Cooked?
Chen's Express Kitchen
- gradeGrade A ⏳
- inspection score13 pts
- critical violations1
- last inspectedMarch 26, 2024
- address223 East 14 Street, Manhattan 10003
- cuisineChinese
- phone2129828966
Is Chen's Express Kitchen clean?
Chen's Express Kitchen is currently Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on March 26, 2024. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇. 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 Chen's Express Kitchen?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on March 26, 2024, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🧫food contact surfaces dirtyDesign, construction, materials used or maintenance of food contact surface improper. Surface not easily cleanable, sanitized and maintained.
- 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to codeNon-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.
- 🍲hot food sitting too coolcriticalHot TCS food item not held at or above 140 °F.
When was Chen's Express Kitchen last inspected?
Chen's Express Kitchen has 3 inspections on record going back to February 12, 2024, averaging 13 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| July 21, 2025 | no grade issued ⏳ | 21 pts |
| March 26, 2024 | Grade A | 13 pts |
| February 12, 2024 | no grade issued ⏳ | 4 pts |
Chen's Express Kitchen vs Gramercy
Gramercy runs 81% clean across 263 tracked restaurants — 189 clean, 12 mid, 33 cooked.
Against the 263 spots Cooked tracks in Gramercy, this one comes out cleaner than 29% of them.
Other spots in Gramercy
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 March 26, 2024. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.