Yafa Cafe

• gradeGrade A ⏳
• grade postedJuly 10, 2025
• inspection score22 pts
• critical violations3
• last inspectedOctober 7, 2026 →
• address505 State Street, Brooklyn 11217
• cuisineCoffee/Tea
• phone3475781376

Is Yafa Cafe clean?

Yafa Cafe currently carries Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on July 10, 2025 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on October 7, 2026 scoring 22 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 3 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 Yafa Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 7, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧼staff skipping handwashingcritical
  Personal cleanliness is inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn where required. Jewelry worn on hands or arms. Fingernail polish worn or fingernails not kept clean and trimmed.
• 🧽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.
• 🛠️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.
• 📋no certified food supervisor on dutycritical
  Food Protection Certificate (FPC) not held by manager or supervisor of food operations.

When was Yafa Cafe last inspected?

Yafa Cafe has 2 inspections on record going back to July 10, 2025, averaging 14 points.

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

Yafa Cafe vs DUMBO-Vinegar Hill-Downtown Brooklyn-Boerum Hill

DUMBO-Vinegar Hill-Downtown Brooklyn-Boerum Hill runs 82% clean across 422 tracked restaurants — 313 clean, 17 mid, 50 cooked.

Against the 422 spots Cooked tracks in DUMBO-Vinegar Hill-Downtown Brooklyn-Boerum Hill, this one comes out cleaner than 80% of them.

Other spots in DUMBO-Vinegar Hill-Downtown Brooklyn-Boerum Hill

• A El Gallo Taqueria
  clean · September 16, 2025
• A Ramen Thukpa
  clean · October 5, 2025
• B Court Street Bagels
  mid · January 21, 2026
• A Andrea's Cucina
  clean · January 22, 2026
• A Red Coffee Stand
  clean · August 24, 2026
• A Ethopian Yohevet Coffee
  clean · October 30, 2025

See every restaurant inspection in DUMBO-Vinegar Hill-Downtown Brooklyn-Boerum Hill →

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 October 7, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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