El Lado Taco

• gradeGrade B ⏳
• grade postedJune 30, 2025
• inspection score30 pts
• critical violations4
• last inspectedJuly 17, 2026 →
• address34-14 30 Avenue, Queens 11103
• cuisineMexican
• phone7187950077

Is El Lado Taco clean?

El Lado Taco currently carries Grade B ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on June 30, 2025 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on July 17, 2026 scoring 30 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 mid 😬; the numbers above come from the newer visit.

What did inspectors find at El Lado Taco?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on July 17, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Non-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.
• 🍴utensils stored sketchycritical
  Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
• 🍽️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.
• 🛠️facility / equipment issue
  Mechanical or natural ventilation not provided, inadequate, improperly installed, in disrepair or fails to prevent and control excessive build-up of grease, heat, steam condensation, vapors, odors, smoke or fumes.
• 🧻grimy wiping clothscritical
  Wiping cloths not stored clean and dry, or in a sanitizing solution, between uses.
• ⚠️Providing single-use plastic stirrers or single-use plastic splash sticks.
• 🧊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 El Lado Taco last inspected?

El Lado Taco has 3 inspections on record going back to May 6, 2025, averaging 32 points.

El Lado Taco vs Astoria

Astoria runs 73% clean across 509 tracked restaurants — 326 clean, 41 mid, 77 cooked.

Against the 509 spots Cooked tracks in Astoria, this one comes out cleaner than 26% of them.

Other spots in Astoria

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• A Elio's / Papa's Pasta
  clean · April 16, 2025
• ⏳ Yoyo Chicken
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• ? The Zone 2
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• B Teri's Teriyaki
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See every restaurant inspection in Astoria →

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 17, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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