Cafe Canary

• gradeGrade C ⏳
• inspection score99 pts
• critical violations10
• last inspectedFebruary 21, 2025
• address171 South 4 Street, Brooklyn 11211
• cuisineAmerican
• phone9293308884

Is Cafe Canary clean?

Cafe Canary is currently Grade C ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on February 21, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 10 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳. There is a newer inspection the city has not ruled on yet, so the posted grade still stands for now.

What did inspectors find at Cafe Canary?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 21, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🌡️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.
• ❓food from a mystery sourcecritical
  Food, prohibited, from unapproved or unknown source, home canned or home prepared. Animal slaughtered, butchered or dressed (eviscerated, skinned) in establishment. Reduced Oxygen Packaged (ROP) fish not frozen before processing. ROP food prepared on premises transported to another site.
• 🚰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.
• 🐭they've got roommates (mice)critical
  Evidence of mice or live mice in establishment's food or non-food areas.
• 🍴utensils stored sketchycritical
  Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
• 🗑️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.
• 🚰facility hygiene issuecritical
  Toilet facility not provided for employees or for patrons when required. Shared patron-employee toilet accessed through kitchen, food prep or storage area or utensil washing area.
• 📋no certified food supervisor on dutycritical
  Food Protection Certificate (FPC) not held by manager or supervisor of food operations.
• 🍲hot food sitting too coolcritical
  Hot TCS food item not held at or above 140 °F.
• 🪳roaches are dining toocritical
  Live roaches in facility's food or non-food area.
• 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pests
  Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
• 🔪cross-contamination riskcritical
  Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.

When was Cafe Canary last inspected?

Cafe Canary has 5 inspections on record going back to October 27, 2023, averaging 41 points.

Cafe Canary vs North Side-South Side

North Side-South Side runs 80% clean across 573 tracked restaurants — 390 clean, 25 mid, 72 cooked.

Against the 573 spots Cooked tracks in North Side-South Side, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.

Other spots in North Side-South Side

• A Leon's Bagels
  clean · December 17, 2025
• B Tabu
  mid · March 13, 2025
• ⏳ Mexi
  cooked · January 7, 2026
• A 7Th Street Burger
  clean · November 5, 2025
• A Bondi Sushi
  clean · February 3, 2026
• A Mya & Brooklyn
  clean · January 2, 2025

See every restaurant inspection in North Side-South Side →

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.

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 February 21, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.