Cooked?
El Zason
- gradeGrade A
- inspection score10 pts
- critical violations1
- last inspectedDecember 19, 2025
- address491 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn 11217
- cuisineMexican
- phone7186832217
Is El Zason clean?
El Zason is currently Grade A from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on December 19, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.
What did inspectors find at El Zason?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 19, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🍽️dishwashing setup offSingle service article not provided. Single service article reused or not protected from contamination when transported, stored, dispensed. Drinking straws not completely enclosed in wrapper or dispensed from a sanitary device.
- 🧻grimy wiping clothscriticalWiping cloths not stored clean and dry, or in a sanitizing solution, between uses.
- 🛠️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 Zason last inspected?
El Zason has 6 inspections on record going back to November 6, 2023, averaging 20 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| December 19, 2025 | Grade A | 10 pts |
| October 5, 2025 | no grade issued ⏳ | 0 pts |
| August 27, 2025 | Grade C | 38 pts |
| May 14, 2025 | no grade issued ⏳ | 26 pts |
| April 24, 2024 | Grade A | 13 pts |
| November 6, 2023 | no grade issued ⏳ | 34 pts |
El Zason vs DUMBO-Vinegar Hill-Downtown Brooklyn-Boerum Hill
DUMBO-Vinegar Hill-Downtown Brooklyn-Boerum Hill runs 85% clean across 407 tracked restaurants — 311 clean, 19 mid, 38 cooked.
Against the 407 spots Cooked tracks in DUMBO-Vinegar Hill-Downtown Brooklyn-Boerum Hill, this one comes out cleaner than 50% of them.
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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 December 19, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.