Ambato Restaurant

• gradeGrade A ⏳
• grade postedJanuary 8, 2025
• inspection score42 pts
• critical violations5
• last inspectedAugust 11, 2026 →
• address666 Seneca Avenue, Queens 11385
• cuisineLatin American
• phone7183661737

Is Ambato Restaurant clean?

Ambato Restaurant currently carries Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on January 8, 2025 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on August 11, 2026 scoring 42 points — but NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has not ruled on that visit, so no new grade has been issued. Inspectors wrote up 5 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder the posted grade reads clean 😇; the numbers above come from the newer visit.

What did inspectors find at Ambato Restaurant?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on August 11, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🗑️garbage situation out of pocket
  Pesticide not properly labeled or used by unlicensed individual. Pesticide, other toxic chemical improperly used/stored. Unprotected, unlocked bait station used.
• 🐛pest / contamination issuecritical
  Properly scaled and calibrated thermometer or thermocouple not provided or not readily accessible in food preparation and hot/cold holding areas to measure temperatures of TCS foods during cooking, cooling, reheating, and holding.
• 🚰handwashing sink issuescritical
  No hand washing facility in or adjacent to toilet room or within 25 feet of a food preparation, food service or ware washing area. Hand washing facility not accessible, obstructed or used for non-hand washing purposes. No hot and cold running water or water at inadequate pressure. No soap or acceptable hand-drying device.
• 🍽️food left out / unprotectedcritical
  Food, supplies, or equipment not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display, service or from customer’s refillable, reusable container. Condiments not in single-service containers or dispensed directly by the vendor.
• 🪰flies in the housecritical
  Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage associated with (FRSA) flies or other nuisance pests in establishment’s food and/or non-food areas. FRSA flies include house flies, blow flies, bottle flies, flesh flies, drain flies, Phorid flies and fruit flies.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Non-food contact surface or equipment made of unacceptable material, not kept clean, or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
• ♨️leftovers reheated sketchycritical
  TCS food removed from cold holding or prepared from or combined with ingredients at room temperature not cooled by an approved method to 41 °F or below within 4 hours.
• 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pests
  Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.

When was Ambato Restaurant last inspected?

Ambato Restaurant has 4 inspections on record going back to July 17, 2023, averaging 23 points.

Ambato Restaurant vs Ridgewood

Ridgewood runs 77% clean across 292 tracked restaurants — 204 clean, 29 mid, 31 cooked.

Against the 292 spots Cooked tracks in Ridgewood, this one comes out cleaner than 71% of them.

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• B Atomic Wings
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• A Bosna Express
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See every restaurant inspection in Ridgewood →

How New York grades restaurants

New York City health inspectors score violations in points, and lower is better: 0–13 points earns an A, 14–27 a B, and 28 or more a C. Every restaurant is inspected at least once a year, and the letter has to be posted in the window. A restaurant that scores 14 or more on the first inspection of a cycle does not get a letter right away — it stays “Grade Pending” until a re-inspection settles it, which is why some spots here show an hourglass instead of a letter. Cooked only ever shows a letter the city actually posted; we never infer one from a score.

Read the New York ratings guide →

Inspection findings and available history come from the authority’s published records. Cooked checks daily; publication can lag behind an inspection. Read the date on each result and check the official source for newer information.

Source: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) via NYC Open Data. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated August 11, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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