Bar Contra

• gradeGrade pending
• grade postedMay 24, 2023
• inspection score20 pts
• critical violations2
• last inspectedMay 27, 2025 →
• address138 Orchard Street, Manhattan 10002
• cuisineNew American
• phone2124664633

Is Bar Contra clean?

New York currently lists Bar Contra as grade pending, following an inspection on May 27, 2025 that scored 20 points. The city has not posted a letter yet, and it will not until a re-inspection settles it. The last grade it ever posted here was A on May 24, 2023.

What did inspectors find at Bar Contra?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 27, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🪰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.
• 🧊food not cooled down rightcritical
  After cooking or removal from hot holding, TCS food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal temperature is reduced from 140 °F to 70 °F or less within 2 hours, and from 70 °F to 41 °F or less within 4 additional hours.
• 🛠️facility / equipment issue
  Mechanical or natural ventilation not provided, inadequate, improperly installed, in disrepair or fails to prevent and control excessive build-up of grease, heat, steam condensation, vapors, odors, smoke or fumes.
• 🕳️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 Bar Contra last inspected?

Bar Contra has 3 inspections on record going back to May 24, 2023, averaging 22 points.

Bar Contra vs Chinatown

Chinatown runs 75% clean across 685 tracked restaurants — 450 clean, 46 mid, 105 cooked.

Against the 685 spots Cooked tracks in Chinatown, this one comes out cleaner than 6% of them.

Other spots in Chinatown

• A El Cabron Tacos And Mariscos
  clean · September 11, 2025
• A Fairfield Inn & Suites
  clean · August 8, 2025
• A Subway
  clean · March 18, 2026
• A Rpm
  clean · March 18, 2025
• B Golden Bowl Restaurant
  mid · June 8, 2026
• A M & W Bakery
  clean · June 29, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Chinatown →

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 May 27, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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