Poetica Coffee

• gradeGrade A
• inspection score7 pts
• critical violations1
• last inspectedSeptember 2, 2026 →
• address251 Smith Street, Brooklyn 11231
• cuisineCoffee/Tea
• phone9177975131

Is Poetica Coffee clean?

Poetica Coffee is currently Grade A from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on September 2, 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 Poetica Coffee?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 2, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🛠️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.
• 🧻grimy wiping clothscritical
  Wiping cloths not stored clean and dry, or in a sanitizing solution, between uses.

When was Poetica Coffee last inspected?

Poetica Coffee has 6 inspections on record going back to October 28, 2022, averaging 16 points.

Poetica Coffee vs Carroll Gardens-Columbia Street-Red Hook

Carroll Gardens-Columbia Street-Red Hook runs 86% clean across 227 tracked restaurants — 167 clean, 5 mid, 22 cooked.

Against the 227 spots Cooked tracks in Carroll Gardens-Columbia Street-Red Hook, this one comes out cleaner than 76% of them.

Other spots in Carroll Gardens-Columbia Street-Red Hook

• A Nili Cafe
  clean · December 23, 2025
• A Octavia Coffee
  clean · June 10, 2026
• A The Hop Shop
  clean · July 16, 2025
• A Wen Xuan House
  clean · December 23, 2025
• A Nerd Be Cool
  clean · October 6, 2025
• A Chip City
  clean · March 3, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Carroll Gardens-Columbia Street-Red Hook →

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 2, 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.