Mapping the UK’s Healthiest Home Food Delivery Regions

For breakfast, lunch or dinner, it’s clear we can’t get enough of home food deliveries in the UK. With services such as Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo, it’s estimated just under £10 billion is spent on takeaways every year, with the figure only expected to rise. 

When pubs, bars and restaurants closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, home food deliveries boomed. According to Statista, 60% of 18-24-year-olds increased their use of food delivery services because of the pandemic – and it’s a trend that doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

However, it’s not all greasy takeaways and carb-loaded treats. You’ll also find a wide variety of healthier options available in different regions. This means, that those with busy work or social lives that may not have the energy to cook a healthy meal from scratch, will have plenty of healthy meal choices that are quick, convenient and tasty. 

With COVID-19 disrupting daily routines and many struggling with pandemic-related stress, more than 40% of adults in the UK gained weight. This has resulted in a higher demand for healthier lifestyles, including detoxes and cleanses to kick-start their health journey, with a huge 125% increase in searches in January 2022 for ‘healthy takeaways’ (SV 9,900 – UK). 

Even now, in the UK, the average monthly search for ‘healthy takeaway’ is over 8,000 a month. So, we know that people are still interested in finding out more, and we decided to take a deeper look into it.

1 in 33 restaurants in the UK is marked as ‘healthy’, and although less than 4% of those offering home deliveries in the UK, it’s clear they’re a hit with customers. Despite paying a slight premium, on average £0.41 more, it seems the standard of the healthier meal is better, with an overall improvement in ratings and hygiene. 

To compare, healthy takeaways rate higher than others nationwide, with a score of 5.08, while the rest score on average 4.82. Healthy restaurants are also rated as more hygienic with a 4.3 score overall, while the rest score a 4.17. The average cost of a healthier dish from a takeaway is around £6.54, the rest is slightly cheaper, costing approximately £6.13, on average.

Top 10 Healthy Locations

When it came to discovering the top 10 healthiest locations in the UK, we compared the total number of restaurants marked as ‘healthy’ against the overall number of restaurants offering home food deliveries in that particular area. It was no surprise to learn that London came out on top, with South West and North London taking first and second place.

With Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham and the City of Westminster all falling under the South West London region, it’s understandable why these affluent areas are more prone to splashing out for the premium, healthier food choices. The top-rated restaurant for South West London is A Burgers in Vauxhall, which offers delicious 100% plant-based burgers.

North London is also an affluent location as it incorporates more of Central London but is more known for its vibrant culture, lively social scene and Cosmopolitan vibe. So new and exciting restaurants boasting healthy food, such as Healthy Wealthy, which offer vegan Indian street food, are in abundance here.

Meanwhile, heading slightly further North, both Manchester and Liverpool made the list of the top 10 healthiest locations. As two of the largest cities in the UK, they’re bustling with culture and unique energy that’s hard to ignore. In Manchester, Dr. Falafel, in the Old Trafford region, was highly rated for its healthy Mediterranean food. If you’re looking for something to satisfy those sweet cravings while staying on track with your healthy lifestyle change, then Planet Vegan Desserts was the highest-rated takeaway restaurant.

Highest Rated Places For Healthy Home Food Deliveries

To take it one step further, we also looked at the regions with the highest-rated ‘healthy’ home food delivery options. For this, we scraped the overall rating of ‘healthy’ restaurants on Just Eat to find out the number of restaurants with these tags and the overall average rating. Stoke-on-Trent came out on top with an average rating of 5.67 across 6 restaurants, with the top-rated one being Plant-Based Kitchen Co which offers vegan burgers, sandwiches and loaded fries. Generally, the health of people in Stoke-on-Trent is lower than England’s average. Because of this, a strong focus has been put on Stoke-on-Trent in recent years to improve people’s health, including encouraging physical activity and providing more healthy eating options. 

Bournemouth has the most restaurants with the ‘healthy’ tag, with 16 in total, and scored an average rating of 5.49. Both British and overseas tourists flock to this coastal gem every year, and it’s not hard to see why. With a thriving youthful culture, 7 miles of golden, sandy beaches, clean seas, a fantastic nightlife scene and plenty of healthy food options, with Pondok Fresh Falafel & Juice being the top-rated place for healthy home food delivery, it’s the place to be.

Highest Hygiene Rated Areas

Safe food and good food go hand-in-hand and can have a big impact when it comes to customers choosing where to go. Of course, there are many rules and regulations that a restaurant has to follow in order to keep their rating and enable trust and returning customers. Plus, three-quarters of respondents to a UK survey have said that, after the pandemic, good hygiene will be a bigger factor in choosing where to go.

To be a hygienic restaurant, establishments must follow the four C’s: cleaning, cooking, cross-contamination and chilling. It should go without saying that all staff must wash and dry their hands before handling food and spilt food, and used equipment must be cleared and cleaned after use. Food must always be cooked correctly and should never be served pink, unless serving cuts of lamb and beef, but they should be sealed. When it comes to reheating food, staff will also need to ensure that the food is piping hot at a temperature of 63°C.

To avoid food poisoning, separate equipment should be used for raw and ready-to-eat food. You should also be disinfecting work surfaces regularly and safely storing food and ingredients. Correctly chilling the food will also help prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. By following these rules, you’ll be able to achieve a food hygiene 5 rating, proving that you’re a trustworthy establishment. 

We scraped the hygiene rating of ‘healthy’ restaurants on Just Eat to find out the number of restaurants with these tags and the overall average hygiene rating and discovered that Southhampton took the top spot with an average rating of 5, the highest rating possible! 

Average Healthy Dish Price

Lastly, we wanted to know what the average price of healthy takeaway options was in different regions. We found this by scraping the menus of ‘healthy’ restaurants on Just Eat to find the average price of a dish. Unsurprisingly, St Albans in Hertfordshire, one of the most affluent places to live in the UK, had the most expensive food options, with an average dish price of £9.27. Home to the fourth-highest number of property millionaires in Britain, it’s safe to say residents are very willing to pay a premium for healthy, fresh food.

On the other hand, Hereford, in Herefordshire, offers the most affordable healthy meal options with an average dish price of just £3.00. As the UK’s most affordable area to buy a property, it’s no wonder why this small city near the Welsh border was rated 10th as the most affordable place to live.

Conclusion

In conclusion, London is, without a doubt, the healthiest place to live in the UK, with the highest number of restaurants with ‘healthy’ tags. However, Stoke-on-Trent takes the top spot as the highest-rated place for healthy food. Southampton offers the most hygienic places, with an average hygiene rating of 5. And St Albans, one of the most affluent places to live, has the most expensive healthy option dishes with an average price of £9.27, while Hereford charges, on average, £3.00 per healthy dish.

If you’re looking to kick-start your health kick, take a look at our range of delicious juices, which contain nothing but the finest organic produce, cold-pressed and bottled. For a simple way to fast-track to health, browse our range of juice cleanses.