Harpenden · Southdown · BatfordWednesday, 21 October 2026Free · Independent
The Harpenden Times
An independent local newspaper for Harpenden and the villages around it. · The Morning Briefing, every three days at 08:00
Openings & closings

Cocktail bar The Perch registers at The Meating Room's Station Road address

1 min read
Eleanor Marsh
21 October 2026 · Follow-up

The Perch, a cocktail bar with a second venue in Berkhamsted, has registered as a food business at 5 Station Road, Harpenden. A late licence on that stretch would matter more than the paperwork.

Shops on Station Road, Harpenden, where The Perch cocktail bar has registered as a food business.
Shops on Station Road, Harpenden, where The Perch cocktail bar has registered as a food business. JThomas, CC BY-SA 2.0
The hours are what a bar advertises, not what a licence permits.

A cocktail bar called The Perch has registered as a food business at 5 Station Road, Harpenden, the address of The Meating Room. The food hygiene register lists it as a new registration awaiting inspection. That shows a business has been set up, not that the doors are open.

The Meating Room's entry has gone from the same register; it was last seen there on 6 September. Removal usually means a business has stopped trading at an address or changed hands, but it confirms neither. The restaurant's Harpenden page still lists the branch as open, and The Meating Room (Harpenden) Ltd remains an active company.

The Perch's website lists noon to midnight Sunday to Thursday and 1pm to 1am on Friday and Saturday, with no opening date. Those are advertised hours, not licensed ones. A 1am close at weekends would change the evenings on Station Road, and the premises licence is the document that would say whether it can.

The facts
  • The Perch is listed on the food hygiene register at 5 Station Road, Harpenden, as awaiting inspection (new registration).
  • The Meating Room was last seen on the register on 6 September with a rating of 3 and has since been removed.
  • The Perch's website lists Harpenden hours of noon to midnight Sunday to Thursday and 1pm to 1am Friday and Saturday, closed Mondays.
  • The Meating Room's own website still lists its Harpenden branch as open.
  • The Meating Room (Harpenden) Ltd is still active at 5 Station Road, with accounts flagged overdue.
  • The Perch has a second venue at 309 High Street, Berkhamsted.
  • No premises licence, opening date, food menu or common ownership has been confirmed.
Sources and evidence

Every factual claim in this story is linked to the evidence behind it. Where the newsroom has added judgement or framing, it is listed separately. Sources accessed 18 October 2026.

  1. Food hygiene rating: The Perch, 5 Station Road (dataset)
  2. Food Standards Agency ratings register (removal notice) (dataset)
  3. Perch Foundry (business)
  4. The Meating Room Harpenden (business)
  5. The Meating Room (Harpenden) Ltd, Companies House (other)
Claim by claim (8 facts, 5 editorial judgements)
  • The Perch is registered at 5 Station Road, Harpenden, on the food hygiene register as awaiting inspection (new registration). — dataset, 2026-10-21
    “The Perch, 5 Station Road, Harpenden, AL5 4SA; rating AwaitingInspection (1901-01-01)”
  • The Meating Room's entry was removed from the food hygiene register; it was last seen on 6 September with a rating of 3. — dataset, 2026-10-16
    “Last hygiene rating we recorded: 3. On the register when we last saw it: 2026-09-06.”
  • Removal usually means a business has stopped trading at the address or changed hands, but is not confirmation of either. — dataset, 2026-10-16
    “usually means it has stopped trading at this address or changed hands. What it is not: confirmation of either.”
  • The Perch's website gives 5 Station Road as its Harpenden venue, describes cocktails, fine wines and spirits, and is signed as a Perch Foundry business. — business, 2026-10-21
    “refined hideaway where craft cocktails, fine wines, and curated spirits come together”
  • Harpenden hours are noon to midnight Sunday to Thursday and 1pm to 1am Friday and Saturday, closed Mondays; the site gives no opening date or food menu. — business, 2026-10-21
    “Sunday to Thursday noon to midnight; Friday and Saturday 1pm to 1am; closed Mondays”
  • The Perch lists a second venue at 309 High Street, Berkhamsted. — business, 2026-10-21
    “309 High Street, Berkhamsted, HP4 1AL”
  • The Meating Room's Harpenden page still lists the branch as open with no closure notice. — business, 2026-10-21
    “Monday to Friday 5pm to 10pm, Saturday noon to 10pm, Sunday noon to 9pm”
  • The Meating Room (Harpenden) Ltd remains active with its registered office at 5 Station Road and accounts flagged overdue. — other, 2026-10-21
    “Registered Office: 5 Station Road, Harpenden, Hert, United Kingdom, AL5 4SA”
  • Judgement: A bar trading to 1am on Station Road would change the street's evenings, so the licence matters more than the hygiene entry.
  • Judgement: A 1am close at weekends would change the evenings on Station Road.
  • Judgement: The premises licence is the document that matters more than the hygiene entry.
  • Judgement: The hours are what a bar advertises, not what a licence permits.
  • Judgement: Station Road needs to hear from the restaurant itself if The Meating Room has gone.

Photograph: JThomas, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source · licence