Cucina Italian Tavern

• gradeGrade A
• inspection score12 pts
• critical violations2
• last inspectedSeptember 2, 2026 →
• address331 Lenox Avenue, Manhattan 10027
• cuisineItalian
• phone2128372128

Is Cucina Italian Tavern clean?

Cucina Italian Tavern is currently Grade A from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on September 2, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Cucina Italian Tavern?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 2, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧽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.
• 🧊food not cooled down rightcritical
  After cooking or removal from hot holding, TCS food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal temperature is reduced from 140 °F to 70 °F or less within 2 hours, and from 70 °F to 41 °F or less within 4 additional hours.

When was Cucina Italian Tavern last inspected?

Cucina Italian Tavern has 4 inspections on record going back to April 7, 2025, averaging 25 points.

Cucina Italian Tavern vs Central Harlem North-Polo Grounds

Central Harlem North-Polo Grounds runs 69% clean across 93 tracked restaurants — 58 clean, 5 mid, 21 cooked.

Against the 93 spots Cooked tracks in Central Harlem North-Polo Grounds, this one comes out cleaner than 37% of them.

Other spots in Central Harlem North-Polo Grounds

• A Empire Soul Food Restaurant
  clean · October 14, 2025
• ? Big Tots Little Tikes
  not rated
• ? Westside Bagel
  cooked · April 7, 2026
• A Momo's Magic Kitchen
  clean · April 9, 2026
• A Kennedy Chicken & Halal Grill
  clean · June 10, 2026
• ? Harlem Poke
  not rated

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.

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 2, 2026. 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.