Laughing Man Cafe

• gradeGrade A ⏳
• grade postedApril 24, 2025
• inspection score32 pts
• critical violations4
• last inspectedJuly 10, 2026 →
• address184 Duane Street, Manhattan 10013
• cuisineAmerican
• phone9175976871

Is Laughing Man Cafe clean?

Laughing Man Cafe currently carries Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on April 24, 2025 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on July 10, 2026 scoring 32 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 4 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 Laughing Man Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on July 10, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧽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.
• 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pests
  Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
• 🛠️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.
• 🐀rats have moved incritical
  Evidence of rats or live rats in establishment's food or non-food areas.
• 🌡️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.
• 🪰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 Laughing Man Cafe last inspected?

Laughing Man Cafe has 6 inspections on record going back to October 17, 2023, averaging 15 points.

Laughing Man Cafe vs SoHo-TriBeCa-Civic Center-Little Italy

SoHo-TriBeCa-Civic Center-Little Italy runs 83% clean across 843 tracked restaurants — 599 clean, 41 mid, 83 cooked.

Against the 843 spots Cooked tracks in SoHo-TriBeCa-Civic Center-Little Italy, this one comes out cleaner than 17% of them.

Other spots in SoHo-TriBeCa-Civic Center-Little Italy

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See every restaurant inspection in SoHo-TriBeCa-Civic Center-Little Italy →

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 July 10, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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