Cafe Calaca

• gradeGrade B
• inspection score23 pts
• critical violations3
• last inspectedDecember 5, 2025 →
• address505 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn 11238
• cuisineCoffee/Tea
• phone3473227054

Is Cafe Calaca clean?

Cafe Calaca is currently Grade B from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on December 5, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 3 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Cafe Calaca?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 5, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🪳roaches are dining toocritical
  Live roaches in facility's food or non-food area.
• 🍴utensils stored sketchycritical
  Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
• 🌡️fridge is giving… room tempcritical
  Cold TCS food item held above 41 °F; smoked or processed fish held above 38 °F; intact raw eggs held above 45 °F; or reduced oxygen packaged (ROP) TCS foods held above required temperatures except during active necessary preparation.
• 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pests
  Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
• 🛠️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.

When was Cafe Calaca last inspected?

Cafe Calaca has 2 inspections on record going back to October 21, 2025, averaging 31 points.

Cafe Calaca vs Clinton Hill

Clinton Hill runs 82% clean across 149 tracked restaurants — 108 clean, 8 mid, 16 cooked.

Against the 149 spots Cooked tracks in Clinton Hill, this one comes out cleaner than 14% of them.

Other spots in Clinton Hill

• A Samyan
  clean · April 24, 2025
• A Pratt Institute Main Cafe
  clean · September 2, 2026
• ⏳ Kennedy Fried Chicken
  cooked · January 15, 2026
• ? Kingston Tropical Bakery
  not rated
• A House Of Wonder
  clean · December 30, 2025
• A Space Club Cafe
  clean · June 3, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Clinton Hill →

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 December 5, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

check your own block 📸

Cooked covers 10 cities on official inspection data — see who's clean, mid, or cooked near you.