Dot's Cafe

• gradeGrade A ⏳
• grade postedApril 23, 2025
• inspection score23 pts
• critical violations3
• last inspectedJuly 9, 2026 →
• address515 West 52 Street, Manhattan 10019
• cuisineAmerican
• phone9178389384

Is Dot's Cafe clean?

Dot's Cafe currently carries Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on April 23, 2025 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on July 9, 2026 scoring 23 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 3 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder the posted grade reads clean 😇; the numbers above come from the newer visit.

What did inspectors find at Dot's Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on July 9, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Food adulterated or misbranded. Adulterated or misbranded food possessed, being manufactured, produced, packed, sold, offered for sale, delivered or given away
• 🍽️food left out / unprotectedcritical
  Food, supplies, or equipment not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display, service or from customer’s refillable, reusable container. Condiments not in single-service containers or dispensed directly by the vendor.
• 🪰flies in the housecritical
  Filth 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.
• 🧽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.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Anti-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.
• 🕳️conditions that attract pests
  Garbage receptacle not pest or water resistant, with tight-fitting lids, and covered except while in active use. Garbage receptacle and cover not cleaned after emptying and prior to reuse. Garbage, refuse and other solid and liquid waste not collected, stored, removed and disposed of so as to prevent a nuisance.

When was Dot's Cafe last inspected?

Dot's Cafe has 4 inspections on record going back to March 20, 2024, averaging 19 points.

Dot's Cafe vs Clinton

Clinton runs 75% clean across 600 tracked restaurants — 408 clean, 33 mid, 105 cooked.

Against the 600 spots Cooked tracks in Clinton, this one comes out cleaner than 64% of them.

Other spots in Clinton

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• ⏳ Spice Symphony
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• ⏳ Sky Pavilion
  cooked · October 8, 2025
• C Fat Boys Burgers
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• A Le Sia
  clean · August 11, 2026
• A Pret A Manger
  clean · June 3, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Clinton →

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 July 9, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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Cooked covers 10 cities on official inspection data — see who's clean, mid, or cooked near you.