Cooked?
J.P. Licks
- resultFail
- critical violations1
- last inspectedApril 27, 2026
- address173 Newbury St, Boston 02116
Is J.P. Licks clean?
J.P. Licks is currently Fail from Boston Inspectional Services, Health Division, from an inspection on April 27, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.
What did inspectors find at J.P. Licks?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on April 27, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- ⚠️Effectiveness-Hair Restraints (C) • Observed worker handling food without an effective hair restraint; provide hair restraints for food handlers at all times.Effectiveness-Hair Restraints (C) • Observed worker handling food without an effective hair restraint; provide hair restraints for food handlers at all times.
- ⚠️(A) (B) and (C)(1) (4)-(16) Demonstration (Pf) • There is no posted Allergy Awareness training certificate; provide.(A) (B) and (C)(1) (4)-(16) Demonstration (Pf) • There is no posted Allergy Awareness training certificate; provide.
- ⚠️In-Use Utensils Between-Use Storage (C) • In the walk-in freezer observed an ice cream cup stored in a package of cut frozen mangoes; utensils should have handles to prevent contamination by hands.In-Use Utensils Between-Use Storage (C) • In the walk-in freezer observed an ice cream cup stored in a package of cut frozen mangoes; utensils should have handles to prevent contamination by hands.
- ⚠️Manual and Mechanical Warewashing Equipment Chemical Sanitization-Temperature pH Concentration and Hardness (P) • At the red sanitizer buckets tested 0ppm quats the root cause being the location's bulk container at the three compartment sink is empty and the person in charge states their district manager was made aware of it this morning and is bringing a new replacement quats container. The staff were instructed to swap their in-use utensils after four hours of operation for new utensils.criticalManual and Mechanical Warewashing Equipment Chemical Sanitization-Temperature pH Concentration and Hardness (P) • At the red sanitizer buckets tested 0ppm quats the root cause being the location's bulk container at the three compartment sink is empty and the person in charge states their district manager was made aware of it this morning and is bringing a new replacement quats container. The staff were instructed to swap their in-use utensils after four hours of operation for new utensils.
- ⚠️(B) and (C) Equipment Food-Contact Surfaces Nonfood-Contact Surfaces and Utensils (C) • The floors of the walk-in refrigerator and freezer are heavily soiled with food debris and spills clean and sanitize.(B) and (C) Equipment Food-Contact Surfaces Nonfood-Contact Surfaces and Utensils (C) • The floors of the walk-in refrigerator and freezer are heavily soiled with food debris and spills clean and sanitize.
- ⚠️Provide and post signage visible to customers stating "A copy of the most recent health inspection is available to view upon request."Provide and post signage visible to customers stating "A copy of the most recent health inspection is available to view upon request."
When was J.P. Licks last inspected?
J.P. Licks has 20 inspections on record going back to October 19, 2018. The 12 most recent are shown below.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| April 29, 2026 | — | |
| April 27, 2026 | Fail | |
| August 21, 2025 | — | |
| March 5, 2025 | — | |
| September 9, 2024 | Pass | |
| March 11, 2024 | — | |
| September 15, 2023 | Pass | |
| September 12, 2023 | Fail | |
| June 7, 2023 | — | |
| October 26, 2022 | — | |
| March 15, 2022 | — | |
| March 15, 2022 | — |
J.P. Licks 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 6% 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 27, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.