La Esquinita

• gradeGrade B ⏳
• grade postedJanuary 7, 2025
• inspection score38 pts
• critical violations3
• last inspectedAugust 6, 2026 →
• address61-02 Myrtle Avenue, Queens 11385
• cuisineLatin American
• phone3479160008

Is La Esquinita clean?

La Esquinita currently carries Grade B ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on January 7, 2025 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on August 6, 2026 scoring 38 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 3 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder the posted grade reads mid 😬; the numbers above come from the newer visit.

What did inspectors find at La Esquinita?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on August 6, 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.
• 🌡️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.
• 🛠️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.
• ⚠️Current letter grade or Grade Pending card not posted
• 🍲hot food sitting too coolcritical
  Hot TCS food item not held at or above 140 °F.
• 🛠️facility / equipment issue
  Dishwashing and ware washing: Cleaning and sanitizing of tableware, including dishes, utensils, and equipment deficient.
• 🪰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.

When was La Esquinita last inspected?

La Esquinita has 4 inspections on record going back to December 22, 2022, averaging 25 points.

La Esquinita vs Ridgewood

Ridgewood runs 77% clean across 288 tracked restaurants — 200 clean, 30 mid, 30 cooked.

Against the 288 spots Cooked tracks in Ridgewood, this one comes out cleaner than 21% of them.

Other spots in Ridgewood

• A Mama Yoshi Mini Mart
  clean · June 13, 2025
• A Carvel / Cinnabon
  clean · July 14, 2026
• A Sky Coffee Shop
  clean · August 5, 2026
• B Sushi Yoshi / Tsaocaa
  mid · December 2, 2025
• A Velma
  clean · October 28, 2025
• A Randy's
  clean · January 8, 2025

See every restaurant inspection in Ridgewood →

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 August 6, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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