New Kam Lai

• gradeGrade A
• inspection score12 pts
• critical violations1
• last inspectedJanuary 15, 2026 →
• address514 Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan 10024
• cuisineChinese
• phone2127698990

Is New Kam Lai clean?

New Kam Lai is currently Grade A from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on January 15, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at New Kam Lai?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on January 15, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧻grimy wiping clothscritical
  Wiping cloths not stored clean and dry, or in a sanitizing solution, between uses.
• 🧫equipment / surface issue
  Swollen, leaking, rusted or otherwise damaged canned food to be returned to distributor not segregated from intact product and clearly labeled DO NOT USE
• 🛠️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.

When was New Kam Lai last inspected?

New Kam Lai has 4 inspections on record going back to May 9, 2024, averaging 22 points.

New Kam Lai vs Upper West Side

Upper West Side runs 80% clean across 426 tracked restaurants — 313 clean, 20 mid, 60 cooked.

Against the 426 spots Cooked tracks in Upper West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 43% of them.

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• ⏳ Flame Asian Bistro
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• A Green Lane Coffee
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See every restaurant inspection in Upper West Side →

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 January 15, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

check your own block 📸

Cooked covers 10 cities on official inspection data — see who's clean, mid, or cooked near you.