Manhattan, NY — A March 2026 health inspection of Meem Spicy Grocery And Deli, a Bangladeshi restaurant and deli at 160 East 28th Street, resulted in a score of 43, placing the establishment in the Grade C range under New York City's restaurant grading system. Inspection data was released by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) on 2026-03-26, two days after the inspection was conducted on 2026-03-24.

What Inspectors Found

Inspectors documented one critical violation during the March 24 inspection. The violation, recorded under Code 06D, cited food contact surfaces as 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 under NYC Health Code Article 81 to be cleaned and sanitized at regular intervals and any time cross-contamination is a possibility. Failure to do so creates conditions under which pathogens can transfer directly to food served to customers.

No non-critical violations were cited during this inspection.

Food Safety Context

The violation identified in this inspection falls into the category regulators and food safety professionals consider among the most consequential. The FDA Food Code designates improper sanitation of food contact surfaces as a critical item because it directly affects the safety of food before it reaches the consumer.

Under NYC Health Code Article 81, establishments are required to maintain food contact surfaces in a sanitary condition throughout all stages of food preparation. This includes routine cleaning between tasks, after handling raw proteins, and whenever a surface may have come into contact with a contaminant. The standard applies regardless of how brief the interval between uses may be.

A score of 43 is well above the Grade C threshold of 28. Establishments scoring in this range are subject to re-inspection, and persistent scores above 28 can trigger additional regulatory scrutiny.

Inspection History

Meem Spicy Grocery And Deli has a lengthy inspection record with DOHMH, including multiple closures over the past two years:

  • 2026-05-06: Score 27 (Grade Z)
  • 2026-03-24: Score 43 (Grade C) — subject of this article
  • 2025-12-15: Score 11 (Grade Z) — reopened
  • 2025-12-09: Score 18 — closed
  • 2025-10-14: Score 116 — closed
  • 2025-08-07: Score 69 (Grade C)
  • 2025-04-03: Score 20
  • 2024-10-04: Score 4 (Grade C)
  • 2024-09-30: Score 79 — closed
  • 2024-09-12: Score 85
  • 2023-09-19: Score 0 (Grade P)

The establishment has been closed by DOHMH on at least three separate occasions since September 2024, with scores at closure ranging from 18 to 116. The most recent closure, in December 2025, was followed by a re-inspection on 2025-12-15 that returned a score of 11, allowing the restaurant to reopen. The May 2026 inspection — the most recent on record — returned a score of 27, just below the Grade C threshold.

Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades

New York City assigns letter grades to restaurants based on the point score recorded during a sanitary inspection. Points are assessed for each violation found, with higher point values assigned to more serious violations. The grading scale is as follows:

  • Grade A: 0–13 points — meets acceptable sanitary standards
  • Grade B: 14–27 points — some violations present; re-inspection required
  • Grade C: 28 or more points — significant violations present; re-inspection required

A "Grade Z" designation on the inspection history indicates a score that would result in a B or C, but the grade is pending a re-inspection or administrative review. Restaurants must post their most recent letter grade in a window visible from the street.

Consumers can look up the full inspection history of any NYC restaurant through the DOHMH's NYC Restaurant Inspection Results database, available through the city's open data portal at data.cityofnewyork.us. Inspection records are public and updated regularly as new inspections are conducted and scored.

More About This Restaurant

View the full inspection history for Meem Spicy Grocery And Deli including all past inspections, violations, and grade changes.