Elsa Restaurant La Reina Del Chicharron

• gradeGrade A ⏳
• grade postedDecember 9, 2024
• inspection score18 pts
• critical violations2
• last inspectedMay 4, 2026 →
• address1249 St Nicholas Avenue, Manhattan 10032
• cuisineLatin American
• phone2127953667

Is Elsa Restaurant La Reina Del Chicharron clean?

Elsa Restaurant La Reina Del Chicharron currently carries Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on December 9, 2024 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on May 4, 2026 scoring 18 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 Elsa Restaurant La Reina Del Chicharron?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 4, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧊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.
• 🍲hot food sitting too coolcritical
  Hot TCS food item not held at or above 140 °F.
• 🧫food contact surfaces dirty
  Design, construction, materials used or maintenance of food contact surface improper. Surface not easily cleanable, sanitized and maintained.

When was Elsa Restaurant La Reina Del Chicharron last inspected?

Elsa Restaurant La Reina Del Chicharron has 4 inspections on record going back to May 11, 2023, averaging 22 points.

Elsa Restaurant La Reina Del Chicharron vs Washington Heights South

Washington Heights South runs 76% clean across 211 tracked restaurants — 140 clean, 14 mid, 30 cooked.

Against the 211 spots Cooked tracks in Washington Heights South, this one comes out cleaner than 24% 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.

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 May 4, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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