Cooked?The Mercury Lounge
- gradeGrade A
- inspection score13 pts
- critical violations1
- last inspectedNovember 6, 2025 →
- address217 East Houston Street, Manhattan 10002
- cuisineAmerican
- phone2122604700
Is The Mercury Lounge clean?
The Mercury Lounge is currently Grade A from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on November 6, 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 Mercury Lounge?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on November 6, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pestsEstablishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
- 🐭they've got roommates (mice)criticalEvidence of mice or live mice in establishment's food or non-food areas.
- 🛠️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.
When was The Mercury Lounge last inspected?
The Mercury Lounge has 2 inspections on record going back to May 21, 2024, averaging 10 points.
November 6, 2025 A
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View full inspection →May 21, 2024 A
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View full inspection →The Mercury Lounge vs Chinatown
Chinatown runs 75% clean across 685 tracked restaurants — 450 clean, 46 mid, 105 cooked.
Against the 685 spots Cooked tracks in Chinatown, this one comes out cleaner than 33% of them.
Other spots in Chinatown
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 November 6, 2025. 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.