Harlem Cafe

• gradeGrade pending
• grade postedDecember 23, 2024
• inspection score45 pts
• critical violations6
• last inspectedJune 26, 2026
• address2259 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard, Manhattan
• cuisineAmerican
• phone3472329231

Is Harlem Cafe clean?

New York currently lists Harlem Cafe as grade pending, following an inspection on June 26, 2026 that scored 45 points. The city has not posted a letter yet, and it will not until a re-inspection settles it. The last grade it ever posted here was A on December 23, 2024.

What did inspectors find at Harlem Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on June 26, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pests
  Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
• 📋no certified food supervisor on dutycritical
  Food Protection Certificate (FPC) not held by manager or supervisor of food operations.
• 🛠️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.
• 🚰handwashing sink issuescritical
  No hand washing facility in or adjacent to toilet room or within 25 feet of a food preparation, food service or ware washing area. Hand washing facility not accessible, obstructed or used for non-hand washing purposes. No hot and cold running water or water at inadequate pressure. No soap or acceptable hand-drying device.
• 🛠️facility / equipment issue
  Dishwashing and ware washing: Cleaning and sanitizing of tableware, including dishes, utensils, and equipment deficient.
• 🐀rats have moved incritical
  Evidence of rats or live rats in establishment's food or non-food areas.
• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitizedcritical
  Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
• 🪳roaches are dining toocritical
  Live roaches in facility's food or non-food area.
• 🪰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.
• ⚠️Contract with a pest management professional not in place. Record of extermination activities not kept on premises.
  Contract with a pest management professional not in place. Record of extermination activities not kept on premises.

When was Harlem Cafe last inspected?

Harlem Cafe has 5 inspections on record going back to April 18, 2024, averaging 30 points.

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 June 26, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.