Empire Taco

• gradeGrade A
• inspection score12 pts
• critical violations2
• last inspectedMarch 12, 2026 →
• address617 Wilson Avenue, Brooklyn 11207
• cuisineTex-Mex
• phone7189194762

Is Empire Taco clean?

Empire Taco is currently Grade A from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on March 12, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Empire Taco?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on March 12, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧻grimy wiping clothscritical
  Wiping cloths not stored clean and dry, or in a sanitizing solution, between uses.
• 🍽️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.
• 🛠️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.

When was Empire Taco last inspected?

Empire Taco has 4 inspections on record going back to June 10, 2024, averaging 19 points.

Empire Taco vs Bushwick North

Bushwick North runs 77% clean across 342 tracked restaurants — 226 clean, 17 mid, 50 cooked.

Against the 342 spots Cooked tracks in Bushwick North, this one comes out cleaner than 29% of them.

Other spots in Bushwick North

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• A Heavy Woods
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• A Tony's Pizza
  clean · April 25, 2026
• A Alex Luncheonette
  clean · June 27, 2025
• A Pastelitos Elvys
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See every restaurant inspection in Bushwick North →

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 March 12, 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.