Dhamaka

• gradeGrade A
• inspection score13 pts
• critical violations2
• last inspectedApril 15, 2025 →
• address88 Essex Street, Manhattan 10002
• cuisineIndian
• phone9737277160

Is Dhamaka clean?

Dhamaka is currently Grade A from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on April 15, 2025. 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 Dhamaka?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on April 15, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧻grimy wiping clothscritical
  Wiping cloths not stored clean and dry, or in a sanitizing solution, between uses.
• 🧊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 Dhamaka last inspected?

Dhamaka has 5 inspections on record going back to October 13, 2022, averaging 22 points.

Dhamaka vs Chinatown

Chinatown runs 75% clean across 685 tracked restaurants — 450 clean, 46 mid, 105 cooked.

Against the 685 spots Cooked tracks in Chinatown, this one comes out cleaner than 25% of them.

Other spots in Chinatown

• ⏳ Jufu Garden
  cooked · November 24, 2025
• ? Simple Next Door
  not rated
• A Mictlan Mexico
  clean · May 21, 2026
• A Attaboy
  clean · August 26, 2026
• A Caffe Vita
  clean · June 22, 2026
• A Sixty Three Clinton
  clean · March 24, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Chinatown →

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 April 15, 2025. 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.