5

The St. James Club food hygiene rating

Pub/bar/nightclub · Bedford

The St. James Club holds a 5, the highest food hygiene rating there is. At its last inspection the pub met every standard the inspector checked, with nothing needing attention.

The rating: 5 - Very good

This is a fresh result: The St. James Club was inspected on 20 May 2026, so the rating reflects what the inspector found very recently.

Address: 38-40 High Street, Bedford, MK40 1SB

How it compares in Bedford

That puts The St. James Club among the 1,208 places in Bedford holding top marks, 83% of everywhere the council rates. A 5 is the norm here rather than the exception, so it is the rating to expect, not to be impressed by.

Every rated food business in Bedford
5 out of 5 1,208 83% ← The St. James Club
4 out of 5 164 11%
3 out of 5 72 5%
2 out of 5 12 1%
1 out of 5 4 <1%
0 out of 5 0 0%

A further 190 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 St. James Club 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 St. James Club, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.

Business Distance Rating Inspected
Astons Pub/bar/nightclub 34 yards away 5 - Very good 20 October 2021
Caffe Crema Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen 48 yards away 5 - Very good 11 February 2026
Chicken Master Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen 53 yards away 5 - Very good 29 October 2025
BB Tea Takeaway/sandwich shop 74 yards away 5 - Very good 11 December 2019
Blue monk Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen 123 yards away 5 - Very good 16 June 2026
Boots Retailers - other 140 yards away 5 - Very good 11 August 2017
B&M Retail Ltd Retailers - supermarkets/hypermarkets 141 yards away 5 - Very good 7 February 2025
Arcadia Retailers - other 145 yards away 5 - Very good 17 March 2023

Questions about The St. James Club

What is The St. James Club's food hygiene rating?

The St. James Club has a food hygiene rating of 5 out of 5 (very good), given by Bedford Council on 20 May 2026.

Is The St. James Club safe to eat at?

The rating covers hygiene standards found at inspection, not the food itself. At 5 out of 5, the inspector found hygiene standards at this pub to be very good, the top end of the scale.

When was The St. James Club last inspected?

The St. James Club was last inspected on 20 May 2026, a month ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Bedford Council rather than by the business.

What did the inspector find at The St. James Club?

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

How does The St. James Club compare to other places in Bedford?

83% of the 1,460 rated food businesses in Bedford hold the top rating of 5, and The St. James Club is one of them.

Who decides the rating?

Bedford Council inspects The St. James Club 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 St. James Club and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.

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Understanding this rating

More food hygiene ratings near here

Bedford inspects and rates 1,650 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Bedford

The official record is held by the council: http://www.bedford.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 →