Cooked?
Vanilla Gorilla Cafe
- gradeGrade pending
- inspection score21 pts
- critical violations2
- last inspectedMarch 31, 2026
- address525 8 Avenue, Manhattan 10018
- cuisineCoffee/Tea
- phone6465966697
Is Vanilla Gorilla Cafe clean?
New York currently lists Vanilla Gorilla Cafe as grade pending, following an inspection on March 31, 2026 that scored 21 points. The city has not posted a letter yet, and it will not until a re-inspection settles it. The last grade it ever posted here was A on November 25, 2024.
What did inspectors find at Vanilla Gorilla Cafe?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on March 31, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🍽️food left out / unprotectedcriticalFood, 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.
- 🪰flies in the housecriticalFilth flies or food/refuse/sewage associated with (FRSA) flies or other nuisance pests in establishment’s food and/or non-food areas. FRSA flies include house flies, blow flies, bottle flies, flesh flies, drain flies, Phorid flies and fruit flies.
- 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pestsEstablishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
- 🛠️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.
- 🚿plumbing acting upAnti-siphonage or back-flow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly. Condensation or liquid waste improperly disposed of.
When was Vanilla Gorilla Cafe last inspected?
Vanilla Gorilla Cafe has 5 inspections on record going back to August 29, 2023, averaging 28 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| March 31, 2026 | no grade issued ⏳ | 21 pts |
| February 10, 2026 | no grade issued ⏳ | 24 pts |
| November 25, 2024 | Grade A | 13 pts |
| November 7, 2024 | no grade issued ⏳ | 71 pts |
| August 29, 2023 | Grade A | 13 pts |
Vanilla Gorilla Cafe vs Hudson Yards-Chelsea-Flat Iron-Union Square
Hudson Yards-Chelsea-Flat Iron-Union Square runs 84% clean across 1,096 tracked restaurants — 773 clean, 50 mid, 100 cooked.
Against the 1,096 spots Cooked tracks in Hudson Yards-Chelsea-Flat Iron-Union Square, this one comes out cleaner than 5% of them.
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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 March 31, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.