Cooked?
Cucina Italian Tavern
- gradeGrade B ⏳
- inspection score25 pts
- critical violations3
- last inspectedJune 16, 2025
- address331 Lenox Avenue, Manhattan 10027
- cuisineItalian
- phone2128372128
Is Cucina Italian Tavern clean?
Cucina Italian Tavern is currently Grade B ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on June 16, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 3 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬. 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 Cucina Italian Tavern?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on June 16, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pestsEstablishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
- 🍽️dishwashing setup offSingle 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 housecriticalFilth 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.
- 🍴utensils stored sketchycriticalSanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
- 🧻grimy wiping clothscriticalWiping cloths not stored clean and dry, or in a sanitizing solution, between uses.
When was Cucina Italian Tavern last inspected?
Cucina Italian Tavern has 3 inspections on record going back to April 7, 2025, averaging 29 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| February 25, 2026 | no grade issued ⏳ | 21 pts |
| June 16, 2025 | Grade B | 25 pts |
| April 7, 2025 | no grade issued ⏳ | 42 pts |
Cucina Italian Tavern vs Central Harlem North-Polo Grounds
Central Harlem North-Polo Grounds runs 71% clean across 91 tracked restaurants — 60 clean, 5 mid, 19 cooked.
Against the 91 spots Cooked tracks in Central Harlem North-Polo Grounds, this one comes out cleaner than 24% of them.
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See every restaurant inspection in Central Harlem North-Polo Grounds →
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 June 16, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.