The Food Hygiene Rating System (FHRS) is a partnership with local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The scheme, which scores establishments on a scale of zero to five – with zero being poor and five being very good – judges how venues handle food, the physical condition of the premises and facilities and the efficacy of their food safety management systems.
The winning pub name was the Royal Oak which scored an average of 4.58 out of 5 from 353 pubs analysed. In second place was the Wheatsheaf, whose 176 locations scored an average of 4.57, with the bronze medal position going to the Plough, scoring 4.54 from 218 establishments.
There are 482 Red Lions, making it by far the most popular pub name in the country. It came sixth in the rankings with an average score of 4.45.
High Speed Training food and drink learning development manager Sarah Taylor said: “We have a long history of quirky and interesting pub names here in the UK, with many referencing age-old events, places and people. Through our food hygiene report, we were able to calculate average ratings for the most popular names in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.”
Food ratings
Many of the entries featured a royal theme, including the King’s Arms (190, average rating 4.53). The Crown (296 pubs, average rating 4.41) and the Rose and Crown (191 pubs, average rating 4.41), whose name is a nod to the War of the Roses.
High Speed Training sourced the data and created an interactive report analysing Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) fata for more than 230,000 food businesses across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
“With many people sure to raise a glass to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee this weekend, it’s set to be an important weekend for the hospitality industry. While it’s a bit of fun to explore the ratings and stories behind some of our great British pubs, food hygiene is still an important part of running a successful food establishment,” said Taylor.
She added: “Ensuring that all relevant staff have up to date food hygiene training, are aware of their specific responsibilities, and implement good practices everyday, are the best ways to stay on top of hygiene standards.”
The full top ten can be found below:
1: Royal Oak - 353 pubs, average rating of 4.58.
2: Wheatsheaf - 176 pubs, average rating of 4.57
3: The Plough - 218 pubs, average rating of 4.54
4: Kings Arms - 190 pubs, average rating of 4.53
5: White Horse - 243 pubs, average rating of 4.51
6: Red Lion - 482 pubs, average rating of 4.45
7: White Hart - 265 pubs, average rating of 4.44
-8: The Crown - 296 pubs, average rating of 4.41
-8: Rose & Crown - 191 pubs, average rating of 4.41
9: New Inn - 201 pubs, average rating of 4.36
