Manhattan, NY — Hudson Clearwater, a French restaurant located at 447 Hudson Street in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood, received a score of 46 during a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) health inspection conducted on March 26, 2026. The score places the restaurant in the Grade C range, which applies to establishments that score 28 or more points. Inspection data was released by DOHMH on April 7, 2026.

What Inspectors Found

Inspectors documented two violations during the March inspection — one critical and one non-critical.

The critical violation, cited under Code 02H, identified a failure to cool temperature-controlled-for-safety (TCS) food using an approved method after cooking or removal from hot holding. Under applicable food safety standards, cooked food must be cooled from 140°F to 70°F within two hours, and from 70°F to 41°F within an additional four hours. Failure to meet these time-temperature thresholds creates conditions under which harmful bacteria can multiply to unsafe levels.

Inspectors also cited a non-critical violation under Code 20-06, noting that the current letter grade card or Grade Pending card was not posted in a location visible to the public. NYC Health Code requires restaurants to display their most recent grade prominently for customer reference.

Food Safety Context

The cooling violation identified at Hudson Clearwater falls under requirements established by NYC Health Code Article 81 and is consistent with guidance in the FDA Food Code, which mandates specific temperature reduction timelines for cooked and hot-held foods. These requirements are designed to limit bacterial growth — particularly pathogens such as Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, and Staphylococcus aureus — that can proliferate rapidly when food remains in the temperature danger zone between 41°F and 140°F for extended periods.

Improper cooling is among the most frequently cited contributing factors in foodborne illness outbreaks, according to public health literature. The two-stage cooling process specified in food safety codes represents a standard used broadly across regulatory jurisdictions in the United States.

Inspection History

Hudson Clearwater's prior inspection record reflects generally strong performance, with the March 2026 result representing a notable departure from recent scores:

  • May 4, 2026: Score 12 (Grade A)
  • December 19, 2024: Score 17 (Grade B)
  • June 6, 2024: Score 9
  • March 9, 2023: Score 11 (Grade A)
  • December 6, 2022: Score 5
  • November 15, 2022: Score 5 (Grade A)
  • April 12, 2022: Score 43

The April 2022 inspection also resulted in a score of 43, placing the restaurant in Grade C territory at that time. The intervening inspections through early 2026 recorded consistently low scores. The May 4, 2026 inspection, which postdates the March 26 inspection under review, recorded a score of 12 and a Grade A, suggesting conditions documented in March may have since been addressed.

Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades

New York City's letter grading system for restaurant inspections is based on the cumulative point total assigned during an unannounced DOHMH inspection. Each violation carries a set point value determined by severity and public health risk. Grades are defined as follows:

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

Restaurants that receive a score of 14 or higher on an initial inspection are typically offered a reinspection before a grade is assigned. The grade posted at the establishment reflects the most recent graded inspection result.

Consumers can look up inspection records for any New York City restaurant through the DOHMH's online Restaurant Inspection Results database at NYC.gov, where full violation details, historical scores, and current grades are publicly available.

More About This Restaurant

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