How hygienic are New York City restaurants?

I am sure most of you have noticed letter grades in front of eating establishments  around NYC that are a result of an inspection done by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

I think it is important to know what they mean since they are an indicator of the hygiene and sanitation levels of the restaurant. Some of you may not care about the conditions the food is prepared in but for those that do, here is a quick review of what to watch out for.

One of three grades can be assigned to the restaurant: “A”, “B” or “C”. However I consider “Grade Pending” the fourth category - read on and you will see why.

• Grade “A”: Highest grade by the Health department, i.e. safe to eat. Note that this means that the restaurant scored  0 - 13 violation points so they are not perfect.

• Grade “B”: I personally world not eat here unless there is absolutely no other alternative, which is rare since this is NYC we are talking about. The restaurant scored 14 – 27 violation points.  

• Grade “C”: Rarely seen and I would not touch any place that received this grade with a ten-foot pole. 28 or more violation points! - enough said.

• “Grade Pending”: This means that the restaurant is contesting the grade assigned to them (probably received a “B” or “C”). I would consider the worst case scenario i.e. “C” and completely avoid the restaurant.

The grades of all inspected restaurants can be viewed on the Health department’s website. They recently introduced a handy iphone and ipad app as well.

If you would like to read more about the inspection process, go here.

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