3

The Long Hop food hygiene rating

Pub/bar/nightclub · Swale

The Long Hop holds a 3: generally satisfactory. The pub met the legal standard, but the inspector recorded enough minor issues that it fell short of a good or very good rating.

The rating: 3 - Generally satisfactory

The rating dates from 23 January 2026, 5 months ago. Councils typically re-inspect higher-risk businesses every six months to two years, with well-run, low-risk places visited least often, so this is a normal gap.

Address: 80 Key Street, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 1YU

How it compares in Swale

In Swale, 83% of rated places manage a 5, so The Long Hop sits behind roughly 1,123 nearby businesses. 3% of the borough shares its 3.

Every rated food business in Swale
5 out of 5 989 83%
4 out of 5 134 11%
3 out of 5 41 3% ← The Long Hop
2 out of 5 6 1%
1 out of 5 13 1%
0 out of 5 3 <1%

A further 40 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.

What the inspector found

An inspection scores three things: how food is handled, the physical condition of the premises, and how much the inspector trusts management to keep standards up. At The Long Hop none of the three raised a concern, the overall rating is only ever as strong as its weakest area, so a clean sweep is what produces a high score.

Food hygiene ratings nearby

The closest food businesses to The Long Hop, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.

Business Distance Rating Inspected
Gore Court Cricket Club Pub/bar/nightclub 193 yards away 5 - Very good 28 September 2017
Hill Farm Residential Farm Caring Premises 0.4 miles away 5 - Very good 16 December 2025
BKSE Limited Retailers - other 0.4 miles away 5 - Very good 6 August 2024
Grove Park County Primary School School/college/university 0.4 miles away 5 - Very good 5 May 2026
Bobbing Apple Pub/bar/nightclub 0.4 miles away 5 - Very good 9 September 2025
Aspire School School/college/university 0.5 miles away 5 - Very good 8 September 2025
Asda Express Sittingbourne - Sheppey Way PFS Retailers - other 0.5 miles away 5 - Very good 26 August 2025
Budgens - Rhode House Retailers - other 0.5 miles away 5 - Very good 24 March 2026

Questions about The Long Hop

What is The Long Hop's food hygiene rating?

The Long Hop has a food hygiene rating of 3 out of 5 (generally satisfactory), given by Swale Council on 23 January 2026.

Is The Long Hop safe to eat at?

A 3 means the pub met the legal standard, so it is lawful to eat there, but the inspector recorded issues that stopped it scoring higher. It is the middle of the scale.

When was The Long Hop last inspected?

The Long Hop was last inspected on 23 January 2026, 5 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Swale Council rather than by the business.

What did the inspector find at The Long Hop?

The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "good", the cleanliness and condition of the building "generally satisfactory", and confidence in the management of food safety "generally satisfactory". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.

How does The Long Hop compare to other places in Swale?

83% of the 1,186 rated food businesses in Swale hold the top rating of 5, while The Long Hop holds a 3. 41 places in the area share that rating.

Who decides the rating?

Swale Council inspects The Long Hop and sets the rating; the Food Standards Agency publishes it. Neither the business nor this site can change a rating, a business that disagrees can appeal to its council, and can request a re-inspection once it has fixed the problems.

Tell me when this changes

The Food Standards Agency publishes only a business's rating today, not what it scored before, and not when it moves. We check every UK rating each night. Watch The Long Hop and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.

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Understanding this rating

More food hygiene ratings near here

The Long Hop is one of 298 rated food businesses in Sittingbourne. See every hygiene rating in Sittingbourne

Swale inspects and rates 1,226 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Swale

The official record is held by the council: http://www.swale.gov.uk

Rating from the Food Standards Agency under the Open Government Licence. Ratings reflect standards found at the time of inspection and can change. If you think a rating is wrong, the official record is held by the FSA and the local authority; corrections there flow through here. How ratings work →