Jikji Cafe

• gradeGrade A ⏳
• grade postedAugust 28, 2024
• inspection score49 pts
• critical violations8
• last inspectedOctober 22, 2025
• addressJFK INT'L Airport, Queens 11430
• cuisineJapanese
• phone7187512003

Is Jikji Cafe clean?

Jikji Cafe currently carries Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on August 28, 2024 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on October 22, 2025 scoring 49 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 8 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 Jikji Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 22, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🛠️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.
• ♨️leftovers reheated sketchycritical
  TCS food removed from cold holding or prepared from or combined with ingredients at room temperature not cooled by an approved method to 41 °F or below within 4 hours.
• 🪳roaches are dining toocritical
  Live roaches in facility's food or non-food area.
• 🍽️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.
• 🗑️garbage situation out of pocket
  Pesticide not properly labeled or used by unlicensed individual. Pesticide, other toxic chemical improperly used/stored. Unprotected, unlocked bait station used.
• 🪰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.
• 🍲hot food sitting too coolcritical
  Hot TCS food item not held at or above 140 °F.
• 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pests
  Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
• 🌡️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.
• 🔪cross-contamination riskcritical
  Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.
• 🐭they've got roommates (mice)critical
  Evidence of mice or live mice in establishment's food or non-food areas.

When was Jikji Cafe last inspected?

Jikji Cafe has 2 inspections on record going back to August 28, 2024, averaging 31 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 October 22, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.