Brooklyn, NY — Little Mo / Mo Cafe, a Southeast Asian restaurant located at 1158 Myrtle Avenue in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, received a Grade C following a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) inspection conducted on March 23, 2026. The establishment recorded a score of 49, placing it firmly in the Grade C range under the city's restaurant grading system. Inspection data was publicly released by DOHMH on March 25, 2026.

What Inspectors Found

Inspectors documented one violation during the March 2026 visit, classified as non-critical under city standards. The cited violation — Code 10F — pertains to non-food contact surfaces or equipment made of unacceptable material, not kept clean, or not properly sealed, raised, spaced, or positioned to allow full accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above, and underneath the unit.

While Code 10F violations do not involve direct contamination of food or food-contact surfaces, they are considered a meaningful indicator of overall sanitation practices within a facility. Non-food contact surfaces that are difficult to access or improperly maintained can accumulate grease, debris, and biological material over time, creating conditions that may indirectly affect the cleanliness of a food service environment. The violation was not accompanied by any critical findings related to food handling, temperature control, pest activity, or employee hygiene during this inspection cycle.

Food Safety Context

Under NYC Health Code Article 81, all permitted food service establishments in New York City are subject to unannounced inspections by DOHMH inspectors trained to evaluate compliance across dozens of criteria. Each violation carries an assigned point value based on its severity and public health risk. Non-critical violations such as Code 10F typically carry lower individual point values than critical violations, but a facility's cumulative score reflects the full picture of compliance at the time of inspection.

The FDA Food Code, which serves as the foundational reference for many municipal food safety regulations, similarly categorizes non-food contact surface maintenance as a priority foundation item — one that supports the overall sanitary condition of a facility even when not directly linked to foodborne illness risk. A score of 49 reflects a meaningful departure from the compliance standards associated with a passing grade.

Restaurants that receive a Grade C or are not graded following an initial inspection cycle have the right to request an administrative hearing and are reinspected within a set timeframe, during which they may earn a higher grade that replaces the posted grade.

Inspection History

Little Mo / Mo Cafe's recent inspection record shows a notable shift from prior performance:

  • March 23, 2026: Score 49 (Grade C, 28+ points) — current inspection
  • April 22, 2024: Score 5 (Grade A)
  • March 11, 2024: Score 38

The 2024 record reflects a common pattern in the city's two-visit inspection cycle: an initial inspection in March 2024 produced a score of 38, which falls in the Grade C range, followed by a reinspection approximately six weeks later in which the restaurant recorded a score of 5 — a strong Grade A result. That reinspection grade would have been the one publicly posted at the restaurant entrance. The current March 2026 inspection represents the restaurant's first scored visit of the 2026 cycle.

Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades

New York City's letter-grade system is designed to give the public a quick reference for a restaurant's most recent inspection outcome. Grades are calculated as follows:

  • A: Score of 0–13 points (fewest violations)
  • B: Score of 14–27 points
  • C: Score of 28 or more points

Grade placards are required to be posted in a location visible from the street or entrance. When a restaurant receives a score that would result in a B or C grade on an initial inspection, it has the option to be reinspected before a grade is officially assigned and publicly posted. The grade currently posted at the restaurant may differ from the score recorded during any single inspection visit.

Consumers can view the full inspection history for any permitted food service establishment in New York City through the DOHMH's online restaurant inspection results database. The agency updates its public records regularly following each completed inspection cycle.

More About This Restaurant

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