £39.95 per person.
This includes finger sandwiches, scones, pâtisserie, and macarons.
The brand describes its Covent Garden location as an escape into “timeless elegance” and a key part of its London portfolio.
It is situated within the historic Market Building, overlooking the West Piazza.
The inspection findings come despite the venue’s long-standing reputation for quality and its position as a high-end destination for afternoon tea.
Recent customer reviews on Google and TripAdvisor have highlighted mixed experiences.
Google Reviewer Gabriel Cunningham said: “Absolutely terrible experience here yesterday.
“We ordered two cakes and when one of them came I saw a hair immediately on the cake.
“I alerted the staff – and immediately showed him the hair – He said that they couldn’t see the hair as it was quite small an when the held it up to the light it blew away and then they said as the hair had blown away they couldn’t even bring a new cake.”
“I hadn’t even taken a single bite and I was only asking for a new cake instead of a refund or anything like that I wasn’t even annoyed.
“The staff are extremely rude and condescending and they treat you like trash.
“I would never go to this restaurant again nor visit to any other in the chain or recommend this to anyone such a horrible experience.
“You would get the better service in Greggs or McDonald’s than I received there yesterday!”
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Another Google reviewer, Stella Vasques, raised concerns about food safety and customer service.
She said: “The hygiene practices were absolutely appalling.
“The employee was wearing rubber gloves that he used to handle both the macarons and the till screen and card payment machine.
“Even worse, I witnessed him just beyond the till drinking from a Ladurée cup and eating a macaron – while still wearing the same gloves he had used to pack customer orders.
“After touching the food with those gloves and putting them to his mouth, he continued to use the same gloves to handle more macarons and pack customer orders.
“It’s hard to imagine how this is considered acceptable.”
Despite these complaints, some reviewers have shared positive experiences, particularly in the tearoom.
Writing on Google, Heidi Tarjomani said: “Had the most amazing experience!!
“Had a table booked for 7 people for afternoon tea and were seated immediately!
“We had a whole tearoom to ourselves and had a member of staff assigned to our table that was so attentive and amazing.
“Gave us lots of time to decide and was so polite even when we were not the most prepared when it came to our options.
“We had the whole room for 3.5 hours and had the opportunity to take loads of photos and had no pressure from the staff.
“The food was delicious and the experience was well worth the price.
“Given that it was a Sunday at peak lunch time I’m shocked we had such amazing luck! “Thank you to all the staff!!”
Ladurée first entered the UK market at Harrods in the mid-2000s before expanding to other locations.
In 2024, the Covent Garden site introduced an enlarged upstairs tearoom, adding additional seating and a more expansive dining offer overlooking the West Piazza.
Despite this recent investment, the latest food safety inspection calls into question the operational standards behind its luxury image.
We have contacted Ladurée Covent Garden for comment
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