Online ordering for Chinese takeaways in County Durham

Updated 13 November 2026. Source: the Food Standards Agency register, pulled on 13 November 2026. Coverage is the County Durham council area, which includes Durham, Consett, Newton Aycliffe and Bishop Auckland; we do not name any business. Whole-area figures are on our County Durham page.

In short: the register lists 52 premises in County Durham with "Chinese", "China", "wok", "noodle", "Canton", "Szechuan", "Sichuan", "Peking", "Beijing", "Shanghai", "Hong Kong", "dim sum" or "chow" in the business name, 46 of them registered as takeaways and 6 as restaurants or cafés. The most are in DH1 (6), SR7 (5), DH2 (5), SR8 (4). That is 3.8% of the area's 1,362 takeaway, restaurant and café premises, against 2.5% across the UK, so the word is more common here than in the UK as a whole.

Customers who search for a Chinese takeaway in County Durham meet a crowded field. Your own ordering page gives them a direct route to your kitchen without a marketplace between you and the customer.

What the FSA register shows for County Durham Chinese names

Read this as a name-keyword count, not a census. A premises is counted only if its registered name contains one of the words, so Chinese takeaways with other names are missed and any place using the word for something else is included. Only takeaway, sandwich shop, restaurant, café and canteen premises are counted, and no business is named.

Of the 50 with a numeric rating, 18 (36%) are rated 5 and 0 (0%) are rated 0, 1 or 2. That is a lower share than the 46.3% of all rated takeaways in County Durham that hold a 5. A further 2 are awaiting inspection, awaiting publication or exempt. A rating is a snapshot of one inspection, and the FSA says so on every record.

The districts where they sit

DH1 holds the most, 6 of the 52 (12%), and the premises sit across 8 postcode districts in all. Set a delivery zone for each district you serve with its own fee, minimum order and time, so the busy streets near DH1 do not set the terms for everywhere else.

How County Durham compares with the council areas next to it

The five nearest council areas by the centre of their food premises, with the same name-keyword count:

County Durham has more of these names than any of its five nearest neighbours.

County Durham in the wider picture

County Durham has 561 takeaway and sandwich shop premises and 801 restaurant, café and canteen premises on the register. On takeaway premises it ranks 13 of 363 UK council areas, and 1 of 13 in North East. Across all rated takeaways in County Durham, 46.3% hold a 5 against 62.0% across England, and 5.2% are rated 0 to 2 against 5.8%. Places in the council area include Durham, Consett, Newton Aycliffe and Bishop Auckland, so a delivery zone set by postcode district can follow the towns a kitchen really serves.

County Durham against the UK: the numbers

Using the ONS estimate of 539,146 residents, that works out at 0.96 Chinese-named premises per 10,000 people, compared with 0.73 across the UK, so County Durham sits above the national rate. On the register, only 7 council areas have more of these names than County Durham; within the North East it ranks 1st of 13.

DH2 is the district where the name is most common relative to local food premises (14%); DH1 is the lowest of these four at 2%. The area-wide share is 3.8%.

Inspection dates tell a second story. Of the 52 premises on this list with an inspection date, 58% were inspected in the 12 months to 13 November 2026, against 53% of all takeaway and restaurant premises in the area; the median gap since the last inspection is 9 months against 11.

Population figures are ONS mid-2025 estimates; every other figure comes from the same FSA register pull as the tables above. Small samples move a lot from one inspection to the next, so read the shares as a guide to where the pattern is, not as a verdict on any business.

What this means for County Durham kitchens

• Zones that match the map. The premises are concentrated in DH1 and SR7, so a tight zone around the busiest district with a wider second zone for the rest of County Durham fits the spread.
• Tablet offline? The Chefzi Orders app rings until someone accepts or rejects. If the device is offline, Chefzi texts the restaurant and then calls.
• Keep a long menu easy to browse. Split it into sections (starters, rice, noodles, set meals) so a customer does not scroll past 100 dishes to find the one they know.
• Put your link where customers already look. Add your ordering link to your Google Business Profile (how) and a QR code on every bag (QR kit).
• Text your regulars with their permission (SMS and email marketing, Plus and Pro), so a quiet evening can be filled by one message.

Late-night hot food in County Durham: what to check

Between 11pm and 5am, supplying hot food or drink counts as late night refreshment under the Licensing Act 2003, and the local council issues the licence. County Durham's council publishes its process here: County Durham council licensing page (checked 13 November 2026). Check it before you open your ordering hours past 11pm.

Our late night refreshment licence guide sets out the England and Wales rules. In Chefzi, collection hours and delivery hours are separate settings, so you can match whatever your licence allows. This is general information and not legal advice.

How to start

1. Book a short call: we enter your menu with you and aim to have your ordering page live within 24 to 48 hours.
2. Set required choices for the way your customers order, and set your delivery zones by postcode district or radius.
3. Put the link on your Google Business Profile (how), and print a QR code for each bag (QR kit).
4. With their permission, tell regulars about the page by SMS or email (how, Plus and Pro).

For more, see the Chinese takeaway page, the commission calculator and our guide on moving customers from Just Eat to your own site, and the County Durham location page for every takeaway and restaurant figure in the council area, or all UK locations.

What Chefzi does not do

• It does not set up delivery for you: you run your own drivers, and Chefzi has no courier integrations.
• It has no kiosk and no CRM.
• A pre-order lead time is set for the whole location, not for one dish.
• Orders placed on Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats still pay those apps' commission. Chefzi helps you move regular customers to your own site.

Sources

• Food Standards Agency, Food Hygiene Rating Scheme open data API (api.ratings.food.gov.uk), authority Durham, business types Takeaway/sandwich shop and Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen, name search for "Chinese", "China", "wok", "noodle", "Canton", "Szechuan", "Sichuan", "Peking", "Beijing", "Shanghai", "Hong Kong", "dim sum" or "chow", extract 13 November 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
• County Durham council licensing page linked above: https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/2137/Apply-for-a-premises-licence (opened 13 Nov 2026).
• Chefzi facts and pricing, chefzi.co.uk, read 13 November 2026.