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El Gallo Taqueria
- gradeGrade B ⏳
- inspection score23 pts
- critical violations2
- last inspectedAugust 11, 2025
- address502 Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan 10024
- cuisineMexican
- phone9176680107
Is El Gallo Taqueria clean?
El Gallo Taqueria is currently Grade B ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on August 11, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬. There is a newer inspection the city has not ruled on yet, so the posted grade still stands for now.
What did inspectors find at El Gallo Taqueria?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on August 11, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🌡️fridge is giving… room tempcriticalCold 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.
- 🪳roaches are dining toocriticalLive roaches in facility's food or non-food area.
- 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pestsEstablishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
- 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to codeNon-food contact surface or equipment made of unacceptable material, not kept clean, or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
When was El Gallo Taqueria last inspected?
El Gallo Taqueria has 6 inspections on record going back to July 22, 2024, averaging 20 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| July 20, 2026 | — | |
| March 3, 2026 | no grade issued ⏳ | 19 pts |
| August 11, 2025 | Grade B | 23 pts |
| May 5, 2025 | no grade issued ⏳ | 5 pts |
| January 29, 2025 | Grade C | 34 pts |
| July 22, 2024 | no grade issued ⏳ | 17 pts |
El Gallo Taqueria vs Upper West Side
Upper West Side runs 81% clean across 416 tracked restaurants — 315 clean, 20 mid, 56 cooked.
Against the 416 spots Cooked tracks in Upper West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 16% of them.
Other spots in Upper West Side
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 August 11, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.