Sam Lee Kitchen

• gradeGrade A
• inspection score13 pts
• critical violations1
• last inspectedSeptember 14, 2026 →
• address21-08 36 Avenue, Queens 11106
• cuisineChinese
• phone7183929329

Is Sam Lee Kitchen clean?

Sam Lee Kitchen is currently Grade A from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on September 14, 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 Sam Lee Kitchen?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 14, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🍽️food left out / unprotectedcritical
  Food, supplies, or equipment not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display, service or from customer’s refillable, reusable container. Condiments not in single-service containers or dispensed directly by the vendor.
• 🛠️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.
• 🛠️facility / equipment issue
  Dishwashing and ware washing: Cleaning and sanitizing of tableware, including dishes, utensils, and equipment deficient.

When was Sam Lee Kitchen last inspected?

Sam Lee Kitchen has 5 inspections on record going back to March 25, 2022, averaging 14 points.

Graded visits shown below · newest first · tap a date for the record

Sam Lee Kitchen vs Queensbridge-Ravenswood-Long Island City

Queensbridge-Ravenswood-Long Island City runs 78% clean across 108 tracked restaurants — 76 clean, 8 mid, 14 cooked.

Against the 108 spots Cooked tracks in Queensbridge-Ravenswood-Long Island City, this one comes out cleaner than 33% of them.

Other spots in Queensbridge-Ravenswood-Long Island City

• B Subway
  mid · May 22, 2026
• A Ambassador Food Services
  clean · May 20, 2025
• A The Goodfellas Pizzeria Of L.I.C.
  clean · July 30, 2025
• A Melrose Ballroom
  clean · October 12, 2025
• A Exquisito
  clean · December 3, 2025
• A Beija Flor
  clean · August 12, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Queensbridge-Ravenswood-Long Island City →

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 14, 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.