Cooked?
The Empanada Spot
- gradeGrade A
- inspection score12 pts
- critical violations1
- last inspectedJune 16, 2025
- address61-09 Springfield Boulevard, Queens 11364
- cuisineSpanish
- phone7182242209
Is The Empanada Spot clean?
The Empanada Spot is currently Grade A from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on June 16, 2025. 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 The Empanada Spot?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on June 16, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🐭they've got roommates (mice)criticalEvidence of mice or live mice in establishment's food or non-food areas.
- 🧫equipment / surface issueThawing procedure improper.
- 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pestsEstablishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
When was The Empanada Spot last inspected?
The Empanada Spot has 3 inspections on record going back to October 13, 2022, averaging 13 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| June 16, 2025 | Grade A | 12 pts |
| November 21, 2023 | Grade A | 10 pts |
| October 13, 2022 | no grade issued ⏳ | 16 pts |
The Empanada Spot vs Oakland Gardens
Oakland Gardens runs 72% clean across 53 tracked restaurants — 34 clean, 3 mid, 10 cooked.
Against the 53 spots Cooked tracks in Oakland Gardens, this one comes out cleaner than 49% of them.
Other spots in Oakland Gardens
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 June 16, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.