Union Grounds

• gradeGrade A ⏳
• grade postedAugust 1, 2024
• inspection score35 pts
• critical violations4
• last inspectedFebruary 20, 2026 →
• address270 Smith Street, Brooklyn 11231
• cuisineAmerican
• phone3477631935

Is Union Grounds clean?

Union Grounds currently carries Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on August 1, 2024 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on February 20, 2026 scoring 35 points — but NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has not ruled on that visit, so no new grade has been issued. Inspectors wrote up 4 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder the posted grade reads clean 😇; the numbers above come from the newer visit.

What did inspectors find at Union Grounds?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 20, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🔥hot food not kept hot enoughcritical
  Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) food not cooked to required minimum internal temperature. • Poultry, poultry parts, ground and comminuted poultry, all stuffing containing poultry, meats, fish or ratites to or above 165 °F for 15 seconds with no interruption of the cooking process • Ground meat, and food containing ground and comminuted meat, to or above 158 °F for 15 seconds with no interruption of the cooking process, except per individual customer request • Pork, any food containing pork to or above 150 °F for 15 seconds • Mechanically tenderized or injected meats to or above 155 °F. • Whole meat roasts and beef steak to or above required temperature and time except per individual customer request • Raw animal foods cooked in microwave to or above165 °F, covered, rotated or stirred • All other foods to or above 140 °F for 15 seconds; shell eggs to or above 145 °F for 15 seconds except per individual customer request.
• 🐭they've got roommates (mice)critical
  Evidence of mice or live mice in establishment's food or non-food areas.
• 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pests
  Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
• 🛠️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.
• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitizedcritical
  Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
• 🍽️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.

When was Union Grounds last inspected?

Union Grounds has 3 inspections on record going back to March 9, 2023, averaging 20 points.

Union Grounds 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 23% of them.

Other spots in Carroll Gardens-Columbia Street-Red Hook

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• A El Mate
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• A The Long Island Bar
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• A Congress
  clean · May 22, 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 February 20, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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