Manhattan, NY — Cafe Delectica, an American restaurant located at 564 3rd Avenue in Manhattan, received a score of 29 during a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inspection conducted on April 1, 2026, placing it in the Grade C category. The inspection identified one critical violation and one non-critical violation. Inspection data was released by DOHMH on April 6, 2026.

What Inspectors Found

Inspectors documented two violations during the April visit.

The critical violation, cited under Code 06D, found that food contact surfaces were not properly washed, rinsed, and sanitized after each use and following activities during which contamination may have occurred. Food contact surfaces — including cutting boards, prep tables, utensils, and equipment that directly touches food — are required to be sanitized at regular intervals and after any potential contamination event. Failure to maintain these surfaces poses a direct risk of cross-contamination and foodborne illness.

The non-critical violation, cited under Code 20-08, recorded a failure to post or conspicuously display required healthy eating information. While this violation does not carry an immediate food safety risk, New York City regulations require restaurants to make this information available to customers.

Food Safety Context

Under NYC Health Code Article 81, food service establishments are required to maintain food contact surfaces in a sanitary condition to prevent contamination of food and food products. The FDA Food Code, which informs local health codes across the country, establishes that equipment and utensils must be cleaned and sanitized at a frequency sufficient to prevent contamination.

Improperly sanitized food contact surfaces are among the more serious categories of violations tracked by DOHMH because they represent a direct pathway for pathogens — including Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria — to reach food that is served to customers. This is why the violation is classified as critical rather than general.

The healthy eating posting requirement is a separate city initiative designed to inform diners about nutrition, and its absence, while a recordable violation, does not affect the food preparation process itself.

Inspection History

The April 2026 result represents a significant departure from the restaurant's recent record. Prior inspections show the following:

  • August 1, 2024: Score 12 (Grade A)
  • January 2, 2024: Score 29
  • September 27, 2022: Score 0 (Grade A)
  • March 17, 2022: Score 17

Cafe Delectica earned perfect or near-perfect scores in two of its last four recorded inspections and had held a Grade A as recently as August 2024. The January 2024 inspection also resulted in a score of 29, which mirrors the current result. The restaurant's record shows variability across inspection cycles, which is not uncommon among active food service establishments.

Restaurants are not always graded on the same visit where violations are cited. In some cases, a follow-up or re-inspection is used to determine the posted grade. Consumers can check the current posted grade at the restaurant's entrance, as required by city rules.

Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades

New York City assigns letter grades to restaurants based on the total score accumulated during a DOHMH inspection. Scores reflect the number and severity of violations found, with higher scores indicating more or more serious problems:

  • A: Score of 0 to 13 points
  • B: Score of 14 to 27 points
  • C: Score of 28 points or higher

A score of 29, as recorded in this inspection, falls at the lower end of the Grade C range. Restaurants that receive a score in the B or C range may request a re-inspection, at which point a grade card is issued based on the result of that follow-up visit.

Inspection records for all New York City restaurants are publicly available through the DOHMH Restaurant Inspection Results database at the NYC Open Data portal. Consumers can search by restaurant name, address, or cuisine type to review full inspection histories before dining.

More About This Restaurant

View the full inspection history for Cafe Delectica including all past inspections, violations, and grade changes.