Cooked?
Obao
- gradeGrade C ⏳
- inspection score30 pts
- critical violations3
- last inspectedDecember 1, 2025
- address222 East 53 Street, Manhattan 10022
- cuisineKorean
- phone2123085588
Is Obao clean?
Obao is currently Grade C ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on December 1, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 3 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳. There is a newer inspection the city has not ruled on yet, so the posted grade still stands for now.
What did inspectors find at Obao?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 1, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- ❓questionable food sourcingcriticalJuice packaged on premises with no or incomplete label, no warning statement
- 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pestsEstablishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
- 🍲hot food sitting too coolcriticalHot TCS food item not held at or above 140 °F.
- 🚿plumbing acting upAnti-siphonage or back-flow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly. Condensation or liquid waste improperly disposed of.
- 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to codeNon-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.
- 🪳roaches are dining toocriticalLive roaches in facility's food or non-food area.
When was Obao last inspected?
Obao has 9 inspections on record going back to July 27, 2023, averaging 30 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| July 9, 2026 | — | |
| May 7, 2026 | no grade issued ⏳ | 35 pts |
| December 1, 2025 | Grade C | 30 pts |
| September 29, 2025 | no grade issued ⏳ | 30 pts |
| February 18, 2025 | Grade B | 18 pts |
| September 14, 2024 | no grade issued ⏳ | 0 pts |
| September 11, 2024 | no grade issued ⏳ | 52 pts |
| May 9, 2024 | Grade B | 27 pts |
| July 27, 2023 | no grade issued ⏳ | 48 pts |
Obao vs Turtle Bay-East Midtown
Turtle Bay-East Midtown runs 83% clean across 605 tracked restaurants — 448 clean, 33 mid, 60 cooked.
Against the 605 spots Cooked tracks in Turtle Bay-East Midtown, this one comes out cleaner than 4% of them.
Other spots in Turtle Bay-East Midtown
See every restaurant inspection in Turtle Bay-East Midtown →
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 December 1, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.