Cooked?
Gong Cha
- resultPass
- critical violations0
- last inspectedApril 13, 2026
- address270 Newbury St, Boston 02116
Is Gong Cha clean?
Gong Cha is currently Pass from Boston Inspectional Services, Health Division, from an inspection on April 13, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.
What did inspectors find at Gong Cha?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on April 13, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- ⚠️Effectiveness-Hair Restraints (C) • Observed food handlers handling foods without effective hair restraints; provide effective hair restraints for food handlers.Effectiveness-Hair Restraints (C) • Observed food handlers handling foods without effective hair restraints; provide effective hair restraints for food handlers.
- ⚠️Clean-up of Vomiting and Diarrheal Events (Pf) • No vomit and diarrhea clean-up procedures were able to be presented during the inspection; provide.Clean-up of Vomiting and Diarrheal Events (Pf) • No vomit and diarrhea clean-up procedures were able to be presented during the inspection; provide.
- ⚠️Assignment (Pf) • The assigned person in charge was not able to answer questions about food temperature safety illness policy and sanitization and was not able to set up the three compartment sink; provide a person in charge who is knowlegable about food safety illness policy and sanitization.Assignment (Pf) • The assigned person in charge was not able to answer questions about food temperature safety illness policy and sanitization and was not able to set up the three compartment sink; provide a person in charge who is knowlegable about food safety illness policy and sanitization.
- ⚠️(A) (B) and (C)(1) (4)-(16) Demonstration (Pf) • The posted certified food protection manager and allergy awareness certificates expired in 2025; provide update certificates upon the reinspection.(A) (B) and (C)(1) (4)-(16) Demonstration (Pf) • The posted certified food protection manager and allergy awareness certificates expired in 2025; provide update certificates upon the reinspection.
- ⚠️(A)(1) Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food Hot and Cold Holding (P) • Observed a metal container with prepared tapioca pearls that per the person in charge had been prepared in the morning at 83F; hold TCS foods at 135F and above or 41F and below. The staff voluntarily discarded the tapioca pearls.critical(A)(1) Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food Hot and Cold Holding (P) • Observed a metal container with prepared tapioca pearls that per the person in charge had been prepared in the morning at 83F; hold TCS foods at 135F and above or 41F and below. The staff voluntarily discarded the tapioca pearls.
- ⚠️(B) and (C) Equipment Food-Contact Surfaces Nonfood-Contact Surfaces and Utensils (C) • The interiors of the cabinets below the side-by-side sinks in the food prep area are heavily encrusted in soils the wall above the white wire rack above the induction cooktops is heavily soiled; clean and sanitize of soils.(B) and (C) Equipment Food-Contact Surfaces Nonfood-Contact Surfaces and Utensils (C) • The interiors of the cabinets below the side-by-side sinks in the food prep area are heavily encrusted in soils the wall above the white wire rack above the induction cooktops is heavily soiled; clean and sanitize of soils.
- ⚠️Hand Drying Provision (Pf) • At the hand sink directly next to the entrance to the back of house and at the hand sink in the bathroom there were no approved hand drying devices at the hand sinks; provide hand drying devices at all times at the hand sinks.Hand Drying Provision (Pf) • At the hand sink directly next to the entrance to the back of house and at the hand sink in the bathroom there were no approved hand drying devices at the hand sinks; provide hand drying devices at all times at the hand sinks.
- ⚠️Provide signage visible to customers stating "A copy of the most recent health inspection is available to view upon request." Provide allergen awareness posters in back of house for staffProvide signage visible to customers stating "A copy of the most recent health inspection is available to view upon request." Provide allergen awareness posters in back of house for staff
When was Gong Cha last inspected?
Gong Cha has 16 inspections on record going back to April 4, 2022. The 12 most recent are shown below.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| April 13, 2026 | Pass | |
| April 6, 2026 | Fail | |
| July 25, 2025 | Pass | |
| July 18, 2025 | Fail | |
| February 28, 2025 | Pass | |
| February 21, 2025 | Fail | |
| August 27, 2024 | Pass | |
| March 29, 2024 | Pass | |
| March 22, 2024 | Fail | |
| October 23, 2023 | — | |
| May 25, 2023 | Pass | |
| May 18, 2023 | Fail |
Gong Cha vs Back Bay
Back Bay runs 81% clean across 519 tracked restaurants — 417 clean, 46 mid, 50 cooked.
Against the 519 spots Cooked tracks in Back Bay, this one comes out cleaner than 19% of them.
Other spots in Back Bay
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 April 13, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.