Elmo

• gradeGrade A ⏳
• grade postedAugust 20, 2024
• inspection score16 pts
• critical violations2
• last inspectedDecember 18, 2025 →
• address156 7 Avenue, Manhattan 10011
• cuisineAmerican
• phone2123378000

Is Elmo clean?

Elmo currently carries Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on August 20, 2024 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on December 18, 2025 scoring 16 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 2 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 Elmo?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 18, 2025, 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.
• 🪰flies in the housecritical
  Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage associated with (FRSA) flies or other nuisance pests in establishment’s food and/or non-food areas. FRSA flies include house flies, blow flies, bottle flies, flesh flies, drain flies, Phorid flies and fruit flies.
• 🛠️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.
• 🧫food contact surfaces dirty
  Design, construction, materials used or maintenance of food contact surface improper. Surface not easily cleanable, sanitized and maintained.
• 🚿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.

When was Elmo last inspected?

Elmo has 3 inspections on record going back to May 21, 2024, averaging 14 points.

Elmo vs Hudson Yards-Chelsea-Flat Iron-Union Square

Hudson Yards-Chelsea-Flat Iron-Union Square runs 84% clean across 1,120 tracked restaurants — 788 clean, 53 mid, 102 cooked.

Against the 1,120 spots Cooked tracks in Hudson Yards-Chelsea-Flat Iron-Union Square, this one comes out cleaner than 21% of them.

Other spots in Hudson Yards-Chelsea-Flat Iron-Union Square

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• A The Trailer Park Lounge
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• A Star On 18Th Diner Cafe
  clean · May 14, 2026
• A Uncle Jack's Steakhouse
  clean · February 5, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Hudson Yards-Chelsea-Flat Iron-Union Square →

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 December 18, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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