Deli El Chapincito

• gradeGrade C ⏳
• grade postedFebruary 13, 2026
• inspection score34 pts
• critical violations4
• last inspectedMay 19, 2026 →
• address168 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan 10016
• cuisineLatin American
• phone5163097229

Is Deli El Chapincito clean?

Deli El Chapincito currently carries Grade C ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on February 13, 2026 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on May 19, 2026 scoring 34 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 4 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder the posted grade reads cooked 🪳; the numbers above come from the newer visit.

What did inspectors find at Deli El Chapincito?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 19, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pests
  Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
• 🍲hot food sitting too coolcritical
  Hot TCS food item not held at or above 140 °F.
• 🐭they've got roommates (mice)critical
  Evidence of mice or live mice in establishment's food or non-food areas.
• 🌡️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.
• 🔪cross-contamination riskcritical
  Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.

When was Deli El Chapincito last inspected?

Deli El Chapincito has 6 inspections on record going back to October 17, 2024, averaging 44 points.

Deli El Chapincito vs Murray Hill-Kips Bay

Murray Hill-Kips Bay runs 79% clean across 379 tracked restaurants — 274 clean, 23 mid, 48 cooked.

Against the 379 spots Cooked tracks in Murray Hill-Kips Bay, this one comes out cleaner than 5% of them.

Other spots in Murray Hill-Kips Bay

• A Omakase 33
  clean · May 7, 2025
• ⏳ Eons
  cooked · October 28, 2025
• ⏳ Happy Tuna
  cooked · February 27, 2025
• A Utopia Bagels
  clean · July 23, 2026
• ⏳ Kloud
  cooked · December 3, 2025
• ? Domo Sushi
  not rated

See every restaurant inspection in Murray Hill-Kips Bay →

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 May 19, 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.