5

The Ship Inn food hygiene rating

Pub/bar/nightclub · Eastbourne

The Ship Inn 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

The rating dates from 16 October 2025, 8 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: The Ship Inn 33 - 35 Meads Street, Eastbourne, BN20 7RH

How it compares in Eastbourne

That puts The Ship Inn among the 796 places in Eastbourne holding top marks, 85% 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 Eastbourne
5 out of 5 796 85% ← The Ship Inn
4 out of 5 109 12%
3 out of 5 21 2%
2 out of 5 3 <1%
1 out of 5 12 1%
0 out of 5 1 <1%

A further 97 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 Ship Inn 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 Ship Inn, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.

Business Distance Rating Inspected
Black Cat Tea Rooms Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen 34 yards away 5 - Very good 7 November 2024
Chapman Wine Merchants Retailers - other 81 yards away 5 - Very good 15 August 2025
Cook Retailers - other 185 yards away 5 - Very good 5 August 2024
All Saints Chapel Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen 195 yards away 5 - Very good 17 February 2025
Camelot Retirement Home Caring Premises 195 yards away 5 - Very good 11 March 2025
Beachy Rise Guest House Hotel/bed & breakfast/guest house 222 yards away 5 - Very good 26 July 2024
Cadence Retailers - other 370 yards away 5 - Very good 14 January 2026
Breakfast & Afternoon Club @ St Johns Meads CE Primary School School/college/university 0.3 miles away 5 - Very good 23 July 2025

Questions about The Ship Inn

What is The Ship Inn's food hygiene rating?

The Ship Inn has a food hygiene rating of 5 out of 5 (very good), given by Eastbourne Council on 16 October 2025.

Is The Ship Inn 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 Ship Inn last inspected?

The Ship Inn was last inspected on 16 October 2025, 8 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Eastbourne Council rather than by the business.

What did the inspector find at The Ship Inn?

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 "good". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.

How does The Ship Inn compare to other places in Eastbourne?

85% of the 942 rated food businesses in Eastbourne hold the top rating of 5, and The Ship Inn is one of them.

Who decides the rating?

Eastbourne Council inspects The Ship Inn 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 Ship Inn and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.

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Understanding this rating

More food hygiene ratings near here

Eastbourne inspects and rates 1,039 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Eastbourne

The official record is held by the council: https://www.lewes-eastbourne.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 →