Caribbean Starr

• gradeGrade A ⏳
• grade postedJuly 14, 2025
• inspection score51 pts
• critical violations6
• last inspectedJuly 30, 2026 →
• address280 Lenox Avenue, Manhattan 10027
• cuisineCaribbean
• phone9172617668

Is Caribbean Starr clean?

Caribbean Starr currently carries Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on July 14, 2025 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on July 30, 2026 scoring 51 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 6 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 Caribbean Starr?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on July 30, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🛠️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.
• 🍴utensils stored sketchycritical
  Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
• ❓questionable food sourcingcritical
  Juice packaged on premises with no or incomplete label, no warning statement
• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitizedcritical
  Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
• 🍲hot food sitting too coolcritical
  Hot TCS food item not held at or above 140 °F.
• 🚰facility hygiene issuecritical
  Sewage disposal system is not provided, improper, inadequate or unapproved.
• 🌡️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.

When was Caribbean Starr last inspected?

Caribbean Starr has 6 inspections on record going back to August 3, 2022, averaging 33 points.

Caribbean Starr vs Central Harlem South

Central Harlem South runs 72% clean across 113 tracked restaurants — 76 clean, 9 mid, 21 cooked.

Against the 113 spots Cooked tracks in Central Harlem South, this one comes out cleaner than 43% of them.

Other spots in Central Harlem South

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• ⏳ Archer & Goat
  cooked · April 19, 2026
• ⏳ Insomnia Cookies
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See every restaurant inspection in Central Harlem South →

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 July 30, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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