3

Ship Inn food hygiene rating

Pub/bar/nightclub · New Forest

Ship Inn 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

This is a fresh result: Ship Inn was inspected on 6 June 2026, so the rating reflects what the inspector found very recently.

Address: Quay Road, Lymington, SO41 3AY

How this rating has changed

Ship Inn has gone backwards: it held a 5 before its inspection on 6 June 2026, and now holds a 3.

Inspected Rating Change
6 June 2026 5 3 Worse

The FSA publishes only a business's current rating. This history is our own record of what it has scored since we began watching.

How it compares in New Forest

In New Forest, 80% of rated places manage a 5, so Ship Inn sits behind roughly 1,336 nearby businesses. 5% of the borough shares its 3.

Every rated food business in New Forest
5 out of 5 1,153 80%
4 out of 5 183 13%
3 out of 5 69 5% ← Ship Inn
2 out of 5 6 <1%
1 out of 5 23 2%
0 out of 5 1 <1%

A further 138 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 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 Ship Inn, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.

Business Distance Rating Inspected
Rolys Fudge Pantry Lymington Retailers - other 4 yards away 5 - Very good 12 March 2019
Sophie's Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen 30 yards away 5 - Very good 13 November 2024
Coffee and Drift Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen 32 yards away 5 - Very good 23 October 2024
Drifters Takeaway/sandwich shop 34 yards away 5 - Very good 9 September 2023
Quayside Fishing Takeaway/sandwich shop 34 yards away 5 - Very good 16 February 2026
Bakelicious Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen 42 yards away 5 - Very good 26 March 2026
Humbug of Lymington Retailers - other 45 yards away 5 - Very good 6 May 2022
Lymington Mobiles Retailers - other 52 yards away 5 - Very good 15 October 2025

Questions about Ship Inn

What is Ship Inn's food hygiene rating?

Ship Inn has a food hygiene rating of 3 out of 5 (generally satisfactory), given by New Forest Council on 6 June 2026.

Is Ship Inn 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 Ship Inn last inspected?

Ship Inn was last inspected on 6 June 2026, a month ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by New Forest Council rather than by the business.

What did the inspector find at Ship Inn?

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 Ship Inn compare to other places in New Forest?

80% of the 1,435 rated food businesses in New Forest hold the top rating of 5, while Ship Inn holds a 3. 69 places in the area share that rating.

Who decides the rating?

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

Free, for three businesses, forever. No password, we send you a link. How rating alerts work →

Understanding this rating

More food hygiene ratings near here

Ship Inn is one of 252 rated food businesses in Lymington. See every hygiene rating in Lymington

New Forest inspects and rates 1,573 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in New Forest

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