Shy Bird

• resultFail
• critical violations1
• last inspectedJuly 16, 2026
• address12 Old Colony Av, South Boston 02127

Is Shy Bird clean?

Shy Bird is currently Fail from Boston Inspectional Services, Health Division, from an inspection on July 16, 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 Shy Bird?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on July 16, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️In-Use Utensils Between-Use Storage (C) • Knives stored between equipment store clean and dry
  In-Use Utensils Between-Use Storage (C) • Knives stored between equipment store clean and dry
• ⚠️Thawing (C) • Bagged foods sitting in 3 bay sink basins thawing in stagnant water ensore proper thawing methods like under cold running water
  Thawing (C) • Bagged foods sitting in 3 bay sink basins thawing in stagnant water ensore proper thawing methods like under cold running water
• ⚠️(A )Cooling Methods (Pf) • 2 two door low boys running 45-50f ensure proper cold hold of 41f or below
  (A )Cooling Methods (Pf) • 2 two door low boys running 45-50f ensure proper cold hold of 41f or below
• ⚠️(A)(2) and (B) Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food Hot and Cold Holding (P) • Raw Tuna @ 48f and Cooked Chicken @ 46f ensure proper cold hold of 41f or belowcritical
  (A)(2) and (B) Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food Hot and Cold Holding (P) • Raw Tuna @ 48f and Cooked Chicken @ 46f ensure proper cold hold of 41f or below
• ⚠️Using a Handwashing Sink-Operation and Maintenance (Pf) • Hand sinks blocked by equipment and boxes remove to allow access to properly wash hands (hand sinnks cleared during inspection)
  Using a Handwashing Sink-Operation and Maintenance (Pf) • Hand sinks blocked by equipment and boxes remove to allow access to properly wash hands (hand sinnks cleared during inspection)
• ⚠️Repairing-Premises Structures Attachments and Fixtures-Methods (C) • Gaskets of 2 door low boys at service area broken repair or replace
  Repairing-Premises Structures Attachments and Fixtures-Methods (C) • Gaskets of 2 door low boys at service area broken repair or replace

When was Shy Bird last inspected?

Shy Bird has 22 inspections on record going back to December 1, 2022. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Shy Bird vs Chinatown

Chinatown runs 85% clean across 307 tracked restaurants — 252 clean, 22 mid, 22 cooked.

Against the 307 spots Cooked tracks in Chinatown, this one comes out cleaner than 3% of them.

Other spots in Chinatown

• ✓ Mei Mei Dumplings
  clean · July 16, 2026
• ✓ B/Spoke
  clean · February 20, 2026
• ✓ Lucky Sun
  clean · March 4, 2022
• ✓ Show Malatang
  clean · November 17, 2025
• ✓ Plnt Burger
  clean · February 20, 2026
• ✓ Capital One Cafe
  clean · May 4, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Chinatown →

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 July 16, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.