El Rey

• gradeGrade A ⏳
• grade postedOctober 3, 2025
• inspection score24 pts
• critical violations3
• last inspectedOctober 15, 2026 →
• address147-13 Hillside Avenue, Queens 11435
• cuisineLatin American
• phone7182060614

Is El Rey clean?

El Rey currently carries Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on October 3, 2025 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on October 15, 2026 scoring 24 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 El Rey?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 15, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🍽️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.
• 🚿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.
• 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pests
  Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
• 🐭they've got roommates (mice)critical
  Evidence of mice or live mice in establishment's food or non-food areas.
• 🧫equipment / surface issue
  Wash hands sign not posted near or above hand washing sink.
• 🍴utensils stored sketchycritical
  Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

When was El Rey last inspected?

El Rey has 8 inspections on record going back to April 18, 2023, averaging 26 points.

Graded visits shown below · newest first · tap a date for the record

El Rey vs Jamaica

Jamaica runs 75% clean across 235 tracked restaurants — 157 clean, 13 mid, 40 cooked.

Against the 235 spots Cooked tracks in Jamaica, this one comes out cleaner than 29% of them.

Other spots in Jamaica

• A El Monumental Restaurant
  clean · May 31, 2024
• A Popeyes
  clean · August 6, 2026
• A Caribbean Roti Express
  clean · January 13, 2026
• A Mcdonald's
  clean · July 31, 2026
• A South Jamaica Portuguese Sporting Club
  clean · April 8, 2026
• A Centro De Bienestar Daysi
  clean · January 30, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Jamaica →

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 October 15, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

check your own block 📸

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