Restaurant Inspection Information

Restaurant Inspection Letter Grading
The Board of Health is currently soliciting public comments on a proposal to publicly grade New York City restaurants on their sanitary conditions. Under a new proposed system, restaurants would receive grades of A, B or C, depending on the conditions documented during inspections. Each establishment would have to post its most recent grade in full view of potential customers – and those receiving Bs and Cs would be inspected more often than those meeting the highest standards for food safety. The new system would concentrate City resources on the least sanitary restaurants while placing no additional burden on establishments that maintain the best conditions.

• Fact Sheet (PDF)
• Submit your comments on the proposal
• Notice of Intention to Amend Article 81 of the New York City Health Code - Restaurant Grades
• Read the press release

Restaurant inspection results online - Find information on the latest inspection of each of New York City's more than 20,000 restaurants.

Page Contents

• • Restaurant Alerts
• • Inspection Procedure
• • Information Regarding the Golden Apple Award
• • Trans Fat Help Center
• • Inspection Policy Documents
• • Recent Updates
• • Reduced Oxygen Packaging HACCP Plan
• • Smoke-Free Air Act Information for Business Owners and Employers

Restaurant Alerts

New! NOV Settlement Offer (January 20, 2009)

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is now offering food service establishments the opportunity to settle their violations in lieu of having to wait at the Administrative Tribunal for their cases to be heard. Food service establishments interested in settling must appear at the Tribunal on their scheduled hearing date in order to settle.

To accept an offer, a food service establishment must acknowledge that the violations alleged in the NOV existed at the time of the inspection. However, the penalties offered by the Agency to settle are generally lower than the penalties it recommends be imposed for the same violations if they are sustained at a hearing. In the future, the DOHMH plans to offer food service establishments the opportunity to settle by mail or online prior to their scheduled hearing dates.

For FAQs about the settlement offer, including payment options for settled cases, please click here

For more information about the settlement offer, call 311.

Health Department Proposes Letter Grading for Restaurants

The Health Department is proposing to give restaurants letter grades – A, B, or C – based on a restaurant’s inspection score, and to require the grade be posted near the restaurant entrance as of July 1, 2010. Frequency of inspections during the following months will be tied to the score received. Any restaurant with a score that would result in a B or C grade would get a chance to improve its score on a second inspection before having to post its grade. The second inspection would be conducted no sooner than seven days after the initial inspection. If on that second inspection the restaurant’s score still resulted in a grade of B or C, it would still not have to post its grade until it has had an opportunity to have the Notice of Violation issued at that inspection adjudicated at the Administrative Tribunal. The Department is accepting public comments on the grading proposal until February 5, 2010.

Click on the following link to read the read the proposal, and follow the directions on page 1 for pre-registering to speak and submitting comments by mail, fax, email, and online.

Health Department Proposes Letter Grading for Restaurants  (December 17, 2009, PDF)

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Inspection Procedure

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducts inspections of all food service establishments in the city. These establishments include restaurants, retail bakeries, and "take outs." These inspections are unannounced, and are conducted by Public Health Sanitarians who are trained public health professionals with college degrees and backgrounds in the sciences.

During inspections, these Sanitarians spend most of their time evaluating food workers' practices, including the manner in which they receive and store foods, how they process foods, and the temperatures at which they cook, hold, and reheat foods.

If you would like to receive a copy of the full inspection report by mail, call the NYC Citizen Service Center at 311. In addition to the violations listed in this web site, the report will contain other general violations including those related to smoking. The Department will send you the most recent inspection report for up to five restaurants at no charge.

Disclaimer: As a result of an inspection, the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene may issue violations to the establishment. Owners have the opportunity to dispute these violations at the Department's Administrative Tribunal. Violations are allegations made by a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inspector and may be dismissed. The information presented here may reflect inspections that have not yet been adjudicated.

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What is the NYC Golden Apple Award?

The Golden Apple Quality Improvement Initiative is a new program aimed at increasing food safety in New York City's food service establishments. It provides both assistance and incentive to achieve and maintain the highest standards in food safety.

More about the Golden Apple Award

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Trans Fat Help Center

On December 5, 2006, the Board of Health approved an amendment to the Health Code to phase out artificial trans fat in all NYC restaurants and other food service establishments.

• Notice of Adoption of Trans Fat Regulations (PDF)
• Press Release about new regulations
• The Regulation to Phase Out Artificial Trans Fat in New York City Food Service Establishments (PDF)
  Other languages: [Español][中文][Bengali][Русский][عربي]

For more information on how to replace trans fat in your menu, to register for FREE classes about trans fat and the new regulations, or for information on 0 grams trans fat products visit the Trans Fat Help Center www.notransfatnyc.org or call 311 and ask for the "Trans Fat Helpline". Telephone assistance available in more than 150 languages.

To learn more about trans fat in general click here.

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Inspection Policy Documents

• Important Information for Food Service Establishments (PDF)
• Food Service Establishment Inspection Score Worksheet (PDF)

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Recent Updates

• "How are we doing?" Sign
• Final Regulations for the New York City Smoke-Free Air Act
• Sample Smoke-Free Workplace Policy
• New York City Smoke-Free Air Act of 2002: Important Information for New York City Business Owners and Employers
• Reduced Oxygen Packaging HACCP Plan: Requirements And Guidelines For Developing A Plan (PDF)
• Blank HACCP Forms and Flow Chart (PDF)

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Reduced Oxygen Packaging HACCP Plan

• Requirements and Guidelines for Developing a Plan (PDF)
• Downloadable Blank HACCP Forms & Flow Chart (PDF)

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Smoke-Free Air Act Information for Business Owners and Employers

• Smoke-Free Air Act of 2002
• Information on Applying for a Waiver of New York State's Clean Indoor Air Act
• Owner Operated Bar Application
• Separate Smoking Room Application
• Application for Tobacco Bar Registration
• Notification of a Tobacco Promotion Event
• Application for Registration as a Membership Association

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