Cafe Grumpy

• gradeGrade A
• inspection score12 pts
• critical violations1
• last inspectedSeptember 25, 2025 →
• address13 Essex Street, Manhattan 10002
• cuisineCoffee/Tea
• phone2122603454

Is Cafe Grumpy clean?

Cafe Grumpy is currently Grade A from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on September 25, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Cafe Grumpy?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 25, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🍽️dishwashing setup off
  Single service article not provided. Single service article reused or not protected from contamination when transported, stored, dispensed. Drinking straws not completely enclosed in wrapper or dispensed from a sanitary device.
• 🪰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.
• 🕳️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 Cafe Grumpy last inspected?

Cafe Grumpy has 3 inspections on record going back to May 16, 2023, averaging 11 points.

Cafe Grumpy 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 51% of them.

Other spots in Chinatown

• A Taverna Di Bacco
  clean · January 16, 2025
• A Tao Hong Bakery
  clean · July 14, 2026
• A Le Jardin Bistro / The Dl
  clean · June 29, 2024
• A Hair Of The Dog
  clean · February 10, 2026
• A Popeyes
  clean · April 24, 2025
• B Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya
  mid · April 22, 2025

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 September 25, 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.