4

The Red Lion food hygiene rating

Pub/bar/nightclub · South Oxfordshire

The Red Lion holds a 4, meaning hygiene standards at the pub are good. It is a solid result, the inspector found nothing serious, though a 5 was just out of reach.

The rating: 4 - Good

The rating dates from 8 January 2025, 18 months ago. That is getting on for the longest gap councils usually leave, so the score may not reflect how the business is run today.

Address: Goring Road, Woodcote, Reading, RG8 0SD

How it compares in South Oxfordshire

In South Oxfordshire, 71% of rated places manage a 5, so The Red Lion sits behind roughly 808 nearby businesses. 16% of the borough shares its 4.

Every rated food business in South Oxfordshire
5 out of 5 808 71%
4 out of 5 186 16% ← The Red Lion
3 out of 5 120 11%
2 out of 5 17 1%
1 out of 5 5 <1%
0 out of 5 0 0%

A further 116 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 Red Lion 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.

Questions about The Red Lion

What is The Red Lion's food hygiene rating?

The Red Lion has a food hygiene rating of 4 out of 5 (good), given by South Oxfordshire Council on 8 January 2025.

Is The Red Lion safe to eat at?

The rating covers hygiene standards found at inspection, not the food itself. At 4 out of 5, the inspector found hygiene standards at this pub to be good, the top end of the scale.

When was The Red Lion last inspected?

The Red Lion was last inspected on 8 January 2025, 18 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by South Oxfordshire Council rather than by the business.

What did the inspector find at The Red Lion?

The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "good", the cleanliness and condition of the building "good", 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 Red Lion compare to other places in South Oxfordshire?

71% of the 1,136 rated food businesses in South Oxfordshire hold the top rating of 5, while The Red Lion holds a 4. 186 places in the area share that rating.

Who decides the rating?

South Oxfordshire Council inspects The Red Lion 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 Red Lion 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 Red Lion is one of 15 rated food businesses in Woodcote. See every hygiene rating in Woodcote

South Oxfordshire inspects and rates 1,252 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in South Oxfordshire

The official record is held by the council: https://www.southoxon.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 →