Cooked?
Don Alejo Coffee
- gradeGrade A
- inspection score12 pts
- critical violations2
- last inspectedMay 1, 2025
- address228 East 116 Street, Manhattan 10029
- cuisineCoffee/Tea
- phone6469984198
Is Don Alejo Coffee clean?
Don Alejo Coffee is currently Grade A from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on May 1, 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 Don Alejo Coffee?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 1, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🐈random live animals insidecriticalLive animal other than fish in tank or service animal present in facility’s food or non-food area.
- 🧽surfaces not properly sanitizedcriticalFood contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
- 🚿plumbing acting upAnti-siphonage or back-flow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly. Condensation or liquid waste improperly disposed of.
When was Don Alejo Coffee last inspected?
Don Alejo Coffee has 4 inspections on record going back to September 22, 2022, averaging 16 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2025 | Grade A | 12 pts |
| January 3, 2024 | Grade A | 12 pts |
| October 4, 2022 | Grade A | 10 pts |
| September 22, 2022 | no grade issued ⏳ | 29 pts |
Don Alejo Coffee vs East Harlem North
East Harlem North runs 82% clean across 187 tracked restaurants — 132 clean, 8 mid, 21 cooked.
Against the 187 spots Cooked tracks in East Harlem North, this one comes out cleaner than 22% of them.
Other spots in East Harlem North
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 May 1, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.