Hay Bendito! Cuchifritos

• gradeGrade C
• inspection score53 pts
• critical violations6
• last inspectedApril 17, 2026
• address2000 3 Avenue, Manhattan 10029
• cuisineLatin American
• phone7864987520

Is Hay Bendito! Cuchifritos clean?

Hay Bendito! Cuchifritos is currently Grade C from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on April 17, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 6 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at Hay Bendito! Cuchifritos?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on April 17, 2026, 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.
• 🌡️fridge is giving… room tempcritical
  Cold TCS food item held above 41 °F; smoked or processed fish held above 38 °F; intact raw eggs held above 45 °F; or reduced oxygen packaged (ROP) TCS foods held above required temperatures except during active necessary preparation.
• 🚰facility hygiene issuecritical
  Insufficient or no hot holding, cold storage or cold holding equipment provided to maintain Time/Temperature Control for Safety Foods (TCS) at required temperatures
• 🐭they've got roommates (mice)critical
  Evidence of mice or live mice in establishment's food or non-food areas.
• 🧊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.
• 🚿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.
• 🍽️dishwashing setup off
  Single 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.
• 🍲hot food sitting too coolcritical
  Hot TCS food item not held at or above 140 °F.

When was Hay Bendito! Cuchifritos last inspected?

Hay Bendito! Cuchifritos has 4 inspections on record going back to April 20, 2023, averaging 26 points.

Hay Bendito! Cuchifritos vs East Harlem South

East Harlem South runs 74% clean across 150 tracked restaurants — 101 clean, 14 mid, 21 cooked.

Against the 150 spots Cooked tracks in East Harlem South, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.

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See every restaurant inspection in East Harlem South →

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 April 17, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.