Cooked?
Black Seed
- resultPass
- critical violations0
- last inspectedJanuary 16, 2026
- address140 Tremont St, Boston 02111
Is Black Seed clean?
Black Seed is currently Pass from Boston Inspectional Services, Health Division, from an inspection on January 16, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.
What did inspectors find at Black Seed?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on January 16, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- ⚠️Packaged and Unpackaged Food-Separation Packaging and Segregation (P) • Raw shell eggs observed stored above ready to eat items. Provide proper storage for raw shell eggs PIC correctingcriticalPackaged and Unpackaged Food-Separation Packaging and Segregation (P) • Raw shell eggs observed stored above ready to eat items. Provide proper storage for raw shell eggs PIC correcting
- ⚠️Food Storage-Preventing Contamination from the Premises (C) • Stuffed grape leaves observed stored in the original can.Provide a food grade container during storage PIC correctingFood Storage-Preventing Contamination from the Premises (C) • Stuffed grape leaves observed stored in the original can.Provide a food grade container during storage PIC correcting
- ⚠️Food Labels (Pf) • Provide labels listing ingredients on all retail packaged items in the open air display case PIC correctingFood Labels (Pf) • Provide labels listing ingredients on all retail packaged items in the open air display case PIC correcting
- ⚠️Backflow Prevention (P) • Provide an air gap at the 2 bay prep sinkcriticalBackflow Prevention (P) • Provide an air gap at the 2 bay prep sink
- ⚠️The 2026 Health Permit has not been paid.Provide payment Discussed with the PIC to Email [email protected] to request a bill & payment linkThe 2026 Health Permit has not been paid.Provide payment Discussed with the PIC to Email [email protected] to request a bill & payment link
When was Black Seed last inspected?
Black Seed has 14 inspections on record going back to May 8, 2023. The 12 most recent are shown below.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| January 16, 2026 | Pass | |
| January 9, 2026 | Fail | |
| September 30, 2025 | Pass | |
| September 23, 2025 | Fail | |
| July 23, 2025 | Pass | |
| July 7, 2025 | Fail | |
| April 23, 2025 | Pass | |
| April 15, 2025 | Fail | |
| October 29, 2024 | Pass | |
| October 21, 2024 | Fail | |
| April 30, 2024 | Pass | |
| April 23, 2024 | Fail |
Black Seed vs Downtown
Downtown runs 90% clean across 1,016 tracked restaurants — 866 clean, 53 mid, 42 cooked.
Against the 1,016 spots Cooked tracks in Downtown, this one comes out cleaner than 10% of them.
Other spots in Downtown
How Boston grades restaurants
Boston reports inspections as a pass or a fail, with no score and no letter. What separates a bad fail from a trivial one is the violation severity ladder: a single star is a minor issue, two stars is more serious, and three stars marks a critical foodborne-illness risk factor — temperature abuse, bad handwashing, cross-contamination. A restaurant can fail on paperwork alone, which is not the same as failing on food safety. Cooked splits Boston fails accordingly: a fail with a three-star violation reads cooked, a fail on minor items only reads mid.
Source: Boston Inspectional Services, Health Division via Analyze Boston. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated January 16, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.