Cooked?
El Pollo Iii
- gradeGrade A ⏳
- inspection score12 pts
- critical violations2
- last inspectedOctober 4, 2025
- address8603 18 Avenue, Brooklyn 11214
- cuisineLatin American
- phone7183313124
Is El Pollo Iii clean?
El Pollo Iii is currently Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on October 4, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇. 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 Pollo Iii?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 4, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🧼staff skipping handwashingcriticalPersonal cleanliness is inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn where required. Jewelry worn on hands or arms. Fingernail polish worn or fingernails not kept clean and trimmed.
- 🚿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.
- 🐛pest / contamination issuecriticalProperly scaled and calibrated thermometer or thermocouple not provided or not readily accessible in food preparation and hot/cold holding areas to measure temperatures of TCS foods during cooking, cooling, reheating, and holding.
When was El Pollo Iii last inspected?
El Pollo Iii has 6 inspections on record going back to June 13, 2024, averaging 29 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| June 15, 2026 | no grade issued ⏳ | 26 pts |
| October 4, 2025 | Grade A | 12 pts |
| September 24, 2025 | — | |
| April 17, 2025 | no grade issued ⏳ | 31 pts |
| December 30, 2024 | Grade C | 34 pts |
| June 13, 2024 | no grade issued ⏳ | 42 pts |
El Pollo Iii vs Bensonhurst West
Bensonhurst West runs 80% clean across 248 tracked restaurants — 184 clean, 19 mid, 28 cooked.
Against the 248 spots Cooked tracks in Bensonhurst West, this one comes out cleaner than 23% of them.
Other spots in Bensonhurst West
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 October 4, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.