Lee Chung Cafe

• last posted gradeGrade A · May 23, 2019
• inspection score53 pts
• critical violations5
• last inspectedSeptember 13, 2019 →
• address82 Madison Street, Manhattan 10002
• cuisineChinese
• phone2122335142

Is Lee Chung Cafe clean?

Lee Chung Cafe is currently listed as closed by NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), as of its inspection on September 13, 2019. That inspection scored 53 points and cited 5 critical violations. A closure means inspectors found conditions serious enough to stop service — it is not the same as a restaurant choosing to shut down, and the listing can change once the problems are fixed and re-inspected. The last grade the city posted here was A on May 23, 2019, before the closure.

What did inspectors find at Lee Chung Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 13, 2019, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pests
  Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.
• 🪳roaches are dining toocritical
  Live roaches present in facility's food and/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.
• 🍴utensils stored sketchycritical
  Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
• 🐭they've got roommates (mice)critical
  Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.
• 🍲hot food sitting too coolcritical
  Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.

When was Lee Chung Cafe last inspected?

Lee Chung Cafe has 11 inspections on record going back to April 3, 2017, averaging 21 points.

Lee Chung Cafe vs Chinatown

Chinatown runs 75% clean across 685 tracked restaurants — 450 clean, 46 mid, 105 cooked.

Against the 685 spots Cooked tracks in Chinatown, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.

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See every restaurant inspection in Chinatown →

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 September 13, 2019. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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