Brooklyn, NY — Mario's Pizza, located at 1381 65th Street in Brooklyn's Boro Park neighborhood, received a Grade C score of 28 during a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) inspection conducted on March 30, 2026. The inspection identified one critical violation related to cold food temperature control. Inspection data was released by DOHMH on April 1, 2026.
What Inspectors Found
Inspectors cited the restaurant under Code 02G, a critical violation, for failing to maintain temperature-controlled-for-safety (TCS) cold food items at or below 41 °F. Under this code, violations are recorded when cold TCS foods — including certain dairy products, cooked proteins, and other perishables — are held above required temperature thresholds. Smoked or processed fish must be held at or below 38 °F, and reduced oxygen packaged (ROP) TCS foods are subject to their own specific temperature requirements.
No non-critical violations were documented during this inspection.
Food Safety Context
Cold temperature control is one of the most closely monitored areas in food service inspections. Under NYC Health Code Article 81 and the FDA Food Code, maintaining TCS foods at proper temperatures is considered a fundamental safeguard against bacterial growth. Pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria, and Staphylococcus aureus can multiply rapidly when cold foods are held in what regulators call the "temperature danger zone" — between 41 °F and 135 °F.
Code 02G violations are classified as critical because they represent a direct potential pathway to foodborne illness. When such a violation is cited, it does not necessarily indicate that food has caused illness, but rather that conditions were found that could pose a health risk if left unaddressed.
Inspection History
The March 30 inspection was not the restaurant's first encounter with violations, though the overall record shows a generally compliant history. The most recent visits are as follows:
- April 8, 2026: Score 13 (Grade A) — follow-up inspection
- March 30, 2026: Score 28 (Grade C) — one critical violation cited
- May 30, 2024: Score 3 (Grade A)
- February 13, 2023: Score 16 (Grade B)
- October 19, 2022: Score 11
- September 8, 2021: Score 7 (Grade A)
Notably, a follow-up inspection conducted on April 8, 2026 — just nine days after the Grade C result — found a score of 13, placing the restaurant back in Grade A territory. This progression suggests the temperature control issue documented in March was addressed prior to the follow-up visit. The grade displayed at the restaurant reflects the most recent applicable inspection result.
Prior to the March 2026 inspection, Mario's Pizza had maintained strong scores, including a near-perfect 3 in May 2024 and a 7 in September 2021. The February 2023 score of 16 resulted in a Grade B, the only other below-A result in the restaurant's recent record.
Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades
New York City requires restaurants to post their letter grade prominently at the entrance. Grades are assigned based on the total point score from a DOHMH inspection:
- Grade A: 0 to 13 points
- Grade B: 14 to 27 points
- Grade C: 28 or more points
Higher scores indicate a greater number or severity of violations. Critical violations, such as the temperature issue cited at Mario's Pizza, carry more weight in the scoring system than non-critical violations. Restaurants that score above 13 on an initial inspection are typically subject to a follow-up unannounced reinspection.
Inspection records for all New York City restaurants are publicly available through the DOHMH's NYC Restaurant Inspection Results database, accessible via the NYC Open Data portal at data.cityofnewyork.us. Consumers can search by restaurant name, address, or cuisine type to review full inspection histories.
More About This Restaurant
View the full inspection history for Mario's Pizza including all past inspections, violations, and grade changes.