Popular Isle of Wight pub The Sloop Inn gets low food hygiene rating

The Sloop Inn, a Stonehouse group-owned pizza restaurant and carvery, was inspected last month by Isle of Wight Council environmental health officers, who found improvement was necessary.

A Sloop Inn spokesperson said they were disappointed to receive the two-out-of-five rating and have acted on the feedback.

The inspector's report found issues at the Wootton Bridge eatery, including concerns over the way meat was being checked in the carvery area; failure to implement the front-of-house cleaning schedule; flaky ceiling paint in the kitchen; and damaged flooring in the pizza area.

Inspectors also raised questions about the validity of records, after they were informed of errors in entries and saw inconsistencies.

Overall, the general standard  of hygiene was poor, with inspectors finding:

• old decaying spare ribs in the sauce station cupboard and an old container with dried sauce, which showed ‘the area had not been cleaned for a considerable period of time’;
• a ‘very dirty’ drinks station which needed a ‘full deep clean’ around the work surfaces and walls where the paint had become dirty and stained, the inside of the cupboard was also dirty;
• the area behind the main bar was dirty and had not been cleaned ‘for a considerable time’ and ‘needed a deep clean’ as mould was showing on the outside of the drinks pipes;
• kitchen air vents were dirty and dusty, as was the skylight;
• wheels on the carvery ovens had a build-up of food debris and grease as well as other kitchen equipment;
• the floor of the walk-in freezer was black with dirt in large areas and food was being stored on the floor;
• the floor of the vegetable store was dirty and there was an area showing mould;
• the drain in the cellar was dirty with old food;
• a small amount of mould inside the ice machine;
• the hot holding unit had old food debris on the underneath of the light fittings;
• a fryer was said to be out of use but there was a pool of oil underneath;
• objects preventing easy access to the wash hand basin in the kitchen.

The Sloop Inn, Wootton Bridge (Image: Isle of Wight County Press)

Responding to the report, a spokesperson for The Sloop Inn said they are committed to operating at the highest standards and have acted on the concerns raised, principally around the record-keeping and improving kitchen equipment.

The pub said it would welcome the opportunity for a re-inspection, at the earliest opportunity.